Line #30 Recap/BigFinishDoctorWhoNEDAS4SRAnEarthlyChild


1	A special release, originally subscriber-only. It was retroactively made available to everyone when it ended up tying heavily into the overall plot of season 4.
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3	It's been thirty years since [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth the future Dalek invasion of Earth]] was stopped. Susan (''still'' Creator/CaroleAnnFord!), the Doctor's granddaughter, has lived a happy life on Earth with her husband David (now dead) and their son Alex. However, traumatised by the Daleks, humanity has become a superstitious and cowardly lot. They're afraid of advanced technology, of strangers, and most of all of aliens. Travel is still nearly impossible and no radio contact has been established with the survivors on the moon colony. In short, it's a CrapsackWorld.
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5	Since Alex is falling in with the wrong -- very xenophobic -- crowd, Susan sends out an intergalactic distress call. She's answered by an exploitative alien race called the Guldreasi... and by the Eighth Doctor. Their happy reunion becomes complicated when Susan is held accountable by her alien-phobic society for the Guldreasi's meddling. The aliens do bring back the people who'd been stuck on the moon colony for decades. But, annoyed with the Doctor opposing them, they expose Susan as an alien. The Doctor is forced to defeat them when they turn out to be interstellar slave drivers.
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7	Alex is brought to the TARDIS and has to come to terms with being half-alien. The Doctor wants to take him to Gallifrey and enroll him in Time Lord Academy. Alex instead just storms out. Susan follows him, because no matter how much she loves her grandfather, being a mum is more important now. The Doctor doesn't understand: he's finally figured out the TARDIS controls (... well, sort of), so they can go on tons of interstellar adventures now and he'll still drop her off only a second after they left. Susan still declines -- that world just isn't for her anymore.
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9	!!Tropes:
10	* AliensAreBastards: The Daleks certainly were, and even 30 years after humanity defeated them, distrust of anything alien is very common.
11	* BigShutUp: From a man at the back of the audience, who's later revealed to be the [[Creator/PaulMcGann Eighth Doctor]].
12	--> '''Let her speak'''!
13	* BluffTheImposter: The Doctor and Marion in the Guldreasi ship.
14	* BoomerangBigot: See also TomatoInTheMirror.
15	* TheBusCameBack: Susan Campbell, the Doctor's granddaughter from [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E1AnUnearthlyChild the first episode]].
16	* CallBack:
17	** Several to the events of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth Dalek Invasion of Earth]].
18	** Susan refers to last having seen her grandfather in [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors the Dark tower]] and having had [[TheNthDoctor five]] lives at that point.
19	* CrossReferencedTitles: The story title "An Earthly Child" is a CallBack to the very first episode of Doctor Who, "An Unearthly Child". Both stories deal with a descendant of the Doctor.
20	* FantasticRacism: Earth United and a lot of people are like this to all aliens.
21	* HalfHumanHybrid: Alex, Time Lord on his mother's side. However he seems more human.
22	* OlderThanTheyLook: Alex states that the Doctor looks younger than Susan.
23	* OrganicTechnology: The Doctor observes the Guldreasi technology to be more organic than technology.
24	* {{Paparazzi}}: Susan is targeted by them.
25	* RaisedByGrandparents: Susan was, at least while she was traveling with the Doctor. We never hear about any other family members apart from her and the Doctor, her grandfather.
26	* RealLifeRelative: Alex is played by Creator/PaulMcGann's son.
27	* ScienceIsBad: What many people think of technology due to the Dalek invasion.
28	* SequelEpisode: To [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth The Dalek Invasion of Earth]].
29	* SpecialEditionTitle: The episode starts out with the original [[Creator/WilliamHartnell First Doctor]] theme.
30	* TomatoInTheMirror: Alex has no idea he's part alien. He's not too accepting of the idea when he finally does learn the truth.
31	* WonderChild: The Doctor regards Alex as this, asking Susan how she and David managed to have a half-human, half-Time Lord child. She's rather embarrassed by the question.
32	* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: The Doctor is rather disappointed to discover that Alex lacks several Time Lord traits, such as telepathy, time sense, and the ability to regenerate.

Context Recap / BigFinishDoctorWhoNEDAS4SRAnEarthlyChild