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{"id":13640,"date":"2013-05-17T08:23:17","date_gmt":"2013-05-17T12:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=13640"},"modified":"2013-05-17T08:23:17","modified_gmt":"2013-05-17T12:23:17","slug":"doctor-who-the-claws-of-axos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/05\/doctor-who-the-claws-of-axos.html","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who: The Claws of Axos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$ The Doctor Who episode \u201cThe Claws of Axos<\/a> $\"\"$ \u201d from the Jon Pertwee era features aliens who remind me of golden gods, perhaps from Greek mythology. And the story actually echoes, in a sense, a famous mythic story from that tradition, but on this occasion it is godlike beings who bring the treacherous gift.<\/p>\n

The Axons offer axonite, which allegedly can help solve the world\u2019s food problems, but in fact is part of the same living substance that the Axonites themselves and their ship consist of. Their technology is entirely biological, and in fact they are part of one collective entity which will devour and incorporate the Earth and all that lives on it.<\/p>\n

While unity can be a positive aim, what Axos represents is an extreme of collectivism, reflected in the statement made at one point<\/a>, \u201cNo one is irreplaceable.\u201d One might contrast with the Doctor\u2019s repeated expressions of the conviction that every individual is irreplaceable, and that every death represents something valuable lost.<\/p>\n

You can watch the episode<\/a> on DailyMotion:<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.dailymotion.com\/video\/xqmful_the-claws-of-axos-part1_shortfilms<\/a>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"