It’s always unnerving when science-fiction parallels real-life, and Doctor Who’s Praxeus virus is a case in point, with strange parallels to the current Coronavirus crisis. At its best, science-fiction holds a mirror up to real life, allowing people to confront society’s problems and imagine the world as it could be. Doctor Who has a rich tradition of confronting real-world issues and politics; “The Green Death” was about pollution, “The Curse of Peladon” paralleled Britain’s joining the European Union, and “The Happiness Patrol” featured a villain inspired by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Showrunner Chris Chibnall has moved the politics front-and-center, with mixed results. “Orphan 55,” for example, focused in on the threat posed by climate change. It saw the Doctor and her fam visit an “Orphan Planet,” an abandoned world that had turned into an arid wasteland inhabited by monstrous creatures. In a shocking twist, it turned out that this was really Earth. The episode ended with the Doctor addressing the audience with a lengthy speech in which she insisted the future could be changed, perhaps unintentionally rewriting Doctor Who’s entire model of time travel.
The latest episode, “Praxeus,” has become a lot more timely than Chibnall could have expected. This time round, the Doctor is actually facing an alien virus that seems to be wreaking havoc across the globe. The pathogen is transmitted via microplastics, and it’s pretty much fatal to anyone infected with it. Microplastics are plastic fragments or particles that are 5.0mm in size or smaller. Earth is absolutely saturated with microplastics, mostly as a result of the degradation of larger piece of plastic due to natural processes of weathering and erosion. They’re present in particularly high concentration in marine and oceanic environments, and as a result Doctor Who envisions Praxeus being ingested by fish, then by birds, and then transmitted to humans.
Oddly, this Doctor Who episode has aired just three days after the World Health Organisation declared a global health emergency over the Coronavirus. This deadly virus has already killed more than 300 people, while over 14,000 have contracted the disease. Unlike Praxeus, Coronavirus is a respiratory illness, and it’s only potentially fatal if it spreads to the lower respiratory tract (the windpipe and the lungs). It’s incredibly contagious, and is spread in a similar way to colds and the flu. Anyone who’s been keeping an eye on the news will no doubt find Doctor Who’s Praxeus to be disturbingly timed.
It’s important to note, however, that the Coronavirus/Praxeus parallels are accidental. Doctor Who season 12 was shot last year, after all, and Chibnall could only have predicted the Coronavirus health emergency if he really did possess a TARDIS. What’s more, the comparison actually undermines the episode’s message; this is supposed to be an encouragement for environmental action, rather than a disturbing reminder of a completely different issue. The BBC would perhaps have been wiser to adjust Doctor Who season 12’s episode order, and move “Praxeus” further back. Still, they may have felt that wasn’t a good call, given they have no way of knowing if the emergency is going to get worse over the next few weeks. It’s possible this episode became a case of “damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”
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