I believe this episode was originally slated for earlier in the season - closer to its fellow in the Charles Palmer block, Oxygen - so perhaps it might’ve been 10x5 and everything else would’ve been shuffled along by one? That would go some way to explaining the ‘early on in her travels’ beat of Bill learning about TARDIS translation.
This is an oddly beautiful story, and although it does feel retro in 2017 you can see the same Survival/Rona Munro DNA in it - a group of lost and frightened young people who are way in over their depth struggling to survive in a world of predatory beasts; eerie and fantasy-esque portals to other worlds; themes of conquest and domination, there with a Thatcherism accent and here more about imperialism but boiling down to much the same thing. And her lesbian subtext finally gets to become text. (Also the Master is there).
I'd guess that Rosemary Sutcliffe's "The Eagle of the Ninth" was pretty much a standard text for any British schoolkid who haunted the library during the 60s and 70s (and beyond), so that version of the story (the legion that disappeared in mysterious circumstances in Scotland) was probably the received version for a lot of us. There was a mildly decent movie version a decade or so ago too.
It’s certainly cute that the young soldiers consider bisexuality to be the norm, but it doesn’t map well to the ancient Roman attitudes about sexual behaviour, which were much more about “active” and “passive” than about gender.
I did wonder why a Scottish writer gave Scottish crows an English accent. As a rhotic speaker, I can’t agree that Kar and caw sound alike.
I believe this episode was originally slated for earlier in the season - closer to its fellow in the Charles Palmer block, Oxygen - so perhaps it might’ve been 10x5 and everything else would’ve been shuffled along by one? That would go some way to explaining the ‘early on in her travels’ beat of Bill learning about TARDIS translation.
This is an oddly beautiful story, and although it does feel retro in 2017 you can see the same Survival/Rona Munro DNA in it - a group of lost and frightened young people who are way in over their depth struggling to survive in a world of predatory beasts; eerie and fantasy-esque portals to other worlds; themes of conquest and domination, there with a Thatcherism accent and here more about imperialism but boiling down to much the same thing. And her lesbian subtext finally gets to become text. (Also the Master is there).
The modern series has actually had a few back-to-back historicals...
Father's Day -> Empty Child
Impossible Astronaut -> Curse of the Black Spot
The Angels Take Manhattan -> The Snowmen
Cold War -> Hide
You could also count The Girl Who Died -> The Woman Who Lived, if you fancied.
I'd guess that Rosemary Sutcliffe's "The Eagle of the Ninth" was pretty much a standard text for any British schoolkid who haunted the library during the 60s and 70s (and beyond), so that version of the story (the legion that disappeared in mysterious circumstances in Scotland) was probably the received version for a lot of us. There was a mildly decent movie version a decade or so ago too.
I liked this, but with a couple of misgivings.
It’s certainly cute that the young soldiers consider bisexuality to be the norm, but it doesn’t map well to the ancient Roman attitudes about sexual behaviour, which were much more about “active” and “passive” than about gender.
I did wonder why a Scottish writer gave Scottish crows an English accent. As a rhotic speaker, I can’t agree that Kar and caw sound alike.
SM wrote the last scene with Missy, nothing to do with RM.
The translation thing is quite neat as it picks up on the fact that Bill hasn't had cause to notice it before.