Doctor Who: Pure, Unadulterated Love
Nov. 1st, 2008 06:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
butterflyBecause I keep thinking of this show and... I have loved this show so much. So much. And... I mean, it's not over yet, of course. But Series Four had some fairly large game-changers in the end.
Five hours left in Doctor Who for RTD, David Tennant, Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson, and then it all gets handed off to the new people. David Tennant wasn't my first Doctor (though Chris Eccleston was), but he is my Doctor, the one that well and truly stole my heart. He was the first Doctor that I watched in real-time -- I watched all of Series One in one great gulp, basically. Second series is when I started watching week-by-week.
Only five hours left and he'll be gone. And that's going to be weird. Watching Nine regenerate made me cry buckets and I wasn't as emotionally invested in him as I am Ten.
I hope that he gets as good an ending as Nine -- Nine got to end having completed his character arc, choosing not to be a killer but finding hope again in Rose.
Ten manages to combine everything that I've enjoyed in the previous Doctors (and I have, at this point, seen at least a little bit of every Doctor and every television companion, though I haven't ventured into the audios). He's charming and dangerous and just alien enough to make a person pay attention. He can be ruthless and manipulative or he can be tender and even hesitant.
And, of course, there's the love story. I'm a big fan of a good love story. The Doctor and Rose's story started with Nine, but Ten got the majority of the time with it -- he got the flirty honeymoon stage in S2, he got the aching painful separation in S3, and he got the joyous (and complicated) reunion in S4. It couldn't have been done without the set-up of Nine and Rose's relationship, but most of the pay-off came from Ten and Rose.
David's acting has always been stellar. Even in cases where the writing may have failed him, he delivered. And the character of the Doctor has gotten to experience so much over the course of the last four years -- he's gone through so many emotional highs and lows, and both of the actors who played the Doctor did such brilliant jobs with it.
Speaking of characters, I have so much love for Russell's. They leap off the page with vivacity and strength. He's had three incredibly strong female companions and yet they aren't the least bit interchangeable. All of them capable of powerful and impressive feats, but all different ones. And they each had a very individual relationship with the Doctor. Epic romance. A crush fading to friendship set against a grieving man attempting to find himself again. Pure platonic friendship. Three very different shades of affection.
So many amazing guest stars, as well. There's just been so much talent and so much heart involved in the revival of the show. I don't really want to let David go, let the tenth Doctor go.
But just as I respect Russell T Davies for telling his story and then leaving (as he did with QaF, as well), I respect David for leaving when he chooses. He has so much talent. He could do anything he wants, and he should.
So, favorite episodes is, I think, the game that I'm going to play right now:
My very favorite episode of S2 is the second half of TIP/TSS and my second favorite is "Doomsday" for the epic quality, but S2, for me, is something that I really appreciate more for its whole than for the individual episodes. I love how fun and healthy and lovely the Doctor and Rose relationship is throughout the series. I mean, it's all leading up to the heartbreak of "Doomsday", but that's also part of why it works so well in retrospect -- you need those sweet, sweet moments of connection in order to make the pain of DD as powerful as it needs to be to justify the grief of S3.
I remember watching S3 and constantly being surprised at how strongly the absence of Rose was felt (which was why I was delighted but not entirely shocked when I learned that she was returning in S4 -- story balance really did require it). It was in "Gridlock" that I realized that RTD was letting the Doctor grieve for Rose as fully and completely as the fans who had loved her were doing. And that's a gift that's rarely granted by a show -- too often on television, grief is rushed through so that the happier stuff can start up again. They didn't do that here. They let the Doctor grieve naturally.
My favorite story in that series was Paul Cornell's two-parter, which just hit every emotional beat perfectly and (just as his S1 story did with Rose) used Martha so well as a companion.
I can still recall the jolt that I felt when I saw Rose at the end of "Partners in Crime". We already knew that she would be coming back, but that was the moment that I knew she would be coming back right, in a way that would weigh enough to balance S3.
