#moonflesh

Moonflesh (BF #185) lands the Doctor and Nyssa among some colorful British personalities in 1911 Suffolk: a big-game hunter (Whitlock) and his sheltered daughter Phoebe, a Sioux warrior (Silver Crow) who's serving as Mr. Whitlock's retainer, a ruthless businessman (Mr. Tremayne) and his timid son as the love interest for Phoebe, and Hannah Bartholomew, an adherent of 19th century Spiritualism who bucks gender norms by wearing trousers, swilling liquor and hunting. 

Also, there's random aliens, because we can't simply have a period historical set on an English country estate without rampaging elephants, theatrical houseguests, Native butlers and alien invaders, now, can we? As usual, the story asks us to consider who is really the civilized person, who’s the savage, who’s the monster and who’s the reasonable sentient being.

I love the larger-than-life characters, but I felt that the story itself is creaking at the seams by trying to do a little too much. I enjoy it, and I appreciate some of the research that went into it— Hannah's Spiritualism, for example, and the myth of the blood-clot boy— but I have some reservations about the fictionalization of the sacred Ghost Dance and the well-intentioned yet stereotypical portrayal of Silver Crow (we've been here before).

Nyssa being awesome: Oh, Nyssa. This time she volunteers to be possessed, since she's so good at it.

Author: Mark Morris

The Story opens up to the sounds of insects which makes one immediately think of either a meadow or large grounds the slight chill in the air means they have landed in the Autumnal season of October … “Nothing finer!” The Doctor explains. The year: 1911 - at that time that was generally the huntin, fishin, and shootin, season amongst the upper classes of English society. The Doctor walks out cheerful and happy as he informs Nyssa they have landed in Suffolk: England. Understandably Nyssa is rather fed up of always ending up on Earth and sulkily says: “We’re on Earth … again?”