Dear Gary—
Oxygen is yet another base under siege episode. This type of story can work if it is at least interesting, compelling, and/or amusing. What it cannot afford to be is mundane and/or irritating. Unfortunately Oxygen is alternating parts both. And both parts are a result of laziness.
It starts from the opening sentence delivered by a voiceover from the Doctor: “Space, the final frontier.” Immediately I think, great—instead of Black Mirror this time we’re getting Star Trek. Then we are treated to a domestic little scene between two astronauts we have never met before and care little about. In shorthand version we learn that the two are sweethearts and that the woman (Ellie) wants to have a baby with the man (Ivan). Except Ivan can’t hear Ellie as she pours her heart out and she knows that perfectly well; this is simply the author’s attempt to inject some pathos into the story. And while the Doctor’s voiceover speaks of the void and how it is out to get us despite our tiny efforts of protection, it is some zombie space walkers who end up killing the two lovers. Ho hum. Mildly annoying, mildly forgettable, and a mildly paint-by-numbers sequence to set up the episode. Not a promising beginning.
“What’s this got to do with crop rotation?” Wrong question (as the Doctor/Clara dynamic duo would state). The real question is, why would the Doctor be scheduled to lecture on crop rotation in the first place? That he got off topic and started blathering on about space and the void and not holding your breath is perfectly natural; but this whole Doctor-as-professor-at-university schtick is wearing thin. At least the show treats us to a rare TARDIS adventure in space for a change.
“I’m a bit cross with you, sir.” Nardole finally gets to tag along with the Doctor and Bill, and as the three of them wander around the standard-issue space ship they find themselves on after answering a distress call, Nardole injects the one bright note into the proceedings. (“Space doors are supposed to go shk-shk, not urrrrr. “) “Are you going to be like this all day,” the Doctor asks of Nardole. I for one certainly hope so; Nardole’s running commentary, and especially his observations about Velma who is voicing Bill’s space suit, are welcome additions to this otherwise grim and plodding tale.
The plot in a nutshell: the human crew of a space mining expedition are expendable components who are forced to pay for the oxygen they breathe and when they become less and less efficient they are murdered by their space suits and a fresh crew is sent to take their place. The Doctor et al arrive to save the day.
Now, the laziest part of this preposterous scenario is the villain of the piece: The Company. The story would have been far better served if it followed the Classic Who example of The Sun Makers and given The Company a face. But no, we are given only the vague outline of a supposedly all-powerful Company with no conscience and no accountability; and we are provided no explanation as to how or why or where or when this Company came about and maintains power. We never see any decision making by this Company; we never see anyone giving commands; we are never given any physical presence to hate. Instead we get the Doctor theorizing and the manifestations of Company Policy in the form of deadly suits and computer codes.
Next come the gullible employees of this mysterious Company. There are some off-hand remarks about a mythical Union, but this obviously has no clout. Union or not, I can’t imagine any workers willing to hand over their breathing rights with no questions asked. But we are not supposed to ask any questions; that would make the script writer have to think about answers. And so we are to swallow this premise hook, line and sinker. Perhaps if we were given some context, like galaxy wide economic depression forcing people to take any jobs available; or indentured servants or slaves compelled to work for the Company after an interplanetary war. But no, the crew seem to be willing participants, blindly stepping into the path of their own destruction.
All of the unimaginative, bullet-point plot elements lead us to an equally sloppy conclusion. The Doctor rigs it so that if the walking suits of death kill the crew the space station will self-destruct. Fine, but how does he communicate this to The Company? He says it to the animated space suits. How in the world does this message make its way back to The Company? As soon as the Doctor says the words, “Above all, suits, our deaths will be . . . expensive,” the suits stop dead in their tracks as if the suits themselves were making the decisions. They are not. The suits are acting based on programming from The Company. How did The Company get the news that the space station would self destruct upon the death of the crew, process this information, make the determination to spare the crew, and translate this back to the suits in a split second? Not only spare the crew but supply them with additional oxygen? If oxygen is as priceless as we are led to believe, I can imagine that there would be considerable debate over this command back wherever The Company calls home.
To top it all off, the Doctor drops the surviving crew members off at Company headquarters to lodge a complaint. Given the little we know of this Company, those workers are dead the moment they walk through the doors. What makes the Doctor think The Company will listen to or care anything about those disgruntled employees? Obviously no-one has ever cared about them; obviously there is no such thing as workers-comp, insurance companies, or family members to regulate, investigate, or protest when space miners routinely die at the end of their shifts.
“What if there never was a hack? What if this is just business? Business as usual.” Unfortunately, Oxygen is business as usual for New Who—a hack job. A bare bones outline of what could be a half-way decent script if fleshed out. This is where Classic Who serialization has the advantage over New Who. Instead we are given short cuts in service to season arcs.
And so the lesson of Oxygen: The Doctor is blinded during the course of saving some idiotic space crew and thus endangers his all-important mission of guarding The Vault.
A stray note, Gary, before I sign off. In Oxygen the Doctor states: “Fear keeps you fast. Fast is good.” This is similar to the Doctor’s observations about fear throughout his many years. However, I have to go back just one episode to Knock Knock when the Doctor tells Harry that being scared does not help. That line stood out to me at the time, but I didn’t mention it then. Now I am glad to see that the Doctor has returned to form with regards to fright; but I can’t help but wonder at the lack of consistency in the series recently; yet another sign of the slovenliness the show has tended towards.
Breathe deep, Gary . . . .
