Day 309: The Curse of Peladon Episode 2

Because I am the kind of person who has to make everything about feminism I intend to spend the entirety of this entry going on something of a feminist rant in relation to one of my favourite episodes, The Curse of Peladon. Although, it should be noted that in future entries I do fully intend on discussing themes more relevant to the episode.

Something that has so far stood out to myself in this episode is in fact the lack of female characters. Yes, we are presented with various characters such as Alpha Centuri who are not necessarily male or female, but I did notice the constant use of masculine pronouns in reference to them. So we are essentially presented with but one female character, the Doctor’s faithful companion, Jo Grant. Jo’s ‘power’ often falls far short of that of her male counterparts. Adding to this, there are many instances of some degree of anti-women behavior. For example, in the first episode we are presented with the line, “Only men of rank and females of royal blood…” in reference to who is allowed entrance to the chamber. So obviously women are incapable of achieving any kind of rank in this society, unless of course they are born into the role itself. Or if they happen to be of ‘common’ birth, they are in romantic relations with a male member of the royal family. There is also the matter of the treatment of Jo by the King of Peladon. He thanks her for bringing ‘beauty’ to the conference, as if she had nothing else to bring. His conversations with her constantly revolve around her beauty, so much so that it appears as though she has no other value to him.

I am now truly starting to ramble on in this completely unstructured rant. I apologise for the lack of content relevant to the episode itself, but, I truly must make everything about feminism. 



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