Time and A Half
Re-GEN-er-ATE!
I had to. I’m sorry. 0=)
So, my first Doctor Who-themed post talked about a greater power the Time Lords were bound to. The second was my overall take on the first three seasons. I hadn’t watched the last half of season three when I initially wrote that, so I saved four and five for this one (which was originally just for five). I think it works, though.
Okay, here’s my character sketch of the Doctor and his story arc. I cut down some of this because I feel like I’d be recovering old ground to keep it. This is just an off-the-cuff overview of the Doctor’s personal story arc. Yes, I didn’t mention River. She’s for later.
- In the beginning, the war-weary Doctor is an angry, broken fellow difficult to please, but that only adds to his elation when “Everybody lives!” In a weird way, Rose’s house was home base for him, so losing them is like losing his second family . Once he regenerates, the newly regenerated Doctor is an odd mix of brash and cocksure mingled in with an apparent real fear his companion won’t like his new self.
- I’m counting Runaway Bride in this, but after he loses a companion, from here out is a marked difference in tone. He never fully recovers from the events of season two. Every time he starts to heal internally, something happens. Over and over and over again all the way through season four. At the beginning he’s miserably lonely, and by the end he’s just as alone as he began, with even more losses in his wake. Worse, he’s shutting off completely, burying his heart in a kind of self-preservation mode. I think in the end I have to agree the Doctor’s emotional instability sends some mixed messages thematically. The inner turmoil with the Doctor works for me. I didn’t have a problem with a brash Doctor that lashes out and does crazy things when he gets emotional…and emotional happens a lot in this season. I liked the play on his “human” and “Time Lord” natures–The one thing he wants, he can never have.
- And after that, it feels like a Shakespearean tragedy. It’s full of the entire emotional spectrum. One of my favorite moments is when it looks like the Doctor’s going to take revenge and kill the Master…and instead puts his arms around his enemy and forgives him. Another highlight for me, anyway. By the end, the beloved Doctor has come to the end of himself (no puns, please). And he loses everything – again. He loses his third family (Donna’s). He realizes he’s become everything he despises and done things he swore he wouldn’t. And he falls apart. “Waters of Mars” is almost a flip on the Pompeii episode: In the earlier episode, he won’t fight Time; in the later, he tries. And fails–resulting in even worse consequences. But the best twist about this season was expecting the Doctor to be the redeemer and instead the Doctor is the redeemed.
So, for me it’s been one long arc from angry and beaten (Ninth) to unsettled and wild (Tenth – 1&2) to miserably lonely and angry (Tenth – 3&4) until he finally hits the bottom and admits to having become something he despises. For a guy who actively wants hope, he’s certainly lost all sense of it by the end.
The TARDIS is falling!
My initial impression of the 11th Doctor was total refreshment. It was a deep breath of much needed air. Don’t get me wrong. I liked the 10th. But by the end it’s his whole being, body and soul, that needs regenerating. He can’t breathe, so the viewers can’t. And the final minute or so of The End of Time picked up on the need, I think. They could have ended it sooner, with a downtrodden, hopelessly alone Doctor locking himself in the TARDIS, tossing his coat, and setting a course, facing his last few moments alone, and setting the whole thing on fire.
I’ll admit, I might have. I’m a bit ruthless that way. But it doesn’t end on the down note. Now that everyone’s in emotional distress, the Doctor finishes his regeneration , gives himself a once-over, and, still disoriented and out of sorts, tries to straighten out a falling TARDIS.
So now we’re not sad. We’re not sure he’ll pull out of the crash. The end.
Season 5
And season five kicks off exactly where four left us. The TARDIS crashes in front of a house where a little girl named Amelia Pond lives. (I’m saving a breakdown of Amy and Rory for my next post, which covers the companions and their respective relationships to the Doctor.) And, just like his previous regeneration, it takes him awhile to get his bearings.
I really think Beast Below is my favorite episode of season five. If you were only going to watch one episode of this season, I’d probably pick that one. (The Smilers don’t qualify as ‘monsters,’ btw. They’re…well, they’re the least scary creatures in the DW universe as far as I’m concerned.) It’s an odd moment where everything you need to know about who the Doctor is shows up in one episode.
