Doctor Who: Orphan 55

Last updated on: January 24, 2020 at 5:00 am by James F. McGrath

Doctor Who: Orphan 55 2020-01-23T09:37:33-05:00 James F. McGrath

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It is perhaps just as well that travels prevented me from blogging about this episode of Doctor Who right away after it aired. There is a big reveal that reframes the narrative and mentioning it when some might not have yet had the chance to see it would be cruelly spoilerific. As it happened, I was en route to Australia, a country experiencing out of control bush fires and intense smoke, when I watched it, and that made the episode’s big reveal all the more powerful. But let’s start at the beginning…

The episode begins with a scene that is, I think, quite unprecedented in the show’s history. We see the Doctor and her travel companions mopping the floor of the TARDIS and in other ways contributing to maintaining its cleanliness. Clearly there had been an unusually messy incident involving a space squid, but even so, it is a clever way to start the episode given where it goes later. We might assume that the TARDIS is simply self-cleaning, that the dimensional engineering technology that makes it possible for it to be bigger on the inside than the outside and to travel through time and space also eliminates spills and stains as if by magic, no matter the extent or degree. It turns out, there is no magical technology that eliminates the need for each resident in the vehicle to pull their own weight and contribute to its upkeep. The symbolism of that and its relevance to the episode’s moral message is not instantly clear, but becomes so with hindsight.

The main dilemma scenario of the episode is provided by Graham having been saving coupons which earn them an all-inclusive free trip to Tranquility Spa. The coupons are a teleport cube when assembled and so the group is whisked away without adequate discussion, warning, or prep time. This being Doctor Who, viewers know from past experience that this will not be a quiet restful time for the characters. Here too there is a direct connection to the episode’s theme and message. If we think we’re getting something for free, we are naive. Our current lifestyle of relative comfort comes at significant cost to our environment and its resources.

We soon learn that the resort offers “fakecations” on what is known as an orphan planet, a world whose population rendered it uninhabitable, at which point the wealthy ruling elite usually finds a way to evacuate and relocate, leaving everyone else to die along with their world. It thus makes sense that the native creatures who have managed to adapt and survive on the planet are referred to as “dregs.” The person running the operation has purchased this bit of worthless real estate and is bankrolling an effort to terraform it through the “fakecations.”

Additional tension is added as we learn that this effort was in the interest of being able to give the ultimately valuable property to her daughter. Meanwhile, the daughter has shown up among the fakecationers intent on destroying the enterprise that has essentially rendered her an orphan as her mother was never around. Here too there is profound symbolism, since the sacrifices capitalist societies make on the national and planetary levels are mirrored on the level of families. We sacrifice wellbeing in the interest of elusive profit or at least financial stability.

That this planet is Orphan 55 conveys how often this fate befalls planets. This in itself would have been enough to make the episode relevant to the present day. But an additional twist makes is more directly relevant, as the group finds some writing in Russian in an underground tunnel and it is revealed that Orphan 55 is in fact Earth!

The blame for what has befallen the planet is placed squarely on human shoulders. It is not technology or some malevolent force but our own lack of wisdom.

Dregs are humans who managed to mutate and adapt, so that they can now breathe CO2 and breathe out oxygen. The Doctor makes a telepathic connection with one of them and the dreg remembers climate change, nuclear war.

The Doctor berates our folly, saying that scientists agreed and all the signs were there, not just about global warming, but what it would lead to when the food chain collapses, namely war and still further forms of human-caused devastation inflicted on our world and ourselves.

The dregs are shown to still have some remnants of rationality as the Doctor reasons with one of them, saying, “Be smarter than what made you.”

Lest there be mere despair (a common response to what we are told about the situation we face due to climate change) the Doctor emphasizes that this is one possible timeline. She also adds: “Humans, you forget how powerful you are—lives change worlds.” But the warning is still a strong one as she accuses us of arguing about the washing up while the house burns down.

There is a nice echo of the show’s history when the Doctor uses the phrase so characteristic of the Second Doctor: “When I say run, run.” Rather than mere fan service, this should serve to inform anyone who objects to Doctor Who “getting political” that this is nothing new. From “Planet of Giants,” “The Green Death,” and “The Sun Makers” to numerous more recent post-reboot examples, Doctor Who has offered this kind of social commentary throughout its history. Here’s a nice article with these and a number of other points of continuity.

The dynamic between Nevi and Sylas, a father and son where the latter is supposedly assisting his father but in fact is the one who is a gifted engineer and technician, is probably also related to this theme in the sense that children can save the day. I wonder whether the writers had Greta Thunberg in particular in mind. There are also other elements in the show and its dialogue worth talking about – the “hopper virus” that can affect humans as well as technology, nicely indicating that humans are not as separate from either our natural or our artificial environments as we sometimes imagine; and the Doctor claiming that not only could she make an ionic membrane from scratch, but she could make a person from scratch with enough time and the right materials. Are we catching a glimpse of the Doctor taking on quasi-divine status again? I also want to mention the older couple Wilma and Benni who contribute so much to the story, and ensure that it isn’t just a story about younger people saving the day (not that that could really be a worry, given the Doctor’s age).

What did you think of Orphan 55? Did you see the big reveal coming beforehand? Does it work effectively as social commentary?

Previous Post

January 23, 2020

(Updated) Call for Submissions: Bible & Speculative Fiction #CFP

Next Post

January 25, 2020 Theology and Progressive Rock Brown Bag

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 1 Corinthians 1 John 1 Peter 1 Samuel 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Corinthians 2 Kings 2 Peter 2 Samuel 2 Thessalonians 2 Timothy academia Acts of the Apostles afterlife Akhaten Alcatraz American Academy of Religion Amos Anglican Arabic Aramaic archaeology art artificial intelligence astronomy atheism atonement Babylon 5 Baptists Battlestar Galactica Bible Biblical Studies Carnival biblioblogging Black Mirror Blade Runner Book of Job book review Buddhism Call for Papers China Christianity Christmas Christology Chronicles Coptic creation Daniel Deuteronomy Doctor Who Dune Easter Ecclesiastes economics education Eldad Keynan Enoch Seminar Ephesians eschatology Esther Evangelicals evolution Exodus Expanse Ezekiel Ezra fantasy Fringe fundamentalism Galatians games Ge'ez genealogy Genesis Gnosticism Gospel of Jesus' Wife Gospel of John Gospel of Judas Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Peter Gospel of Thomas Greek Harry Potter Hebrew Hebrews Hinduism historical Jesus history Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Holidays horror Hosea humor incarnation India inerrancy information literacy inspirational Intelligent Design Ireland Isaiah Islam Israel Italy James Jeremiah John the Baptist Jonah Joshua Judaism Jude Judges Judith Lamentations languages Latin Leviticus libraries literature Lord of the Rings LOST Mandaeans Mandaic memes Methodism Micah monotheism morality Mormons movies music mythicism NASSCAL Nehemiah new perspective New Testament news Numbers Orthodox paganism panentheism pantheism Patheos Paul and his letters Pentecostals Philippians Philippians 2:6-11 philosophy physics Planet of the Apes podcast politics Progressive Christianity Protestantism Proverbs Psalms pseudoscience racism religion Revelation Roman Catholicism Romania Romans Ruth scams science science fiction Secret Gospel of Mark Society of Biblical Literature Song of Songs Star Trek Star Wars Stargate Swahili Syriac Taoism technology Terminator The Handmaid's Tale The Hobbit The Matrix theodicy theology theory Timeless Titus tomb Torchwood travel TRON Uncategorized United Kingdom Westworld X-Files young-earth creationism Zechariah

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 February 2007 January 2001

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz