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rabid1stYes! Again! One more time into the trenches, my friends!
My apologies that this is so long...but it's worth it, I promise. Optimism Reigns in RabidWorld
Also...below the cut very minor spoilers for Wall-E and speculation on the 2008 Christmas Special. Oh...and I am an embarrassment to my family for my foolish, cock-eyed optimism...I once wrote an essay about Joss Whedon claiming he was a kind and benevolent god...BWAHAHAHA!
But my companion loves me so who cares! :grin:
I've just come back from treating my sister to a movie: Wall-E
Those of you who have seen it...sing along with me...now...
Put on your Sunday clothes, there's lots of world out there
Get out the brillantine and dime cigars
We're gonna find adventure in the evening air
Girls in white
In a perfumed night
Where the lights are bright as the stars!
Put on your Sunday clothes, we're gonna ride through town
In one of those new horsedrawn open cars
We'll see the shows
At Delmonico's
And we'll close the town in a whirl
And we won't come home until we've kissed a girl!
No, we won't come home until we've kiiiiiiiiisssed...a girl!
He never kissed his girl, folks. He just didn't. Some other guy was kissed BY her. But he never kissed his girl. And so...let's look at everything for a moment. Because...It only...takes a moment...to love your whole life through. :grin:
Sorry...I'll stop! Wall-E isn't really the point.
Or maybe it is.
Because Wall-E is about hope. Hope is the point. Currently, we have none in Doctor Who. We have seen the Doctor's future and it is bleak. He does indeed become the Valeyard. He IS the Valeyard, now. The darkness was coming...before. But now it is here and the Doctor's most faithful companion, Hope, is dead. Donna got to live...but at such a cost. Like she told Rose in Turn Left..."You LIAR! You told me I was special."
No, wait, I hear some 'glass is half full' people saying...we don't know that Donna isn't happy. And there's River...there's always some glimmer of hope left. We can all keep watching and maybe...maybe the Time Lords will be back. Yeah! That would be cool. Or maybe there's Jenny or another companion he could REALLY love. Not like that chav, Rose, she was never good enough for him anyway. Maybe something will make it all better.
But we know how River Song ends. The Ood certainly might have been talking about her...or maybe Rose and his hope of seeing her again...that song has ended, too. Another song begins...but we know how it will end...with the Doctor alone. His song was supposed to end...remember? But it just keeps repeating.
But that's the bittersweet beauty of it all, right? He sacrifices his own happiness for love...again and again...and again. But, it is all a matter of perspective...we can make it look happy if we fic it just right...right? We can just pretend that the Master is his true love, really, and one day HE will return...and then the show will be better. Well, until the Master dies or is lost in another universe...or something. But that's the point of the show...it just keeps changing and we move on...yes? And the Doctor keeps getting less and less human...yeah! More and more God-like that will be really cool, right?
Wait! This was about HOPE. Hope and Donna! That's right...it's about Donna. Not Rose. While we were waiting for Wall-E to start, I asked my sister if she could have 40 years of thinking she was nothing much and probably never have a husband or children or a career...but still she'd be alive and with people who love her. OR she could travel the world, have marvelous adventures and know she was important to everybody...loved by them and had saved them all...but she would have to die in 1 year. Which life would she pick?
My sister picked 40 years of nothing special life.
Ah...so it is settled, then. Many fans of Doctor Who would also pick that...many fans would pick the life Rose has now...with humanTen who can give her babies and grow old by her side. Many fans would dump Rose and go have wild bondage sex with Jack or the Master...or Jack AND the Master. And in this ending...RTD maybe tried to make us all happy...and fell a little short of that.
But here's the deal breaker...for all of the fans...and my sister.
What if you didn't get to pick? This is what I asked my sister next...what if someone ELSE got to pick which life you would lead?
This is what is essentially wrong with Doctor Who right now. Donna was begging him not to take her memories. Beyond that...Donna really...REALLY loved being special...and being out there traveling. She wanted to TRAVEL forever. The Doctor played God. He was a benevolent God...yes. He acted out of love to save Donna's life. But given the choice...maybe Donna would have picked death. She was begging him not to take her memories...and she said she DID know what was happening to her. He gave her what he wanted her to have...a normal life, a life without him in it.
He didn't know how long she'd have...maybe not 40 years...maybe only 10 or 2...but he believed she would be with people who love her. People who would have to lie to her for the rest of her days. People who he knew had made her feel small and worthless before but who he hoped would treat her better now.
And maybe they will...maybe Donna's mum will treat Donna well...now. Maybe 10.2 who has Donna's love of adventure and travel doesn't really want to "get out there" but is content in this landlocked life his twin brother has chosen for him. Maybe Rose is going to find happiness now that she has a Doctor who can say the right words.
The Doctor is a kind and benevolent God. He gave his children what he thought they needed to be happy. He arranged a perfect little Eden for them...gave the most beloved among them a helpmate. And all he took away from them was their free will...their right to decide if they wanted to live for 40 seconds or 40 years. If they wanted to travel or stay home with the pre-fab family and little man in his own image.