And maybe, for him, crashing outside a little girl’s house was itself a pinprick of hope. He isn’t alone now; in fact, he winds up with more companions than he knows what to do with. If Ten was lonely, Eleven couldn’t get any privacy if he tried. He’s internalizing a lot more now, for better or worse, and he’s got friends who can see straight through his facade–which I think he secretly likes. It’s got a good mix of light and dark moments, I think, and I appreciate the subtleties of the new storylines.
He’s taken a great deal of focus off himself. As a friend of mine put it, the season’s story really about Amy and Rory, not the Doctor. He’s bound and determined to keep them together and get Amy down the aisle with Rory–and without compromising their relationship. Somehow.
My biggest critique, really, with season five (and, really, a little into six as well) is the number of innuendos and “moments” seemed to go up. Part of that’s par for the course given Amy’s nature, I suppose, but by the end it was a bit tiresome. And I’m pretty sure it’s time to stop with the Rory death scenes. And to stop making Rory think Amy’s cheating or something.
At any rate, thematically they’re still playing with the same concepts as before, just not quite as directly. Major themes still include:
- Non-violence as a virtue
- Human nature
- Faith/trust/belief in something/one
All of which I suppose I’ll cover next time.
I think if I had to sum up season five, I’d say it’s the restoration of hope, with this weird parallel between the newly regenerated Doctor and the six year old Amy, his need for her to trust him, and his need for newfound hope. It’s a search, in a way, for both of them.
Is it a coincidence that the first time I alight on this site, you talk about my favorite TV show? No, never a coincidence. 🙂
“The Beast Below” is my favorite Series 5 episode too. It really showed me how the new ADD Doctor wasn’t all whipped cream.
Haha. Yeah. It’s all an act, I swear.
Welcome, Lostariel!
This is the third of Kaci‘s series about Doctor Who; her other two columns, along with several others about the programme, are all here.
Thanks! I clicked the tags hoping for more great stuff and definitely found it. 🙂
Fascinating!
As a beginning Dr. Who fan making my way through seasons 1-4, I find it interesting to read another Christian’s POV on the series. I haven’t gotten to the 11th Doctor, but I am noticing as we get closer to the season 4 finale that the 10th is losing some of his characteristics that let our family fall in love with him and Definitely the growing sense of hopelessness that seems to haunt him throughout.
Do you think the 5th season’s change of spirit came from a change in the headwriter (Steven Moffatt, of Blink fame)?
Allonz-y
ellen
I really like how RJ Anderson put it: “Nine is about falling in love with the Doctor. Ten is about falling out of love with him.” Personally, I don’t recall ever disliking Ten, but as he falls apart he becomes less charming and more despairing – which, oddly, is likely why he couldn’t keep a companion. The companions can’t sustain him. They can’t repair him. And he can’t repair himself, either. Really, I don’t think the Tenth Doctor can be watched piecemeal. It’s all one long story, and if you don’t watch start to end you don’t really know who he is and why he’s behaving the way he is.
For me, the charm of Ten is in how *human* he’s become, if that makes sense. The brokenness, the miserable solitude, the need to cling to anything that smells like hope. It’s a man in need of a savior.
You know, I really wouldn’t have known about the head writer change if someone hadn’t told me (and if I hadn’t gotten into some of the behind the scenes stuff as a result), so it’s hard for me to say. I think it definitely influenced it; Moffat’s much more subtle in technique (RTD liked in-your-face, over the top, explosive stuff; whereas Moffat goes for the suspense/creepy factor). I think, too, each actor plays the Doctor the way they see him.
I do get the impression, also, that they worked to make Matt Smith’s age work for him instead of against him: Everything from the costume to the total irreverent madness of the Doctor. Everything’s extremely physical with him, too.
Oh, yes, it totally works for him. He’s so young, except for those moments when something slips out and you look in his eyes. There’s an interesting comment when the Doctor meets River in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead.
“Look at you. You’re young.”
The Doctor: “I’m really not, you know.”
“Oh but you are. Your eyes! You’re younger than I’ve ever seen you.”
Eleven may be in his 2nd (possibly 3rd, if you look at the Fourth Doctor) childhood, but that’s because he’s suffered so much pain that he ‘died’ emotionally.
To double up on myself, your comment about falling out of love with the Doctor really applies to my experiance with seasons five and six. In series six, he keeps being unable to rescue them–dying in front of them, unable to bring their baby back, stuck outside of Twostreams because of the quarentine….it’s strange to say, but he is almost passive, reacting to events but unable to take control.
