I think, fundamentally, that this is the difference between us -- you see Doctor Who as having a premise that is incompatible with a romantic relationship and I don't.

I prefer to put it this way -- from the show that gave us a hero who's committed genocide and a heroine with an Electra complex, I was hoping for a central relationship more complex and nuanced than the one in Disney's Alladin.

But that's life. Love doesn't... fix everything. The Doctor still has issues. Rose still has issues. They still have places where they need to work the kinks out. If they didn't have the occasional fight or the places where they didn't quite fit, then I probably wouldn't ship them because they would strike me as a highly unrealistic relationship. No relationship is perfect and without flaw or dissent.

Issues? Yeah, genocide'll give you issues.

I see your point of view -- there IS a love story in among all the rest of it -- but I think "issues" and "places where they don't quite fit" willfully ignores the dark side of the Doctor/Rose storyline of a doomed mismatch. But I can't actually blame you, because you're seeing the gloss that RTD put there. He's trying to have his cake and eat it too -- he's making mass-market pop tv, but he wants a "serious" edge to it, and he doesn't always reconcile them sensibly. For example, I have NO idea what message I'm supposed to take away from the story about Rose and her father, where the lesson seems to be about learning to confront loss and let go of grief -- until the author waves the magic wand and brings Daddy back to life, makes him fall in love with Mommy, and gives his little girl a baby brother or sister. It's a classic example of the urge to take a sharp turn into left field just for the sake of a happy ending.

Sorry for digressing. Anyway, thanks again for the chat.