badwolfrose34

[badwolfrose34]

With and without Rose

i enjoy looking at promotional photos of the Tenth Doctor in series 2 and 4 side by side because you can clearly see the changes he goes through. from joyful and optimistic to sorrowful and arrogant, hardened by all the loses he has suffered. it's a brilliant visual representation of his character arc

[badwolfrose34]

Most of love and monsters is really bad but this scene makes up for it completely

Doctor Who | 2x10: Love and Monsters (aka the Doctor and Rose being idiots)

[badwolfrose34]

Nine straight out of the Time War, traumatized and suicidal, watching Rose flirt with everyone around her including him, watching Rose love her mother so messily, endearingly and true, watching Rose destroy reality to try to save the father she hardly knew out of love for the absence he left behind, watching Rose love a dalek and that dalek loving her to the point of letting itself die in the sunlight, watching Rose love him, Nine, with complete trust and belief in him despite the Time War’s ashes coating his hands, Nine watching her love absolutely completely selfishly and thinking yeah I could make a religion out of this

[badwolfrose34]

“Firstly, Rose is neither shallow nor stupid. She doesn’t settle for second best. She gets the person she fell in love with. And, as a bonus, he’s now able to spend the rest of his life with her, as she with him. Secondly, the very same person who experienced the heartbreak of losing Rose for the first time now experiences joy at the prospect of a lifetime in her company. In this full sense, the Doctor who lost, finally wins.” — Paul Dawson, Doctor Who and Philosophy: Bigger on the Inside

[badwolfrose34]

Yes, I know, I usually try to stay out of too much negativity. It is best to focus on what we love in fandom, BUT I also think toxic characters deserve to be called out as toxic.

BIG BIG WARNING THIS WILL BE AN ANTI RIVER SONG POST IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THAT, JUST KEEP SCOLLING

So now that it's just us, let me begin because I have to rant.

————————————————————————

First of all I am sure that the Doctor doesn't love River Song one bit. I think all of the times where he makes sexual jokes with her, or anything like that he just kinda goes along with what she does. He doesn't mean it from the heart. (Both of them ;) )

I also have to say that they just have zero chemistry and their "romance" seems forced. The only reason, and I mean the ONLY reason he is sad when he knows he will see her for the last time is because he knew all along what would happen to her, just as much as we as the audience knew and he didn't wanna lose a friend. And I'm being generous when I say he saw her as a friend. She is Amy's daughter, his best friends daughter, and he feels obligated to like her. Nothing more.

She is toxic, abusive and manipulative, if you wanna have a more in depth analysis of why, @badwolfrose34 made a great post about it.

River had to literally break her own wrist to get out of the weeping angels grasp. Let's be real here for a second, he would have smashed that thing into a million pieces if it was Rose instead, or Donna. But he didn't do it for River. I'm sure that's his way of rebelling against her toxicity, manipulation and abuse.

That he healed it afterwards? His conscience telling him it's the right thing to do, nothing more.

My conclusion;

The Doctor never loved River Song, and I would even go as far as to say he never loved anyone again after Rose. At least not in a romantic way.

[badwolfrose34]

My analysis of River Song (not River friendly)

This essay has been brewing in my mind for awhile. If you don’t want to see anti River content, please keep scrolling. I understand that since Doctor Who is a work of fiction, fans have the right to differing interpretations and to invoking literary license. However, I do want fans who are like me and icked out by River to feel validated. What follows is a pretty unreserved criticism of the character and her relationship with the Doctor.

First, I’m going to break down River from a psychological perspective. Note that I am not a licensed psychologist, but I did graduate with a degree in general psychology. I’m also going to explain some of the many instances that she proves herself to be an incredibly toxic person.

River Song was raised to be a psychopath. That’s an indisputable fact mentioned clearly in the show. Psychopathy is known in the psychology world as Anti Social Personality Disorder (ASPD). ASPD can be managed, but it has no cure. Could it be argued that River sees an off screen therapist? Sure. However, ask yourself if you can see River Song going to therapy?

Not only that, but River has no ordinary case of ASPD. She wasn’t just raised in an abusive or unsafe household, she was cut off from society during her critical formational years. Most cases of ASPD involve people who grew up in challenging households, but they did have interaction with society at large. I don’t know of any case studies surrounding people with ASPD who were cut off from society in their formational years, but doing some research on “feral children” will allow you to read examples of what happens to children raised away from society.