This post is all deliciousness for my inner (or is it all-the-way-through, dyed-in -the-wool) geek.
I actually started with season five, and then went back for 1-4, which definately impacted my perspective on the series. I mean, I started with this crazy adorkable man-child, who can speak of the Last Time War/ events of End of Time as “A bad day. Bad stuff happened” in Beast Below, and then when you get to Nine, it’s Survivor’s Guilt Personified and even Ten is still recovering. Eleven is definately my Doctor, and I suppose that accounts for the fact that Nine is near the bottom of my list.
What you said about Beast Below is true. I think of Eleventh Hour as the one that hooked me–from the first words (AGGH doesn’t count) of the Eleventh Doctor “Can I have an apple? All I can think about is an apple. Maybe I’m having a craving. Oh that’s new, never had cravings before”– and Beast Below was when I ‘got it.’ That speech of Amy’s shaped my perspective of the Doctor, even though it’s not as accurate for the earlier ones.
I suppose one good quote that sums up the difference between Eleven and Ten comes from a character in Blink: “I like sad. Sad is happy for deep people.”
(This is almost becoming its own post. I better stop.)
Haha. Well said.
On this part: “That speech of Amy’s shaped my perspective of the Doctor, even though it’s not as accurate for the earlier ones.”
I think, and I haven’t seen the old ones, but I think I can guess, that the Doctor can be very cruel and very kind. (And I know some might contend with me on the cruel part, but there really are moments where he’s being quite unkind – and most of the time I don’t fault him for it.) Rile him, and he’ll go dark and do things like destroy his own planet and think the only way to save the world is to kill an innocent (alluded to in Beast Below, but immediately countered when Amy realizes there’s a fourth option and that he doesn’t really want to do what he’s about to). But he can also be quite kind, as seen by his attentions to both Amy and the other little girl. Beast Below only hints at his dark side and seems to hint it’s tunnel vision or short-sidedness. (Season six hints at this in the latest episode: “Don’t get emotional. You make mistakes when you’re emotional.”)
“Sad is happy for deep people”… 😀
Its true, and I think the Tenth’s humanity is what makes me like him.
His demeanor of a man who has been through the fire and back but will continue to do what is right is just…wow.
From what I have seen of the 11th Doctor, he seems too light-hearted to connect with those of the audience that sympathised with the Tenth. I have heard that he is more alien than most of the doctors. If alien means that he’s lost that connecting point of deep pain, then that’s a writing problem.
I still am not all the way through the Tenth, and my veiwpoint will probably change, but I find his character (and I guess the 9th- I haven’t seen enough of him) to be more human and realistic than the 11th.
Just some thoughts.
Still love the article! Thanks Kaci!
Ellen, Ten is definately the most human of the Doctors. A human with serious issues, but still, mostly human. But he’s not really human at all, and it’s easy to forget it. Eleven has deep moments too, such as the whale in Beast Below, or his farewell to Amelia in Big Bang. Yet some of his most in-character moments are when he’s not human, like his “Everything, you’re dying,” in Flesh and Stone, or the entire episode of The Lodger
Eleven is an enigma. He internalizes more, buries the pain better than before, but he does get there. I don’t know about more alien as much as he seems determined to only let his friends in so far. Ten just pushed everyone away. Eleven…is trying. You’ll still see it, just not as often.
Plus, if you don’t agree with me on season five…season six is ripping the mask off.
Sure thing. 0=) Thank you.
I agree about Ten pushing the pain away. In Forest of the Dead, Donna pins it, but he pushes away–
You alright?
I’m always all right.
Is “all right” really some sort of Time Lord code for “really not alright at all?”
But Eleven does have some moments of vulnerabilty. Especially “The Doctor’s Wife.” Rassilion, that was so funny, and yet still so painful…
Oh! Video commentary on that Satan Pit episode. Fred seems to win this one. 0=)
You are so making me want to watch every bit of it, Kaci! (since your last post I’ve only watched some out of order episodes…. which doesn’t let me follow the plotlines the way you are describing here)
That’s fascinating. Very, very fascinating. So far I like Eleven best… I definitely can see how he’s using his child-like tendencies to cover up how badly he hurts sometimes, too. It’s just a really interesting angle to take…. **rambles off into mental musing on portrayals of emotional pain**
By the way, when is your next post? I had thought this was a weekly thing… but last week there was no post. 🙁
I post every other week, switching off with the lovely Rachel. So I don’t post next week, but the one after: 1 June.
