The Aztecs: Personal Thoughts and Observations
BARBARA
BARBARA: And the one man I had respect for, I deceived. Poor Autloc. I gave him false hope and in the end he lost his faith.
DOCTOR: He found another faith, a better, and that's the good you've done. You failed to save a civilisation, but at least you helped one man.
The Aztecs is Barbara's story. Rarely during the original 1963-1989 run of Doctor Who was there a serial that so focused on and depended on a companion character.
Barbara really comes into her own in this serial. She goes through an actual character arc in the span of four episodes.
More than in any other serial featuring Barbara, I believed that she really was a history teacher from 1963 thrown into this extraordinary experience of time travel.
CHANGING HISTORY
DOCTOR: But you can't rewrite history! Not one line!
Up to this point in Doctor Who there has no been no evidence that history can be changed. Before the introduction of 'fixed' points in time, time-locks, temporal paradoxes, Reapers, and wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey - time travel in Doctor Who was a simpler affair. It seemed to follow the time travel rules of ABC's series Lost: whatever happened, happened. That would start to change with the following season's The Space Museum and The Time Meddler, but there was very little fanfare about it. The only notable examples from later serials that come to mind are Genesis of the Daleks when the Doctor altered the Dalek's development and Pyramids of Mars when the Doctor demonstrated to Sarah that every point in history has it's alternative. The universe of contemporary Doctor Who is a malleable one where even one's memories cannot be trusted, whereas the universe of 1963-1989 Doctor Who was (mostly) one continuum.
DOCTOR: Barbara, one last appeal. What you are trying to do is utterly impossible. I know, believe me, I know.
How does the Doctor know this? Is it just his superior knowledge, or is it from personal experience? What historical event has the Doctor tried to change (or been sorely tempted to change)? Is it related to the reason that the Doctor and Susan are exiles? Is it anything to do with their family?
STEPPING INTO HISTORY
BARBARA: Famine, drought and disaster will come, and more and more sacrifices will be made. I see a time when ten thousand will die in one day.
AUTLOC: Where will it end, Yetaxa?
BARBARA: In total destruction. Your civilisation will pass forever from the land.
AUTLOC: You prophesy our doom.
As I stated when offering my personal thoughts and observations about Marco Polo, with this serial I really do get the sense that the historical setting is more than just a backdrop to set the scene for a story. I can believe that the Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara really visit Mexico during the Aztec Empire and they always did. They are an established part of history.
FAILURE
BARBARA: We failed.
DOCTOR: Yes, we did. We had to.
BARBARA: What's the point of travelling through time and space if we can't change anything? Nothing. Tlotoxl had to win.
To a Doctor Who viewer accustomed to last-minute tricks involving sonic screwdrivers, shape-shifting robots, or even just a declaration of love, it was very sobering to watch a serial where our main characters fail to save the day. It feels “right”.
THE DOCTOR
DOCTOR: Yes, I made some cocoa and got engaged.
In this serial we get to explore a different aspect of the Doctor: romance. While it may seem that he is merely flattering Cameca for her knowledge, clearly there is more to it than that. He notices her before he learns anything about her that can be of use to him. He is enamoured of her. It is curious that the Doctor seems to leave behind the token Cameca gave him, before turning around and pocketing it. It was almost as if by leaving it behind he was trying to pretend to himself that he had not returned her affections, but relented to his true feelings.
BARBARA: I just didn't think about it.
DOCTOR: No, that's just it. You didn't think.
BARBARA: Oh, go away. Leave me alone.
DOCTOR: I'm sorry, my dear. I didn't mean to be so harsh with you.
BARBARA: No, you had every right.
DOCTOR: However, what's done is done, and now it's up to you what happens next.
In a short exchange the Doctor goes from being furious with Barbara, to giving an apology, and even offering physical comfort. He really has evolved through his interactions with his two human travelling companions. There was something quite sweet about seeing Barbara leaning on the Doctor, as if he was her father.
THE AZTECS
BARBARA: I'll watch them both. Tlotoxl's dangerous. He seems able to bring people around to his way of thinking.
IAN: You've got it all wrong, Barbara. All the people here share Tlotoxl's views.
BARBARA: What about Autloc? I'm sick and tired of all this arguing and quarrelling. First the Doctor and now you. Why can't you see what I'm trying to do?
IAN: I can.
BARBARA: Well you're not helping. Tlotoxl's evil and he'll make everyone else the same.
