BARROWMAN *shakes fist*

[mercy_angel_09]

Sooooooo, I've been watching a lot of Doctor Who as of late. Like, mind-blowing amounts. I watch the episodes, I find fanvids and other uploads on YouTube (I'm still going to recommend Doctor Who and the Curse of the Fatal Death, written by current Who executive producer and head writer Steven Moffat (the man behind those $*@#!$% Weeping Angels) - and if you're wondering, that link leads to the official YouTube posting of that twenty minute story, courtesy of Red Nose Day, who commissioned the piece in the first place, so it's not an act of piracy to watch it) and get David Tennant fixes any way I can.

Which included a gratuitous viewing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in which I pointed out cast members who have also had roles in Who. Tennant, being the obvious example, as Barty Crouch, Jr. Shirley Henderson, who plays Moaning Myrtle in both Chamber of Secrets and Goblet of Fire played LINDA member Ursula in the season two episode, "Love & Monsters." Where it gets really interesting is Roger Lloyd Pack, who plays Barty Crouch, Sr. He played John Lumic, creator of the Cybermen in the mid-season two-part episodes "Rise of the Cybermen" and "Age of Steel."

So I guess that means that the creator of the Cybermen in Pete's World is actually the Doctor's father?

Woo! Six Degrees has never been so much fun!

Anyway, today I watched four episodes from series four - "The Doctor's Daughter" (interestingly enough, staring Peter Davidson's (the Fifth Doctor, for those of you keeping score at home) daughter Georgia Moffett in the titular role as the Doctor's Daughter - yes, they had a good laugh about it), "The Unicorn and the Wasp," "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead." I thought about plugging straight on through to the end of series four, but decided against it. After all, once I get through series four, I have the Christmas special, the Easter Special, the Autumn Special and then the last Christmas special with Tennant. Three out of the four of those will have to be Netflixed as they aren't streaming.

After I finish what's out on DVD and Netflix, I'm going to go into withdrawals. ::le sigh:: But I can wait.

Which leads me to my next bit 'o rambling: Companions.

Back during the TV meme I noted that my least favorite character was Rose Tyler. While Rose was mostly tolerable during the first season of the revived series, she wandered into Mary Sue territory during the second season, which, at least in my opinion, was wonderfully lampshaded in "School Reunion" when she confronts the Doctor about his previous companions and why she had never head of them with a near verbatim, "But I thought I was special!" Um, no honey, you aren't. Rose isn't even the most popular companion. I would say that honor goes to one Sarah Jane Smith, who has gotten her own spin-off (second go at it, and this time it stuck, thanks).

For what it's worth, I don't completely hate Rose, but she does bother me quite a bit. She spends an awful lot of time mooning over the Doctor (probably moreso after he regenerates). And while Martha has a crush on the Doctor as well, part of her knows that she can't compete with the memory of Rose and she tends to keep her affections for the Doctor a bit closer to the vest. Anyway, Rose tends to be her best when she's not around the Doctor. After all, in "Tooth and Claw" she's the one who rallies the rest of the prisoners to get the hell out of the basement before the werewolf changes. But get her around the Doctor and suddenly she's a moon eyed calf. And an irritating one at that.

Martha, poor Martha, ends up with a crush on the Doctor when he kisses her. Admittedly, what he did was to stall the Judoon, but what it does is sweep her off her feet. I know quite a few girls (and probably a few guys, too) who would be instantly smitten if they suddenly found themselves in a liplock with David Tennant (or just the Doctor in general). Admittedly, while you can tell by the way she looks at him, and her obvious jealousy whenever Rose is mentioned, she never comes out and says that she wants to travel with the Doctor forever - in fact I would say after the whole Family of Blood ordeal she would depart gracefully when the time came. And Martha's speech about why she couldn't stay with the Doctor is really quite brilliant - basically she says that in order to truly become herself, she has to let the Doctor go and move on with her life. Besides, Tom Milligan is adorable, even if she ends up marrying Mickey in the end (Pair the Spares, but who the hell cares, believe it or not Martha and Mickey are cute together).

Donna, brilliant, brilliant Donna. She spent so much time thinking that she was worthless, feeling inadequate, that by the time she becomes Doctor Donna, you realize that there's more to her, that there has ALWAYS been more to her. She's smart, funny, snarky, and best of all, has absolutely no problems calling the Doctor on some of his more unbelievable bullshit (i.e. the murdering of the Racnoss, since they were only children). She establishes herself as the moral sensibility, but eventually proves useful as a companion, making connections and coming to realizations that even the Doctor hadn't even come up with.

I think that these companions present an interesting filter to view the Doctor. Rose is in her late teens, and as such allows herself to be carried away by the more fanciful side of the Doctor. The promise of travel to anywhere in the universe and whenever she wants in time is something that she never thought she'd have. At that age, she still has quite a bit of life in front of her and she's still trying to establish herself. Martha is probably in her mid-twenties, and has nearly figured out what she wants from her life, but still has time to see what else is out there. Certainly traveling with the Doctor broadens her perspectives and gives her a level of credibility that she probably wouldn't have gotten if she hadn't gone with the Doctor (remember, UNIT pushed through her certification after they learned that she had been traveling with the Doctor). Donna, as a woman in her thirties, is someone who theoretically should already know what she wants out of life. She learns that her worldview is very small, and though she initially refuses his offer to travel with him, she realizes her mistake and finds him so that she can see the universe. Someone her age traveling with the Doctor implies serious relationship, which is why there's the running gag of everyone assuming they're a couple. (Trivia time! Catherine Tate is actually three years older than David Tennant!)

Each companion brings something new to the table. Sarah Jane was really the first companion to be able to take care of herself. Romana was a Time Lady in her own right (and actually regenerated as well, so we had Romana I and Romana II). And Susan, if you take her at face value, is supposedly the Doctor's granddaughter (which fits into the explicit statements of the Doctor noting that he had a family back on Gallifrey in the new series). Leela is the namesake of The Other Leela (you know, the one with one eye and a penchant for violence).

...

I should probably stop rambling now. I'm fairly certain that this post will make no sense to anyone but me.

Comments

[randomdiversion.livejournal.com]

And every other Dr. Who addict.

[mercy-angel-09.livejournal.com]

Yeah....