REVIEW OVERVIEW: THE TALES OF HOMO-REPTILIA

Well, well, well. Looky here! Another brand new style of essay. How exciting is this?! Well, exciting to me, at least. Maybe one or two others out there with lives as sedate as mine might also be ecstatic!   

Most of my older topics are nearing exhaustion (ie: I've chronicled the linear history of most multi-appearance characters/races in my CHRONOLOGIES AND TIMELINES essays) so it's good to come up with the occasional  new category. I hope you'll find this one intriguing. 

What is a REVIEW OVERVIEW? I'll give you a definition before I actually undertake one...    


DEFINITION:
A REVIEW OVERVIEW essay is, basically, a bit of an opinion piece. It will look at something that has run through several stories and/or episodes of the show and rate how effectively it's been portrayed. I use the term "Overview" because it's going to be quite comprehensive. It's not just looking at a single story. But, rather, a collection of stories that all deal with the same thing.

There will be two basic sections to the essay. The first part will be a story-by-story analysis  that looks at how well they handled the common theme among them. The overall quality of the adventure (how it was written, directed, performed etc..) does factor into that effectiveness so it will also be a bit of a "straight review" where I praise and criticise the quality of the story-telling.

The second section will resemble a BOOK OF LISTS essay. I will rank the stories according to how well they portrayed the recurring theme. I will also look at their overall quality. Not only will they be placed in a certain position on the list, but an explanation of why they are there will also be provided.

That's the general gist of a REVIEW OVERVIEW essay. Having established a very basic definition, let's get into it. 


OUR FIRST MISSION:
I'm going to start with something pretty simple and straightforward. I'd like to, eventually, get into more abstract concepts like how the show handles aborted timelines. Or even really complex stuff like stories that deal with racism. But, for now, I just want to review all the stories that have Silurians, Sea Devils or Homo-Reptilia, in general.

My analysis will look mainly at how well the stories offer insights into how their culture works. There is also, of course, a very common theme to many of these stories: the idea of how well we would do if we had to share our planet with another life form as sentient as we are. Those will be the two key factors that will determine my like or dislike of all the stories I will examine. As mentioned before, the overall quality of the tale will also have some bearing in the review so that will come into play a bit, too. 

It should be noted that cameo appearances will not be covered, here. Stories like The Pandorica Opens or Dinosaurs on a Spaceship only give us the briefest of glimpses of this species. It's really not much to go on. So they don't really merit a place in this essay.

It should also be noted that I have covered the linear order of Homo Reptilia in some CHRONOLOGY AND TIMELINE essays. (Part One: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/09/chronologies-and-timelines-probable.html, Part Two: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/10/chronologies-and-timelines-silurian.html). So, just to be different, I will do the story-by-story analysis  according to their chronological timeline rather than transmission order.


PART ONE: STORY-BY-STORY
With the establishment of "basic ground rules" now truly out of the way, we will begin our deep dive.

1) The Lady Vastra Stuff
While this does comprise a whole handful of stories, we're going to tackle them all in just one section. Just to be as clear as possible, however, here is a list of all stories that prominently feature her:

A Good Man Goes To War 
The Snowmen
The Crimson Horror
The Name of the Doctor 
Deep Breath

Like Strax, Lady Vastra works to both the advantage and detriment of the species she hails from. The Ultimate Good, here, is that we are getting a Silurian story. It's not much of one, but the species is still making an appearance in the show rather than being put on that vicious backburner status of "Creature That Might Return Someday...". This is a cold lonely place where aliens like the Ice Warriors lingered for countless years. The Silurians and Sea Devils were also kept there quite a bit during the classic series, too. But Vastra popping up as much as she does for a few seasons gives the Silurians regular, ongoing exposure. This, to me, is a happy thing.

The downside of Vastra is that her stories have very little to do with the themes and ideas that the Silurian stories usually explore. They're more about Vastra learning to prosper in Victorian society and, of course, helping the Doctor with whatever menace is threatening the world during the episode. We get the occasional glimpse into the nature of the society she came from in stories like The Crimson Horror. But we also get a bit of misdirection. I suspect Vastra is the only Silurian we've ever seen that has developed a taste for human flesh, but we're never entirely sure. To some extent, this almost bothers me. I know it's silly to feel this way, but it's almost like the Silurians are being misrepresented.

