RTD & ME...we got a thing going on...
Oct. 6th, 2008 09:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rabid1stI was looking over the amazingly yummy Doctor Who scripts (available for download off the official book site for "A Writer's Tale") and I noticed something telling in the script for Journey's End.
Here is the link to the downloadable scripts... http://www.thewriterstale.com/scr.html
In the beach scene...it mentions that Rose and Blue are dazzled by one another after the whisper of whatever...and Rose impulsively kisses Blue. The Doctor is heartbroken, Donna knows it, and they leave. Rose pulls away with a "No--!" and takes a step toward the vanishing TARDIS. Blue comes to her...and takes her hand...and...
SHE LEANS INTO HIM.
No...no she does not.
In fact, this was my point...you will all recall. She leans AWAY from him. And then she looks at him and scowls. So...here we see that in the final-squeeze draft...trying to make this work...RTD made the choice to have Rose make the decision to be with Doctor #2...and be dazzled by him...and have that wonderful Confidential Kiss...and to have the very crucial bonding that we associate with the Doctor and Rose. That body language they have...which says they love one another...and which RTD refers to many times in the scripts.
But...he doesn't go with the intimacy in the final cut. He films (or edits to) separation and confusion. And I think that is because the wrongness of it all continued to eat away at him even as he watched the rushes of Billie and David trying to do dazzled and looking emotionless instead. Rose can't make this choice...because the Doctor has to make it. To make everything right, RTD needs to understand that Ten has to stop running away from all this...from love and family and hope.
My hope for both RUSSELL and his DOCTOR is that they can embrace a new paradigm for the new age of Doctor Who. The Time Lords are gone. The war is over. The Doctor can and should love and be able to rest for a bit...it makes the story richer...gives us more horizons to explore. And I believe that when everyone embraces this truth RTD's story about the Doctor will be complete.
After that, Moffat can tell us a new story. It really doesn't matter how we get the REAL Ten to Rose. Don't tell me it can't happen...it can be done in a number of ways...any switch will do--mind-body, temporary job, true metacrisis means never having to say goodbye to Donna, fake regeneration explained as wrong, biological regeneration hand-off...whatever. But if Moffat gets Blue Ten to tell his tale with...all the better for the future of the show, in my less than humble opinion. Out with the emo Doctor...in with someone fresh and happy and full of new possibilites...yet, still the Doctor...and better yet, still Tennantesque.
Rae
Here is the link to the downloadable scripts... http://www.thewriterstale.com/scr.html
In the beach scene...it mentions that Rose and Blue are dazzled by one another after the whisper of whatever...and Rose impulsively kisses Blue. The Doctor is heartbroken, Donna knows it, and they leave. Rose pulls away with a "No--!" and takes a step toward the vanishing TARDIS. Blue comes to her...and takes her hand...and...
SHE LEANS INTO HIM.
No...no she does not.
In fact, this was my point...you will all recall. She leans AWAY from him. And then she looks at him and scowls. So...here we see that in the final-squeeze draft...trying to make this work...RTD made the choice to have Rose make the decision to be with Doctor #2...and be dazzled by him...and have that wonderful Confidential Kiss...and to have the very crucial bonding that we associate with the Doctor and Rose. That body language they have...which says they love one another...and which RTD refers to many times in the scripts.
But...he doesn't go with the intimacy in the final cut. He films (or edits to) separation and confusion. And I think that is because the wrongness of it all continued to eat away at him even as he watched the rushes of Billie and David trying to do dazzled and looking emotionless instead. Rose can't make this choice...because the Doctor has to make it. To make everything right, RTD needs to understand that Ten has to stop running away from all this...from love and family and hope.
My hope for both RUSSELL and his DOCTOR is that they can embrace a new paradigm for the new age of Doctor Who. The Time Lords are gone. The war is over. The Doctor can and should love and be able to rest for a bit...it makes the story richer...gives us more horizons to explore. And I believe that when everyone embraces this truth RTD's story about the Doctor will be complete.
After that, Moffat can tell us a new story. It really doesn't matter how we get the REAL Ten to Rose. Don't tell me it can't happen...it can be done in a number of ways...any switch will do--mind-body, temporary job, true metacrisis means never having to say goodbye to Donna, fake regeneration explained as wrong, biological regeneration hand-off...whatever. But if Moffat gets Blue Ten to tell his tale with...all the better for the future of the show, in my less than humble opinion. Out with the emo Doctor...in with someone fresh and happy and full of new possibilites...yet, still the Doctor...and better yet, still Tennantesque.
