The Who Review
Mar. 31st, 2007 10:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rabid1stYeah...I watched it. I didn't have to be hospitalized for stomach pains...though they were very crampy...honestly. ;->
Under the cut there are spoilers...BEWARE
Do I like Martha? Yes. I had no doubt I would actually. Because RTD was writing the episode and I've liked every character he's ever created. The man knows how to make a character linger in the mind as a real individual. And Martha is an individual. I felt the flirting at the end...actually was awkward...and almost insincere...but it got the job done for the Doctor to state his bit.
And it set up hundreds of Martha fans to do fanfic about him really fancying her best because she's smart as paint. And let's touch on that for a moment...she didn't strike me as particularly smart. Not as smart as Rose in some ways even. This struck me rather forcefully in the final scene...when she does the standard...into the TARDIS...out again...in again..."It's bigger on the inside!" With the Doctor mimicking in the background. Because...Rose didn't do that.
I mean...yes, she said something about it being bigger on the inside. But she did it with deduction...and she was sharp as anything about it. "It's bigger on the inside...it's alien. Are you alien?" Yet there's Martha...facing aliens and all..."Oh, come on?" over the Doctor, who obviously knows quite a lot...TELLING her he's an alien. I don't think Russell really holds with the oft quoted bits about Martha being smarter than Rose. What Martha does is question...which is a standard companion role.
It allows the Doctor to explain. With Rose he used to explain just to fascinate her...and she would just soak it all up like a sponge. Rose wasn't a project for him but most companions are...he sees something in them and expands on it by explaining about the universe. Which he used to do all the time with companions...so that's a bit of old school right there. In fact...it occurs to me that Martha is a bit like the Brigadier...sure of herself and organized and likely to keep the Doctor on track.
I could have lived without the kiss...really...and the flirting...but, as I've said, it got the job done...because Rose was named and I love his little "With her family...happy!" and "We were...together." SIGH! And David did an admirable job of showing no trace of that flirtatious smirk he uses on everyone...at least until she said she didn't fancy aliens. Though there was an open door to ship there when it seemed he might flirt over her challenging him.
So...will I continue to watch? Not sure really. I felt quite detached from this episode. Lots of running about and I didn't care. I will probably give them one more go. As you can't tell much with Russell writing...he makes me smile...that postman bit...was so like something I would write for Disheveled...(and the bare feet) it sort of scared me. It felt like the Doctor in my head was on screen for a bit of this...going on about meeting the wife for dinner. I'm sure it's more like foreshadowing but I did feel that all the talk about wives and partners...reflected back to Rose.
The "Run"...and "And again"...with the hand hold. It is interesting to note that he lets go of Martha's hand and they run. With Rose...in the episode of the same name...they hold hands and run across the bridge...no monsters...just hand holding joy. Of the sort they had on New Earth. He held Rose's hand because he wanted to hold her hand. Just like when he kissed her to save her...he didn't say..."This means nothing...really." He said, "Looks like you could use a Doctor. Come 'ere!"
The Judoon were more interesting with their helmets on. I liked the plasmavore lady. But thought pulling the plug on doom was a little low tech. Still, overall it was an interesting, entertaining episode. Good job RTD.
Rae
Under the cut there are spoilers...BEWARE
Do I like Martha? Yes. I had no doubt I would actually. Because RTD was writing the episode and I've liked every character he's ever created. The man knows how to make a character linger in the mind as a real individual. And Martha is an individual. I felt the flirting at the end...actually was awkward...and almost insincere...but it got the job done for the Doctor to state his bit.
And it set up hundreds of Martha fans to do fanfic about him really fancying her best because she's smart as paint. And let's touch on that for a moment...she didn't strike me as particularly smart. Not as smart as Rose in some ways even. This struck me rather forcefully in the final scene...when she does the standard...into the TARDIS...out again...in again..."It's bigger on the inside!"
I mean...yes, she said something about it being bigger on the inside. But she did it with deduction...and she was sharp as anything about it. "It's bigger on the inside...it's alien. Are you alien?" Yet there's Martha...facing aliens and all..."Oh, come on?" over the Doctor, who obviously knows quite a lot...TELLING her he's an alien. I don't think Russell really holds with the oft quoted bits about Martha being smarter than Rose. What Martha does is question...which is a standard companion role.
It allows the Doctor to explain. With Rose he used to explain just to fascinate her...and she would just soak it all up like a sponge. Rose wasn't a project for him but most companions are...he sees something in them and expands on it by explaining about the universe. Which he used to do all the time with companions...so that's a bit of old school right there. In fact...it occurs to me that Martha is a bit like the Brigadier...sure of herself and organized and likely to keep the Doctor on track.
