Last night's wonderful episode of 'Doctor Who' featured the story of Rosa Parks. Brave, confident and emotional, it was very hard to watch but absolutely worth it.
So far this series has played down the monster factor (although 'Arachnids In The UK' might cover that element, even if the spiders won't be a patch on the ones we get in out bathroom) but the monsters in 'Rosa' were in plain sight. They were us; the ordinary human beings that populated Montgomery, Alabama. The bus driver, the policeman, the waitress, the passers-by...
The actual villain of the piece, Krasko, was pretty incidental to the plot, just there to try and disrupt history. I did wonder at one point if he was the Meddling Monk, but as Andrew pointed out the Monk (at least the Peter Butterworth version) was never that nasty.
Before this episode aired I did a litle bit of research on Rosa Parks. I knew very little about her apart from the fact that she had refused to move from her seat on the bus, and even that I learned from a 'Horrible Histories' song. But looking into her story I was inspired by her bravery and strength of character.
Something that was put across beautifully by Vinette Robinson, who gives a measured and dignified performance. The main cast are all on top form and Ryan's big grin when he meets Martin Luther King Jr. is both glorious and very funny.
Graham's face when he realises that he is the reason that Rosa will be told to move is heartbreaking and Bradley Walsh's acting shines in this scene. He is also given some comedy material earlier in the episode which he also acts brilliantly.
It is a lovely moment when Yaz tells Rosa that she is a policewoman and I love the chat that she has with Ryan behind the dumpster. It's a touching moment and leaves us with hope that the future for these two will be bright.
Jodie's Doctor just gets better and better as we find out more about her. The look on her face when Graham puts his arm on her shoulder her made us laugh and she shows a quiet authority when talking to Krasko.
All in all 'Rosa' is a fantastic episode, deserving all the praise it can get and hopefully picking up a few awards along the way?
(Written by Lisa Parker)
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