Rae
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-07 01:41 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-07 02:06 am (UTC)And he might well have seen...I have some hope of that...at least.
Rae
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-07 04:11 am (UTC)don't know why but that made me LOL.
"In fact, this was my point...you will all recall. She leans AWAY from him."
EXACTLY!
I really hope that all the subtext and general sense of "This is wrong!" that was screaming off Tennant and Pipers's body language in JE turns out to be RTD setting up something (better) in the future.
Of course it could just be me being stubbornly wishful in my interpretation of JE but I really believe RTD can and will do better than what he gave us...'cause that was just...wrong.
It was all off in so many ways I don't even know where to begin.
Here's hoping for something better RTD! :nudge:
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-07 05:02 am (UTC)I personally didn't see a scowl, but rather a whole lot of '?????' or '.....' expressions going around. The ending was really ambiguous. We really have no idea if Rose/10.2 works out or not. The more optimistic of us will believe that the pair have the perfect fairytale ending. The more cynical may decide that 10.2 is so different of a person that he doesn't fall for Rose. Rather, someone else is his soulmate, leaving Rose alone again.
Anyways, your main point about that scene is right. There's been quite a change from the script to what was filmed.
I still think bringing back all of those characters for the season finale wasn't necessary. It just resulted in a lot of unwritten storylines/characterization. A lot of the fans of the different characters were upset because the stories were rushed.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-07 08:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-08 03:18 am (UTC)Anyway...there have been some teasers of late...from the coming DVD...and all of it points to my theories playing out...but then...I've had hope before...and had that hope peppered with the hot lead of disappointment. So...we will see what happens. I particularly liked that David didn't do SJA...because he was supposed to do it...and now we know that his appearance was set for MAY. May is when he was to go on vacation, as well. It looks to me like there were definite changes made to the Christmas episode. Also, the guest star had an interview and said she was happy to be part of this episode more than any other...making it seem like Christmas will be groundbreaking. And Moffat said when asked if River is the Doctor's wife..."It's more complicated than that." Of course, he could be talking about any old complication...his vision...or something. But he could also be talking about the alternative reality that I'm talking about all along. River would be a possible wife, in that case.
Rae
agreeing we need a fix for Ten/Rose...and further...thinking we need it now. Because you can't just switch them and have it be finished...you have to then establish Blue as the Doctor...and 3 Specials would do that.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-07 08:42 pm (UTC)The Deed is Done
Date: 2008-10-09 07:15 pm (UTC)I handed over a letter folded as an origami envelope (no glue, just folds to hide the inside). On the front I'd scribbled in pencil "Two Words: Switch Doctors." He read that, and he really looked at those four words. I hesitate to say they meant the world to him, in the 1.7 seconds he got to look at it before the bouncer distracted us. He said "I'll read this later" very matter of fact - not dismissive - and put it in his bag by the side of the desk.
So... we've obviously done something right! Now, you're probably wondering what was on the inside of the letter. I typed up "I know you're secret plan" and then explained why we thought it as bullet points for Blue, Brown, New and Old Who. Then my printer broke, so I scribbled more stuff in the margins using words from his own book. It's signed "A huge fan of RTD that's across the ocean" and in pencil "& the scribble creature!" because there was no spare space by the time I'd finished annotating.
Something that may cheer you up even more is that RTD says in his book that he likes "good notes" about his scripts. The aspect of the Internet he lashes out at is the kneejerk emotional criticism, not the considered review. He likes it when people explain why something needs changing, rather than comments like "that was rubbish casting."
He also says in his book that no-one gave him good notes about BWBII, for whatever reason. Combined with getting chickenpox at the time of writing, it's apparent he was on his own: No voices in his head, and none on the outside. We are that voice, the good notes, the ego strokers, the support of his love story, the support of the show. Not everyone on the Internet gives kneejerk unreasoned reviews. Just like some cosplayers being nice. ;)
Lisa
Wishing people would judge her by her personality rather than her appearance
Thank you, Lisa
Date: 2008-10-09 09:22 pm (UTC)And he got chickenpox? Oh, the poor pet. I, also, had chickenpox later in life and they can be brutal. You end up so very poxy.
I do hope he enjoyed seeing you and your costume again. And I'm happy you were able to get the suggestion into the air...once it is out there...I think it will start churning around in his mind. He doesn't need to do very much...just change the way he's looking at the problem.