I could have lived without the kiss...really...and the flirting...but, as I've said, it got the job done...because Rose was named and I love his little "With her family...happy!" and "We were...together." SIGH! And David did an admirable job of showing no trace of that flirtatious smirk he uses on everyone...at least until she said she didn't fancy aliens. Though there was an open door to ship there when it seemed he might flirt over her challenging him.
So...will I continue to watch? Not sure really. I felt quite detached from this episode. Lots of running about and I didn't care. I will probably give them one more go. As you can't tell much with Russell writing...he makes me smile...that postman bit...was so like something I would write for Disheveled...(and the bare feet) it sort of scared me. It felt like the Doctor in my head was on screen for a bit of this...going on about meeting the wife for dinner. I'm sure it's more like foreshadowing but I did feel that all the talk about wives and partners...reflected back to Rose.
The "Run"...and "And again"...with the hand hold. It is interesting to note that he lets go of Martha's hand and they run. With Rose...in the episode of the same name...they hold hands and run across the bridge...no monsters...just hand holding joy. Of the sort they had on New Earth. He held Rose's hand because he wanted to hold her hand. Just like when he kissed her to save her...he didn't say..."This means nothing...really." He said, "Looks like you could use a Doctor. Come 'ere!"
The Judoon were more interesting with their helmets on. I liked the plasmavore lady. But thought pulling the plug on doom was a little low tech. Still, overall it was an interesting, entertaining episode. Good job RTD.
Rae
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
How did you watch it?
Date: 2007-04-01 03:04 am (UTC)Oh...sorry...I'm not in the states just now
Date: 2007-04-01 03:13 am (UTC)I'm sure there are places to DL it...but as a librarian...I'd rather not have any discussion of that on my LJ...because of the copyright business. Also, if you do DL...please watch in real time, too...supporting via ratings so the BBC can keep paying David's salary.
Rae
Re: Oh...sorry...I'm not in the states just now
Date: 2007-04-01 03:17 am (UTC)Take care!
Re: Oh...sorry...I'm not in the states just now
Date: 2007-04-01 03:27 am (UTC)That's alright. I'd love to see it, though. Until then, I'll have to force myself to avoid the spoilers. I can't even tell you how many good episodes I've ruined for myself doing that! But I'll happily join this discussion once I've seen it. :) ~DJ
How did you watch it?
Date: 2007-04-01 03:06 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-01 03:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-01 03:13 am (UTC)Martha may be well-read and educated, but Rose was smart. I think those are two totally different things.
I liked Martha but I really did feel the lack of Rose. That balance she provided wasn't there. She filled a gap for the Doctor and it's presence is notably missing.
I'll continue to watch just because I'm too big of a fan not to. I'll really miss Rose though. Even more than I realized.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-01 03:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-01 03:22 am (UTC)Exactly, Ivy...that's it
Date: 2007-04-01 03:31 am (UTC)Rose was...well...his other half. She was taking in the information she needed about him and the universe because she honestly enjoyed him and the life he led. They were mates as the fella in the Times put it...(best mates...soulmates...flatmates...etc. ;-> ) and so she was interested in everything about him.
And I think she was also like him...just curious about things...how things worked...she often knew more than him about that...in Fear Her...about the little girl and her Mum. Or about Toby in the Satan Pit ("What are you? Chief dramatist?") she often tumbled to what was going on before the Doctor.
Martha is more about satisfying her knowledge and gaining something from the experience. And there is nothing wrong with that...it's very health. As is her interest in a man who wears tight slacks and kisses her. She'd interested in a date. Oh, and the reaction to the word DATE...in New Earth...it's accepted "We had chips." And it's even accepted in End of the World. But not here.
Rae
'DATE' ~ Very nice catch!
Date: 2007-04-01 03:52 am (UTC)Rose was a complement to the Doctor. They just fit together very well. And it wasn't the experience that was the draw for her, after EotW it was him.
I definitely did like Martha
Date: 2007-04-01 03:23 am (UTC)Thanks for the cut of the DL comment. I do have my ALA membership to consider. And I don't think they will let me back in England if I pirate the Doctor. Though again...I call for Fan Licensing to vid. Because vidding is like breathing...or writing Rose/Ten smut...it WILL happen regardless.
Rae
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-01 03:56 am (UTC)I agree with you about the hand holding and kissing. I have always thought that although Rose was one in many before and to come that there was something special about her. She managed to bring the Doctor out of a very dark place and back into the light. For that, she is to me the Doctor's soul mate as Rusty explained.
