Doctor Who Series 12: Ten Huge Questions After Praxeus
1. Has The TARDIS Ever Been This Good?
The Doctor’s magic box was on top of her game in Praxeus,
both on and off screen. The busy design of the 13th Doctor’s console
room has been slightly tweaked for series 12 and looks more spacious, but after
the traditional style of the Jo Martin Doctor’s TARDIS interior, many fans have
been calling for the Doctor to go retro. It has to be said that Whittaker and
Martin and their costumes looked wonderful against the blue tinged
roundel-filled backdrop.
The TARDIS used badly is an all too easy plot fixer and short cut, and the ease at which the Doctor could flit between Hong Kong and Madagascar was a little distracting. That said, within screen minutes, Jake had got from Manchester to Hong Kong, without the aid of the TARDIS. This was another story that was seriously stretching the limits of what could be effectively told in under an hour.
But the TARDIS was more than a taxi service. She replicated the antidote and saved the day with one of her last gasp rescues, reuniting Jake and Adam. At one point, the Doctor leaves Jake in the TARDIS alone with his husband, an occurrence so rare it was odd not to have been referenced in the dialogue. The TARDIS has been a place of healing before, of course, for example bringing Grace Holloway and Chang Lee back from the dead, but most writers are reluctant to overplay the TARDIS card.
Saving Jake was a lovely touch, avoiding the trope of the expendable gay character, but as always this kind of fix begs the question why doesn’t the Doctor do it more often? Long term fans will have no doubt spared a thought for Adric.