The Trap, part one

Catching up on recent missed television, I watched the first part of The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom earlier today. Writer-director Adam Curtis's argument was tightly controlled through the skilful manipulation of footage of old interviews with the economist Friedrich von Hayek or the 'anti-psychiatrist' R.D. Laing, and new interview material with Laing, the mathematician John Nash and others. I was more emotionally engaged than I have been with any other documentary I can think of. This was the first time I have made myself think about what 'game theory' actually is (beyond seeing far too many books in Blackwell's politics or business sections include it in their titles), having no advanced education in mathematics or any education, practically, in economics. While there are cases around the internet being made that Adam Curtis misrepresented his interviewees, I don't think he's an unapologetic statist, despite what the detractors of the series say. More thoughts, perhaps, when I've seen the other two programmes.

Doctor Who 3.5: Evolution of the Daleks

Before the review, a note about Totally Doctor Who. In the old days the writers of Doctor Who were obscure people and didn't have their share of publicity, with the exceptions of Terrance Dicks and (when he was script editor) Robert Holmes. This week saw Helen Raynor not just talking about her work on the show but leading the resident studio children in an improvised writing game with props. Here is a lady who knows how to work with an audience.

( No Sec Please, We're Piggish )

( EDIT: Thoughts on the Doctor-Martha relationship )