Doctor Who Rambling
Jul. 11th, 2006 09:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccatoriaIf you want to skip it, it basically boils down to a) 9th Doctor was pretty cool at times, b) 10th Doctor is kinda sucky, c) Rose was all right as Ace-lite until they totally forgot about character growth at the start of S2 and d) ZOMG for the first time, like, ever, I want to write fix-it fan fiction even though I don't even LIKE THE SHOW THAT MUCH ANYMORE!
I really feel that this new series had (has?) potential. Christopher Ecclestone is a fantastic actor, and Billie Piper is surprisingly good in the role. The Ninth Doctor, while not as immediately recognisably "Doctory" as some previous incarnations, was a strong character with an intriguing history that was both consistant with the old show, and gave it a unique chance to introduce character development and three dimensionality since these things are now prized in television series. Similarly, Rose is pretty much an Ace clone, but a bit girlier, but since I'm a big fan of Ace, the principle is sound.
The first series (the 9th Doctor's) is the strongest, I feel. Rose had a complete arc. The Doctor had a partially complete arc, although one that was frustrating in many ways. Thirteen episodes simply wasn't enough to explore the fantastic (pun intended) possibilities presented in both the backstory and Ecclestone's performance.
The sad fact is, I feel that the new series peaked during its second episode. The End of the World is a wonderful piece of television. It has everything it should, weirdness, cheesiness, deepness, good acting, poignancy, hinting at a background and setting the stage for future development.
Dalek was problematic in its use of the anviltastic shipper!dalek, and, to be honest, a lot of the writing. It was...well, cheesy, but not in the awesome scenery chewing way of the seventh or fourth doctors. That said, Christopher Eccelstone's performance was gold, and seeing the doctor believably reduced to a place where he would boil over with raw hatred and deliberately pick up a weapon with the intent to murder something, made a lot of other things in that episode worth putting up with.
ETA: Also, The Empty Child two parter - very close to the quality of End of the World. Genuinely scary, which was an achievement!.
Also, the Bad Wolf "revelation" while not as clever as I'd have liked, was nicely done. It gave Rose a purpose, tied her into the wider plot, finished her arc nicely, and set up the possibility of a new arc. It was a graceful way for the Ninth Doctor to go, and I'm willing to handwave the internal science consistancy regarding the way it was done. It was poetic, and for that I forgive it.
All in all, the Ninth Doctor's season wasn't quite as much fun for me as the Seventh, but I'm willing to entertain the notion that that's based on nostalgia to a degree. Doctor Who has always been cheesy, but then it has dramatic moments that shine through.
The new series promised that, but with a continuing character arc and plot as an added bonus! With a new more human? three dimensional? doctor, I was even getting used to the idea of a Doctor/Companion romantic relationship (didn't *like* it, but was starting to think it was a bit less squicky).
That said, I'm not a huge fan of the Tenth Doctor's season. It was okay. It was good kids TV and pretty good TV in general and I feel very sorry for David Tennant because he's an extremely good actor, and he has the charisma and mannerisms to make a great Doctor, but he isn't somehow and I'm inclined to blame the writing.
I felt like they didn't know where they were going. They have this emotional bombsite of a character history for the Ninth Doctor, which with thirteen episodes, they just didn't have enough time to explore. With the Tenth, they seem to be moving him away from that trauma a little. In many ways this makes sense. While he still experienced and remembers it, with each incarnation the Doctor *is* a new person, to a degree. It makes sense that the trauma is muted by distance. Problem is, they can't decide how muted or by how much distance, or what the Doctor's aim is *now*. And suddenly just having adventures isn't enough, because sometimes he *is* still all mad about what happened, and now that we've had such a strong motivation, it's hard to accept not having one.
They didn't know what they were doing for Rose either. Her first season arc was her growing up, becoming used to the alien, becoming, ultimately, alien herself while she was Bad Wolf. That experience was fucking huge and should have had an impact on her. The never-to-be-seen-again mention of it in the second episode of the second season was a tease and now irritates me. They could have come up with an interesting new character arc for her out of this. A million things that permanently affected her, or even just a perspective shift. Instead, her second season journey seemed to be...becoming smug. Not that I instensely dislike her. But I did come to dislike both her and the Doctor at times for being so...well, smug. For being arrogant and not in the way I was used to. In an exclusive, judegemental, frightening way. Again, Queen Victoria's admonishment was a fucking tease.