Rae
going to go look at your journal for more inside info on your meeting. Oh, and if your wordprocessor gets fixed, could you send me the file you printed...I'd just like to know what he was reading.
The letter's in the virtual post
Date: 2008-10-09 10:26 pm (UTC)As you've probably discovered, my write up isn't up yet! My cosplayer in crime,
Yes, the poor sod had chicken pox when he was writing BWBII. My Dad's had it three times and my case involved blisters the size of a 50 pence coin (huge). It seemed everything conspired against him. Maybe the Universe was trying to tell him that it wasn't the time to finish that particular story, that the third time on the beach would be third time lucky.
He says in his book that it was always his plan to use the hand to give Rose a mortal Doctor when Tennant regenerated into Eleven. But he said it like a future thing, when Tennant is leaving as the lead, and perhaps couldn't reconcile that future idea into the current scenario. We just show him that Eleven is already here and Tennant-shaped. :)
Believe it or not, RTD has never seen me in costume. Well, not in person at any rate. Apparently 'the' photo has been seen by everyone to do with Doctor Who, which is a little disconcerting! It makes me wonder quite how much Tennant squeed for the rest of the day after our chance meeting, fanboy that he is. <<<< Now that is madness in wishful thinking. But, my excuse is my place of birth. All English are mad.
Lisa
Falling asleep on the keyboard
Now someone really thinks we are mad
Date: 2008-10-09 11:10 pm (UTC)My email is Rabid1st@yahoo.com
Probably someone at gmail or hotmail got it...which is fine...but still leaves me wondering. :grin:
Rae
who figured you would have to rest first...I know I would have to rest.
Snow Business
Date: 2008-10-10 06:17 pm (UTC)I have to confess, that the 'real snow' part wasn't mentioned in his book explicitly with 4.12/4.13. But, obviously it is a running joke for the Christmas specials that real snow has never fallen naturally.
I have a feeling that the Victorian-esque Xmas 2008 will have incidental real snow that the TARDIS lands in at the beginning. I certainly hope that real snow will start to fall on Brown/Rose... maybe as he kisses her. So Jackie goes "Should we get them mistletoe?" and Blue goes "maybe a room..." *smirk*
Everything about the hand, and kiss scale and initiator is mentioned by RTD for 4.12/4.13, though. Obviously, his bad health hindered his creativity the way it does to ours. The story is in our minds, but we don't always have the health to express it in a timely fashion.
My write up is on my journal now: The Doctor attempts to influence the future.
BTW, Biscuit...
Date: 2008-10-13 04:38 pm (UTC)Oh...wait, you don't have my phone number...but you could always get it for him.
Rae
Re: The letter's in the virtual post
Date: 2008-10-13 03:48 pm (UTC)Oh, She knows
Date: 2008-10-13 05:16 pm (UTC)Since last Christmas and bumping into someone at John Barrowman's Panto exclaiming "OMG IT'S YOU!" I have known about Ty Rosa putting 'the' photo up. I'd sent Paul and Stuart (and Max) an email with the photo to thank them for helping make the event happen. It was only this September that I laid eyes on it. I adore the fact there are arrows point out who is Who in the photo.
RTD should listen to me. I'm the Doctor - I'm clever! ... The Oncoming Ego, heading for an airlock.
Re: The Deed is Done
Date: 2008-10-13 03:55 pm (UTC)My personal view is that DT looks better on camera than in RL. With Barrowman the reverse is true - my God, he is just fucking gorgeous, and he can walk into a room and completely command the attention of thousands. Literally.
So...they talked Torchwood. The read-through of the five-parter coming up was massively emotional. The "worst creatures" now have a name - they are called the "456". That's probably as significant as ASTRID being an anagram of TARDIS, ie, not very much. Unless it's all to do with the CiN rumours about a seven-doctor special?
RTD says he knows, to the word, how the last special ends. Of course, he gave nothing away. But what did come over was how much he still views that as being the end of a story - his story.
It's true that nobody gave him good feedback on BWBII. In a way I'm glad about that. If it's wrong, it's wrong. It shows, I hope, that they have integrity.
I'm glad to see my peeps getting out
Date: 2008-10-13 04:27 pm (UTC):big grin:
If I could get over there, I'd be right beside you.