The case I know the most about is that of Oxana Malaya. You can google her for more. She was quite literally raised by dogs. And she required intense inpatient treatment to unlearn her dog like mannerisms. Even then, she always had a level of intellectual impairment.

Because River was specifically raised to have ASPD, she learned language abilities and was socialized on how to BEHAVE like a person capable of love and empathy and friendship, but she never was capable of these things. She was raised to put on an act to be able to get to the doctor and kill him. She was never capable of anything more.

Even if River saw an off screen therapist, she was never institutionalized, as would’ve been required for her to truly function as a healthy person in any possible way. She couldn’t have just shrugged off her programming. Why did she save the Doctor and give up her regenerations? It couldn’t have been guilt or remorse, but she could’ve developed co morbid Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), which is a common disorder to co occur with ASPD. The narcissism would’ve created within her a need for supply. Supply meaning, a boost to the narcissists ego. Narcissists are not capable of genuine empathy and love, but they are capable of seeking supply in the form of impacting other people’s emotions. And what better source of supply for one’s ego than the last known member of one of the most powerful races known to the universe?

When River decided to undo her murder and save the Doctor, it starts off with a completely nonconsensual kiss. This is a pretty fitting start to a relationship that progresses into a forced marriage.

River then continues to force unwanted innuendos on the Doctor. Probably implying they were intimate just to make the Doctor feel obligated to be intimate with her eventually. This is despite Matt Smith confirming in an interview that his Doctor is asexual. He could be demi or grey sexual, I’ll admit that possibility, but River insists on forcing her hyper sexuality on him at any and all stages in his timeline knowing they wouldn’t be welcome. I should note that hyper sexuality can be a symptom of ASPD. It’s not cute or fun. If River was simply a sexually liberated character, she would not be forcing her innuendos on someone who does not want them. Especially not in the earlier parts of his timeline.

River flounces around feeling and acting entitled to the Doctor’s attention if and when she wants it. When she wants it, he’s expected to come running. Then she disappears when she wants to. Creating a masterfully manipulative cycle of hot and cold emotional abuse. When he loses Amy and Rory, she refuses to travel with him. Leaving him emotionally vulnerable and at her beck and call when and if she feels like using him.

Audio dramas are too numerous to declare as universal canon. I think most fans pick and choose which parts of the extended universe count as canon to them. But in the Dalek Universe series, River appears for one episode where she physically abuses the Doctor. She hits him so hard that he is crying out in pain. And then she gaslights him by telling him it was just a little tap. Now, it’s perfectly valid not to count this moment as canon. But it’s extremely consistent with River’s character and I am personally going to use it against her. Especially since I did see another post somewhere bring up the fact that she did the same thing to the fifth Doctor in another audio.

Finally, the worst part of River’s abuse is the forced marriage. The first time the Doctor meets her, she convinces him that he eventually marries her. But he clearly can’t stand her. He doesn’t want anything to do with her. But now he feels as though he’s obligated to marry her. At first he hopes it’s something that can be changed. Saying that time can be rewritten when Amy asks if he marries River. Right up until the forced wedding he tells River he doesn’t want to marry her. But because she convinced him he does marry her in the library, and because nothing else is convincing River to save the universe, he gives in and gives her what she wants. Assuming it’s the only way to keep the universe from falling apart.

Now, I do understand that anyone who loved the Doctor would not want to bring back a timeline where he died. But River was already willing to start considering it just because he agreed to marry her. Because she got what she wanted and because she got the satisfaction of seeing her manipulations succeed. The Doctor couldn’t even get close enough to her to tell her his plan at first, but she was willing to let him come close to her just because he married her. River valued marriage to the Doctor more than the Doctor’s life.

I know it’s commonly believed among River fans that he only kept his distance because he saw her die. But Remember he couldn’t stand her long before that. He never liked her until he thought he was supposed to. No doubt seeing her die cemented his desire to keep a distance from her. But the point is he did keep a distance from her. He never got close to her and he never wanted to. But River always refused to respect this. She saved him so he could belong to her. So he could be her property.

No doubt the Doctor did develop a level of care and responsibility for her. Because he was a person capable of empathy and remorse. And any target of this kind of emotional abuse will develop some sort of attachment. But he was never in love with her. River herself knew this, but she had to convince herself he never loved anyone. But he did. We know for a fact he was in love with Rose. We know he loved friends like Donna platonically. But he didn’t love River. Nor should he have.