Series four was nearly perfect. Donna and the Doctor had such a biting and funny chemistry that easily slipped into more serious discussion. Russell hit it out of the park with his final four episodes, too -- "Midnight" was brilliant and holds the title of the only "Doctor Who" episode that has managed to scare me (joining Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "Hush" as one of only two episodes of television that have ever frightened me -- interesting enough, both involve stolen voices) and competes with "Turn Left" as my favorite episode of Doctor Who. Martha came back in the middle (and end) of the series and was fantastic -- I thought she provided just the right balance to "The Doctor's Daughter".
And, of course, there was the reunion between the Doctor and Rose.
Billie and David's chemistry is remarkable. Both of them are the kind of actors that have chemistry with tons and tons of people (as seen with Billie in Secret Diary of a Call Girl and by David in... too much stuff to count, really), and, together, they take it to another level. Series One was a brilliant realization of love for the Doctor and Rose, but series two through four really delve into the complicated issues of what happens after mutual attraction and caring has been acknowledged. When each person is willing to sacrifice everything for the other, what next?
Which is part of why I love "Journey's End" (though if Russell chooses to revisit things in any of the specials, I certainly wouldn't be upset!). The Doctor and Rose both get to simultaneous realize their dreams and sacrifice them. They get both the happy ending and the romantically tragic one. And that feels more real for the two of them than either ending alone. Because the Doctor remains the Doctor, however much he loves Rose. And Rose is still human. There is a gulf there, one that fate (or, possibly, Bad Wolf) reached over to give what happiness could be found.
I did wander off a bit, there, from the topic of 'favorite episodes'.
There may be quite a bit of rambling in my future, as I adjust.
I'm absolutely abrim with curiosity over what Russell is going to do with his last five episodes. Very much looking forward to the Christmas episode (and to S3 of Torchwood, for that matter). It's been crazy and mad in this fandom but, overall, despite some of the drama (oh, the drama)... to quote Rose (and Sarah Jane and Tosh) I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
I've a boatload of lovely people on my flist because of this show and... I got introduced to some fabulous acting talents that I'd never heard of before and that I plan to keep watching throughout their careers, and I saw "Hamlet" in Stratford, which is a bit more awesome than anything my other fandoms inspired me to do.
It's been a hell of a ride and it isn't over yet. Given that RTD has yet to disappoint me, I expect that I will thoroughly enjoy Russell and David's final five episodes.
Five hours left in Doctor Who for RTD, David Tennant, Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson, and then it all gets handed off to the new people. David Tennant wasn't my first Doctor (though Chris Eccleston was), but he is my Doctor, the one that well and truly stole my heart. He was the first Doctor that I watched in real-time -- I watched all of Series One in one great gulp, basically. Second series is when I started watching week-by-week.
Only five hours left and he'll be gone. And that's going to be weird. Watching Nine regenerate made me cry buckets and I wasn't as emotionally invested in him as I am Ten.
I hope that he gets as good an ending as Nine -- Nine got to end having completed his character arc, choosing not to be a killer but finding hope again in Rose.
Ten manages to combine everything that I've enjoyed in the previous Doctors (and I have, at this point, seen at least a little bit of every Doctor and every television companion, though I haven't ventured into the audios). He's charming and dangerous and just alien enough to make a person pay attention. He can be ruthless and manipulative or he can be tender and even hesitant.
And, of course, there's the love story. I'm a big fan of a good love story. The Doctor and Rose's story started with Nine, but Ten got the majority of the time with it -- he got the flirty honeymoon stage in S2, he got the aching painful separation in S3, and he got the joyous (and complicated) reunion in S4. It couldn't have been done without the set-up of Nine and Rose's relationship, but most of the pay-off came from Ten and Rose.
David's acting has always been stellar. Even in cases where the writing may have failed him, he delivered. And the character of the Doctor has gotten to experience so much over the course of the last four years -- he's gone through so many emotional highs and lows, and both of the actors who played the Doctor did such brilliant jobs with it.
