Doctor Who: It's Ten to Eleven (self-sacrifice, religion, mythology & the difference between eras)

Right, so I was planning to rewatch some of S5 of Doctor Who for a project I'm helping a friend with. But for some reason, instead, I watched one of the few RTD-written Who episodes I really enjoyed and found myself noticing, well honestly noticing differences I know damn well are there and why I prefer teh Moff to Rusty, and that's news to no one who knows me even a tiny bit, so I don't mean to beat a dead horse. But I did think it was interesting that the differences in style are clearly present even in an episode I really like. Which is sort of why I thought I'd write a bit about it. At ridiculous, rambly length.

( The Fires of Pompeii vs The Beast Below. )

And...it's not like I really have much of a point beyond that. Just that...the difference between the two styles is really stark, even when it's really similar. Trace it back to two episodes I like, and I'll probably still always prefer The Beast Below to Fires of Pompeii, even though I think that, honestly, in a rare turnabout, Fires of Pompeii is probably the better episode, but it's just so much less my style.

I like the Doctor so much better when he's a good wizard instead of Jesus, and I was surprised to see the difference so obviously clear even in episodes I never thought of as strong thematic arc episodes for the respective showrunners.