Scorched Earth

Main Range #264

Released: 13 May 2020

Listened: 9/7/20

For someone who’s trying to get home and failing, Constance seems to have a lot of stories set around World War II. Up until now, we’ve seen how well Constance and Flip get along, despite an age gap, widely different backgrounds, and being separated in time by 70 years. This story, though, hinges on the point that they’re really not the same. They’re in France, in 1944, as the occupation is ending, and the Doctor states bluntly that this is somewhere Constance shouldn’t be, mostly because of the potential to damage her timeline. However, Constance is carrying around a lot of hatred towards the Nazis, which is understandable for a person actively participating in WWII, but Flip can’t bring herself around to Constance’s way of thinking, and they disagree when they witness a French collaborator being punished. It’s not a true historical, though, and there’s a creature who feeds on hate, of which there’s rather a lot to go around in this time and place. The crux of the story is about letting go of one’s hatred, even after a war, and it’s played reasonably well, although the resolution may be rather swift for characters who’ve been at war for years. Unusually for Doctor Who (or any western pop culture), there are a few Nazi soldiers portrayed as sympathetic; they even get some snarky lines (as Constance observes, “sarcastic Nazis”). Constance and Flip have some rather pointed dialog themselves, mostly at the Doctor’s expense, thanks to Chris Chapman. The Doctor, for his part, seems a bit off his game in this story, but that’s OK, as the focus is on Constance and Flip. It’s a good story that’s a bit light on the sci-fi.