Speaking of characters, I have so much love for Russell's. They leap off the page with vivacity and strength. He's had three incredibly strong female companions and yet they aren't the least bit interchangeable. All of them capable of powerful and impressive feats, but all different ones. And they each had a very individual relationship with the Doctor. Epic romance. A crush fading to friendship set against a grieving man attempting to find himself again. Pure platonic friendship. Three very different shades of affection.
So many amazing guest stars, as well. There's just been so much talent and so much heart involved in the revival of the show. I don't really want to let David go, let the tenth Doctor go.
But just as I respect Russell T Davies for telling his story and then leaving (as he did with QaF, as well), I respect David for leaving when he chooses. He has so much talent. He could do anything he wants, and he should.
So, favorite episodes is, I think, the game that I'm going to play right now:
My very favorite episode of S2 is the second half of TIP/TSS and my second favorite is "Doomsday" for the epic quality, but S2, for me, is something that I really appreciate more for its whole than for the individual episodes. I love how fun and healthy and lovely the Doctor and Rose relationship is throughout the series. I mean, it's all leading up to the heartbreak of "Doomsday", but that's also part of why it works so well in retrospect -- you need those sweet, sweet moments of connection in order to make the pain of DD as powerful as it needs to be to justify the grief of S3.
I remember watching S3 and constantly being surprised at how strongly the absence of Rose was felt (which was why I was delighted but not entirely shocked when I learned that she was returning in S4 -- story balance really did require it). It was in "Gridlock" that I realized that RTD was letting the Doctor grieve for Rose as fully and completely as the fans who had loved her were doing. And that's a gift that's rarely granted by a show -- too often on television, grief is rushed through so that the happier stuff can start up again. They didn't do that here. They let the Doctor grieve naturally.
My favorite story in that series was Paul Cornell's two-parter, which just hit every emotional beat perfectly and (just as his S1 story did with Rose) used Martha so well as a companion.
I can still recall the jolt that I felt when I saw Rose at the end of "Partners in Crime". We already knew that she would be coming back, but that was the moment that I knew she would be coming back right, in a way that would weigh enough to balance S3.
Series four was nearly perfect. Donna and the Doctor had such a biting and funny chemistry that easily slipped into more serious discussion. Russell hit it out of the park with his final four episodes, too -- "Midnight" was brilliant and holds the title of the only "Doctor Who" episode that has managed to scare me (joining Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "Hush" as one of only two episodes of television that have ever frightened me -- interesting enough, both involve stolen voices) and competes with "Turn Left" as my favorite episode of Doctor Who. Martha came back in the middle (and end) of the series and was fantastic -- I thought she provided just the right balance to "The Doctor's Daughter".
And, of course, there was the reunion between the Doctor and Rose.
Billie and David's chemistry is remarkable. Both of them are the kind of actors that have chemistry with tons and tons of people (as seen with Billie in Secret Diary of a Call Girl and by David in... too much stuff to count, really), and, together, they take it to another level. Series One was a brilliant realization of love for the Doctor and Rose, but series two through four really delve into the complicated issues of what happens after mutual attraction and caring has been acknowledged. When each person is willing to sacrifice everything for the other, what next?
Which is part of why I love "Journey's End" (though if Russell chooses to revisit things in any of the specials, I certainly wouldn't be upset!). The Doctor and Rose both get to simultaneous realize their dreams and sacrifice them. They get both the happy ending and the romantically tragic one. And that feels more real for the two of them than either ending alone. Because the Doctor remains the Doctor, however much he loves Rose. And Rose is still human. There is a gulf there, one that fate (or, possibly, Bad Wolf) reached over to give what happiness could be found.
I did wander off a bit, there, from the topic of 'favorite episodes'.
There may be quite a bit of rambling in my future, as I adjust.
