Sci-Fi Night

Saturday 1^st September and I’m all hyped up to enjoy a night of brand new Sci-Fi. However, it’s not Doctor Who (yet). Due to the wonders of modern digital recording technology (and a backup recorder in the bedroom (and the BBC iPlayer if all Hell breaks loose)) I’m off to Glasgow’s Kings Theatre to see a post apocalyptic play called The Ripple Effect. Of course, I wouldn’t leave Raymond to watch new Who on his own and that’s because he is actually in the play. This is all part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad and Stenhousemuir Primary pupils are taking part in it. Acting is one of the things that Raymond says he would like to do. In fact, I think he wants to be the next David Tennant – just as he would like to be the next Andy Murray when he is playing tennis. I’m quite glad that he aspires to this rather than to be the next brain-dead reality star but I don’t think he quite realises how much effort it takes to learn lines, rehearse and give the audience that suspension of disbelief that makes a performance work: David Tennant didn’t just turn up to the studios at Cardiff and announce that he was going to be the next Doctor Who, although I think he would have been quite jealous to get the opportunity to perform at the Kings as a 10 year old.

The play itself was actually very professionally presented and was far in excess of the glorified school play that it could have been. Raymond had been to some workshops during the school holidays and there had been a few rehearsals last week but overall the young actors were quite a revelation and, aside from one or two technical glitches with the sound, the presentation moved along quite slickly. I suppose the subject matter of a devastated future where children are formed into factions of “haves” and “have nots” ruled by a selfish elite has a certain nod to the Lord Of The Flies mixed in with a dash of neo-liberal capitalism but the messages of truce and reconciliation were well handled. The only thing I did notice was that Raymond’s character was that of “impoverished, orphaned waif” – rather the same as his character in the school performance of Oliver! I hope he isn’t getting typecast. Of course, what was his first reaction on returning to Stenhousemuir? “When are we going to watch Doctor Who?”

We did get to watch Doctor Who. The BBC seem to be pulling out the big guns for this series. It’s being shown at a sensible time and the opening episode features the iconic Daleks and is written by the master of ceremonies, Steven Moffat. Asylum Of The Daleks refers to a mental asylum for Daleks that have gone a tad bonkers. Well, let’s face it: Daleks have always been a bit mental anyway. One of the problems with Dalek episodes has been to find something new and original to do with them. After the first couple of Dalek stories they became rather farcical and it was Genesis Of The Daleks in 1975 that managed to find a new and interesting angle on them. Since the series has returned it was only really the opening season’s Dalek that managed to make the iconic beasts both terrifying and interesting. By the time we got the Victory Of The Daleks they had become somewhat of a MacGuffin – pointless pepper pot devices getting in the way of a potentially more interesting plot. In fact what made Dalek so intriguing is that it explored what it means to be a Dalek: something that was touched on in 1980’s episodes but Asylum takes this to a new level.

I had heard quite a few rumours about the episode in advance but largely from official BBC press releases and I have to admit that playing “spot the Dalek” was quite a bit of fun. However, I think my enjoyment of Asylum of the Daleks has probably been enhanced by one big thing – I routinely avoid spoilers. Unfortunately, this means that I don’t hang around on movie and Sci-Fi forums any more but given the amount of pointless sniping they suffer from that’s probably no bad thing. I have to admit that I have great admiration for Mr Moffat for managing to keep a huge and major surprise out of the public domain. In fact, given that there had been press screenings of the episode before hand I am absolutely astounded that I hadn’t heard what the twist was beforehand. Unfortunately, it means that it is difficult to discuss the Asylum episode in any great detail without giving away major plot points. In fact, aside from a surprise appearance we have been told very little about the true nature of “the twist”. Possibly this will be explained in the next 4 episodes but (knowing the wily ways of the Grand Moff) it is more likely that we won’t find out until the end of the series next year – or even beyond.

Anyway, it was a fantastic opener and I can’t wait to see how the following spoiler-free episodes unfold. Steven Moffat is really back at the top of his writing game and he is doing what he does best: messing with our heads!