While I have always felt that the episodes she was featured in were quite enjoyable, I don't think they're particularly effective as actual Silurian stories. They're more like stories that just happen to feature a Silurian. They may have even obstructed us from getting "proper" adventures about her people. If we could get a story where, maybe, Vastra uncovers another hibernation chamber and has to help the Silurians within it to adjust to the world they awake in - that would give us some interesting content. But the Paternoster Gang tales never go in that sort of direction. We do, at least, get to know a single Silurian quite well. Which does enrich our knowledge of them, in some ways.

Still, overall, Vastra does not contribute a lot to the lore of her species. Neither do her stories tend to explore those themes we love so much in a good Silurian yarn.


2. Doctor Who and the Silurians
Even though my ranking list won't be til later, I will reveal now that this is the best of all the stories involving Homo Reptilia. It has so many gorgeous layers and nuances in it that all do a great job of introducing us to this species for the first time. I would go so far to say that the high quality of this story is what secured all the return appearances this particular "monster" has made.

It is quite fortunate that Season 7 was about trying to make the show feel as realistic and down-to-Earth (pun intended) as possible. It enabled Malcolm Hulke to create a very three dimensional "alien" for us. These were not just monsters out to plunder or destroy humanity. They had all kinds of different motivations. We were able to empathise with them even though they were a legitimate threat to us.

Probably the most important thing we need to see in any good Silurian story is that there are good and bad guys on both sides. Silurians are just like humans. Some are likeable and some are not. More importantly, we also need to see the justifications for why they act the way they do. We can't just have the "bad cowboys wear black hats and good cowboys wear white hats" motif. We need to see what got the characters to take the stances they do.

Doctor Who and the Silurians does this brilliantly. Even the extremism of the Young Silurian is rooted in a real motive rather than just blind hate. He seems to be using it as a platform to usurp the Old Silurian and become the new leader of his people. In that sense, he's almost a bit Hitleresque. But as the story nears its conclusion, Hulke adds another nice layer to the character to show that the Young Silurian isn't all about lust for power. As he returns his comrades to their hibernation chambers, he knows someone must stay behind to work the controls. That Silurian will die in an ensuing nuclear cataclysm.Young Silurian chooses to be the one to make the sacrifice. He accepts his fate because he is the leader and this is what leaders do for their people. Hardly the actions of a true despot. But, rather, something far more noble. A sincere effort is being made to make sure these creatures have real layers to them. It's beautiful stuff. It's also quite subtle. The layers to the Silurians are there - but they're not thrown in our face.

Probably the only thing working to the detriment of this story is its running time. It is a bit difficult, sometimes, to really care about the Silurians as the story does drag quite a bit, in places. The whole subplot with the wounded Silurian trying to find his way back, for instance, goes on way longer than needed in order to mark some time. It is interesting to note, however, that even in such a lengthy subplot, details are added  to further re-enforce the idea that these are not just malevolent monsters. The wounded Silurian does kill a farmer. But only because the man threatened him with a pitchfork. It was self-defense rather than just cruelty.

The story constantly makes sure to include these sorts of nuances. Which makes it the wonderful piece of art that it is.


3. The Sea Devils
The great work done in Doctor Who and the Silurians tends to unravel in this one. The creatures in this story go back to being, for the most part, a traditional Doctor Who Monster. They really just want to do bad things to humans. Even in the backstory, they've been attacking ships and sinking them. Even going to the extreme of  killing survivors in life boats because they're just that cruel.

As the episodes start rolling, their malevolence continues. For most of the story, the Sea Devils seem hell-bent on just killing everyone they meet. It probably doesn't help that only their leader is actually given any dialogue. Their lack of speech  makes them seem more like vicious beasts than intelligent beings. Whereas the Silurians had lengthy discussions that revealed their motivations for why they may want to harm humans, the Sea Devils just go out and do it. It really does seem to contradict all the efforts Hulke went to in his previous story.

Yes, we do finally get some discussions of trying to make peace with humanity in later episodes. But these talks are short-lived. Then it's back to just being mean 'ole Sea Devils. It's almost like Malcolm Hulke just slipped that scene in because he suddenly remembered he's supposed to be writing about three-dimensional characters - not evil monsters. And then, suddenly, he forgot again!

The fact that the overall story seems very troubled probably doesn't help. The Sea Devils lacks plot. It sustains itself with constantly changing set-pieces and introductions of new characters at regular intervals. In my view, this is an example of the show being legitimately pantomime. In the previous Homo Reptilia story, great lengths were taken to ensure all characters had real motivations. It's very much the opposite, here. Even the Master seems to be up to no good purely for the reason that he's a villain and that's what villains do. The general silliness of the story makes it difficult to see the Sea Devils as having any real substance to them.

