The Doctor; Brilliance; bowties; morality

Well, I’m writing this at a coffee shop, but the internet isn’t cooperating, thus defeating half the point of my coming here.* So this may go a different direction than I’d planned.

Ah, wait, no. Hello there, internet connection. It is good to see you too. Don't be all wibbley on me again during this post, alright?

The idea for this one came to me this morning after what I wish I could claim was a very lengthy or very speedy run (but it was something, and that's what counted for today). Those of you who watch Doctor Who know precisely what I mean by "Demon's Run." For those of you to whom I might as well be speaking ancient Etruscan, Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television series featuring - well, I feel I'll start giving away plot at this point if I say much more. The most recent seasons (or "series", to use the British terminology) are on Netflix. Go before I start fangirling. Believe me, no one wants that.

Ahem. The point is, watch this clip. All you need to know for context is that the chap with the bowtie** is the Doctor, and the other people present are holding hostage one of his best friends (Amy) and her newborn. He's shown up at the enemy asteroid base (bear with me, it's sci-fi) with Amy's husband (Rory) and an army, with the purpose of retrieving Amy and her child. And...go.

"The anger of a good man is not a problem. Good men have too many rules."

"Good men don't need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many."***

(Okay. I'm sorry. I lied. I'm going to fangirl for a moment. Yes, I know "fangirl" is a noun, and not a verb, but I don't care. This episode is intense, and fairly dark, but that's the point. We really see the mettle of these characters when things get rough. Also, we see Rory get all strident and avenging on his wife's behalf, delivering epic lines as spaceships explode in the background. I love Rory. I want a Rory.)

This clip, aside from containing fantastic dialogue, is very nearly gospel truth. If we take Scripture literally, there was only one good man, and even he asked, "Why do you call me good?" There are no "good men", and that's why we need rules. Otherwise, well, mankind wouldn't have lasted much past the Garden of Eden. It seems like a pretty decent circumstantial argument for God's existence that humanity has existed as long as it has, given our propensity for destruction****, not to mention capacity for and acceptance of monumental stupidity.*****

Good men don't need rules. 

It makes you think about what you'd do to protect a loved one, and the rightness or wrongness of those actions. It certainly pushes one into the grey area of morals. That's a good thing, sometimes. The world does operate in a world of black and white. There are moral absolutes. But the thing is, both are present, and they end up getting muddled together in the middle sometimes in the circumstances of everyday life. As comfortable as it is to shovel sand over one's head in the attempts to ignore this, it's impractical and really rather naive. Living well in the real world requires some introspection and serious thought now and then.

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*The other half of the point, which entails a good cuppa coffee, atmosphere, and cute baristas, however, was victorious. Also, people-watching and running mental commentary on fashion choices.

**Bowties are cool.

***Steven Moffat is a brilliant writer. He also writes/directs BBC's Sherlock, a subject I shall definitely discuss later. Go watch that too.

****I watched The Fifth Element again yesterday, so that theme's lingering in my head. The first time I really remember seeing Bruce Willis in a movie was the third or fourth Die Hard (thanks, Dad!), so it still trips me seeing him with hair.

*****Two words: Jersey Shore.