Update: I thought I’d also share the official diagnostic criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. I’m not qualified to diagnose real people since I only have a bachelor’s degree in psychology. But fictional characters, I will. It’s established canon River has Anti social personality disorder (the official term for psychopathy and sociopathy) so I won’t bother trying to prove my point there. But I do believe she is a narcissist as well.

In the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), [1] NPD is defined as comprising a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), a constant need for admiration, and a lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by the presence of at least 5 of the following 9 criteria:

A grandiose sense of self-importance: River has this in spades.

A preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love: The Doctor is definitely her ideal love fantasy

A belief that he or she is special and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people or institutions I would say this is another yes

A need for excessive admiration Definitely

A sense of entitlement 1000% she constantly feels entitled to the Doctor dropping everything for her.

Interpersonally exploitive behavior absolutely

A lack of empathy very much so

Envy of others or a belief that others are envious of him or her not sure about this one. I don’t recall any instances of this.

A demonstration of arrogant and haughty behaviors or attitudes any time she’s on screen this is a yes

I might make a separate post on narcissism specifically. And I might give more specific examples at that point. But fellow River loathers, this is pretty solid evidence that she’s a narcissist and a psychopath. Diagnostic criteria only stipulates that 5 of these traits be met. River definitely meets 8 of them. I should note that most psychologists and psychiatrists like to see that these traits apply to more than one aspect of a person’s life for a diagnostic. And with River it’s hard to establish that since her character almost completely revolves around the Doctor. BUT if just one person really wants solid evidence against her, let me know. I might be willing to put myself through an audio story or something that features her away from the Doctor.

[badwolfrose34]

I agree with this. Because I think he probably knew the only way he’d marry River is if he’d HAVE to marry her in order to save lives. And he had no idea if whatever circumstances forced him to marry River would also put Rose at risk if he kept her. Imagine how painful it would’ve been for him to have been forced to choose between marrying River with Rose around and keeping Rose safe. I truly believe it was hard enough on the Doctor as is to have been forced to marry River. It would’ve been unimaginable to have been forced to marry her with Rose around.

He also wanted her to have Tentoo because Tentoo wouldn’t have the weight of outliving her and could be fully present with her, but I do agree with this theory being a factor in his decision. And I also agree with the time lord victorious theory because by that point he might’ve been suffering so much he questioning his selfless choice to leave Rose with Tentoo.

I need to put my thoughts out here again because I need to get this off my chest.

In a post I once said that the Doctor knew he couldn't keep Rose when they saw each other again because he already knew he was gonna marry River one day, and he knew that if he keeps her she will die or something far worse will happen to her because he would never marry another woman with Rose around. (I don't take any criticism on that take by the way)

BUT

I am also convinced that when he became time lord victorious, and before that lady (don't come for me I forgot her name) killed herself, he was testing to see if he could mess with fixed points in time because he was planning on getting Rose back no matter what.

[badwolfrose34]

i think about how Mickey left Rose alone after the explosion at her work. and about how Mickey didn't help Rose save London from plastic monsters.

and suddenly Rose's question in Cardiff, addressed to the Doctor, "We'll go down together? Won't you run away? Won't you leave me alone? I won't have to fight this by my own?", gets a whole new meaning.

[badwolfrose34]

Alien's Doctor Who watching order reccomendations!!

> Watch the whole of Nuwho, starting with the ninth doctor

> Obsess over it for a couple of years, and rewatch the same ten episodes until people start becoming concerned about you

> Watch some spinoffs, e.g. Torchwood

> Spend enough time on the internet to convince yourself you must watch Classic Who

> Think about it for a long time

> Finally start watching Classic Who

> Give up

> Pick it up somewhere in the middle again for a specific reason (probably an edit or post that you saw)

> Get distracted

> Repeat the previous two steps a few times

> Spend even more time on the internet and fall into an incredibly niche rabbit hole about one particular character/era/part of Doctor Who

> Start listening to a random collection of Big Finish audios and Doctor Who books related to said part

> Somehow fall into an even deeper rabbit hole, and commit to posting things on Tumblr that only the same five other people understand

That's all, hope this helped!!

[badwolfrose34]

The fact that Rose Tyler is the only lover with whom the Doctor wanted to build a normal life, for whom he wanted to become human, that he imprinted on her to the point that she was the heart of his 10th incarnation, the only one for whom an incarnation was specifically made, that even the memory erased he remembered her name and her face, that she was more important than the Tardis, the only one to whom he almost said I love you several times time, the only one to whom he really ended up saying the words I love you, the only companion with whom he had ever been so relaxed, the only one described by the screenwriters as the love of his life.