I'm absolutely abrim with curiosity over what Russell is going to do with his last five episodes. Very much looking forward to the Christmas episode (and to S3 of Torchwood, for that matter). It's been crazy and mad in this fandom but, overall, despite some of the drama (oh, the drama)... to quote Rose (and Sarah Jane and Tosh) I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
I've a boatload of lovely people on my flist because of this show and... I got introduced to some fabulous acting talents that I'd never heard of before and that I plan to keep watching throughout their careers, and I saw "Hamlet" in Stratford, which is a bit more awesome than anything my other fandoms inspired me to do.
It's been a hell of a ride and it isn't over yet. Given that RTD has yet to disappoint me, I expect that I will thoroughly enjoy Russell and David's final five episodes.
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-01 01:37 pm (UTC)Yet since I first saw "Journey's End", I realised that without Rose, or the hope of her returning, I really don't have a big desire to watch the show. I didn't find much worthwhile in last year's Christmas special and am not particularly looking forward to this year's. The Doctor, *our* broken-hearted Doctor, running around with (and presumably having a good time with, ultimately?) a bunch of new people? No thanks.
Likewise for his remaining 5 'episodes'. I wish DT had left at the end of JE, I think.
I'm having trouble letting go.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-02 06:45 pm (UTC)And I'm actually really curious about how the Doctor's going to be behaving in the Christmas episode. Because if he is happy, then having Rose be happy and safe overshadows, for him, the pain over losing her and even the grief he was feeling over what happened to Donna. Which would be very interesting, character-wise.
Unless the decision not to have a surprise at the end of JE means that we'll be able to read the Doctor as having travelled for quite a while afterwards.
I find it hard to believe that RTD will throw away emotional resonance for his last five episodes, especially since it's been such an important part of his time on the show.
I'm having trouble letting go.
*hugs*
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-12 10:35 pm (UTC)Likewise for his remaining 5 'episodes'. I wish DT had left at the end of JE, I think.
I agree with a lot of this. It's not that I'd suddenly hate the series, but I'm apathetic to it.
I also think Ten(nant) should have left with Rose in JE and let Eleven be introduced to the audience in the specials. It feels to be like he's overstayed his welcome.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-01 02:12 pm (UTC)Yes. I second this.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-02 06:46 pm (UTC)Yay for fun, interesting people.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-01 03:17 pm (UTC)It's very much the end of an era - it'll practically be a whole new show. New New Who. And while RTD was the master of the WTFCrack, he and DT and the others he brought to it made it something that I loved. Still do, as a matter of fact.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-02 06:47 pm (UTC)It's very much the end of an era - it'll practically be a whole new show. New New Who. And while RTD was the master of the WTFCrack, he and DT and the others he brought to it made it something that I loved. Still do, as a matter of fact.
It really will. It'll be completely different (does anyone know yet whether Murray Gold is staying with the show or staying with Russell?). I'm really glad that we did find out about David leaving early -- though it does raise expectations for RTD's last episodes, if they're David's good-bye as well! He's got to finish off Ten's character arc.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-01 03:24 pm (UTC)I'm definitely with you on a lot of these points - well, all of them, probably. (I just like to pretend I have some vague sense of original thought. *grins*)
I mean, I've had my issues with certain episodes and stories etc, but I mostly think of DW as My Show, and I love it and I feel things when I think about it (eg. S2 = wonderful and flirty and happy, S3 = sad and confronting, S4 = joyous and moving and ROSE), which I would love all the other shows I watch to do half as well. Because, if you could say one thing about Doctor Who, it's that it, 95% of the time, gets you to feel something, even if it's hatred for a character/story/whatever. Also, rarely is anything black and white - bad guys have dark and light, good guys have foibles and make mistakes, everything happens for a reason (or 20), etc.
Anyway, my point is... Wait, what is my point? I'm not actually sure, anymore! I guess it's just... I love what RTD and David and everyone has created, and I will most definitely sob my eyes out in David's last episode, and I'm glad that on that fateful day, about two-and-a-bit years ago now, my mother suggested I watch this 'crazy little sci-fi show' called Doctor Who.
