Doctor Who: Journey to the Center of the TARDIS

[rabid1st]

The word for this episode is derivative. But to avoid spoilers...

So, we have seen that crack before in Amy's wall. We have seen the TARDIS explode, too. We have seen these corridors and it is very easy to see that the burned creatures were future versions of the people in the story. Hands are held. Hugs are given. Clara is reassured and we all want to know the Doctor's name. Doctor Who? Only we don't, because that's when the story ends. And it should end just before that name is spoken...because...the Doctor is losing his mystery. He's acting out a dance that is no longer vital or even slightly diverting. We know these steps. And only Jenna adds a little life to them.

My buddy Cat has given me a hint that she wants to discuss the shape of the narrative. And this is, as my loyal readers know, a subject very close to my heart. Stories have a progressive pattern. You can't just throw anything in there and expect your story to work. Writers try to tweak the pattern, change it up, surprise the audience. But, there comes a time when you are just jerking an audience around, if you promise one story and deliver another. You become a player in your own play. Doctor Who worked for decades by keeping true to the idea of a man/being who made things better, couldn't help meddling and loved humanity in a way that was quite pure and profound. Moff has been screwing around with the essentials of premise that doesn't need his input. And you know what, he hasn't added anything of import to the show. RTD added a lot of new twists. Moff just copies stuff. He made the Doctor a different, shallower character, to avoid the idea of character growth that RTD tried to introduce. Moff, to me, is the master of resets. And in Journey we see his true colors on display.

The ship that is crucial to this show can be blown to bits...and, yet, saved, because the last Time Lord can do anything. Ah, but there's the rub. If he can do anything, why not just fix it all with a snap of his fingers? Once we establish those rules for the story, that the fabric of time and space can be bent to give us any eventuality, then, we must ask ourselves if any of the things we have seen and done with Eleven matter. Isn't it just as likely that the Rose we saw return to Ten was an alternative Rose? And somewhere out there she and the Doctor had a long happy life together? Or she and Nine? Perhaps we should go back to where River arrives, knowing his name, because that led us into a preordained reality where the Doctor must marry River and must become a finger-snapping God. But after he's done that...he can reset all of it, right?

He can reach thorough a crack in time and rewrite his own story...and become mysterious again. Only he really can't. Sure, Moff could write that. But you can't regain mystery. The audience would know what it knows. We know that the Doctor isn't brave. He abandoned and betrayed his most loyal companions in JE. We know he doesn't truly admire humans, because he is so capricious and cruel. We know now that he is shallow. We don't believe he can love, in any sense that we recognize.

Or none of this is real. As I've said, if that is the story Moff is telling. If it turns out that Eleven exists only in the moment of many realities colliding as the TARDIS exploded at the start of his run...then...okay...that's a story that is complete. But, if Moff is, as is far more likely, simply manipulating the same tinker toy pieces into something timey-wimey, well, we have seen this all before, right? And it undermines the future of the show. We need to look to a new show-runner to set things right, creating a new set of boundaries for our story. Really, I feel it is time to take Who off the air for a bit. I think it is starting to look like Joan Rivers will all of the plastic surgery that's been going on these last couple of seasons.

On the plus side, I still like the new Matt. And the memory card was played hard in this one, wasn't it? It is possible that wonderful room with the exploding TARDIS means something. And, just for second, I thought Clara might actually be malicious, when she found his name in the book. I thought, oh, she IS a spy. Because what better way to get some secret out of the Doctor than to give him a trusty companion? However, in keeping with the family tree idea, we have another tree symbol as the TARDIS engine. We also have that lovely Time Lord style cradle and puffy TARDIS. Babies on board it seems. And Grandfatherly Eleven continues. So, I'm still thinking Clara is some distant relative. There were shades of The Edge of Destruction in this one, especially Eleven's paranoia just before the leap of faith.

Comments

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I try to avoid David Tennant in his meaner versions. I'm sure he does a stellar job, but I don't want that face freaking me out. :grin:

As for the original plan for Rose to die, I know that was certainly the original rumour. But RTD said he never had any intention of doing that. So, I don't know. RTD said he let that out, that she would die, to increase the tension. Of course, who can say what might have happened if Eccleston stayed. I do think part of Rose's story is her mortality. I think that is the obvious limit to the love story. You don't need artificial limits when an essential immortal person falls in love with a mortal. So, all of the arguments people make against Rose are nonsensical. If Rose stays mortal...and we have a Time Machine...then there is no reason at all we can't have Rose/Doctor with a full life off screen. If you, for whatever odd reason, want to complicate it by having an alternative dimension...so much the better for it happening in the space of however long it takes to fix afternoon tea.

