Doctor Who: Classic 9x3 (#1) | Early Access!

"We understand our planet at least enough that seaweed and goo shouldn't be growing intelligence suddenly." Yes, and that's exactly why most people find it's so scary and effective that they suddenly do. This is what I mean when I say Doctor Who takes the mundane and makes it scary. Since we began this debate over the seaweed and goo, I've tried to explain that the lack of a full explanation plays into the fear of the unknown, aka Lovecraftian horror. This idea that there are things beyond our comprehension that could destroy us at any time. It also allows the viewer to focus instead on the affect the seaweed or goo has on the plot and the characters. What it wants and why it wants it, which is the most important thing. Way more important than any answers as to how and why the sentient seaweed or goo came to be. Answers that would mostly likely only serve to dilute the inherent horror such concepts possess. What would the story gain if they did explain it all in full? How would it advance the story? Isn't it more productive to focus on what these things intend to do and how that affects the characters within the story? To focus on the conflict and danger the seaweed and goo put everyone in and how the characters will react and resolve everything? If I accepted your logic that the seaweed and goo don't make sense because the stories they're in are set on Earth, this would mean there's no scope left for progress and further discovery because our knowledge of science is absolute. See how flawed your reasoning is? I'll leave you with these quotes from near the end of The Satan Pit: IDA: But Doctor, what did you find down there? That creature, what was it? DOCTOR: I don't know. Never did decipher that writing. But that's good, Day I know everything? Might as well stop. ROSE: What do you think it was, really? DOCTOR: I think we beat it. That's good enough for me.

Azmat Mahmood

Me: *mentions the seaweed and goo* You: So, you have chosen death!

Yes, sentient seaweed and goo, they're not good. Moving statues (weeping angels) and carnivorous shadows (Vashta Nerada), totally swell. Before you say those things were explained, they really weren't. The biggest reason why they were so successful is the mystery and ambiguity the writers chose to give them. Honestly, the double standard (and I suppose it's most likely not deliberate) you have between classic and modern Who in certain regards is really quite frustrating. One of the things Doctor Who is most famous for is taking the mundane and making it scary. The Seaweed monster, Weeping Angels and Vashata Nerada all fall into that category. Yet you enjoy two and not one for some reason. Even though it's the first time Doctor Who ever attempted to do such a thing and set the stage for the other things. Some of the best monsters in all of Doctor Who are the ones that have an air of mystery around them. The Great Intelligence, the Beast from The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit, the Midnight entity, the Flood from the Waters of Mars and the aforementioned Seaweed monsters, goo, Weeping Angels and Vashta Nerada. All brilliant and none of them were ever fully explained. I'm more interested in the affect they have on the plot and the characters around them rather than trivial explanations of what they are and where they come from. I realise I've ranted on this a few times now, but you're the one who keeps bringing it up and making the same exact points. Anyway, back to normal business I guess. I've not listened to the full post ep discussion yet.

Azmat Mahmood