(God, I almost sound like they're all dead! *shakes head* Also, sorry for the Longest Comment Ever [TM].)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-02 06:50 pm (UTC)Exactly. It's complicated and the people are complicated and they feel real and worth caring about.
And... aw... that's just how each series makes me feel, too.
Wait, what is my point? I'm not actually sure, anymore! I guess it's just... I love what RTD and David and everyone has created, and I will most definitely sob my eyes out in David's last episode, and I'm glad that on that fateful day, about two-and-a-bit years ago now, my mother suggested I watch this 'crazy little sci-fi show' called Doctor Who.
Oh, yes. Epic tears. I'm so very glad that I picked this show up. It's been crazy, but wonderful. Nothing else quite like it.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-01 03:40 pm (UTC)This show has pretty much ruined me for all others, I'm afraid! Whenever I watch anything these days, I compare it to Doctor Who.
(And I think the above is why I'm so bitter about Moffat and s5 - I don't *want* to be put off a show that's so much bigger and better than Moffat but I just know I'll keep comparing to DW under RTD if I watch.)
Agreeing completely with this entirely wonderful post: I wouldn't have missed it for the world! (And now I'm all sniffly!)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-02 06:57 pm (UTC)Yes. The characters all felt so real and I fell in love with them. They were having these utterly fantastic and impossible adventures but they always felt completely real.
This show has pretty much ruined me for all others, I'm afraid! Whenever I watch anything these days, I compare it to Doctor Who.
It really is rather brilliant! The closest that I can really come to a show that has made me feel so passionate is BtVS, but even there, there was the barrier of cynicism, particularly about love. DW is much more earnest and romantic and idealist, even in its pain.
And I think the above is why I'm so bitter about Moffat and s5 - I don't *want* to be put off a show that's so much bigger and better than Moffat but I just know I'll keep comparing to DW under RTD if I watch.
I know! Anyone else... anyone else and I would be planning on watching S5. But not that man, who has been so vocally set against all the things that have made the show so good for me and who has shown, in his episodes, a shallowness that is directly counter to the emotional quality and depth that has made the rest of the show so wonderful these past four years.
Agreeing completely with this entirely wonderful post: I wouldn't have missed it for the world! (And now I'm all sniffly!)
*hugs*
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-01 05:16 pm (UTC)I don't really have anything to add to it, but thanks :)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-02 06:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-01 09:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-02 06:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-02 12:30 am (UTC)Also, Hush and Midnight were one a very few eps from shows that scared me, along with The Empty Child, which also involved robbing people of their speech in a way (the way the gas mask people could only ask for their mums.)
You got to see Hamlet? My jealousy knows no bounds.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-02 07:03 pm (UTC)That complete lack of ability to call for help or to plead your case. *shudders* And in DW, it was even worse! The alien forced the Doctor to actually argue for his own death.
Monsters and suchlike never really tend to scare me, though. It may be a personal temperament thing or it might be the result of my dad forcing me to sit through eighteen million horror movies as a kid, from some really well-done ones to some really stupid D-list ones.
You got to see Hamlet? My jealousy knows no bounds.
I really hope that they put it on dvd. Every fan of David Tennant or Shakespeare or the stage or... good acting should see it. I posted about my experience here (http://butterfly.livejournal.com/1245568.html) and I was just blown away by how good he (and everyone) was.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-02 03:28 am (UTC)Thank you for the post.. it was very well said.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-02 07:06 pm (UTC)They all did such a brilliant job. I've been surprised and impressive and heartbroken and thrilled so much while watching this show. Especially Russell's episodes.
I don't know if I'll watch Moffat's DW. It all depends on who they cast as the Doctor. He'll have extremely large shoes to fill.
Yes. Going after the man who has managed to beat Tom Baker in popularity... it takes a very brave person to follow that act.
Thank you for the post.. it was very well said.
Thank you. I'm glad that you liked it.