So John is more gorgeous in person than on TV...hmmm. Squee! I know he's been buffing down lately, because I saw him in that Chris Moyles special and he looked great. David is looking worn to the bone these days. I imagine he looks better when he's not doing stage work. He works too hard, poor pet, but at least he seems to love his job.
I know he knows how the last special ends. Of course, he does. I do believe he's still on his "I will always protect you." kick. And there is nothing wrong with that...as long as we are given to understand at a deep emotional level that the Doctor is good for us. This is the challenge RTD is facing right now...if he knows it or not...can he make us believe in the Doctor again?
I do think that he has viewed the end of the 4 as the end of his story since he submitted to the 4 episodes. Everyone going on about JE being the end of RTD made me grind my teeth...because there was always more to do...and more RTD story to tell.
I think the 456 name is probably meaningless...but who was it who called that Torchwood's finale would be about those creatures? Yeah...so...I'm still in the RTD storytelling zone. I hope they have integrity, too. Since they know they did the wrong thing there on BWBII and even have publically admitted it...I think they are honor-bound to fix it.
Rae
toasting the universe for putting Lisa and DT's picture in RTD's way. ;->
Re: I'm glad to see my peeps getting out
Date: 2008-10-13 04:52 pm (UTC)I think he's had a tough time with the RSC, you know. Their whole philosophy is that there are no stars, it's ensemble all the way. Even programme billing is strictly alphabetical order. And yet everybody knows he's saved both the RSC and Stratford this year. The credit crunch has hit overseas tourism, there were severe floods last year and the big theatre is closed for redevelopment. He's keeping the show on the road. And whatever the official line is, there's jealousy in theatre.
I went round to the stage door - I'm not the most assertive person and to be honest when he came out he looked so knackered I just hadn't the heart to wave things in his face. But he has said how much he's missing Cardiff, because it's family - even his last three or four relationships have been with DW people. And he's the star and they love him to bits.
The contrast between Hamlet and LLL was interesting. I know they're very different plays, and I saw Hamlet months ago, but he was very much David Tennant playing "Hamlet" and not Hamlet, if that makes sense. Some moments were pure Tenth Doctor.
With Berowne, even though it's a jewel of a role, he was much more muted. Much more one of the team. I saw more gloom and angst than I had in Hamlet. Makes you wonder what's been going on backstage. And he is definitely looking older. Much older. It'll be interesting to see how he ages and makes that critical transition to playing the Claudius and Polonius character parts in a few years' time. He's looking much closer to 40 than he used to.
Stratford's an odd little place. Unreal in some ways. I love it but this time around I rented a car because I couldn't handle being there all the time. I'd really hate to be stuck there, struggling to get along with people, only able to get away once a week, if that, to see my SO.
Yeah, I did wonder about the blending in...
Date: 2008-10-13 05:22 pm (UTC)I have seen that he is definitely looking haggard and I've done the math in my head for his break into film. If he waits until 2012 to make that break with Doctor Who, then he will be 40 and far less bankable. Man needs to take care of himself...or let someone else take care of him. :->
To my way of thinking, either he gives up on film and does Who and waits for his age to make him second career...or...he is Eleven and truly rockets DW into a new age. He should have struck out into film this year. But since he is already committed to another year of DW, DT's career now hangs on what RTD does to save DW from obscurity.
If they truly do give us something astounding and inspiring, and DT is able to reach beyond where he now stands to keep his star on the rise...then, maybe he can still break away in 2010. I don't see him breaking free after Moffat unless he's playing Eleven. I truly, at this point, see little reason to watch the Moffat episodes if they are just going to take Ten OOC. And RTD and Moffat may very well want to give us the Tinkerbell Jeebus idea of universal savior, snapping his fingers at the TARDIS and stepping gingerly over the many nubile women fainting with unrequitable love at his feet.
Rae
That's the plan
Date: 2008-10-13 06:07 pm (UTC)There was this question posed to RTD at Cheltenham - why aren't there many male companions in the TARDIS? He said it was because there was a distinct lack of powerful female roles in television and he wanted to address that.
So, of course, I had a question to follow that: If you want more powerful female roles in television, why did you ask Moffat to take over?
Sadly, I didn't ask it. You had to go downstairs and collar someone with a microphone and I didn't have the health to do so.
That would have been good...
