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Doctor Who: Bit of the Journey's End commentary (with thoughts)
So, I got my Series 4 dvds and the very first thing that I did was rush over to the "Journey's End" commentary to see what Russell, David, and Catherine had to say about That Particular Scene. The Bad Wolf Bay scene, that is.
(first, they talk about David's body double's similar bone structure and that he isn't as tall as David for a while and Catherine confesses to flubbing the (now cut) baby!TARDIS technobabble a lot. My own comments will appear [in italics and brackets])
Russell T Davies: "Where the Doctor gives the new Doctor [RTD having no problem acknowledging him as just as much the Doctor] a piece of coral to grow into a TARDIS, so that the Doctor and Rose can fly away together [All together now: Awwww....]."
Catherine Tate: "Of course [she sounds so smitten with the idea. *hearts*]."
RTD: "And the scene was just endless and it was so much about the Doctor and Rose, in the middle of this very sad scene."
David Tennant: "Do you know, I don't think that's a bad cut, because I remember when you always thought that's leading to another story, that actually we have no intention - at the moment - of telling. [at the moment! *squees hopefully* He has to leave that door open, doesn't he? What a great big tease.]"
RTD: "It was to give the Doctor... to give blue Doctor and Rose a sort of life with the TARDIS. [Again, I say... Awwww.]"
DT: "But there's something... there's something a bit better about him being more of a bloke. [probably in part because David has a huge mental issue with The Doctor having sex but probably has many fewer issues with a more human Doctor having sex! He can imagine the Doctor/Rose relationship being consumated now, where he's more of a 'no shagging in the TARDIS' guy generally.]"
RTD: "And also, I didn't like the look of the coral. The Doctor throws Doctor Two [I am so amused that RTD cannot make up his mind what exactly to call him, because he's totally also the Doctor, but just saying 'the Doctor' is confusing!] a bit of coral and it looked daft [having seen the cut scene, I must agree. It looks totally daft and not very cool at all]. It looks like a bit of an old prop. But also the real reason for cutting was that it was so much about... Rose and which Doctor she's got and the Doctor knows and Donna knows... and then there's this bit of flim-flam. But it should be on this box set as a deleted scene. Also, the episode was like sixty-three minutes long, so... come on! Get it over with."
DT: "It's such a beautifully, delicately written scene. [It's nice to hear DT's opinion of the scene, I have to say. He sounds much less conflicted than Billie Piper did on the confidential!] I know... you had three goes, didn't you?"
RTD: "It was hard to get this right. [but he does seem to feel that he did get it right in the end].
DT: "But I think it's very... because there's actually something slightly selfish about the way Rose behaves. Just a little."
RTD: "Yes! [very enthusiastically. He's mentioned Rose being 'gloriously selfish' in some previous confidential, as I recall. It's very much a part of her character, as written from the very beginning.] She always has been."
DT: "She always has been, right. And it just makes... kinda sense... [like I said, essential bit of the character. It's part of what makes her Rose and that's why her wondering who Martha was and what she meant to the Doctor was just as essential as her incredibly epic leadership skills in "Turn Left"]"
RTD: "Yes. And in the way the new Doctor, the blue Doctor, acts as well."
DT: "When I went to do the ADR on this, there was a note on the thing saying, 'whispering in the ear'. Do the whispering in the ear. They wanted to have a line, to hear what I was whispering in her ear. Can't do that!"
RTD: "See, Donna knows what's going on. It's sad, I mean, she's got the man she wants, but it's not-"
DT: "It's not quite what she wants."
RTD: "It's just-"
DT: "It's very sad."
CT: "But it's such a brilliant realization of that- their story. [*hearts Catherine Tate*]"
DT: "But perfect. Just exactly what it should be."
Everyone: "Yeah. [the mutters of agreement are pretty adorable]"
RTD: "It's a hard one to... I think... in the end... it took so long to write in the end just as I couldn't see it... what it's about. But it's actually about the Doctor. It's about-"
DT: "It's about the Doctor giving her up."
RTD: "It's the hardest thing in the world. Both the Doctors know... you know what's happened, you say tell her what you've done and all that [note: he changes from third to second-person here, which is interesting]. You're giving her the biggest present in the world. Because even if you did pop across from a different parallel universe, you're still nine hundred years old. So, it's never, ever, ever going to work. And you know that she would devote herself to you and leave her family and stay on the TARDIS and die of old age in front of you, so you did exactly the right thing here."
