6. I Sing The Body Electric
Body Horror is a horror fiction genre wherein the body is corrupted somehow, often to the point where identity is lost. Its rather impressive how effective a lot of Doctor Who episodes are in exploiting body horror without graphic depictions. Losing control of our bodies, however that occurs, is a real and persistent fear. This is the second Doctor Who story in a row, for example, to frighten us with zombie-like monsters. Mrs. Gillyflowers scariest creations are not the ones that end up on the reject pile however. Her minions may be beautiful, but they are completely under the control of a madwoman and her pet parasite. They are creepy not because their bodies have been damaged but that their free will has been removed. What is scarier than becoming another being's puppet? How much of our identity is our body? We dont live in our heads we only perceive it that way. We live in our cells our DNA. Perhaps we live in every atom. Jenny is in love with Madame Vastra, a Silurian, whose body is distinctly different from her own. The same goes for Madame Vastra who partners with a human. This is not to say they dont find each other attractive, obviously they do. But they are not defined by appearance.