Date: 2008-10-13 06:24 pm (UTC)I am not really afraid of Moffat's companion. I am afraid of his Doctor characterization. I think Moffat rights interesting characters...Nancy, Sally Sparrow, River and even Reinette. Two of them were madly in love with the Doctor...the other two were not. But I think they were all interesting characters in their own right. Moffat's Doctor, however, is almost unknowable...he's a cipher figure in every episode but Empty Child. I think the line in Empty Child is a nice one to take...and CE handles it brilliantly. So maybe I think Moffat doesn't work well with Ten's character.
That's it...exactly. I don't want Moffat to have anything to do with Ten/Rose. And so I don't want him to have anything to do with Ten. I think he always writes Ten as OCC.
Rae
Re: That's the plan
Date: 2008-10-14 11:16 am (UTC)Let us toast some more
Date: 2008-10-13 05:52 pm (UTC)I am convinced in my own mind that 'the' photo was the inspiration for Donna's costume in Partners in Crime. 'The' photo was taken September 19th. The second tone meeting for PiC was September 20th, when they decide small details. How much coincidence is it that 'the' photo cosplay was a two button brown pinstripe suit with a red shirt, and Donna's outfit is too? Baring in mind, red is a difficult colour to put with ginger hair... it's not a natural choice.
I'm also starting to be convinced that 'the' photo is the inspiration for the upcoming Christmas special character - a human that dresses like the Doctor to save the day.
So, my over inflated ego tells me that I'm important to Doctor Who. Donna helped the Doctor heal. No doubt this next doctor will cause the Doctor to have a reality check of sorts. All this from an image. Imagine the influence I'd have if I was there on set...
I am praying - quite literally - that I'll win the 'visit set and report on filming for DWM' competition. It would be a once in a lifetime thing for anyone. But I think they owe me... for taking my photo but not asking me my name. It's perhaps the ultimate coincidence of dressing as the Doctor... no-one knowing my name. I would really appreciate being able to tell everyone on set in person that we need a Doctor we can believe in, rather than it being filtered out of the post. There's a reason the Master doesn't have a spin off series, and why Torchwood is an adult show. Pray for me, so we can toast to another success. ;)
Incidentally, I recorded the whole Cheltenham Lit Festival RTD/JB segment and put it on YouTube. Part 1 (of 9) is here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KbJJJ_9ySrY
Oh...yay! For the YouTube!
Date: 2008-10-13 06:09 pm (UTC)And you should feel free to tell them I'm brilliant, too. <<--just as an aside. :big grin: Think how much help I would be to Moffat if RTD is off doing other things!
Anyway, though...seriously...how cool is it that you might have influenced the costume choice? Very cool indeedy. Now I am going to study both pictures and go...hmmmm! Certainly that red shirt was a bold choice.
It is funny. I tend to think of all of this as a game we play with RTD. I love trying to figure out what he will do next...and I don't like it at all when he disappoints me...but then...he rarely disappoints me for long.
My non-Who fan buddy read our letter and said we sound like typical over-enthusiastic fans and RTD probably sees our sort all the time. And well...maybe so...but still, it isn't often that I am in this much harmony with another writer on little details like...how to use the spare hand to make a spare Doctor...and that there needs to be a real proper kiss where HE kisses her. During S2, I was constantly amazed when I would see in my mind how the story should go...and then...see it go there in canon. I was even more amazed that so many members of the core fanbase didn't see what I was seeing in the canon. I would hop over to Time & Chips ready to throw confetti and find everyone burbling in their beer about the "End of Rose Tyler. Now, he'll dump her. Now, she's pushed him to far. How DARE she?" SHEESH!
And here we are again...like with Martha...with 10.2...and I hope this is just a short blip in the ride and RTD really can pull this out in 3 more episodes.
Rae
Impossible [planet]... I think not
Date: 2008-10-13 07:06 pm (UTC)I knew that when I wrote to David Tennant, but I still wrote to him to praise his talents. In the first letter, I gave him a leaflet on asexuality because he'd always referred to Rose and the Doctor as 'a love story without the shagging' and that there was a term for it. Of course, I'm in the minority in fandom with that belief.
I thought no more of it, until a few months later he actually said the word in context in an interview for the Radio Times! I couldn't believe that not only had he read it, but he used the stuff in it in relation to his job. I also know he got some flak from purist asexuals that didn't like the word flirting Ten does being associated with them, but RTD had to know as a long term Who fan that a romance would grate those with a... narrower view.
