DW MR 265 The Lovecraft Invasion (Spoilers OK)

Well, I guess it's for the best that they don't do an Enid Blyton adventure. Whatever the Secret Seven, Adventurous Four or Famous Five potential for punning story titles....

I thoroughly enjoyed that. As the very last thing I listened to before I went to bed, some of the more surreal imagery in this story was amplified tenfold. The Lovecraft Invasion has the same sort of bite as The Peterloo Massacre in terms of its subject matter, examining both the man, through Constance and Calypso Jonze (a riff on the delightful soubriquets of heroines like Modesty Blaize?), and his works through the Doctor and Flip.

I'm fascinated by the juxtaposition of the fictional Randolph Carter here versus the factual H.P. Lovecraft. When the two meet, albeit briefly, Lovecraft is quite enamoured with his counterpart on a superficial level, whereas Carter makes a comparison between his creator and the "idiot god" Azathoth. It's interesting that Randolph exists as a form of wish fulfilment fantasy because as the Doctor notes, while he's a product of his author's pen, he "cannot help but be more than that." Carter is kind to the ghouls, helps to rally the Deep Ones by appealing to them on a human level and is willing to accept both the Doctor and Flip's alienness and their goodness. He is at peace with the otherness of his world in a way that Lovecraft never really could be. He outgrew his creator. One of the more subtle elements of the story and rewarding for that. The themes work on multiple levels.

If there's one trick I think The Lovecraft Invasion missed it was that conversation in "Part One" about the Doctor being unable to pick up his old childhood favourite again. I'm of the opinion that whatever good feeling that Flip and her big cousin Darren gained from their Call of Cthulhu sessions belongs to them, not to Lovecraft. Or if not them, then at most Sandy Peterson who initially designed the RPG or Chaosium who published it. But then, I also understand why that might not have been said, as that's not a scene with a particularly easy answer. The massive social change happening right now in the early twenty-first century, it's still ongoing, and I know that many are still processing that personal journey of what's considered a responsible consumption of media. It makes The Lovecraft Invasion rather important really.

It's a contemporary story that shows while it deals with Lovecraftian themes and motifs, it doesn't advocate for Lovecraft's prejudices. The dogma is in the text, but it's not essential to the text. His bigotry is not what makes cosmic horror work and that's an important distinction. It means we can move forward. To address it. To combat it. And, to use the genre as a means of discussing and promoting inclusivity in a way that takes on a life of its own (more of Robyn Holdaway please). Great work from all involved. I'd like to see more from Robert Valentine in the future.

So, halfway through, need to get back to it now.

They mention it in the podcast. I'm intrigued. 

She’ll probably end up appearing in the spin offs if the character proves popular.

River Song has a bounty put on her and Vienna and Calypso both compete with one another to get their target.

With a post credits cameo from an unnamed robot who totally is Death-Head and is late.

I don't think you have to worry. This is pretty bang on topic, truth be told. And you're right... I know a lot of people who agree on principle and want to agree on principle, but find the emotional crux of it hard to stomach. Because, well... it sucks. It sucks to find out that something you enjoyed was created by someone whose views are not just different, but actively hostile to your own. And overcoming that isn't a snap of the fingers. It takes time, practice and knowing yourself because if it comes from something as personal as a childhood story (a la the Doctor), the unerring question becomes... "Well, what does that say about me, the reader?"

Enjoyment is such a personal thing that I can't really say one way or the other what the "correct" way to react is for someone else. That's not on me. That's not my choice to make. My own personal experiences, coming face-to-face with this across a lot of historical media, is that I have to give myself a bit more credit than I would have initially. I'm a mass of influences, this author being just one. I recognise the problematic elements -- and I'm not okay them. They are not something I endorse or condone, but the fact I can see that tells me something. Not only about that story, but how I interpret the story. Their values and my values. That speaks to me that, if it's a longterm influence, I picked up the better virtues of the text, rather than its prejudices (otherwise, I wouldn't have had such a visceral reaction to them). I also have the benefit now of an education that allows me to put those feelings in a box, read/watch/listen to something, and take those feelings out again when I'm done, which helps with things like research.

It's a very, very difficult question to answer -- worthwhile to ask, but incredibly difficult -- because it is so deeply personal. I don't find separating one from the other an issue, personally, but I can understand people who do. I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. You do what works for you and brings you enjoyment, that's as close as I can come to something concrete on the subject.

