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Well that was definitely the most political episode of Who weve seen since the late 80's, but is it only me who thinks of Hitchhikers with space whales then? That and the giant tongue sequence which was ever so slightly too reminiscent of Empire...
Moffats satire on elections was superb (forget what youve had for the last 5 years, then vote for it again), but that oddly read as an anti-labour jibe, as thats what weve been revoting in for some time, yet Moffat is a confirmed and vocal left winger.
Pretty much anyone hearing the name Liz Ten probably figured out exactly who she was, but was this another thinly veiled metaphor? Was this warrior queen really a powerless puppet? Unfortunately I dont know Mr. Moffats stand on the Monarchy. Mostly what I took away from Liz 10 is that I really should watch V for Vendetta again...
Finally, was I taking it too far when I read the space whale as an allegory for immigration? The star whale came along at Britains darkest time, and litterally kept Britain 'moving', a reference to post war imigration when many of the men of working age had been killed?
The closing naration-"we all must know, we all depend on the beast below", could be read as appreciating people who do the 'low', unappealing jobs that are frequently filled by recent immigrants to the country. That Britain's economy litteraly exists on the back of a supporting underclass, that is often viewed as 'the problem' when they are in fact, a solution to a problem.
Not sure if any if this was what he was going for, but it all seemed to fight each other and killed any strong central message. Fortunately, the whole package was fun enough and different enough to justify itself.
Amy's revelation at the end was ultimately too much of a reach, and may have just set up too much of a world to satisfactorily pay off in 40 minutes, but it definitely contributes to the feeling that this season, if not full of classics, is heading to be one of the more consistently creative and fun Who has seen in a long time.
Moffats satire on elections was superb (forget what youve had for the last 5 years, then vote for it again), but that oddly read as an anti-labour jibe, as thats what weve been revoting in for some time, yet Moffat is a confirmed and vocal left winger.
Pretty much anyone hearing the name Liz Ten probably figured out exactly who she was, but was this another thinly veiled metaphor? Was this warrior queen really a powerless puppet? Unfortunately I dont know Mr. Moffats stand on the Monarchy. Mostly what I took away from Liz 10 is that I really should watch V for Vendetta again...
Finally, was I taking it too far when I read the space whale as an allegory for immigration? The star whale came along at Britains darkest time, and litterally kept Britain 'moving', a reference to post war imigration when many of the men of working age had been killed?
The closing naration-"we all must know, we all depend on the beast below", could be read as appreciating people who do the 'low', unappealing jobs that are frequently filled by recent immigrants to the country. That Britain's economy litteraly exists on the back of a supporting underclass, that is often viewed as 'the problem' when they are in fact, a solution to a problem.
Not sure if any if this was what he was going for, but it all seemed to fight each other and killed any strong central message. Fortunately, the whole package was fun enough and different enough to justify itself.
Amy's revelation at the end was ultimately too much of a reach, and may have just set up too much of a world to satisfactorily pay off in 40 minutes, but it definitely contributes to the feeling that this season, if not full of classics, is heading to be one of the more consistently creative and fun Who has seen in a long time.
Posted: 00:50 Apr 13 2010 
(For those who missed it, ex-Who author Miles wrote a ... passionate attack on Mark Gatiss over "The Unquiet Dead", alleging that the sneaky alien Gelf were an attack on asylum seekers. The details remain murky, as it's been yanked from the net before Gatiss took action over the allegedly actionable content! 
Every fandom has one. 
)
Although I thought Amy's revelation was believable and nicely foreshadowed (good to see Chekhov's Gun, or rather, Moffat's Whale, in evidence), even if you didn't, the pieces are only now in place, & the real test starts next week.