I recently finished the episode Kinda, Peter Davison’s third story (it feels like I’ve been watching his stories for ages though, in a good way), and I’m not really sure what to make of it. Although the overall narrative was pretty interesting, there were several points that bothered me. I never fully understood what the presence of the Earth survey team was supposed to add to the story; the events that occurred at the dome rarely enhanced or furthered the plot, so what was it doing in the story? There were also several bizarre moments like when the Doctor seemed so delighted with Adric’s simple magic trick, and the giant snake was…ahem… sub-par to put it lightly (as a Doctor Who fan my tolerance for poor special effects is particularly high, but that one was a little hard even for me to stomach).
The aspect of this serial that I enjoyed most, however, was the villain. Although the Mara is not a tangible enemy that can connect with the viewer easily, it holds a certain sway and captivation for the audience that I feel few antagonists have been able to equal. I like The Mara because it is not an orthodox opponent; It is not a typical enemy who can be fought with a gun or a knife, whose attack cannot be diverted by shield or helmet. Rather, his assault is psychological and emotionally charged in nature, and he tends to prey on people who are fearful and full of self-doubt.
The aspect of this serial that I enjoyed most, however, was the villain. Although the Mara is not a tangible enemy that can connect with the viewer easily, it holds a certain sway and captivation for the audience that I feel few antagonists have been able to equal. I like The Mara because it is not an orthodox opponent; It is not a typical enemy who can be fought with a gun or a knife, whose attack cannot be diverted by shield or helmet. Rather, his assault is psychological and emotionally charged in nature, and he tends to prey on people who are fearful and full of self-doubt.
It comes as no surprise, then, that I discovered that, in early Buddhist tradition, the Mara was a demon who tried to tempt the Buddha, and that writer Christopher Bailey relied heavily on Buddhist philosophy to write the script. I also discovered that early Buddhists did not perceive the Mara as just any demon. They believed not only in the existence of a literal Mara, but also a metaphorical Mara who was the embodiment of self-doubt and an inhibitor to spiritual welfare. The Mara could be created inside you; inside your mind, inside your thoughts, and inside your dreams. When one combines this knowledge with the fact that the Mara in Doctor Who attacks people when they dream alone, and they dwell in a region identified as the Dark Places of the Inside, one cannot help think that the Mara in Doctor Who is meant to be a supernatural demon, and that this is a very different type of enemy than the typical flesh-and-blood antagonist that the Doctor is used to fighting.
As I said, I enjoyed the Mara overall as an enemy, but at first I thought that this type of enemy seemed slightly out of place for the series; I mean after all, Doctor Who tends to have more science-fiction elements rather than supernatural or fantasy elements. It is even popular in the new series now to suggest to the audience something supernatural is occuring, but in the end
show that everything can be explained without magic or Satan, and that there wasn’t THAT big of a mystery after all (The Daemons, Vampires of Venice, The Shakespeare Code). This is not really the case with the Mara, however; no explanation at all is given for what the Mara really is and for Doctor Who I felt that that was odd. However, upon looking back through the serials, there are several strange characters and places that are given no explanation, possibly because the Doctor (or maybe the writers?) has none. So, if the Mara is probably a demon, why can’t these other monsters be too? The Mara has inspired me to such an extent that for this blog post and the next, I have decided to write a brief history on these antagonists (one for each Doctor up to this point). Yep, that’s right; I’m going to be talking about potential ghosts, goblins, and demons that can be found in Doctor Who.
1) The Celestial Toymaker
If you type in a Doctor Who character’s name on Wikipedia, on the right hand side of the page important information will be provided such as what he/she/it is affiliated with, home planet, home era, and species. If you type in the Celestial Toymaker, the answer you will get to all of these is unknown.
To put it simply, The Toymaker is an immortal being from a mysterious dimension. He has incredible, almost magical powers, and when Steven (a companion of the First Doctor) takes a poke at the Toymaker, Steven nearly breaks his arm, while his opponent is undamaged. The
1) The Celestial Toymaker
If you type in a Doctor Who character’s name on Wikipedia, on the right hand side of the page important information will be provided such as what he/she/it is affiliated with, home planet, home era, and species. If you type in the Celestial Toymaker, the answer you will get to all of these is unknown.
To put it simply, The Toymaker is an immortal being from a mysterious dimension. He has incredible, almost magical powers, and when Steven (a companion of the First Doctor) takes a poke at the Toymaker, Steven nearly breaks his arm, while his opponent is undamaged. The
Celestial Toymaker can artificially create his own worlds, filled with deadly games with more on the line than bragging rights of having won. He kidnaps people and forces them to play; if they lose, they become his playthings and become part of the game. If he loses, his world dissipates, and he must start from scratch, although he himself cannot be harmed.
So what do we make of the Toymaker? He is an evil mysterious being, who kidnaps and tortures people through his games; sounds like potential demon material to me. How many people can force a Time Lord and his TARDIS to do his bidding at the drop of a hat? Even his title, Celestial Toymaker, assumes a being that is supernatural in nature; he certainly appears to be as he seems bound neither by the laws of time or physics. Unfortunately, we will never know for sure what the Toymaker is all about; his story with the First Doctor is his only appearance so far.
2) Land of Fiction
The Mind Robber is perhaps the Second Doctor’s most unusual story because it takes place in the Land of Fiction. At the beginning of the story, the TARDIS is about to be destroyed by an oncoming flow of lava, so in desperation the Doctor hits a button that takes the Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe outside of the space-time continuum completely. Technically, nothing should exist here, but instead, the Doctor uncovers the Land of Fiction, a place where literally anything could happen. This unique place is controlled by the Master (not THE Master, the Doctor’s arch-enemy from Gallifrey, but another), but he in turn is controlled and sustained by the Master Brain, which we know absolutely nothing about. The Doctor manages to destroy the Brain, and the world falls apart, returning the time-travelers back inside the TARDIS. As to what happened to Rapunzel, Medusa, and the toy soldiers, one can only guess…
So what do we make of the Toymaker? He is an evil mysterious being, who kidnaps and tortures people through his games; sounds like potential demon material to me. How many people can force a Time Lord and his TARDIS to do his bidding at the drop of a hat? Even his title, Celestial Toymaker, assumes a being that is supernatural in nature; he certainly appears to be as he seems bound neither by the laws of time or physics. Unfortunately, we will never know for sure what the Toymaker is all about; his story with the First Doctor is his only appearance so far.
2) Land of Fiction
The Mind Robber is perhaps the Second Doctor’s most unusual story because it takes place in the Land of Fiction. At the beginning of the story, the TARDIS is about to be destroyed by an oncoming flow of lava, so in desperation the Doctor hits a button that takes the Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe outside of the space-time continuum completely. Technically, nothing should exist here, but instead, the Doctor uncovers the Land of Fiction, a place where literally anything could happen. This unique place is controlled by the Master (not THE Master, the Doctor’s arch-enemy from Gallifrey, but another), but he in turn is controlled and sustained by the Master Brain, which we know absolutely nothing about. The Doctor manages to destroy the Brain, and the world falls apart, returning the time-travelers back inside the TARDIS. As to what happened to Rapunzel, Medusa, and the toy soldiers, one can only guess…
This is one of the strangest stories in Doctor Who history, and I have no idea what to make of it. Nobody knows what is outside of time, but I think it is safe to say that a "Land of Fiction", controlled by an old man or a brain would not just randomly exist. This suggests it was artificially created by something bigger and smarter, not unlike the realm of the Toymaker. However, The Mind Robber is short on details of where the land came from, and the Land of Fiction does not make a reappearance.
To be continued in the next blog post…..