IAN: They are the same, Barbara. That's the whole point. You keep on insisting that Tlotoxl's the odd man out, but he isn't.
BARBARA: I don't believe it.
IAN: Well, you must. If only you could stand away from this thing, you'd see it clearly. Autloc's the extraordinary man here. He's the reasonable one, the civilised one, the one that's prepared to listen to advice. But he's one man, Barbara. One man.
BARBARA: Then everything I've tried to do. Oh, I thought I could alter them.
IAN: You can't fight a whole way of life, Barbara.
The Aztecs is a rare type of serial because I thoroughly enjoy it and yet I have almost no sympathy for the guest characters. Time travel is dangerous. History is full of examples of human life being extinguished or exploited for seemingly no reason at all. The Aztecs reminds us of that through the historical culture depicted.
Tlotoxl as the High Priest of Sacrifice is extremely dangerous.
Either he is:
*a true believer and does not flinch from what he feels must be done.
*a charlatan who has entered the Priesthood for power, knowing full well that sacrifice is not necessary.
*someone who plays the role because he genuinely enjoys killing.
Autloc seems to have his own doubts about the validity of sacrifice, but has done nothing to curb the killings. He redeems himself somewhat by helping the four travellers escape before going off into the wilderness. Yet, as Ian pointed out, Autloc is the exception amongst his people.
Ixta is cut from a similar cloth to Tlotoxl. His actions are driven by desire by personal glory rather than a genuine belief in the gods or serving his people.
Susan had the right of it when she called them all monsters - including Autloc.
Cloistered away in the Garden of Peace, we do not see much of Cameca's own feelings about the inequalities and brutalities of her civilisation. Mostly we explore her though her growing affection for the Doctor.
THE GOLDEN AGE
Oh, what it must have been like to be a viewer in those early days of Doctor Who when William Hartnell was “the Doctor” - not “the First Doctor” - when there were no clues to his identity - and he travelled with Ian, Barbara, and Susan. As I have re-watched these early serials I have attempted to put myself into that mindset. I do not want my foreknowledge of the show to affect my viewing experience. Part of me does not want this Golden Age of Doctor Who to end, even though I know there are many equally wonderful eras ahead.
BARBARA: And the one man I had respect for, I deceived. Poor Autloc. I gave him false hope and in the end he lost his faith.
DOCTOR: He found another faith, a better, and that's the good you've done. You failed to save a civilisation, but at least you helped one man.
The Aztecs is Barbara's story. Rarely during the original 1963-1989 run of Doctor Who was there a serial that so focused on and depended on a companion character.
Barbara really comes into her own in this serial. She goes through an actual character arc in the span of four episodes.
More than in any other serial featuring Barbara, I believed that she really was a history teacher from 1963 thrown into this extraordinary experience of time travel.
CHANGING HISTORY
DOCTOR: But you can't rewrite history! Not one line!
Up to this point in Doctor Who there has no been no evidence that history can be changed. Before the introduction of 'fixed' points in time, time-locks, temporal paradoxes, Reapers, and wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey - time travel in Doctor Who was a simpler affair. It seemed to follow the time travel rules of ABC's series Lost: whatever happened, happened. That would start to change with the following season's The Space Museum and The Time Meddler, but there was very little fanfare about it. The only notable examples from later serials that come to mind are Genesis of the Daleks when the Doctor altered the Dalek's development and Pyramids of Mars when the Doctor demonstrated to Sarah that every point in history has it's alternative. The universe of contemporary Doctor Who is a malleable one where even one's memories cannot be trusted, whereas the universe of 1963-1989 Doctor Who was (mostly) one continuum.
DOCTOR: Barbara, one last appeal. What you are trying to do is utterly impossible. I know, believe me, I know.
How does the Doctor know this? Is it just his superior knowledge, or is it from personal experience? What historical event has the Doctor tried to change (or been sorely tempted to change)? Is it related to the reason that the Doctor and Susan are exiles? Is it anything to do with their family?
STEPPING INTO HISTORY
BARBARA: Famine, drought and disaster will come, and more and more sacrifices will be made. I see a time when ten thousand will die in one day.
AUTLOC: Where will it end, Yetaxa?
BARBARA: In total destruction. Your civilisation will pass forever from the land.
AUTLOC: You prophesy our doom.
