44:23 It might help to know that, apart from poetry, Percy Shelley's political and moral writings had a big influence on social reform groups, and inspired people like Marx and Gandhi. So, when the Doctor said "His thoughts and words inspire and influence thousands", she wasn't kidding. Indeed, through that influence, he arguably contributed to the improvement of billons of lives.
He certainly was a very political writer, his poem "The Masque of Anarchy" is absolutely brilliant. I don't think I'd have had a problem if it had been framed in that way but the exclamation "Words Matter" seemed to just be writers writing a speech about the importance of writing. If it had been more about his importance in history and the value of his life I wouldnt have an issue with it - it's only a minor nitpick anyway.
@@thetalisman7722 I agree that they could have made it more explicit, but that seems par for the course these days. One of my frustrations with this era is that things that need clarification frequently aren't, and things that don't are "clarified" to death... usually in the form of boring exposition dumps. On the other hand, perhaps they didn't know about Shelley's other (arguably bigger) influences through lack of research, and - if so - this wouldn't be the only time it happened in Series 12. For example, there was no need for the Master to use a perception filter to disguise his Asian appearance because, not only was there an Indian Legion of the SS, but they were active in Northern France at almost exactly the right time to coincide with the events of Spyfall Part 2!
@@ftumschk I'm never getting over how badly they wasted the setting of Nazi Occupied France - it looks great, an interesting period of history to explore and they may as well just have had the Doctor and the Master having a chat down my local pub
@@thetalisman7722 I agree. Sadly, I fear that Spyfall 2 was just an excuse to crowbar in another "unsung woman hero" - i.e. Noor Inayat Khan - in much the same way that Ada Lovelace was in the same story. Likewise, I feel that Tahira only appears in _Can You Hear Me_ for the purpose of saying, "see, Moslems have an enlightened approach to mental illness" (at least, they did in medieval Aleppo). Apart from that, Ada Lovelace, Noor Khan and Tahira contributed nothing to the plots of their respective episodes. Indeed, they may as well have not been there. I've enjoyed the historical aspects of the past two series, but that enjoyment is tempered by the feeling that the motivation seems to have been little more than tokenism. They could have done so much more with these characters, but treating them as the flimsiest of plot devices is at best a wasted opportunity, and at worst an insult to their considerable achievements.
44:23 It might help to know that, apart from poetry, Percy Shelley's political and moral writings had a big influence on social reform groups, and inspired people like Marx and Gandhi. So, when the Doctor said "His thoughts and words inspire and influence thousands", she wasn't kidding. Indeed, through that influence, he arguably contributed to the improvement of billons of lives.
He certainly was a very political writer, his poem "The Masque of Anarchy" is absolutely brilliant. I don't think I'd have had a problem if it had been framed in that way but the exclamation "Words Matter" seemed to just be writers writing a speech about the importance of writing. If it had been more about his importance in history and the value of his life I wouldnt have an issue with it - it's only a minor nitpick anyway.
@@thetalisman7722 I agree that they could have made it more explicit, but that seems par for the course these days. One of my frustrations with this era is that things that need clarification frequently aren't, and things that don't are "clarified" to death... usually in the form of boring exposition dumps.
On the other hand, perhaps they didn't know about Shelley's other (arguably bigger) influences through lack of research, and - if so - this wouldn't be the only time it happened in Series 12. For example, there was no need for the Master to use a perception filter to disguise his Asian appearance because, not only was there an Indian Legion of the SS, but they were active in Northern France at almost exactly the right time to coincide with the events of Spyfall Part 2!
@@ftumschk I'm never getting over how badly they wasted the setting of Nazi Occupied France - it looks great, an interesting period of history to explore and they may as well just have had the Doctor and the Master having a chat down my local pub
@@thetalisman7722 I agree. Sadly, I fear that Spyfall 2 was just an excuse to crowbar in another "unsung woman hero" - i.e. Noor Inayat Khan - in much the same way that Ada Lovelace was in the same story.
Likewise, I feel that Tahira only appears in _Can You Hear Me_ for the purpose of saying, "see, Moslems have an enlightened approach to mental illness" (at least, they did in medieval Aleppo). Apart from that, Ada Lovelace, Noor Khan and Tahira contributed nothing to the plots of their respective episodes. Indeed, they may as well have not been there.
I've enjoyed the historical aspects of the past two series, but that enjoyment is tempered by the feeling that the motivation seems to have been little more than tokenism. They could have done so much more with these characters, but treating them as the flimsiest of plot devices is at best a wasted opportunity, and at worst an insult to their considerable achievements.