Perhaps they're trying to make Martha look smarter and all that jazz but in the end, I think Rose truly clicked with the Doctor and it wasn't just about whether they had chemistry. But rather, that they truly seem to "get" each other. Martha can definitely come to understand the Doctor and very much grow extremely close to him and hold all his trust but in the end there wasn't that instant connection like he had with Rose.
The whole time she was like "are you for real?" but Rose managed to cut through all that and accept everything from the moment it was thrown at her. It didn't scare her but rather motivated her to keep searching for more answers...that all important desire to see and know what the Universe has to offer.
Rose and Martha may seem the same in the whole I need a break from this life I'm living but further than that, they are two different characters and I definitely hope to see what will Martha get out of this. What will this experience do to her.
And that is the joy of Doctor Who...really...
Date: 2007-04-01 04:12 am (UTC)It's escapism of the finest sort. I know I never fantasized about a romance with the Doctor but I certainly thought about traveling with him. Frankly, one of the many things I admired about Rose was that she COULD love him and stay with him for the long haul.
As you say...she seemed to just "get" him...and love him anyway. And to me that was marvelous...because he is so very...MAD...and dangerous to know...and rude and many other things that would put a regular person off. But Rose went right along with him.
However, other dynamics are also interesting...so I am not bailing just yet on S3. Though, the difference with Rose is marked. I went back at watched a little of her and Nine and was impressed anew.
Rae
Re: And that is the joy of Doctor Who...really...
Date: 2007-04-01 04:25 am (UTC)And, I think this is a good thing. Martha is not Rose, so the Doctor's relationship with her should not be the same.
While I do think that there will be some sort of connection between the two, I don't think it will be like the Doctor's and Rose's. Their's played on the fence between friendship and lovers. I'm hoping that the relationship between Martha and the Doctor is more firmly established in the friend zone. I think they'd make fantastic friends, but I'll admit that her personality may be a bit too strong (as in aggressive) to put her in the romance zone. Rose had a softer personality incomparison and I think that's part of the reason why the Doctor connected to her the way he did.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-01 04:17 am (UTC)That I thought was an interesting parallel. Rose and Martha need a break from their lives, but for different reasons. For Rose, she was bored and wanted some adventure. For Martha, her family/lifestyle is stressing her out and she just needs to leave it for a bit. If she times her disappearances right, no one may ever notice them. (If I was her, I'd totally used TARDIS to give me more time for papers and essays. ;))
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-01 04:49 am (UTC)We should get together and chat
Date: 2007-04-01 05:28 am (UTC)I suppose it is a matter of adjusting to her style. But the over all feeling is not one of dislike...I like her fine. But she's not really making me love her or care to see her every week. Still, there's always next week. I didn't really get sold on New Who until End of the World...so...maybe the same thing will apply here.
Rae
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-01 06:07 am (UTC)Some of tonight felt a little bumpy, but I'm really quite relieved to find that I do like Martha. It's a bit early to be made to love her; even the Doctor doesn't want her around for the long haul. Yet. But RTD seems well aware of the need to do something new with this companion. She needs a different, but equally valuable, skill set, while serving some of the same functions narratively. The Doctor can't keep her at arm's length the entire series, and I don't want to see him emotionally shut down anyway. But they've broken the asexuality barrier (more than once!), and then it becomes a game of, "Well, if it's not a romantic relationship, is she inferior to Rose? And if she is, why should we care about her?" Besides, with David Tennant being David Tennant, it's like ignoring the elephant in the room if she never notices that he's terribly charming and good looking. But they have to tread carefully around the memory of Rose, especially since she is THE companion for many new viewers, and that relationship was unusually intense, especially given the state the Doctor was in when it began. The Tenth Doctor and Rose were more often in tune, where the Ninth and Rose tended to have more conflict; with Martha being written for the Tenth Doctor, I think they have some interesting opportunities.
Re: We should get together and chat
Date: 2007-04-01 06:26 am (UTC)But back to Martha! (that's a bit of a jump, don'chu think?lol) I think it'll take some adjusting to get used to her, for me, also... I mean, I really, really just miss Rose. Let's face it! She was a fun character. That and Rose/Ten were hella cute together. But I understand that as the years stretch on that there'll not only be new companions to replace the old, but new doctors, as well. Oh, and what a fit we'll all be having once Tennant's replaced, huh? ;) Or, at least some of us will...
