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Have you ever considered that the Prime Directive is not only not ethical, but also illogical, and perhaps morally indefensible?

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Cake day: June 11th, 2023

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  • Welcome to the party, Steven Moffat.

    The improved quality of this episode is immediately apparent. The script is tight and quippy, and the titular child is creepy as hell.

    It’s tough to comment solely on a Part 1, but there’s a lot to like in this. The gag of the Doctor asking the crowd at the cabaret whether they’ve seen anything falling from the sky before realizing he’s landed in the middle of the London Blitz is great. The production quality is generally excellent - it really feels like a specific time and place.

    Following on that, Nancy is an immediately compelling character - sympathetic, and very authentic-feeling to the setting. Richard Wilson is also very good as Dr. Constantine.

    I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think the weakest part of the episode by far is the subplot with Rose and Captain Jack Harkness, who we meet for the first time here. It feels incongruous with the horror vibes of the A-plot, and I don’t actually think John Barrowman (scandal noted) is as charming as the script needs him to be.



  • I gave this one a rewatch, and not only is it much better when you’re not half-asleep like I was the first time 'round, I think it also works better when you know the Spock twist in advance.

    Setting aside the silliness of the simulation, the actual story worked better for me once I realized that the re-creation room was manipulating La’An the entire time, planting the false Spock from the very beginning, and using the various characters to needle her about her feelings - both that she has them at all, and how she’s afraid people might take her less seriously in her job as a consequence of them.

    Not-Uhura’s speech is about the “Amelia Moon” stories La’An grew up with just as much as it’s about Star Trek itself.

    And Christina Chong turned in a really great performance throughout, too - this one should definitely go in her audition reel.