13.3: Rosa

In which Chris Chibnall attempts to win an award.

Broadcast: October 2018

Watched: June 2022

“Stalking Rosa Parks. Don’t know about this.”

Or, less critically: “Getting pretty sick of seeing that sign.”

Everything about this, from the topic to the cinematic music (oddly reminiscent of Oliver Stone’s JFK) to the words “...and Chris Chibnall”, screams “awards-bait”. Unfortunately, the actual episode screams “average episode of Quantum Leap”. It’s not bad, I’m not sure they could have done it that much better, but it is relentlessly undramatic.

There are things it does well. The way it foregrounds the constant indignities, where Ryan is forced to use a different door from his friends or can’t buy food. The genuine moment of shock, when Ryan goes to help someone and gets slapped for his trouble. It basically portrays pre-civil rights Alabama in exactly the same way it would portray a totalitarian planet, as a sort of hostile environment.

Vinette Robinson, last seen being the utterly useless Abi in 42, is great as Rosa Parks. Ryan and Yaz’s chat about racism by the bins is simplistic as hell – and the entire episode sort of posits Obama as the end of this shit, when, no – but this is probably the right level for a discussion of structural racism in a kids show.

Also the moment Graham realises he can’t get off the bus is a great way of dramatising the problem of privilege: no matter how anti-racist he thinks he is, he’s culpable too because he benefits. That’s terrific.

Except... it does also slightly make it a story about how painful it is for liberal white people? So maybe that should be on the list of things this episode does badly?

The single biggest thing on that list is that it’s fundamentally undramatic for the Doctor’s goal here to be to change nothing and not fight racism. Obviously the show can’t imply that a fictional white alien with a British accent inspired the civil rights movement, that would be awful. But there must be a middle ground – have the Doctor do something else while the civil rights struggle is going on in the background maybe?

The idea of a time travelling racist is not only inherently stupid, it’s also weird that a guy from the far future has a 20th-21st century idea of race politics. People c1500 had radically different ideas of race to today: why the hell would a guy from the 79th century or whatever be obsessed with this stuff?

And I might be way out of line on this, but... I’m also not entirely sold on the idea Rosa Parks is inherently a tipping point? The civil rights movement was consciously looking for this sort of fight, wasn’t it? So if Parks hadn’t done it, someone else would have. Oh, and Grace helpfully having taught Graham everything she knows about Rosa Parks and James Blake clunks like hell.

And then, as if the entire story wasn’t undramatic enough, it literally ends with the Doctor describing events we don’t see, then pointing at a piece of rock named after Rosa Parks, while the music since used on that “hey guys, get a new job” advert plays. It’s all a bit bathetic.

It’s not bad. It’s quite good. But the fact this is obviously meant to be a highlight of the season is a pretty big sign we’re in trouble.

Other things:

• The title is only one letter different from Rose. This feels obscurely like a joke.

• It’s apparently December yet glorious sunshine. This is a minor detail, but it does seem to typify the “sod it this’ll do” attitude that’s creeping in.

• For the purposes of this episode Yaz is Mexican, which means people are only *slightly* racist to her. I can’t decide if this is clever or a cop-out.

• Graham complains there’s never time to eat. I like that a) this feels like more of Chibnall’s more grounded series, and b) it implies a load of missing adventures we haven’t seen.

• Yeah, Ryan and Yaz are definitely flirting at this point.

• “Pack it in. You ain’t Banksy.” “Or am I?”

• Graham pretending to be Steve Jobs.

• Leather jacket bloke (his name’s Krasko, btw) has been in Stormcage, apparently in 79th century. Blimey, that prison lasts a long time, last time we saw it the year started with a five.