Russell T. Davies is an atheist, according to many sources. He might give Christmas presents...many atheists do...but I seriously doubt that he believes some non-human lonely god should have the right to decide how people are going to live out their lives.
So...I'm back...holding out hope...that RTD knows that making the Doctor into a god...is what the Old School canon calls for...because the Valeyard is in the canon. But it's not a good idea to have someone as powerful as the Doctor believe that he can dictate how his companions should live...when they leave, who they marry, if they can have their memories or not...etc.
He's on the wrong path. River was a sign of that...he didn't recognize the man she was describing...but it IS this man he's become. So, here's to It's a Wonderful Life at Christmas...where the Doctor sees very clearly the man he will one day be...a cold man who believes he knows what is best for everyone else and who also believes it is okay to manipulate them into "What's best"...just like he manipulated River by giving her his screwdriver...and she thought it meant he cared. He's a man who will never be anything but alone. Not because he can't have a life...but because he rejects life and love and happiness.
Here's hoping he heads off his future by going back to Donna and asking her what SHE wants for Christmas. Not what her Grandpa wants for her. Not what her Mum wants or the Doctor wants. But what DONNA NOBLE wants.
Donna wants to be that person in the stars, doesn't she? That special person. In Turn Left, she was willing to die to be that person again.
So the Doctor made a mistake, the same one lots of well meaning people make...they give the people they love...a gift they want. The Doctor wants a normal life...and he just keeps giving it to other people...River, Rose, Jack, 10.2, even DONNA...who wanted to be special just for a moment. She begged him not to take it away from her...but he knew best!
So...I say...at Christmas...the Doctor gets a dose of humility and goes back to ask everyone what they want. In case anybody doesn't know...
1) Rose just wants to be with HER Doctor and know that he isn't all on his own anymore. She always asks the same question, "What about you?"
2) Donna wants to travel the universe...see the stars with her good buddy, the Doctor.
3) 10.2...is part Donna...so even if Donna dies...her sense of adventure will live on in him, which means he probably wants to travel and see the stars and have a good time, too.
4) 10...wants nothing else in the universe but to be with Rose Tyler.
And we are back to Wall-E and what he knows. And what, at this point, RTD appears to have missed.
It's what the Doctor has yet to learn about the human experience...that withering and dying isn't so bad. We all die at the end. It doesn't matter to Rose if he ages with her or has human parts. It doesn't matter to Donna if she has 40 more years or 40 seconds.
What matters is that people be allowed to live the life they decide to live. You can wait 40 years for nothing...but...
It only takes a moment...to be loved your whole life long.
Rae
My apologies that this is so long...but it's worth it, I promise. Optimism Reigns in RabidWorld
Also...below the cut very minor spoilers for Wall-E and speculation on the 2008 Christmas Special. Oh...and I am an embarrassment to my family for my foolish, cock-eyed optimism...I once wrote an essay about Joss Whedon claiming he was a kind and benevolent god...BWAHAHAHA!
But my companion loves me so who cares! :grin:
I've just come back from treating my sister to a movie: Wall-E
Those of you who have seen it...sing along with me...now...
Put on your Sunday clothes, there's lots of world out there
Get out the brillantine and dime cigars
We're gonna find adventure in the evening air
Girls in white
In a perfumed night
Where the lights are bright as the stars!
Put on your Sunday clothes, we're gonna ride through town
In one of those new horsedrawn open cars
We'll see the shows
At Delmonico's
And we'll close the town in a whirl
And we won't come home until we've kissed a girl!
No, we won't come home until we've kiiiiiiiiisssed...a girl!
He never kissed his girl, folks. He just didn't. Some other guy was kissed BY her. But he never kissed his girl. And so...let's look at everything for a moment. Because...It only...takes a moment...to love your whole life through. :grin:
Sorry...I'll stop! Wall-E isn't really the point.
Or maybe it is.
Because Wall-E is about hope. Hope is the point. Currently, we have none in Doctor Who. We have seen the Doctor's future and it is bleak. He does indeed become the Valeyard. He IS the Valeyard, now. The darkness was coming...before. But now it is here and the Doctor's most faithful companion, Hope, is dead. Donna got to live...but at such a cost. Like she told Rose in Turn Left..."You LIAR! You told me I was special."
No, wait, I hear some 'glass is half full' people saying...we don't know that Donna isn't happy. And there's River...there's always some glimmer of hope left. We can all keep watching and maybe...maybe the Time Lords will be back. Yeah! That would be cool. Or maybe there's Jenny or another companion he could REALLY love. Not like that chav, Rose, she was never good enough for him anyway. Maybe something will make it all better.
But we know how River Song ends. The Ood certainly might have been talking about her...or maybe Rose and his hope of seeing her again...that song has ended, too. Another song begins...but we know how it will end...with the Doctor alone. His song was supposed to end...remember? But it just keeps repeating.
