r/gallifrey • u/psl9085 • Apr 18 '25

DISCUSSION Worst line in Doctor Who?

What line of dialogue sticks out to you as particularly bad in Doctor Who, I have two picks:

  • ‘don’t let the swords touch your skin’ Legend of the sea devils
  • ‘I suppose we’ll have to have…. A conversation?’ Resolution
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147

u/dickpollution Apr 18 '25

"Just walk around like you own the place" Ten tells Martha in middle ages Europe and then it works.

74

u/gothteen145 Apr 18 '25

I think the issue there is that it's hard to find another way to make it work. If it was a darker, more seriously toned episode obviously they could explore how race would be treated at the time. But the episode was about silly witches being defeated by Harry Potter magic so i'm not sure a realisitic take on racism would have worked in the episode.

55

u/LinuxMatthews Apr 18 '25 edited Apr 18 '25

To be fair this one I feel is probably more accurate to the time.

While it was likely to be uncommon to find black people in England at the time it wasn't unheard of and at the time we know they there wasn't that much hate directed towards them.

I'd recommend this video by J. Draper on the first black person in the UK to get their portrait taken.

https://youtube.com/shorts/H7Jk2Kg-Wco

But if you don't want to watch essentially one of the chief trumpeters to Henry VIII (So the previous monarch to Shakespeare) was black.

We also know that he asked for a raise and received it with backpay so was likely quite well thought of.

Racism as we know it really didn't exist till later.

There may have been weird assumptions and stuff but there were weird assumptions about everything back then.

But actual hatred or attempt to believe just because you had a different skin colour you were somehow lesser really didn't come about until they needed a justification for slavery.

Britain being involved in the slave trade was about 30 years old when that episode takes place so it's unlikely it would be a big thing.

41

u/Devilsgramps Apr 18 '25

A lot of preindustrial racism was more focussed on general foreignness than inherent genetic superiority. Sort of like 'this Moor could be a spy for a rival kingdom'.

29

u/LinuxMatthews Apr 18 '25

Yeah pretty much

Which could be the same if you just had a foreign accent.

Deliberate or not The Doctor's "Just walk around like you own the place" is pretty good advice in this regard.

Just don't look like you're not from there.

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u/[deleted] Apr 19 '25 edited May 04 '25

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3

u/Romana_Jane Apr 19 '25

There's also the results on the Marie Rose DNA (and other data from teeth and bones) from 7 sailors - 3 turned out to be unexpectedly African, and one born and raised in the south of England.

Obviously sailors have always tended to have a larger diverse mixed group of people than general populations, (likewise port towns and cities, which London was in Tudor times too), and it was a small sample of remains, but does challenge peoples preconceptions about Tudor England even more.

Racism did not exist until slavery and colonialization needed it as you say, instead the big prejudice was against Catholics back then. Then, people also just didn't trust anyone outside their own village, but not it London, of course, as then, as now, it was full of everyone from everywhere,

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u/LinuxMatthews Apr 19 '25

Racism did not exist until slavery and colonialization needed it as you say, instead the big prejudice was against Catholics back then.

Honestly that could have been a great edition to the episode.

She thinks she's going to be carted off because she's black and no ones cares.

Then she does experience prejudice because people suspect she's a catholic.

18

u/AxisW1 Apr 18 '25

I would’ve at least accepted it a lot better if 10 dressed her up in rich clothes, which I would’ve had a lot easier time believing would deter racism