Brave New Town
Brave New Town has always been a story that I loved. In my opinion, it is the highlight of the 8DA’s. Since first hearing it on BBC7, it’s been the best story in that series. Even the trailer has been something I’ve treasured, I’ve heard it so many times that it has burnt into my memory and I can recite it by heart (very sad I know). But it has become a firm favourite of mine after many years of
re-listens.
The story is renowned for having the return of the Autons, driven once again by the Nestene Consciousness. But, while almost every story I have seen with them in involves them taking over shop window dummies, and crashing them through the windows, this story asks what it would be like where they more human than plastic. It’s an interesting idea, and one that works well. The Autons have always been a fan favourite, but there is quite a limited scope for their ideas, short of walking through the streets or being hidden villains around a fairytale box. This brings a whole new spin on their existence, and quite a shocking revelation about them. I loved the lifestyle they had built themselves, with people buying newspapers in a shop, and then having them collected later to buy again tomorrow (Sunday) and then again the next day (Sunday) and so on.
This episode is made all the more enjoyable through its (spoiler) foreign location. It was a shock when it came, but afterwards it made complete sense of why it would be there, and then. The little references to Auton stories of the past was also a nice touch to a long time fan.
As I said, I first heard this series in 2008, when it was broadcast on BBC 7, that being 4 years ago now, and me being only 10 or 11 then, most of the stuff that makes this story so ingenious was lost on me. However, growing up with it since then has made me deeply interested in (spoiler) old spy towns and the cold war. Brave New Town genuinely brought a new era of my life to a head, and it is an episode that I have treasured since.
re-listens.
The story is renowned for having the return of the Autons, driven once again by the Nestene Consciousness. But, while almost every story I have seen with them in involves them taking over shop window dummies, and crashing them through the windows, this story asks what it would be like where they more human than plastic. It’s an interesting idea, and one that works well. The Autons have always been a fan favourite, but there is quite a limited scope for their ideas, short of walking through the streets or being hidden villains around a fairytale box. This brings a whole new spin on their existence, and quite a shocking revelation about them. I loved the lifestyle they had built themselves, with people buying newspapers in a shop, and then having them collected later to buy again tomorrow (Sunday) and then again the next day (Sunday) and so on.
This episode is made all the more enjoyable through its (spoiler) foreign location. It was a shock when it came, but afterwards it made complete sense of why it would be there, and then. The little references to Auton stories of the past was also a nice touch to a long time fan.
As I said, I first heard this series in 2008, when it was broadcast on BBC 7, that being 4 years ago now, and me being only 10 or 11 then, most of the stuff that makes this story so ingenious was lost on me. However, growing up with it since then has made me deeply interested in (spoiler) old spy towns and the cold war. Brave New Town genuinely brought a new era of my life to a head, and it is an episode that I have treasured since.