As I stated when offering my personal thoughts and observations about Marco Polo, with this serial I really do get the sense that the historical setting is more than just a backdrop to set the scene for a story. I can believe that the Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara really visit Mexico during the Aztec Empire and they always did. They are an established part of history.
FAILURE
BARBARA: We failed.
DOCTOR: Yes, we did. We had to.
BARBARA: What's the point of travelling through time and space if we can't change anything? Nothing. Tlotoxl had to win.
To a Doctor Who viewer accustomed to last-minute tricks involving sonic screwdrivers, shape-shifting robots, or even just a declaration of love, it was very sobering to watch a serial where our main characters fail to save the day. It feels “right”.
THE DOCTOR
DOCTOR: Yes, I made some cocoa and got engaged.
In this serial we get to explore a different aspect of the Doctor: romance. While it may seem that he is merely flattering Cameca for her knowledge, clearly there is more to it than that. He notices her before he learns anything about her that can be of use to him. He is enamoured of her. It is curious that the Doctor seems to leave behind the token Cameca gave him, before turning around and pocketing it. It was almost as if by leaving it behind he was trying to pretend to himself that he had not returned her affections, but relented to his true feelings.
BARBARA: I just didn't think about it.
DOCTOR: No, that's just it. You didn't think.
BARBARA: Oh, go away. Leave me alone.
DOCTOR: I'm sorry, my dear. I didn't mean to be so harsh with you.
BARBARA: No, you had every right.
DOCTOR: However, what's done is done, and now it's up to you what happens next.
In a short exchange the Doctor goes from being furious with Barbara, to giving an apology, and even offering physical comfort. He really has evolved through his interactions with his two human travelling companions. There was something quite sweet about seeing Barbara leaning on the Doctor, as if he was her father.
THE AZTECS
BARBARA: I'll watch them both. Tlotoxl's dangerous. He seems able to bring people around to his way of thinking.
IAN: You've got it all wrong, Barbara. All the people here share Tlotoxl's views.
BARBARA: What about Autloc? I'm sick and tired of all this arguing and quarrelling. First the Doctor and now you. Why can't you see what I'm trying to do?
IAN: I can.
BARBARA: Well you're not helping. Tlotoxl's evil and he'll make everyone else the same.
IAN: They are the same, Barbara. That's the whole point. You keep on insisting that Tlotoxl's the odd man out, but he isn't.
BARBARA: I don't believe it.
IAN: Well, you must. If only you could stand away from this thing, you'd see it clearly. Autloc's the extraordinary man here. He's the reasonable one, the civilised one, the one that's prepared to listen to advice. But he's one man, Barbara. One man.
BARBARA: Then everything I've tried to do. Oh, I thought I could alter them.
IAN: You can't fight a whole way of life, Barbara.
The Aztecs is a rare type of serial because I thoroughly enjoy it and yet I have almost no sympathy for the guest characters. Time travel is dangerous. History is full of examples of human life being extinguished or exploited for seemingly no reason at all. The Aztecs reminds us of that through the historical culture depicted.
Tlotoxl as the High Priest of Sacrifice is extremely dangerous.
Either he is:
*a true believer and does not flinch from what he feels must be done.
*a charlatan who has entered the Priesthood for power, knowing full well that sacrifice is not necessary.
*someone who plays the role because he genuinely enjoys killing.
Autloc seems to have his own doubts about the validity of sacrifice, but has done nothing to curb the killings. He redeems himself somewhat by helping the four travellers escape before going off into the wilderness. Yet, as Ian pointed out, Autloc is the exception amongst his people.
Ixta is cut from a similar cloth to Tlotoxl. His actions are driven by desire by personal glory rather than a genuine belief in the gods or serving his people.
Susan had the right of it when she called them all monsters - including Autloc.
Cloistered away in the Garden of Peace, we do not see much of Cameca's own feelings about the inequalities and brutalities of her civilisation. Mostly we explore her though her growing affection for the Doctor.
THE GOLDEN AGE
Oh, what it must have been like to be a viewer in those early days of Doctor Who when William Hartnell was “the Doctor” - not “the First Doctor” - when there were no clues to his identity - and he travelled with Ian, Barbara, and Susan. As I have re-watched these early serials I have attempted to put myself into that mindset. I do not want my foreknowledge of the show to affect my viewing experience. Part of me does not want this Golden Age of Doctor Who to end, even though I know there are many equally wonderful eras ahead.