Doctor who episode "gridlock"

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there seem to be a lot of doctor who fans here. did anyone see the episode “gridlock” from the revived series with david tennant as the doctor? if you did, did you think it was interesting that they chose to make the future human society of new new earth so thoroughly religious, possibly even christian?

the writers tipped their hand with respect to their own views of religion however when martha, who i take to be a spokesperson for their views, says to her companions in the floating car as they are under attack and about to pray for safety – “you have your god, and i have the doctor”. poor substitute, i thought.
 
mm, yes and no. I think that the deity was perpetrated by the creatures ( I want to try to keep this spoiler free ). I think Martha was possibly making a comment about a god she saw as false.

I was overjoyed to see an advent calendar on the dr who bbc website. I wouldn’t doubt a christian view. Did you see the Impossible Planet? Even better

Dr. Who… greatest show ever.

Blink… greatest episode of any TV show ever.
 
The two ‘sisters’ were actually married, I noticed.

Overall I don’t mind Doctor Who but I’d be stretching it to say it had good Christian values. The spi-off show, Torchwood, is even worse.
 
Somehow I missed this episode. You can find intermittent jabs at religion even in old school Dr Who (“Face of Evil” and “The Daemons” come to mind), so this doesn’t surprise me.
 
Gamera said:
Somehow I missed this episode. You can find intermittent jabs at religion even in old school Dr Who (“Face of Evil” and “The Daemons” come to mind), so this doesn’t surprise me.
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Yes, I recall the old Doctor Who as well, at times there was the pervading theme that science was the answer to everything and that all other belief was superstition. But I was able to look past it since it wasn’t too overt and enjoy the show because at least it there was a line between good and evil and the Doctor always fought for justice.
 
iamscifimike said:
mm, yes and no. I think that the deity was perpetrated by the creatures ( I want to try to keep this spoiler free ). I think Martha was possibly making a comment about a god she saw as false.
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just to clarify – they weren’t worshipping that “face of boe” creature, were they?

i would amplify what the other posters said, namely that normally science fiction as a genre tends to be skeptical of the value and truth of religion – that’s there’s often an inherent bias toward materialism. (that’s the perceived context in which i interpreted martha’s statement – that your belief in god is nice and all when it’s confined to the realm of the sentimental, but i prefer my flesh-and-blood doctor and his godlike talents).

there is always that obligatory episode in most sf television shows in which members of a “primitive” society encounter the protagonists’ superior technology and mistake them for divine beings. star trek’s “the paradise syndrome” imdb.com/title/tt0708475/ being one example of this.

this tendency is probably more pronounced in science fiction in its more popular formats such as television and movies (and long ago those pulp magazines).
 
I agree that sci-fi, book, movie, TV, whatever, is in general, at best condescending and at worst outright hostile toward religion. There are simply too many examples to count. One rather positive display of religion I’ve found in sci-fi worlds is in Babylon 5, a TV show. Despite the fact that the man behind it is an avowed atheist, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show that explores so positively religious themes, peoples, and practices. I think sci-fi likes to play with the themes, but often mocks the people and the practice, or portrays the people as either hypocrites or “he’s a great guy, except he believes in that stupid God.”
 
tomarin said:
just to clarify – they weren’t worshipping that “face of boe” creature, were they?
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No, the Face of Boe is just another character, and isn’t worshiped. But if you don’t know who it is, hooboy, you’re in for a surprise! 😃
 
Mirdath said:
No, the Face of Boe is just another character, and isn’t worshiped. But if you don’t know who it is, hooboy, you’re in for a surprise! 😃
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you mean, if i don’t know who the face of boe is, or if i don’t know who the god worshipped by the people of new new earth is?

if it’s the face of boe, i think i know what has been hinted at by the writers. if it’s the god of new new earth, then i think it has something to do with the face’s cryptic message to the doctor, “you are not alone.” is that correct? (if you say yes, then i know who you mean – i’m going through all this code talk so as not to reveal any “secrets”.)
 
Mirdath said:
No, the Face of Boe is just another character, and isn’t worshiped. But if you don’t know who it is, hooboy, you’re in for a surprise! 😃
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ok, but getting back to my original point there’s no way martha could know the identity of the god worshipped on new new earth, right?
 
tomarin said:
ok, but getting back to my original point there’s no way martha could know the identity of the god worshipped on new new earth, right?
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No, she didn’t, she was just making a statement that showed her feelings for the Doctor. Like a giddy School girl in love. I don’t think she was trying to look down on the faith of the people, just more of a wait til you see what my boyfriend can do.
No, the Face of Boe is just another character, and isn’t worshiped. But if you don’t know who it is, hooboy, you’re in for a surprise!
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Hohh man wasn’t that great!!!, the show just gets better and better. I drag my wife into every show I watch. Farscape then Stargate now Dr. who. She says I can’t believe I doubted that I’d like this show. Now we are like two little kids on a couch watching our saturday morning cartoons.
 
SemperUbiSubUbi said:
I agree that sci-fi, book, movie, TV, whatever, is in general, at best condescending and at worst outright hostile toward religion. There are simply too many examples to count. One rather positive display of religion I’ve found in sci-fi worlds is in Babylon 5, a TV show.
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Yes–I’ve been watching the whole show via Netflix (I’ve seen a few episodes in the past, which made me realize I wanted to watch the whole thing from beginning to end). The first DVD of Season 3 should arrive tomorrow! It is great stuff, in spite of the sometimes stilted acting and overly pretentious dialogue. A very endearing, sometimes downright powerful show.

And I believe one of the episodes that first hooked me is coming up in Season 3–“Passing Through Gethsemane.”

Edwin
 
OK, I love Dr. Who, at least the new series, but there are definitely questionable ethics in it. My hubby, a HUGE Dr. Who fan, did some research as to why all the homosexual/bisexual references in it (like Capt. Jack being in love with The Doctor), and he said at least some of the writers for the series are gay. Explains a lot.
Now we still watch it, but we do not watch Torchwood. Hubby got one episode of it, watched it, and said that no way was the rest of family going to see that! He said it was extremely immoral.
 
I would argue that Capt. Jack is not in love with the Doctor It hasn’t seemed that he’s made more that flirtacious comments just to get a reaction. He is simply from an era of human history that is very secular (to put it politely). I don’t think the real humanity with have to wait 500 years before it reaches that point.

The bi/homosexual community and Christian community both see the future in this light. We are just on different sides of the issue.

I am very disappointed to see how Torchwood is appearing. my only hope is that it will settle out after the initial shock value. I have yet to see the show.
 
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