Doctor Who: Tooth and Claw, Rose and the Doctor

[butterfly]

So, one of the things I've noticed about in new Who fandom is the whole 'what if ten were still nine?' thing. Which is an interesting question, because a whole lot would be different. Harriet Jones would still be Prime Minister (would Torchwood have existed at all without the presence of the tenth doctor back in Scotland?), because the Sycorax invasion very specifically happened because the pilot fish picked up on Ten's regeneration energy.

All that is, all that was, all that ever could be.

That's what the Doctor tells us that he see, all the time, in Parting of the Ways. It's likely the way that he knows which events are safe to play around with and which aren't. It's also (very clearly) not a fallible system. All that ever could be is a wide range, and the doctor can only control his own actions. He didn't forsee Rose returning to save him at the end of PotW (he acts resigned to his own extermination, and is completely shocked by her appearance and by how far she was willing to go to help him).

Because the tenth doctor is a different appearance of the same basic personality traits, he also reacts to things in a slightly different way. But I can definitely see him as shades of the same man. Curious, caring, with a fondness for danger that can flip straight over into seriousness if something he cares about is truly being threatened (these are the same traits that I also noticed in the fourth doctor -- I don't know if these are consistently the carry-over traits, but, for me, they are what define 'the Doctor').

Also, with every new episode, I'm definitely feeling that I'm shipping Rose/Doctor, as opposed to Rose/A Specific Incarnation of the Doctor, though I haven't spent a lot of time with them all yet (I have, thanks to the Confidentials, seen clips, though). And I'm definitely shipping them, in a hard-core way, yo. I have completely been sold on the love of Rose and the Doctor.

I am really looking forward to seeing earlier episodes of the show, because I am interested in whether or not I still feel that way after seeing the Doctor with his other companions (so far, I've only seen the Doctor hanging out with Romana, which I had no problem seeing as a platonic friendship -- cute, but not romantic (which is amusing to me, considering that the actors apparently were romantic together)).

Comments

[coreopsis.livejournal.com]

these are the same traits that I also noticed in the fourth doctor -- I don't know if these are consistently the carry-over traits, but, for me, they are what define 'the Doctor'
I get a very strong Four feel from Ten too. Part of it may be that he's the one I'm most familiar with and part of it may be that he is the Doctor of Tennant's childhood and is probably a big influence. Even without seeing many episodes of all the Doctors (a couple I've only seen through the Confidentials and The Five Doctors gave me a taste of the older ones) I do think there's some carry over. However, I'll leave it to other more knowledgable fans to define exactly which traits are present in all incarnations (other than the obvious curiosity and a thirst for new experiences). *g*

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Still, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who sees the similarity between Four and Ten.

[fannishnonsense]

I thought the pilot fish were only on Earth because the Sycorax were coming, not the other way around. I may have to watch TCI again.

And I really like that Ten feels like a natural progression of Nine. I do feel like some of the people going on about "what if it was Nine in this situation" aren't being fair to Ten though. Like they haven't given DT a chance because they miss CE so much. But that might just be me.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I thought the pilot fish were only on Earth because the Sycorax were coming, not the other way around. I may have to watch TCI again.

It was something that really struck me the first time through. When Ten's come out of his regeneration coma, he talks about the pilot fish being drawn to him. I'll go hop over and rewatch that bit to transcribe the dialogue.

Doctor: "They were just pilot fish."
Then he falls down a bit.
Doctor: "You woke me up too soon. I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy. You see? The pilot fish could smell it from a million miles away. So they eliminate the defense -- that's you lot -- and they carry me off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of years."
Then he falls down again and Jackie tries to help.
Doctor: "We haven't got much time. [...] the pilot fish mean that something is coming."

And I really like that Ten feels like a natural progression of Nine. I do feel like some of the people going on about "what if it was Nine in this situation" aren't being fair to Ten though. Like they haven't given DT a chance because they miss CE so much. But that might just be me.

*nods* I knew that Nine would regenerate from the very first time I watched, so I was somewhat prepared. I actually saw The Christmas Invasion before I saw the last half or so of the first series, so I already knew Ten as the Doctor by the time Nine regenerated.

[fannishnonsense]

Hmm, I think I took the line "the pilot fish mean that something is coming" to mean the Sycorax were on their way anyway and the pilot fish were just making a little detour. But you could definitely be right about that.