I have theorised that, at least, part of the reason why the Sea Devils are so cut-throat is because they are probably a warrior race. Warriors of the Deep helps to support this idea. But it might have helped if a snippet of dialogue had been put in somewhere in this six-parter to establish this. It would help us to forgive the many crimes this story commits against the themes and ideas of a good Homo Reptilian tale.


4. HungryEarth/Cold Blood
After a long absence from our screens, the Silurians finally return. Thankfully, the author of this two-parter is definitely drawing more from Hulke's first work with this species than his second.

Once more, it's about representing Homo Reptilia as three-dimensional intelligent beings with different motivations and ideals. It genuinely warmed my heart to see the New Series going to such lengths to ensure that the true spirit of a Silurian tale is properly displayed. Doctor Who needs its evil power-hungry monsters trying to overthrow the world and/or universe. But it also needs to take the occasional break from such a trope and give us something more sophisticated. That's, essentially, what we get whenever the Silurians are brought back (or, at least, it's what we should get). I'm glad that New Who made sure to maintain this tradition.

It is especially helpful that it takes two parts to tell this particular story so that the characters can be fleshed out as well as they are. The nature of the Silurians have been slightly re-interpreted along with the changes to their appearances. This particular breed seems to have clearer divisions between their military, scientific and political communities. Which makes it a bit easier to portray their mixed motives. Soldiers will be more likely to want to just kill the humans. Scientists and politicians might choose more peaceful tactics. This choice to show clearer social distinctions also makes it easier for us to empathise with Homo Reptilia. Like us, they have jobs and careers rather than just being nasty monsters up to no good.

This story also does the best job of answering that Core Question: "Are we capable of sharing our planet?" Some real negotiations do start to occur in the second part. While the makeshift peace conference is cut short, steps are taken to try things again in the future. Most Homo Reptilian adventures have pretty bleak endings. For once, things look a bit more hopeful.

One might almost think that Hungry Earth/Cold Blood did a better job of representing its species than Doctor Who and the Silurians. But I would still say the latter wins out just a little bit in this department. Not much, but a little. Earth/Blood lacks some of the subtlety that Silurians employs. It's almost like New Who Silurians and humans are trying just a bit too hard to show that they all have clear motivations for doing what they do. Classic Who Silurians let that whole process happen more organically.

It's also just a bit too difficult to believe that Ambrose would get angry with Alaya to the point of killing her. And it's almost silly that Alaya knows she's going to be killed. This whole dynamic was really created just to get some conflict to occur later in the story. Which was almost unnecessary. Silurians may have dragged a bit - but it wasn't due to lack of action sequences. We were plenty interested in the diplomatic relations between humans and reptiles. The author of Earth/Blood almost seems nervous that we won't enjoy the plot if there isn't enough action in it. We didn't need Alaya's death to spark gripping battles. We were pretty good with how it was all going. At the very least, we needed something a bit more believable to create that conflict if the writer really wanted so badly to have something exciting to play out.



5. Warriors of the Deep
This is a very grim tale. It shows both Silurians and Sea Devils acting quite aggressively against humans. They leave no real room for any attempts to settle things peacefully. They just want to commit full-on genocide. One might almost believe that this is The Sea Devils all over again.

The big difference between this story and Sea Devils is that we get some very nice dialogue in the final part that explains why the Silurians have reached this point. It seems there have been any number of attempts in the past to reach an understanding with humanity that will enable a healthy co-existence. But all of them have ended in bloodshed. Icthar has grown tired of the violence against his people and just wants to reach an ultimate conclusion where humanity can no longer hurt them. He is done with it all. So, yes, these are more like monsters who are just hell-bent on destroying us - but we can see how they got there. We even feel a bit of sympathy for them. It is impressive that, even in a heavily modulated voice, we get a strong sense of bitter disappointment from the Leader of the Silurian Triad as he proclaims: "The humans will die as they have lived: in a sea of their own blood."

It probably helps a bit that humanity doesn't seem all the particularly likeable in this story. This stops the whole "Black hat/White Hat" dynamic from happening because it's difficult to take a side in any of this. We really do seem to have evolved into pretty big jerks. To the point where we find it hard to disagree with the whole sea of their own blood quote!

I also think this story gives us one of the best looks into how Homo Reptilian society works. We see a lot of their political structure and technology. We even see how race-relations are between Silurian and Sea Devil. There's also another look at the weird pets they like to keep. Just like the dinosaur in Silurians, though, it's probably best not to dwell on this too much! 