Which leads to, they didn't now what they were doing with the relationship between the Doctor and Rose. Romantic or otherwise. It overwhelmed the show, but was ultimately doomed to go nowhere due to the nature of the show, and again, tease. And not in a good way because now I worry this whole romantic flirtation will continue with the new companion and that's just...disturbing. But this is a rant I've posted before. So I'll move on and continue my critique.
The episodes of the second season weren't bad. The writing wasn't bad. The acting wasn't bad. Even the characterisation wasn't terrible. But I felt like it was listless and nowhere near as good as it should have been.
I'll give them credit for writing a far better ending for Rose than I thought they'd be able to, although I still think it's a little sad for her, stuck on some planet somewhere, unable to experience the world she learned to love. That said, at least she had a job at Not!Torchwood. At least there's a good reason she literally can't see the Doctor again.
But the whole thing left me feeling a bit hollow. Like, the first season was full of cheesy pageantry and here and there, touches of acting brilliance or gut-wrenching storytelling that really connected. Like old Who, although, yes, there were differences, and not necessarily for the better.
This season, maybe it's just that the 10th Doctor will never be a favourite, but I feel that the acting and storytelling connected with me less (even though there were just as many moments that should have) because I was distanced from the characters. I wasn't sure where they were going, what they wanted, or why they were acting like assholes.
When your favourite characters on the show ends up being the Doctor's Assistant's family (mother, boyfriend, father who doesn't even EXIST), there's something a bit wrong.
So...I'm still okay with the show. I'll still watch it. But for the first time in a very long time (actually ever) I understand the desire to write "fix-it" fan fiction.
I've always understood that fixing it was one of the (many) reasons to write fan fiction. But it's never been something I've wanted to do. If I have had ideas for stories (which I probably never wrote) that would "fix" something, then that was probably a side-effect of the inspiration for the story in the first place. I've always approached fan fiction as more of a "let's seen what else we can explore," sort of thing, rather than a "let's take back our show from those bastard writers," kind of thing.
Possibly this is because I've been in the fortunate position that I've a) been reasonably happy with the direction of my favourite shows, or at least been able to rationalise the actions and motivations of the characters in weirder circumstances (i.e. Farscape, Battlestar Galactica) or b) when I have fallen out of love with a show due to INSANE writer/creator decisions, that falling out of love has been so complete that I actually lose most of my interest in the thing (i.e. The X-Files).
So, this situation is new to me. I don't dislike the universe at all. I don't even dislike the characters. I'm still, loosely, interested in what's going on now, and I love the universe and the possibilities it presents.
For the first time, I want to stop them making anything else and take over BECAUSE I COULD DO IT BETTER, DAMMIT!
Which is an oddly passionate response considering I don't even *LIKE* this show that much anymore. And that's not me, like, suppressing it. I really don't. I think what it is, is, I'm *angry* I don't like it so much now, and anger is a passionate response.
Because, I swear, with the ending they gave us for Rose, I can totally write a "what happens next" story which will get us to a point where the Ninth Doctor is facing down Rose like she's the episode's villain and she *will* be, but not in a "Ooh, look, she lost it and became evil," sort of way. And yes, it will make sense as to why it's the Ninth Doctor, and not the Tenth. And there'll be a girl named Lily and a girl named Violet, because in this story there will be three shades of everyone. And it will end with the Doctor saying, "I don't do domestic," and Rose looking at the devastation she's wreaked and considering the devastation she's about to wreak, and saying, "Good. Neither do I."
Because really, I can fix Rose so she's not Ace mark II (cos who'd want to be Ace mark II? You'd be doomed to playing second fiddle forever, a little like Mickey) and I can get back the Ninth Doctor because his issues were sooooo much more fascinating than Top Shop Man. And I'd enjoy reading it much more than watching the third season.
Is this common? Oy.
In other news, two of Kevie's folders on his computer are names, "Gayness," and "It Came From The Deep." If you know him, you probably won't be surprised that neither is intended to be used for filthy images. Still...that plus being made to watch Godzilla vs King Kong this evening ("But Rebecca! It's a giant electric monkey!") is more than any girl should have to put up with without chocolate. And I have no chocolate. It's a good thing I find him funny. No really, it is.