You can tell your buddy that whatever comes of the letter, I'm content that I sent it. RTD has involved me in his stories so much that I care about the direction they go in. I always vote in my local government elections. I make my voice known, even if the vote counters are tired of everyone ticking the same box. It irks me that people don't express their opinions in things that matter to them. That's why I write fan letters, to say thank you if nothing else.
Having said that, maybe we're aiming this at the wrong person. Maybe we should be pointing our dimension cannon at David Tennant. He has a big say in the scripts if there are elements he disagrees with... that's evident in RTD's books, particularly elements about core-Doctor qualities. For instance, DT said the end of Unicorn and the Wasp should be changed because he didn't believe the Doctor would run the wasp over into a lake to kill it. DT made a point and RTD changed the script.
... would you like your email to be on the end of the Humperdinck to DT, to let him know how brilliant you are? ;-)
Lisa
Trying not to imagine DT tripping and landing on me
Sure...go ahead and tell DT
Date: 2008-10-13 07:57 pm (UTC)And I'm in complete agreement with you. I think we should express our enthusiasm for and our love of the show to the writers, actors and crew. The reason I go on and on about things is because I want the show to be as good as it can be. People who disagree with me, often are just having knee-jerk reactions to their own belief systems...saying things like..."Well, the Doctor can't stay in one place." This to me, is just failing to see that he has stayed in places before...like on Gallifrey for years. And also that we don't need to see him during those Rose Wedded Years.
I think DT resisting this...could be because he doesn't feel the Doctor should play favorites with his companions...and also that giving in to the Rose-love is somehow decadent. So if we approach him...it should be in the spirt of courtly love. There is no reason to even suggest that Rose wants a shagging partner. I think her preference for TEN shows that isn't what she's longing for at all. She loves him for who he is. And he loves her...and that's a very pure and beautiful thing. We need not have it be about shagging. After all, we don't think about our parents shagging. And a kiss is still a kiss...a sigh is still a sigh...the fundamental things apply. DT's Doctor is a romantic figure...but he doesn't have to be a tragic one...and indeed...for the kids and the future of the show...he should be a triumphant one.
Rae
Is this a spoiler or just your guess...?
Date: 2008-10-14 01:27 am (UTC)I know you are saying you feel this is what's going on...but that's just a feeling, right? Not something you have read on the spoiler pages?
I hope you are just guessing...though I feel that is a very good guess and could well play into my idea just as easily as any other glimpse into his future.
Rae
I'm riding my luck and guessing
Date: 2008-10-14 10:00 am (UTC)From the Lit Fest, RTD was asked if he knew who the next Doctor would be. He said he didn't know, that the decision was out of his hands. Now, we know he can lie - he got Billie Piper to lie for a year to the press and fans. But, if RTD was asked something he knew about upcoming spoilers, he said, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you that." So, that adds to my belief that Morrissey isn't a future version of the Doctor.
Baring in mind, RTD loves to mess with our heads over Christmas spoilers. Last year was called "Voyage of the Damned" and we spent six months bouncing up and down thinking we would get Nine and Ten together on the real Titanic. This year, I think he wanted to mess with our heads again. If it was leaked that 4.12 ended with a regeneration, then "The Next Doctor" would make fandom tingle. But now we've seen 4.13 and two Doctors running around, people still tingle that both doctors will be real at Christmas. I don't think so. I think it's too convoluted a story to have at Christmas.
Lisa
Thinking there is way too much coincidence around me
You know that's very interesting...
Date: 2008-10-15 01:31 am (UTC)So, I restructured my idea that we would do "It's a Wonderful Life" and started calling it "A Christmas Carol." And I also started calling Morrisey Doctor 12 (but that was because I still think 10.2 is 11). I was, however, shocked when the book came out and I started hearing that the episode was called "The Next Doctor." Because WHOA! And, of course, then...I was worried that couldn't be right about things...and this is where you come in as possibly being correct about it being an imposter. It just isn't like them to give so much away...but then...they are really NOT giving things away because...
I still say it's a possible future, not the REAL future.
Because...let me be clear...I am completely convinced that RTD is telling the truth about not knowing who the next Doctor will be. I am basing this on my firm belief that David Morrisey is NOT going to be the Next Doctor.
He's playing a POSSIBLE Doctor...in an alternative future...not THE Doctor that our Doctor will become one day. I think he was always going to play that role, too...to fool us into thinking the Doctor was going to go bad. This is also what I think Moffat is hinting at when he says "it's more complicated than that" about River being the Doctor's Wife.