But that's the bittersweet beauty of it all, right? He sacrifices his own happiness for love...again and again...and again. But, it is all a matter of perspective...we can make it look happy if we fic it just right...right? We can just pretend that the Master is his true love, really, and one day HE will return...and then the show will be better. Well, until the Master dies or is lost in another universe...or something. But that's the point of the show...it just keeps changing and we move on...yes? And the Doctor keeps getting less and less human...yeah! More and more God-like that will be really cool, right?
Wait! This was about HOPE. Hope and Donna! That's right...it's about Donna. Not Rose. While we were waiting for Wall-E to start, I asked my sister if she could have 40 years of thinking she was nothing much and probably never have a husband or children or a career...but still she'd be alive and with people who love her. OR she could travel the world, have marvelous adventures and know she was important to everybody...loved by them and had saved them all...but she would have to die in 1 year. Which life would she pick?
My sister picked 40 years of nothing special life.
Ah...so it is settled, then. Many fans of Doctor Who would also pick that...many fans would pick the life Rose has now...with humanTen who can give her babies and grow old by her side. Many fans would dump Rose and go have wild bondage sex with Jack or the Master...or Jack AND the Master. And in this ending...RTD maybe tried to make us all happy...and fell a little short of that.
But here's the deal breaker...for all of the fans...and my sister.
What if you didn't get to pick? This is what I asked my sister next...what if someone ELSE got to pick which life you would lead?
This is what is essentially wrong with Doctor Who right now. Donna was begging him not to take her memories. Beyond that...Donna really...REALLY loved being special...and being out there traveling. She wanted to TRAVEL forever. The Doctor played God. He was a benevolent God...yes. He acted out of love to save Donna's life. But given the choice...maybe Donna would have picked death. She was begging him not to take her memories...and she said she DID know what was happening to her. He gave her what he wanted her to have...a normal life, a life without him in it.
He didn't know how long she'd have...maybe not 40 years...maybe only 10 or 2...but he believed she would be with people who love her. People who would have to lie to her for the rest of her days. People who he knew had made her feel small and worthless before but who he hoped would treat her better now.
And maybe they will...maybe Donna's mum will treat Donna well...now. Maybe 10.2 who has Donna's love of adventure and travel doesn't really want to "get out there" but is content in this landlocked life his twin brother has chosen for him. Maybe Rose is going to find happiness now that she has a Doctor who can say the right words.
The Doctor is a kind and benevolent God. He gave his children what he thought they needed to be happy. He arranged a perfect little Eden for them...gave the most beloved among them a helpmate. And all he took away from them was their free will...their right to decide if they wanted to live for 40 seconds or 40 years. If they wanted to travel or stay home with the pre-fab family and little man in his own image.
Russell T. Davies is an atheist, according to many sources. He might give Christmas presents...many atheists do...but I seriously doubt that he believes some non-human lonely god should have the right to decide how people are going to live out their lives.
So...I'm back...holding out hope...that RTD knows that making the Doctor into a god...is what the Old School canon calls for...because the Valeyard is in the canon. But it's not a good idea to have someone as powerful as the Doctor believe that he can dictate how his companions should live...when they leave, who they marry, if they can have their memories or not...etc.
He's on the wrong path. River was a sign of that...he didn't recognize the man she was describing...but it IS this man he's become. So, here's to It's a Wonderful Life at Christmas...where the Doctor sees very clearly the man he will one day be...a cold man who believes he knows what is best for everyone else and who also believes it is okay to manipulate them into "What's best"...just like he manipulated River by giving her his screwdriver...and she thought it meant he cared. He's a man who will never be anything but alone. Not because he can't have a life...but because he rejects life and love and happiness.
Here's hoping he heads off his future by going back to Donna and asking her what SHE wants for Christmas. Not what her Grandpa wants for her. Not what her Mum wants or the Doctor wants. But what DONNA NOBLE wants.
Donna wants to be that person in the stars, doesn't she? That special person. In Turn Left, she was willing to die to be that person again.
So the Doctor made a mistake, the same one lots of well meaning people make...they give the people they love...a gift they want. The Doctor wants a normal life...and he just keeps giving it to other people...River, Rose, Jack, 10.2, even DONNA...who wanted to be special just for a moment. She begged him not to take it away from her...but he knew best!
So...I say...at Christmas...the Doctor gets a dose of humility and goes back to ask everyone what they want. In case anybody doesn't know...
1) Rose just wants to be with HER Doctor and know that he isn't all on his own anymore. She always asks the same question, "What about you?"
2) Donna wants to travel the universe...see the stars with her good buddy, the Doctor.
3) 10.2...is part Donna...so even if Donna dies...her sense of adventure will live on in him, which means he probably wants to travel and see the stars and have a good time, too.
4) 10...wants nothing else in the universe but to be with Rose Tyler.
And we are back to Wall-E and what he knows. And what, at this point, RTD appears to have missed.
It's what the Doctor has yet to learn about the human experience...that withering and dying isn't so bad. We all die at the end. It doesn't matter to Rose if he ages with her or has human parts. It doesn't matter to Donna if she has 40 more years or 40 seconds.
What matters is that people be allowed to live the life they decide to live. You can wait 40 years for nothing...but...
It only takes a moment...to be loved your whole life long.
Rae