Warriors of the Deep is not exactly a fan-favorite. There are issues with visuals and contradiction of established canon (although the fix for the continuity glitch is fairly simple). There's even some problems with plot structure (for a deeper look into this, you can read the WAS IT SO BAD? entry that I made on the subject - https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/09/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-was-it.html). But I don't think any of this truly detracts from the fact that it still does a really good job of representing the Silurians and Sea Devils. I quite like the progression that was taken with them. Even if it has led to a very dark place. It's quite cool how they really seem to have tried everything they can to settle things peacefully with us. They feel there's no choice left: we must be wiped out.

"There should have been another way." is also a kick-ass ending!





PART TWO: RANKING
So, we've taken care of the story-by-story business. Let's look at how well these adventures fit in the greater scheme of things. Which tale did the best job of teaching us about Silurians and Sea Devils and the morals that accompany them. And which one did the worst.

I've already made some very clear indications of who sits at the top. So we won't try to make any sort of suspenseful countdown. We'll begin with the best and work our way down.


First Place: Doctor Who and the Silurians 
As already mentioned, the story that first introduces us to the Silurians remains the best. It really does set the bar for what is needed to tell a story of this nature. It's thought-provoking and builds solid three-dimensional characters on both sides of the battle. I'd even go so far to say that this is Malcolm Hulke at the Top of his Game.


Yes, the seven part structure does work a bit to its detriment in terms of holding our interest (it is fascinating to see that each Seven Parter in this season handles the structure better and better. It makes me wish that the rest of the Pertwee era had continued in this manner). But having all that time to tell a story also gives Hulke an ample opportunity to create a pretty complete picture of Silurian society.

Second Place: Hungry Earth/Cold Blood
While it does come in second, it is most definitely a close second. This story continues the traditions laid down in the First Place Ranking. Its plot is rich with distinct characters who have all three dimensions prominently on display. It also does a great job of making the Doctor into a very inspiring character as he tries to create peace between the two races.

It has a few minor shortcomings that makes it ever-so-slightly inferior to Silurians. Otherwise, this is another adventure that does a great job of presenting the core ideas of an enjoyable Homo Reptilian story.

Admittedly, though, I do miss Silurians having three eyes! 

Third Place: Warriors of the Deep 
While they are certainly more savage in this story, their convictions are well-justified. This is a dark path that the species has taken but we can still see some valid layers to the characters. We aren't getting Stereotypical Evil Doctor Who Alien.

Yes, the story is troubled in places. But as I say right in my WAS IT SO BAD? essay, much of its flaws have been exaggerated. And even if you're not a fan of the actual story - it still does a good job of portraying the Silurians and Sea Devils. I especially like that we see them reach the point that they have in dealing with humanity. Societies can move in different directions as they evolve. I love that this is portrayed, here. It makes the Homo Reptilian race all-the-more realistic. 

Fourth Place: The Lady Vastra Stuff
This is where waters start becoming muddy and we begin to stray from the formulae a bit. Vastra is very fun and I'm glad she became a recurring character. But her adventures really don't deal much with issues we normally see in a strong Silurian tale.

It is still nice to have gotten to see a single Silurian in such a thorough manner. She does reveal how well her people can adapt. But, beyond this, there's not much that she offers in the way of teaching us about her race. Nor does she deal much with the usual issues we normally see in Homo Reptilian stories.

Fifth Place: The Sea Devils
It probably wasn't hard to guess that this would end up, here. I didn't have a lot of nice things to stay about it in Section One.

But for a brief period in Part Five, the Sea Devils are very two-dimensional. They just run around and hurt humans without ever really trying to offer any more to the plot than creating a sense of danger. In some ways, I almost can't believe this came from the pen of Malcolm Hulke. I actually find myself wondering if he was in a rush to get it done. The whole thing feels more like a rough draft.

The problems in the actual story definitely contribute to the overall lack of effectiveness in portraying Homo Reptilia. I know some fans have a fondness for this tale. Personally, I have a hard time sitting through it. Which definitely makes it difficult for me to appreciate any of the concepts it's trying to present.





There it is: very first REVIEW OVERVIEW is complete. Hope you like the concept of it all. I have ideas for others down the road. I wanted to start with a smaller theme that only takes up a handful of stories. Things could get pretty complex and comprehensive as we try more of these. But I'll build my way up in small steps. This is a trickier essay to write so it's probably good to handle it in bite-sized pieces.