I use Blinkx mostly to watch, that and a freeonlineepisodes site (no, I don’t download). I think it’d be really hard to watch out of order. I didn’t like Blink or Girl in the Fireplace much the first time cuz I watched out of order and had no idea what was going on. Once I saw them in the right order, they were great.
I have three DW posts; Stephen has two, maybe three, from a few years ago (just click the Doctor Who tag). I have one more officially DW post, and after that I’m going to discuss a subject DW frequents, but I’m not going to stay just within the one show.
I probably wouldn’t have gotten that deep into some of this, but I got into some great conversation and Fred and RJ both left me with a lot to think about on a few episodes, so I had to work it out.
Addendum: Yeesh. Each sentence there started with “I.” Doesn’t that look narcissistic….
Ahhh, okay. That makes sense now… though I dinna wanna wait for your next post! **cries** XD
I’ve never heard of Blinkx… I watched a bit on youtube but due to questioning of whether or not that’s legal, planning on attempting to be patient and watch it on netflix this winter. In order. And filling in during the summer with lots and lots of spoilers on the TARDIS wikia and TVtropes. hehe.
Oh, thanks for letting me know about those other posts; I had seen yours but not the other ones. 🙂
My husband, his friends, and nearly his entire family are Doctor-Who-obsessed, down to the last child. (Sunday dinner conversations all hinge on it!…good grief!) He’d sit and watch the show (Seasons 3 and 4) while I made dinner in the evenings, and I’d listen to all the screaming and grating sound effects and think, “Oooof, I really hate this show.” It was creepy and spooky in a way that brought back bad childhood memories, and hurt my ears.
Then Season Five started.
I found myself hovering near the TV.
Then sitting down next to him.
Hey, the Daleks have deeper voices now, not quite *as* grating.
Hey, this Doctor has adorable enthusiasm about everything, and wears a bow tie! Hee!
The season finale was EPIC.
Now I’m completely sucked in. 😀 I can’t WAIT until the next season is available on Netflix!!
…I think it all hinges on the Doctor himself. My mother- and sister-in-law, for instance, loved David Tennant and are kind of annoyed at Matt Smith. But I guess I just like Matt Smith, because this is the first time I’ve ever enjoyed Doctor Who.
Haha. I’m an oddball who doesn’t see them as different people, so it’s hard for me to like one over the other. I do think each actor brings their own spin to the table, as do the throughlines of each season.
I am a first-generation Whovian myself, but I am slowly introducing my younger brother to the appropriate episodes. Now, if only I had a set of the Sarah Jane Adventures. That would be such a cool way to get him hooked…
Somewhat randomly, when I saw my first episode (which happened to be the first episode of the new series 1), my instant assessment was that the Doctor is much like that crazy character in Manalive, and reminded me of something I couldn’t place in something (or multiple somethings – I really can’t remember) by Lewis. The idea of a character full of contradictions (crazy and yet I do believe he’s the most sane person around most of the time; safe and yet dangerous; young and yet old; gentle and yet capable of a lot of damage) really intrigues me.
Great article as always, Kaci! And a Doctor Who one. Awesome. One thing I have to disagree with you on though is that the Smilers are the least scary ‘monsters’ in the DW universe. I found them terrifying in their introductory scene (but maybe you don’t have a childhood fear of clowns?)
Heya! Thanks!
Haha. There’s two more coming if you’re curious.
I don’t. I know plenty who have it, though.
But to be fair, I don’t find *most* of the monsters frightening. Several I just think ridiculous. What’s creepy to me are the things most difficult to explain. It’s mostly a style thing, I think. Scare me enough to jump, I’ll jump and be over it in a minute or two. Slowly creep me out, I won’t be able to think about it without a nightmare (or daymare).
I was that kid who didn’t like the shadows created by cracked doors, or the way moonlight cast ghost-like shapes, or creeped out over what turned out to be a big branch tapping my window in a late-night breeze. (I’m quite near-sighted without glasses or contacts, and my left ear is deaf, and maybe the combination had something to do with it.)
I’ll confess mine was an exaggeration. Honestly, the molten plastic is by far the least-scary monster. Definitely less so than Smilers. 0=)