All of the arguments that people put forward...Billie had to leave, we can't have the Doctor just dandle babies on his knee in every show, we can't change the format of the show to a silly romance, the Doctor can't have sex, the Doctor can't fall in love, Rose can't be special because no other companion was, whatever...all show an incredible lack of imagination. And, yet, we get Moffatt creating a Doctor robot and a bubble universe with a little girl all alone, and have River go from baby to sex kitten 40-something in the space of one episode. And everyone is like...okay, that can happen.

I went looking for that quote from RTD...I think it is in the Doomsday commentary...but I can't find it written down anywhere. I shall have to watch the commentary again for it. However, I did find some lovely stuff. Which, I'm sure you have seen before, but...I'll still share.

In the end I sort of though we created a companion who was so alive and dynamic and so wedded to the doctor that you’d need a whole universe to contain her in. The only way to get rid of her is to send her into a parallel world from which she can never return; otherwise she would stay with the doctor forever.”
― Russell T. Davies

But here is one for every person that claims Moff hates Rose... “Obviously and quite overtly, really, the subtext of this show is that the Doctor is hopelessly in love with Rose.” – Steven Moffat

And this goes to what we were recently saying about Moff-- Steven Moffat declared at a convention in 2008 that, "It is impossible for a show about a dimension-hopping time traveller to have a canon."

Uhm, no it isn't Moff! You have just twisted the canon until it is pretty meaningless. And an audience will become very impatient with a story told by someone who doesn't know what the story is about--where it is going, where it comes from, what the rules of the world are.

[sensiblecat.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I believe anything RTD says publicly. Not that he exactly lies, but I think he gets very caught up in the moment and passionately believes what he's saying right then with all his heart and soul, even if he felt the polar opposite ten minutes ago. The comment about the original plan for Rose to die in S2 was from Alan Stevens, who's behind all that Faction Paradox spinoff stuff. It's an interesting discussion, drop by and take a look.

http://mefinx.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/whats-wrong-with-doctor-who/

The next post is also DW related, and contains a few teasers about Name of the Doctor, though nothing that isn't in the public domain. If you're particularly trying to avoid spoilers, you might wish to give it a miss.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure about RTD. I have for the most part had a good sense of what he intended. But he does like the sudden emotional shock, so it is possible he isn't telling us the truth. I mean, John Barrowman could be right about the plans for Rose. And RTD could be offering an explanation with his denial in the confidential.

Certainly a season where Rose slowly dies would have served CE well and would have created a storyline that solved a lot of the problems that we currently face with "The Doctor in Love." The main issues is that the Doctor in love is a one-off idea. And they seem determined to make it his default position. As we can see in Moff's work, epic love isn't something sustainable for a long time. It isn't sustainable in real life, for the most part. An audience easily understands that your beloved is lost to you, but they don't easily understand replacing her immediately. Love is a fluctuating and often fading thing. Though, I must say that I love those I've lost, still, in my heart, and I feel the Doctor could do the same and still go on with his show. But if Doctor Who is really a children's show, if that is where they are aiming it, then children don't feel that way. Children expect constancy.

I do think there is an obvious attempt to recreate the love story in New Who. RTD's hope for Penny was interesting. I happen to believe that Penny would have suffered the same fate that Donna suffered had she been added to the story. This might well have given RTD an opportunity to act out the tragic love story with companion death that Barrowman suggested he wanted to do with Rose. And, then, there is the unexplained anger that CE has for the mechanics of the show. Perhaps he wanted Rose to die and the PTB changed their minds earlier. Perhaps his continued involvement was based on his doing that story in S2, but Rose became a more central figure, the way into the show. I think she did that early on in S1, rather than simply in S2 by default.

I also question Alan suggesting that David was to do a lighter Doctor, because all the way through S2, there are very dark suggestions around Ten. Ten strikes me as a Doctor you really shouldn't cross. And it was almost as if Rose not seeing that in him was what made her special. In other words, I believe Martha was more of the everywoman than other companions. If only she hadn't had that crush, she would have seen what Donna immediately sees...that Ten needed someone to stop him. To me, Ten's happiness comes from what happens in Parting of the Ways. It is a natural progression of The Doctor In Love...an infatuation stage...allowing himself to feel what he feels...without facing the consequences of Rose's mortality. There is the pall that hangs over that happiness, given full voice in Tooth & Claw and School Reunion, that a price must be paid in the end.

