fox: my left eye.  "ceci n'est pas une fox." (Default)
fox ([personal profile] fox) wrote2007-06-23 11:48 pm
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doctor who "the sound of drums"

It will surprise no one who knows me to learn that my favorite bit of this episode was not "Are you asking me on a date?", nor "You too, huh.", but the careful point they made about the definition of "decimate".  Heh.

Talking of semantics, though, I'm thinking about the POTUS character.  He was certainly presented as though he were the President of the United States; in the third person he's called "President Winters" and in the second person he's called "Mr. President".  But then he introduces himself to the Imperial probe droids alien bot things as president-elect.  I suspect this may have something to do with whether it's acceptable (to the BBC, I suppose, because at this point they don't care about the FCC, do they) to have the president disintegrated on television, even in such an obviously fictitious and fantastical situation.  I can't believe it's because Rusty and his team of writers, editors, directors, producers, etc. etc. etc. don't know what "president-elect" means.

But I'm not actually interested (much) in why they switch from "president" to "president-elect".  I'm interested (mostly) in the fact that the Master says to Mrs. Master, "The last President of America".  (I'm also not interested in "America" vs. "the United States" here.)  Because if the fellow is in fact the president-elect, then of course he's not the last president of the United States, because he's not president yet when he dies.  And if he really is the president, then he's not the last president, because the whole world just saw him get blasted on television; the vice president would be sworn in approximately seventy-five seconds later, no?  In fact the VP becomes acting president the moment the president is dead, doesn't he?  Which is among the reasons they inaugurate the vice president first?  In short, not the last president, no matter which way you slice him it.  I'm just sayin.
thalia: photo of Chicago skyline (Default)

[personal profile] thalia 2007-06-24 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
I was sitting there going, "Oh, no, he said 'decimate,' and now he's going to kill half the population, and I'm going to be really annoyed." Yay for pedantic!Master.

Although "You too, huh" wasn't bad either.

[identity profile] darthfox.livejournal.com 2007-06-24 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
Yay for pedantic!Rusty, too. :-) (Although you give him more credit than I did. I was sitting there going "Oh, no, and now he's going to practically annihilate them when he said he was just going to decimate them, the bastard."

[identity profile] darthhellokitty.livejournal.com 2007-06-24 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
HAH! I was SO DELIGHTED that he used "decimate" correctly! I'm not sure I've ever heard it used correctly on TV before in my LIFE. I mean, millions of people are being slaughtered, and I'm practically capering about in delight over "decimate" being used correctly!

We wondered over that "President" vs "President Elect" thing too. We also knew he was toast the instant he appeared. I think the Master said "the last President of America" because he liked the sound of it.

The Master reminds me a bit of Pee Wee Herman (the whole zipping and unzipping lips thing especially), which makes him even more disturbing!