figure. Against this potentially depressive atmosphere, the producers contrast a mad series of ideas, each loonier than the last: a hospital on the moon, vam- pires who bring their own straws, people made en- tirely of leather, Daleks on Broadway, killer scarecrows stalking a boy’s school, statues that throw people backwards in time, secret DVD Easter eggs that talk to you, a man who can never die and the severed hand he lugs around in a jar... and always the simple thrill of watching a blue wooden box spinning through space, a nameless hero at its helm. STAR TREK depicts a progressive future, in which the current foibles of mankind are perfected and resolved, or nearly so. DOCTOR WHO can seem cynical, with its premise that the distant past and far-flung future will be dotted with the very same conflicts as today. The corridors may change, but the reasons to run through them won’t. This atti- tude, though, allows DOCTOR WHO to examine more dramatically the human soul.


As in the previous seasons, the episodes drop hints that ultimately pay off in the finale. This time, the code word is Saxon, a candidate for Prime


Minister whose election has disastrous conse- quences for the Doctor. Moreso than in previous years, though, there are also underlying themes that connect the episodic adventures beyond the word games about “Vote Saxon.” Season Three is principally concerned with what it means to be human: various aliens disguise themselves as hu- man, humans cross-breed with other species or are mutated, and the driving impulse of survival at any cost—at once noble and yet starkly hor- rific. War hangs heavily over these stories, both as a memory of wars fought and survived and a fear of wars yet to come; yet those characters with the most to lose and the deepest scars from conflicts past are also quick to take up arms when the situation calls for it—sometimes there is no other choice. Through it all, this smart, savvy show finds empathy and forgiveness for its most hated foes, while celebrating the power of a communal experience—be it attending a Shakespeare play, an off-Broadway musical re- vue, or falling under the hypnotic spell of a catchy tune (da da dum, dad a dum...).


The Doctor suffered through a chaste romance with assistant Rose (Billie Piper) in David Tennant’s first two seasons, and her memory haunts the third.


36


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