I decided to skip your spoiler post, because I'm not sure what is in the public domain. And I hate to be spoiled.

Do you really think we might bring the show to a close? I do agree that it is time. And it seems to me to be headed that way. But, it is also very popular and a moneymaker for the BBC. And there is lots of talk about a S8, casting and writers and such. I truly like this Doctor and Clara, now. I could tolerate a couple of seasons with that grandfatherly dynamic again. But Clara is showing signs of being nothing more than a puzzle in Journey to the Center...and that worries me for her longevity.

[sensiblecat.livejournal.com]

My prediction for the future is that there will be a reboot (set to zero) for the mainstream American market. Julie G, Jane Espanson and possibly Neil Gaiman are all in place. RTD would have been had it not been for his partner's cancer, which made him return to the UK. They will shave off some of the quirkier, more English characteristics of the show, sweep out conflicting canon, up the production values, make it more suitable for a network 1 hour slot less commercials, do audience research and slant the demographic accordingly (because DW was never conceived from the ground up as a show that had to accommodate commercials), and make it movie-friendly. I expect BBC involvement to be minimal under the relaunch, and for the show to be taken up by one of the US networks with, probably, an American showrunner.

However....that would never play with the British fanbase. But...and this will make a lot more sense once you know more about The Name of the Doctor...it doesn't have to. They will send the Doctor down some kind of Time Tunnel where all his adventures are archived, and those will get made on BBC as the occasional crowd-pleasing Special, and also have a subscription-only presence online. Big Finish already exists as a business model, and no doubt they've been watching the precedent of House of Cards on Netflix very closely.

The more you look at the carefully orchestrated publicity released for the 50th Anniversary, the more it looks like a promo for precisely this development. It turns the quirkiness and Englishness up to 11 and features Tennant heavily. There is a classic, rather naff monster for good measure (won't say which, for risk of spoiling you). It is a fanboy's dream.

Everyone is making a song and dance about not all 11 doctors being included, but I think CGI is the way forward there. Again, think Big Finish. Those actors still alive and willing could voice their CGI selves. You could create monsters and thrills galore relatively cheaply, and keep all those clever people in Cardiff in paid employment. Tennant has never really made it Stateside, but the British public love him, and quite possibly he'd be involved. Matt Smith might also be. The beauty of the concept is that it avoids the huge commitment of filming 14 eps back to back, so live actors could do lots of other things.

I don't see Moff hanging around. I think he's ready to quit and concentrate on Sherlock, which is already inked in for a fourth season.

I also wouldn't be at all surprised if the American reboot featured Barrowman in a leading role. It might even be his show. It's odd that he's been so cagey on the precise nature of his involvement lately. It seems bizarre to bring Tennant and Piper back for the 50th with no nod to Captain Jack. I'd be delighted to see an openly gay superhero in a high-profile networked show. Glee has helped blaze that trail - love or loathe it, there's no going back.

And do you know what? I think it could work. It might even be fantastic.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I would love for you to be right. As you can tell from I&B, I do think the idea of archiving the Doctor is a sound one, when it comes to removing the debris of the past. I also feel the only way out of the muddle that Moff has created is some sort of alternative reality reset.

You intrigue me with your teasing about Name of the Doctor. I think that the old school monsters are the Zygons. And they intrigue me because they were in S7 already in The Power of Three, with the Brigadier's...uhm...granddaughter? Also, they are capable of creating artificial beings, pretending to be other people and they use organic technology, like the TARDIS.

Anyway, I think there is a tie to the past there, without it actually being the same as the past. I do think that we could create something great stateside...with appropriate English quirkiness. Assuming we have some strong British input. Though, avoiding the love story might be a hard sell to our market. We make love stories out of everything. Granddaughter is definitely the way to go on companion, allowing for "love story of the week or episode." It hasn't been done here, so that is also refreshing. And Clara is much more "Avenger's Girl" already, as Carole Ann Ford put it.

Looking at it this way, I still say we retire the English version when the TARDIS explodes, offering only the hope of alternatives that Matt/Moff created for future generations. As you say, specials on online interaction. And, allow the Doctor to morph into something new and more commercial, but with trappings of the old. You are right that CGI is the way to go on the old school Doctors as well. No modern audience member is going to accept 70 year old Tom Baker as Four. It would allow too many distractions within the story to explain missing and aged Doctors. Better to just get on with it.

I would hope that Moff focuses on Sherlock. He does a great job there. And I do feel he's like a kid in a candy store with the Doctor. I know he's given ME a stomachache with all the excess. LOL