I loved the "shout out" to Rose at the end. And hey? What was with the "We were... together,"? Words can't even describe how much I appreciated that. :)
Re: We should get together and chat
Date: 2007-04-01 05:14 pm (UTC)Anyways, her acting was off for me the entire episode. You aren't the first person I've seen say they liked her a bit less the second time through. I can't make myself watch it again, which for a Who episode is odd for me. I liked the parts she wasn't in. And I really was planning on giving her a fair shot/clean slate. But...
She really doesn't work for me. I didn't see her as her family's rock, like we were supposed to. At the end she just stands there and watches them argue. Her sister seemed to do a whole lot more than she did. She came off a thick to me sometimes as well.
I don't hate her (yet), but I definitely don't like her. As you said, I don't care what happens to her. Rose worked for me right away. And the shippiness didn't even kick in for me until TEC/TDD. But I cared about her right away.
And most companions I've Enough to make me want to see them again and what kind of journey they will have. With Martha I didn't get any of that.
I could go on and on but I won't do it here.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-01 06:01 am (UTC)Also, I liked that he was wearing his brown suit at the end when he talked about Rose. I'm kind of silly that way.
I also warmed to Martha quite a bit when I saw she has a bit of a pear-shaped figure with large thighs and such. Ha! Thank you so much for casting normal-looking women!!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-01 07:08 am (UTC)I didn't like Rose in that episode.
Good thing I'd seen other episodes FIRST; I didn't catch to the new series until "The Unquiet Dead" aired on SciFi. And I liked Rose in that episode. I didn't see "Rose" until the series had ended on SciFi, and when I did I told myself it was a good thing I hadn't seen that episode first.
It's almost as if RTD creates wonderful characters, but the rest of the writing team does a better job of playing with them.
Martha's family is really really going to get on my nerves. Too much like my in-laws.
Martha herself? I need more time to get to know her.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-01 07:12 am (UTC)But I have a feeling that will change dramatically, and not in favour of a Dr/martha ship.
As for the hair porn, was he on a computer or a van de Graaf generator? And when did he get his shoes back? I must have blinked at that moment.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-02 12:24 am (UTC)And did he get his shoes back? I'll have to watch it again and check. Good catch.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-02 07:53 pm (UTC)My feeling is...
Date: 2007-04-03 12:33 am (UTC)I'm glad to know that someone took the time to trace this down. As I said...somewhere...the lung-bypass issue is a non-issue, too. Because he was probably struggling there at the end due to just having all his blood drained away. Hard to work a two-heart bypass system if the hearts themselves have stopped.
Rae
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-01 09:06 am (UTC)I'm glad to hear the episode hasn't caused any hospitalization, so at the very least I have little fear of being reduced to garment-rending grief during the course of the episode. I'm glad to hear that Martha is so different, but in a way that doesn't paint Rose as anyway her inferior. This has been my hindmost dread, the foremost being that the Doctor, in his infinite wisdom, would prove to be naught but a fickle emo manslut. I'm glad that it sounds like he's telling Martha that's he's basically hands off. While I could have really done without the Doctor-crushing Martha seems to be doing, I'm hoping that it will fade before long, else my opinion of her will not improve.
I miss Rose terribly, so I'm not quite ready yet to watch the episode as of right now. I think I'm going to wait until next week to see what your take is on the new episode and to see whether or not you'll decide to continue watching. Because, as I have always stated, I trust your opinion, and I would rather just give the season a miss completely than open the door to have my heart broken all over again.
Great Review
Date: 2007-04-01 12:24 pm (UTC)Just wanted to say what a great review. Agreed all the way. Martha is ok but I would be more than happy if she was more of a one episode lass and Donna was the resident side kick. I think the reason Rose was so much better than Martha is because she loved the journey and the Dr for what she could bring to it where as I feel Martha is just there for what she can get out of it. Over all a good first episode although I thought the scene of the Dr carrying Martha was a bit OTT and sometimes I found Martha a bit unbelievable, and I'm pleased at the way the Kiss thing was resolved - I felt like the Dr was honestly totally not interested where as with CE's Dr you felt almost from the word go that he liked her more than just as a "friend" after all he did go back to ask her again to travel with him etc etc etc
Lovely xXx
Yeah, the carrying Martha ...
Date: 2007-04-01 01:21 pm (UTC)And I found myself a little annoyed by Martha's constant questioning because it made her look a bit thick even though she was supposed to be brilliant. I did find her rather brilliant with her family but I thought doctor in training was a stretch for the actress. Not that she was bad...I'm just not sure I believed her in some of the scenes.
