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From: jts@cornell.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.tv.drwho
Subject: Black Orchid
Message-ID: <1526@cornell.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 12-Oct-84 12:19:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: cornell.1526
Posted: Fri Oct 12 12:19:04 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 16-Oct-84 05:03:11 EDT
Sender: jts@cornell.UUCP
Organization: Cornell Univ. CS Dept.
Lines: 26

From: jts (Jim Sasaki)
>From a recent article on "Black Orchid" --

> ... it is only an ordinary 20's country-house murder story ....
> The murderer has some kind of super-strength which is NEVER explained ....
> There's an Indian who cannot tie knots, and doesn't learn to keep from
> being knocked out repeatedly from behind.

Gee, I kind of liked "Black Orchid", precisely because it WAS just a 20's
style country-house murder story.  (I mean, saving the universe is nice, but
surely not EVERY week?)  The super-strong insane murderer and his faithful
Indian companion seem appropriate, in context.

> .... he could have just as easily moved in time as well as space and
> prevented the murders from happening (and himself from being suspected) in
> the first place!  .... I wish they really DID take advantage of the
> time-travel aspects; then their writers would really have to WORK ....

The basic problem with letting the Doctor change history is that it's hard to
know when to stop: go back and prevent the murders?  Go back further and keep
the murderer from being driven insane?  Sure, I agree that it'd be nice to
get more of the time-travel aspect into the plots: that's why I liked Mawdryn
Undead, flaws and all.  But letting the Doctor change history opens up a can
of worms.

    Jim Sasaki (jts@cornell.ARPA, {decvax|ihnp4|uw-beaver|vax135}!cornell!jts)