Moffat means River COULD be his wife...in a possible future...if he ends up turning into David Morrisey. Something nobody (not me, Moffat or RTD) thinks he is going to do...this is all part of a possible future...which they will be changing somehow...in the specials or immediately in this episode at the end.
If it is all based on a Christmas Carol, then it is Victorian...natch...and the story itself is no more elaborate than the Little House on the Prairie Christmas Carol or any other "Very Special Episode" of a serial drama.
Everyone knows this story. It is part of our mythic foundations. So you don't need to overwork it for a 90 minute episode. David Morrisey would be the Ghost of Christmas Future...he'd be what COULD happen if the Doctor doesn't change his ways. Scrooge (or Ten) sees what he's going to become. This is how you will turn out...."NOoooooo! He's an awful person." <<--Hence the typical RTD joke of casting David Morrisey in the role. Think back about how he's cast people for this sort of thing...and he was even thing Rowlings...at one point...for the reference again to evil around David Tennant.
The Doctor (Ten) will play along and bond with his companion...begin to see the humans in a different light...and then vow to change his ways. I base this on what happens in A Christmas Carol...and also on River knowing his name...and on Sarah Jane's speech about how the Doctor acts like the loneliest person in the universe when he has the biggest family ever. I think this idea was at the core of RTD's specials...leading up to the Doctor accepting that he's the last of his kind and that's okay, because he has a new mission in life...to be there for the universe.
I think the Doctor will spend the next three episodes bonding with people...getting his joy back again...so Moffat can take over a contented traveler...but really...I would still like him to go to Rose as part of that healing process. I would like him to let 10.2 take on the burden for a bit as part of changing his ways. OR...I'd like 10.2 to be 11 and the show to go totally fresh instead of simply having the Doctor accept the inevitable loneliness of his life.
Rae
thinking you are the girl in the costume at the center of everything that's happening in Whoville. :grin:
Time can be rewritten
Date: 2008-10-15 11:49 am (UTC)I like your ideas about the next Christmas special. I do wonder, though, if RTD would be that obvious in using A Christmas Carol as a template. Unless he views it as mindless Christmas fluff to entertain the masses on Christmas Day, and we won't mind the plagiarism because it's Christmas and we forgive. Or, the CIN spoilers of the "Doctor's past" would tie into Morrissey's future Doctor.
My current ideas for the episode, if Morrissey is a human impersonator, is that the Doctor will realise being mortal and saving the world is actually quite pleasant. It also shows him that there are people willing to do his job for him. It will encourage him to find Rose and trade bodies with Blue. Blue has a better mentality - having been mortal - to train Earth humans to protect their world.
But, there's an outcome that suits both our theories. Morrissey's doctor may treat his companions really badly, and the Doctor will fret that he's left Rose with such a man - either literally if he's Blue regenerated, or metaphorically because of the human mentality. He'd go to Rose to stop that future from happening.
Of course, people will come along and read this and say "get over Rose already." Season 3 had Rose's ghost hanging over it because the Doctor wouldn't let her go. At Christmas, he'll think of Rose because of the Cybermen. He'll think Rose because it's Victorian England and the set up of Torchwood. Hell, if it is Dickens' Christmas Carol, he'll still think of Rose!
And then there is the new companion's name
Date: 2008-10-15 01:15 pm (UTC)And the idea of a parallel Doctor...definitely fits...even if said Doctor is human, as you say. I do think this episode was always supposed to be TEN coming to grips with his loss...and changing his ways...my hope is that they made it a bigger change of his ways then they previously intended once they realized that BWBII didn't work.
Rae
London has fallen; so shall the world
Date: 2008-10-11 11:13 am (UTC)http://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Who-Writers-Tale/dp/1846075718/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223593445&sr=8-1
(On the offchance you didn't know.)
Oh, yes...I am definitely buying the book
Date: 2008-10-11 12:59 pm (UTC)Truthfully, I've always sort of cringed away from the commercial life...thinking my creative impulses would be lost under time pressures and overly influenced by outside nitpicking from editors and publishers and network executives. So, it has been refreshing for me to get this perspective on RTD. To see that he's been able to do so much. But also, learning what the isolation did to him...I know why he writes like he does and I really feel for him...not seeing the fix for this...not having that perspective.
Yeah, I definitely want to read his book...because I think it will help me in my own writing career. And because, I've always felt like he was my kind of storyteller. He's a person who gets why things happen in fiction.
Rae