Still...overall...I did like this episode and I am on the fence now about watching because I know that it will be this eventual clearing out of Rose...as that happens...my interest will probably wan as well. I mean, the idea of the Doctor going on doing what he did for all those years...is comforting and I think good for kiddies...but my going on watching...when I know that we are probably looking at the predictable return of the Time Lords and the Master and the NEXT regeneration...and so on...
I'm not sure it engages me like the idea of the Doctor in love with Rose did. I think if they HAD consummated that...had him go to her in the other universe. Or showed them simply settling down and living out her life span (not in real time obviously but in time lapse) it would have added to his overall depth as a character. Not to make him slutboi in space...but to have had him love someone deeply and truly and completely...would have shown him in a new light. Perhaps THAT is the light that drew me to the show...the ROSE LIGHT. And now...it's gone and we have same old, same old from this point forward.
Rae
happy you liked my review.
Re: Yeah, the carrying Martha ...
Date: 2007-04-01 06:25 pm (UTC)It's not just me, then! The bickering/questioning role can be fantastic if done well, yes, but please give her REASON to be doubting him. When she refuses to believe he's an alien, even though they're on the MOON and she heard TWO HEARTS and there are aliens all over the place, I just...what? That is not bright; that is contrary.
I'm undecided. I liked her well enough. Freema's very pretty and did a much more competent job than I would have thought, based on her appearance in AoG. I don't see the fantastic chemistry other people do, though.
Moving the thread hijack from T&C
Date: 2007-04-01 07:51 pm (UTC)This is why when DT and RTD announced that there hadn't been any physical relationship... - What did I miss? I haven't seen this article/interview/press release.
Related to that and our changing language is the notion that physical is sexual ('we made love in a physical way'). The Doctor and Rose evidently had a physical aspect to their relationship with the sheer amount of hugging and hand holding just to be together (rather than serving a purpose when running from danger), though you and I know they could become severely paralysed and still be as much in love. DT and RTD probably imply kissing and stroking (and sex) when they say their relationship wasn't sexual. Which is a shame in some ways but like you it doesn't bother me. It was evident they were in love and everything they did together was an expression of that.
It's a good point about modern media milking UST, I've never thought about it like that. The amount of conversations I had in my X Files days where when I said "I want M&S to admit they love each other" and the standard reply was "oh yes the sex would be fantastic" which didn't compute with me at the time. I've always thought it as realising the depths of emotions for the other person (like you), not the media's stand point of orgasm being the sole desire and end point. The world we live in.
Because Ten made love to Rose all the time right there on our screen.
I know this is is purile but dialogue just popped into my head:
[After SATAN PIT]
JACKIE: So are you and him, you know, together?
ROSE: He makes love to me every time he sees me.
JACKIE: Blimey, he's got some stamina!
ROSE: Mum, it's not like that! Well, it's hard to explain.
Blimey...that's so like Jackie.
Date: 2007-04-01 10:13 pm (UTC)I actually have this idea for a post-Doomsday fic taking it from that angle...that they hadn't had sex but Jackie (and Mickey and everyone else really) assumed they had. So, when the Doctor comes home to Rose it is assumed by everyone that they will be sharing a bed. And they're both...feeling awkward about it...but also not saying anything because they DO love each other.
I will see if I can hunt up the relevant articles from David and RTD. David's was on air, I think, he said..."They were together in every way but sexually." And he again implied that SEX wasn't something the Doctor had ever been interested in. And in the MSN interview it was good to see him affirm that...however, I did wonder about his "Martha knows what he needs better than HE does." <<--because that all seems to refer to sexuality in this context. That he needs to move on to another romance.
However, I still hold out some hope that what Martha knows is he needs to go to Rose for a time. That she sees his heart is broken and maybe HE can't see that...or admit it to himself because he a) thinks he shouldn't feel that way being a Time Lord or b) he doesn't recognize what he's feeling or c) feels it doesn't matter because he can't change anything and Rose is happy and he should let her be happy.
I do imagine he thinks she will just go on...but I'm not sure (given RTD saying we wouldn't want to see Rose go on happily without the Doctor) that she is happy and fulfilled. I think, like him, she will try to live to the fullest but I can't see her not feeling amputated by the loss.
Rae
Re: Blimey...that's so like Jackie.
Date: 2007-04-02 12:30 am (UTC)I didn't see it that way at all. I thought it more along the lines of knowing that he shouldn't be alone, that he needs someone to travel with and reign him in if need be. I mean, Martha's not stupid. It wouldn't take much explanation from the Doctor to understand what Rose meant to him (especially if you're right and he becomes human to forget her or learn about grief, etc.). She couldn't be *that* thick!