As a story, it was fun. I do like Six and Flip together, so there was that. I also like Calypso and would like to hear more from her. The B story with Constance did play something like an extended riff on A Christmas Carol except Lovecraft is never granted an epiphany. He remains the sad, angry pitiful person we first experienced at the start. It’s funny, we don’t know exactly how different this version of the story is from the version they were originally going to release but having the Doctor hold HPL is such contempt made me wish the story revolved more around the Doctor being forced to save someone he despises. Anyway, it was a good, if not great, Sixth Doctor adventure. To the debate above, I loved Lovecraft long before I knew anything about him. Like I loved Richard Wagner operas long before I knew anything about him. That does belong to me. It’s part of me. Like all art, it helps define me. I am still able to delve into their work but now I approach it with some degree of context.

You are 100% correct. There's no stock response. It depends on circumstance. I don't want to be crass by naming them but there are some things that clearly the majority would feel mean an artist should be shunned and never earn another penny from their public persona. Those kind of acts that cross into not just the criminal but the disgusting. We've seen a few UK celebrities of the 70s brought down for that, one - who I won't even name because his name disgusts me - even causing a Doctor Who DVD recall.

One of my favourite actors was Kevin Spacey. Can I watch him now? Yes. But can I ever really get away from what he's done to vulnerable young men? No, despite the fact I'm not binning my copies of Se7en or House Of Cards anytime soon. There's enough leway between those being things I love, and a job he's long since stopped earning on. Or OJ Simpson - he's not going to ruin my laughs in Naked Gun.  Wheras sometimes the act is (relatively) minor and I can truly separate the art from the artist. Sometimes because they've shown genuine contrition, sometimes because - hey - we all cut our heroes some slack. Remember Paul Magrs had Lucie use the term "tranny"? That was a more innocent mistake of a word that was common parlance (and still used for many gay bars trans nights) not too long ago and he didn't even realise it was a slur, nor did anyone along the production line. Years later it kicked off and he apologized sincerely in retrospect, no-one lost any respect for Paul then, and indeed many gained some in knowing he was willing to learn and change with the times. On the opposite end of the spectrum you get a Gareth Roberts who doubled down on his backwards beliefs online many times. Does anyone expect Gareth Roberts Presents: Vol 2 anytime soon? Me neither. 

I think what Rowling said was disgusting but hey, so did almost every one of the Potter and Fantastic Beast casts who condemned her for it. What was odder to me is that she thinks anyone would need her opinion, unsolicited, on trans-rights. She's entitled to them, of course, but she can't blame "cancel culture" when others exercise their right to tell her to shove her books. Freedom of speech doesn't mean - as she and many others with fringe beliefs seem to think - being able to say what you want without anyone being able to respond.  Anyone who reads her books is not tacitly approving of those kinds of beliefs even if they are putting money in her pocket. Some will not be able to reconcile that with their support for trans rights but I think as long as we give a little time to think over each case on it's merits there's no right or wrong. 

Just the other day I posted on the movie thread that I watched the first two Re-Animator films. Horror-comedy classics from the 80s with a STUNNING lead from Jeffrey Combs. To anyone not aware, Re-Animator is based on "Herbert West: Re-Animator" by one H.P. Lovecraft. Odd timing given today's release. However although his name is in the title of the film (it's billed as H.P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator) - I didn't once think of him or his views throughout. I focused on the script, the writing, the score and the performances. I'd recommend the films to anyone who loves 80s horror-comedy like Evil Dead 2. I don't feel like saying that means I approve of his views one bit, just as in this story Flip shouldn't feel that way playing a video game far removed from Lovecraft's intent.

I think BF have done the best thing they could have done. Just sprinkled a little more tacit condemnation to enforce their idea that their hero stands against those abhorrent beliefs. We all know that anyway but in mid 2020 it's time for bigger gestures and BF taking the proverbial knee was the right thing to do.

I want to reiterate as I've said all along it's Robert I feel for as the writer as what he wrote in (slightly) less tempestuous times was almost certainly enough and he wasn't to know that real world events would mean that anything less than the newly inserted condemnation of Lovecraft's beliefs from the outset would be seen as insensitive. I think his subtext would have gotten it over but as we've been saying this is the time for more forceful words. Luckily, Colin's Doctor isn't one to mince his words so it's very in-character anyway!