(and then they go into the wonderful Doctor & Donna scene)
(first, they talk about David's body double's similar bone structure and that he isn't as tall as David for a while and Catherine confesses to flubbing the (now cut) baby!TARDIS technobabble a lot. My own comments will appear [in italics and brackets])
Russell T Davies: "Where the Doctor gives the new Doctor [RTD having no problem acknowledging him as just as much the Doctor] a piece of coral to grow into a TARDIS, so that the Doctor and Rose can fly away together [All together now: Awwww....]."
Catherine Tate: "Of course [she sounds so smitten with the idea. *hearts*]."
RTD: "And the scene was just endless and it was so much about the Doctor and Rose, in the middle of this very sad scene."
David Tennant: "Do you know, I don't think that's a bad cut, because I remember when you always thought that's leading to another story, that actually we have no intention - at the moment - of telling. [at the moment! *squees hopefully* He has to leave that door open, doesn't he? What a great big tease.]"
RTD: "It was to give the Doctor... to give blue Doctor and Rose a sort of life with the TARDIS. [Again, I say... Awwww.]"
DT: "But there's something... there's something a bit better about him being more of a bloke. [probably in part because David has a huge mental issue with The Doctor having sex but probably has many fewer issues with a more human Doctor having sex! He can imagine the Doctor/Rose relationship being consumated now, where he's more of a 'no shagging in the TARDIS' guy generally.]"
RTD: "And also, I didn't like the look of the coral. The Doctor throws Doctor Two [I am so amused that RTD cannot make up his mind what exactly to call him, because he's totally also the Doctor, but just saying 'the Doctor' is confusing!] a bit of coral and it looked daft [having seen the cut scene, I must agree. It looks totally daft and not very cool at all]. It looks like a bit of an old prop. But also the real reason for cutting was that it was so much about... Rose and which Doctor she's got and the Doctor knows and Donna knows... and then there's this bit of flim-flam. But it should be on this box set as a deleted scene. Also, the episode was like sixty-three minutes long, so... come on! Get it over with."
DT: "It's such a beautifully, delicately written scene. [It's nice to hear DT's opinion of the scene, I have to say. He sounds much less conflicted than Billie Piper did on the confidential!] I know... you had three goes, didn't you?"
RTD: "It was hard to get this right. [but he does seem to feel that he did get it right in the end].
DT: "But I think it's very... because there's actually something slightly selfish about the way Rose behaves. Just a little."
RTD: "Yes! [very enthusiastically. He's mentioned Rose being 'gloriously selfish' in some previous confidential, as I recall. It's very much a part of her character, as written from the very beginning.] She always has been."
DT: "She always has been, right. And it just makes... kinda sense... [like I said, essential bit of the character. It's part of what makes her Rose and that's why her wondering who Martha was and what she meant to the Doctor was just as essential as her incredibly epic leadership skills in "Turn Left"]"
RTD: "Yes. And in the way the new Doctor, the blue Doctor, acts as well."
DT: "When I went to do the ADR on this, there was a note on the thing saying, 'whispering in the ear'. Do the whispering in the ear. They wanted to have a line, to hear what I was whispering in her ear. Can't do that!"
RTD: "See, Donna knows what's going on. It's sad, I mean, she's got the man she wants, but it's not-"
DT: "It's not quite what she wants."
RTD: "It's just-"
DT: "It's very sad."
CT: "But it's such a brilliant realization of that- their story. [*hearts Catherine Tate*]"
DT: "But perfect. Just exactly what it should be."
Everyone: "Yeah. [the mutters of agreement are pretty adorable]"
RTD: "It's a hard one to... I think... in the end... it took so long to write in the end just as I couldn't see it... what it's about. But it's actually about the Doctor. It's about-"
DT: "It's about the Doctor giving her up."
RTD: "It's the hardest thing in the world. Both the Doctors know... you know what's happened, you say tell her what you've done and all that [note: he changes from third to second-person here, which is interesting]. You're giving her the biggest present in the world. Because even if you did pop across from a different parallel universe, you're still nine hundred years old. So, it's never, ever, ever going to work. And you know that she would devote herself to you and leave her family and stay on the TARDIS and die of old age in front of you, so you did exactly the right thing here."
(and then they go into the wonderful Doctor & Donna scene)