I hope that is the case, Suze
Date: 2007-04-02 02:59 am (UTC)As for Human Nature. I am more assured than ever that he does that to understand his own feelings and ends up simply escaping the pain of his loss in another relationship. Which means...Martha would...if she wakes him up from all that...have to understand the nature of his loss better than he does. Which does make sense to me.
I can see the nature of his relationship to Martha changing at that point, too. As he begins to accept that he needs someone with him.
Rae
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-02 12:14 am (UTC)I *completely* agree with you about Martha not being nearly as smart as they've been trying to make her out to be. Her stupidity during rounds, right at the beginning, had me going...uh, what? What year is she? 'Cause these are some seriously rookie mistakes. I'm not even remotely involved in the medical field, and I know to check the patient's *chart* first! Sheesh!
And they pushed it a bit in the dialog. Yes, she didn't completely freak out like everyone else around her (and the catch about the air was pretty good), but most of what she was saying/asking wasn't *that* smart. I mean, geez, she couldn't figure out to unplug the damn MRI machine???
Which brings me to the MRI machine. The whole damn time I was screaming at the screen, "Just unplug the stupid thing!!!" Martha, get off your ass and unplug it! THEN save the Doctor.
I liked that the Doctor still had some of his flirt-with-everything attitude (not as bad as Captain Jack, of course, but you know what I mean), but was *very* firm with Martha that he was not interested. At all. So back off, honey. And his "we were together" line about Rose was so good...you could see that he was trying to avoid really thinking/talking about her, because he's still upset and could easily lose it.
Heh. I thought of you when the Doctor mentioned the postman bit. I was like...uh...are those guys reading Rae's fic??? lol
I liked the action of the episode. Typical Who craziness. And evil old ladies are always fun. ;)
Um...god, I'm tired, I can't think of anything else at the moment, but I did quite like it. And I was even happier than I thought I'd be with the easing in of Martha and remembering of Rose.
Oh! Is it just me, or does it seem like RTD is ignoring the whole respiratory bypass thing? Yeah, the Doctor was still managing to stay upright when everyone else was passed out, but it sure looked like he was having trouble. Huh.
P.S.
Date: 2007-04-02 12:32 am (UTC)Old School Nerds Rule
Date: 2007-04-02 05:39 am (UTC)HOWEVER...just as I was squeaking, "HEY!" at the telly I remembered that the Doctor had just had all the life drained out of him. I think THAT more than the lack of air was responsible for his shaky bearings. He did laugh it up over the rain there.
Also, I'm not sure that respiratory bypass will get you LOADS of exertion anyway if you've already had a very bad day. So if you just had a huge fight and most of your blood drained and you'd been running about like a mad man for an hour and then had to lug Martha through the corridors...you look a little strained.
Rae
Tha's Right, Baby!
Date: 2007-04-03 04:19 pm (UTC)And is it wrong of me that I thought David looked hot even when coming back from the brink of death and being all red-eyed and shit? I'm such a fangirl.
I was also impressed at DT lugging FA around like that. He's stronger than he looks! lol
*waves*
Date: 2007-04-02 07:45 pm (UTC)Anyway, hope you don't mind me offering my views on the new series so far. I think Martha's been got pretty right, or at least interesting. If she was instantly lovable or ideal companion material she'd have nowhere to go, there'd be no story arc of her own. Rose was canny but uneducated, and as a result she was straightforward about not knowing things and expected to find out by badgering someone about it, she'd take things at face value and fit them into her common sense. Martha's intelligent but educated and education squashes common sense. As a trainee doctor she's learning to be complicatedly right - the specialist applies some common sense and knocks all the students down right at the start. She's used to knowing things for herself, and being a scientific sceptic - 'still not convinced you're an alien,' she says, and then two seconds later she has it confirmed by a gadget and *then* believes it. It's almost a running theme of the episode, I think, she says she doesn't believe something and it gets proved immediately afterwards, and by a method her scientific training has to accept.
Even the flirting I can deal with as part of the character - Rose starts out the whole thing with a boyfriend, one she'd had for a while already; in The End of the World she realises she's gone off away from the people she's always known and loved with a complete stranger and that upsets her. Martha's a bit fed up of the people she's always known, though, and independent, and probably used to meeting fit young men down the student union and flirting like hell with them just by way of usual social interaction. The dropped eyes when the Doctor insists he's not interested, is that a bit of ropy acting, or the character beginning to realise she can't fall into her usual student-night-out role after all?
