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TARDIS Guide

Review of Categorical Imperative by DanDunn

13 February 2025

A very tonally bizarre story, one that on the one hand is very grim and dark what with the premise of the Doctor attempting to kill a newborn child at a christening because of a terrible future the child would go on to create, but on the other hand feels in part like a comedy as we get all Classic Doctors, including Eight, attempting to kill the child and each one getting cold feet or noticing their future selves there to do the job for them, not to mention the poor mother being pestered by each Doctor's respective companion as a way of distracting her. I get the whole idea of the story, it echoes that iconic quote from Genesis of the Daleks if whether or not you could kill a child who you know would grow up to be a ruthless dictator, and I guess the beauty and purpose behind including so many Doctors is to show that the Doctor for all the changes in personality he has would still never reach the level where he would ever be ready to commit such an act, just felt likely tonally weird story. Still pretty strong all the same


DanDunn

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