So I think there's lots of places for Martha to go, but her starting point is very different to Rose's. I suspect we're going to get into stuff about trust and doing things on instinct - don't pick up the manual, just hit the big yellow button - there's surely some heart-stopping story potential there. Martha's going to get much more likeable when she's learned to just take a leap and believe, you know?
I am so gratified to see a new reader
Date: 2007-04-03 12:57 am (UTC)Also, I think you are right about Martha having all sorts of places to go. But I would be disappointed to see her go into a secondary love interest on so many levels it's not even funny.
1) Just did that...do something else 2) Romanticizing every relationship (and YES Rose was romanticized...obviously) is a bit creepy for our kiddies...AND for what it says about our socieity 3)There is an inherent limitation to love stories which we explore VIVIDLY with Rose. 4) There is an inherent limitation to the Doctor/Companion relationship which we explored VIVIDLY with Rose...the companion MUST leave. 5) The show IS a family oriented show and so has some inherent limitations on exploring all of the many variations of sexual interaction...Rose and Ten couldn't really show any sexual feeling because it would have been obvious they WERE having sex then. 6) Why alienate the Rose/Doctor fans for no noticable gain? 7) Not romanticizing the relationship won't stop the fans who are so inclined FROM romanticizing it...so you have a win-win despite the idea voiced above that "Martha is less than Rose"[unless she, too, is a sex object?] 8) There are other, more important, stories to tell that do not have the limitations of a sexualized or romanticised relationship...the Doctor currently REALLY needs a friend 9) Shouldn't Doctor Who be eternally...fun? And can that happen if everyone is going through heartbreak and angst all the time? Because MARTHA must leave, too. Should the Doctor have a revolving sexual door on the TARDIS...and then...aren't we telling children that there is no eternal hope?
I think...you are also quite right to point out that Martha is reacting to the Doctor the way any red-blooded medical student would. She's questioning because her education gets in the way of straightforward belief. Also, she probably does have lovely interactions with attractive males all the time. And here is an attractive and amazing male who seems to genuinely take notice of her as a person. But her value as a person is (or should be) far more than her value as breeding stock.
I was discussing this with some of my male friends and they pointed out you could measure how advanced a civilization was by the level of equality and friendship between peoples...and the sexes. We focused on the number or woman assaulted after the Tsunami...and I was all...why? And the guys said...well...opportunity presented itself.
At first this just shocked me...but then...I started thinking about why I even had male friends (snicker). I mean...when you are single every encounter is an opportunity to mate. Some people don't suit you for mating purposes and you cross them off the eligibles list. You can be friends with them...if they feel the same about you (that you are OFF the eligibles list). If they don't feel like just being friends...you probably CAN'T be friends with them...because they will be hurt.
All this is a long winded way of saying...Martha needs to chalk the Doctor off her eligibles list. And I think she might do that...not because of him being asexual...but because of Rose. Or because...she begins to see there is so much more to get out of this relationship than a good lay.
Rae
Re: I am so gratified to see a new reader
Date: 2007-04-03 06:45 pm (UTC)I know what you mean about the 'eligibles list' - my best friend, it's probably fair to call him, is a lad I had a bit of a crush on at uni. Once it became clear that wasn't going to ever happen we have just been good friends ever since, sharing a house for years, being the person the other one can rely on. I can see Martha leaving, when she eventually leaves, with less angst than could be the case with many - she'll have learned some things about friendship and that stays with you, it becomes a comforting part of you even if you know you're not going to see your friend again.
I dunno, her automatic reaction to try and sexualise the relationship, it sort of fits in with a general pet theory of mine. I'm a musician, a bassist and drummer, and you don't see many female musicians playing rock and punk - even when you do, half the time they go on about like it's something exceptional, like they deserve some special treatment for even being able to work a guitar at all while not owning a penis. I think there are a lot of girls who are interested in playing music, but the interest gets diverted into more conditioned responses - instead of looking at the man doing cool things on stage with a guitar and saying 'I want to do that, be that' it gets shorted into 'I want that' and just fancying the bloke doing it. So Martha sees the Doctor doing cool things with sonic screwdrivers and X-rays and having cunning plans and being noble and the first reaction of a lot of women is still to try and stay around by making it a sexual relationship, rather than being honest about perhaps just wanting to learn from him. At the same time few rational women wouldn't fancy him so it's hard to pick apart. *grins*
If I can go one step further, is this why a lot of fanfic even exists, and why so many women read it? Are we supposed to identify ourselves as Rose, settling for falling in love with the powerful one we'd secretly like to actually be? Because if someone told me I could pick one role for life tomorrow it'd be the Doctor like a shot, he gets all the knowledge and the power and the fabulous cosmic doings to be done. (*And* the amazing fully-functional but detachable knob. Bah.) At the same time, I dunno, the conditioned responses are still there, it's all still such an enjoyable fantasy to divert it into imagining shagging him instead, and I'm afraid I still get terribly het up over some male musicians even though I know that it's really more that I'd like to *be* them. So maybe it'd be a bit much to expect the plot to fit into my pet theory and for Martha to learn to differentiate between 'wanting' and 'wanting to be more like/to absorb the good qualities of' but dammit, there's my hidden agenda for the whole thing...
Oh...and I did say thanks...but...
Date: 2007-04-03 01:10 am (UTC)And he is. ;->
I really do appreciate your kind words. Thanks for letting me know you liked the story.
Rae
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-03 10:52 am (UTC)I enjoyed it a bit less
Date: 2007-04-03 11:57 am (UTC)And, of course, I agree about the general awkwardness. I had expressed back at Army of Ghosts that one reason I could see for hiring Freema as the next companion...was her lack of chemistry with David. She was a sexy woman to look at but when he did that scene with her in AoG...there was no spark between them. I think that was what the producers were looking for...someone who could flirt with David and you could still feel that he wasn't interested in her.
Rae
Re: I enjoyed it a bit less
Date: 2007-04-03 01:42 pm (UTC)i agree , to me that scene was so weird.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-03 03:18 pm (UTC)My big thoughts throughout the episode? "It's not Rose," to which my husband kept saying, "You're as bad as the Ducks whimpering about Buffy/Angel once she hooks up with Riley then Spike."
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-04 01:03 am (UTC)I actually liked it rather more than I thought I would- better than Runaway Bride- but then again I had really low expectations and I'm quite easily entertained. The Doctor/Rose are one of the most beautiful couples ever created, in my opinion. and I'm no where near finished grieving her loss. My 'shipy little heart will continue to hope she surprises us and returns, despite any evidence to the contrary. This is Sci-Fi, darnit.
I have learned that if I'm going to nitpick, I need to find another fandom. As that's not likely to happen any time soon, I'm trying to force myself to gloss over some things (like big buildup to unplugging the MRI of Doom.) Speaking of which, I would've been perfectly happy if the Doctor had been sonic screwdriver-less for just a couple episodes. Sometimes it does get old when that fixes everything, all the time.
*proceeds to nit-pick* If a person is dead for several minutes due to blood loss, CPR will not resurrect them. There must be blood volume to be pumped before restarting the heart(s) will do any good. However, RTD does seem to believe in the therapeutic power of a good snog, and I suppose the CPR involved enough lip contact to get the job done.
LMAO...and then fanwanking RTD's genius
Date: 2007-04-04 02:25 am (UTC)RTD does seem to believe in the therapeutic power of a good snog, and I suppose the CPR involved enough lip contact to get the job done.
To be fair...I think that Martha would have tried CPR out of habit in any case. Giving an alien a transfusion would have been a very bad idea...so perhaps she is just hoping that he's suffering from shock or something. As for why it works. I would say that any old alien explanation would work here. Maybe she jumpstarted his respiratory bypass system rather than his hearts.
I'm pretty sure the plasmavore didn't have time to drink the Doctor dry anyway. She is surprised in the act isn't she? I'd have to go check. But yeah, I think the idea might have been to have another lip-lock from Martha and Ten. And it is interesting to me that the BBC let them do it and even reveled in it when the BBC is so insistent the Doctor remain asexual.
I suppose any reasonable explanation in a storm will do.
The Doctor/Rose are one of the most beautiful couples ever created, in my opinion In mine, too. They are fantastic. Truly groundbreaking. ...and I'm no where near finished grieving her loss. My 'shipy little heart will continue to hope she surprises us and returns. This is the true ending to their story...so by all storytelling rights it is definitely what happens some day.
I've expressed in other places the tremendous advantages to reuniting Ten/Rose at the end of David's run as the Doctor. It's what the story needs to be complete. But the most compelling reason to do it is then David could step back into the role he is pretty much redefining...at any time in the future for a movie or special...one of the inevitable problems with actors is they age more quickly than their characters...but a Doctor in Pete's World...is not a Time Lord.
BTW, this would then make RTD's statement that he will leave the show when David does...be a sort of temporal paradox...as David would never, technically, leave the show. So...instead of being defeated and mopey about Rose returning...saying it will never happen...let's influence the spheres with our confidence. It will happen. It's the right thing to do for everyone.
There ya' go. ;->
Rae