[badwolfrose34]

Eight and Charley

The dynamics between the Eighth Doctor and Charley are super fascinating to me. I shared an excerpt from the book, Doctor Who Psychology, about the Doctor and Rose, but Charley isn’t included in that book so I wanted to write my own. I’m not a psychologist like the authors of that book, but I do have a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

I don’t exactly ship Eight and Charley, but their relationship is a great exploration of what might be the Doctor’s first serious pursuit of romance, and it lays the foundation for the Time Lord Victorious. When the Doctor meets Rose, he loves her for her. Any willingness to risk the universe or put himself in harm’s way for her is a result of how much he loves her. The love comes first and is the foundation, not the desire to be a martyr. This is also true for the platonic loves he has after Rose, and for those who ship the Doctor with other companions, it can be argued that it’s the case for those other companion dynamics too. With Charley, on the other hand, we have an interesting exploration of what happens when the Doctor loves the idea of love and the idea of being a self-sacrificial hero and martyr much more than he actually loves the other person. Martyr complexes are not a formal psychological diagnosis or formal personality trait, but it is an established psychological phenomenon many psychologists recognize and it’s definitely the foundation of the Eighth Doctor’s affection for Charley.

Spoilers for Eight and Charley audios follow as I explain my interpretation further. Even if you don’t plan to listen to the audios, it’s really a key part of the Doctor’s character development, so you might find it interesting to read this overall summary!

When the Doctor first meets Charley, it all seems innocent enough, like any other companion introduction. When the Doctor realizes that Charley’s survival will end up destroying the web of time, he first decides he has to put her back on the airship to die when she was supposed to. But when he sees her brightness and enthusiasm for life, he can’t bring himself to do it. Which is totally understandable—how do you look someone in the eye, someone with such a zest for life, and bring them to their death?

However, he reveals later that part of his choice to save her might have been to have a reminder of mortality and death right there with him—something to help ground him. I do think the simple and very obvious inability to drag her to her death was also part of it, but he begins to justify his own actions. At multiple points, he ponders the philosophy of being able to save one worthy life, even if it risks everything else. It’s very reminiscent of the Star Trek exploration of “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one” vs. the concept that sometimes “the needs of the few or the one can outweigh the needs of the many.” The Doctor asks himself, What is the point of all his abilities if he can’t save just one person who wasn’t supposed to live? He’s debating his power as a Time Lord and playing around intellectually with just how much he should push it. We see the first precursors to Time Lord Victorious here. He’s really questioning what his boundaries actually are.

To me, the entire dynamic between them feels off—kind of icky in an unhealthy, toxic way—but there’s no evidence of how toxic it is until Neverland, when the Time Lords and the Neverpeople of the anti-time universe get involved. When Charley grasps the full extent of how her existence is damaging the web of time, she starts to insist she must die. The Doctor says she’s his friend and he loves her—no matter what, he can’t kill her. Which sounds genuine at first. But then the Doctor tries to sacrifice himself and his own TARDIS to find a way to save the universe without letting Charley die. The indication that something is wrong here is that the TARDIS should be the Doctor’s oldest friend. He doesn’t even think of the pain his sacrifice would cause the TARDIS.

After the Doctor tries to sacrifice himself, he does contain the threat of the anti-time universe. But for a long time, he struggles against a personification of the anti-time energy called Zagreus that has infected his mind. The TARDIS is also infected and appears to him in the form of the Brigadier. The TARDIS explains that real friendship isn’t based on sacrifice—it’s based on loyalty. It’s based on standing shoulder to shoulder, just as the Doctor did with the TARDIS. It’s unclear how lucid the TARDIS was, but the points made are accurate.

When the Doctor gets a grip on himself and subdues the Zagreus energy for a while, he tells Charley to kill him because having that alter ego is going to destroy the universe eventually. Charley realizes that the Doctor can’t really love her and ask her to kill him. Charley did ask the same of him earlier, but she realizes that she couldn’t ask him to do such a thing. And now she realizes that the Doctor can’t love her and ask her to destroy her entire psyche by killing him, and she does it. This is the first indicator that the Doctor loves being a martyr—not Charley. The first time he was willing to die for her, it seemed like it could be true love. But the second time is what shows us that it’s not. He’s willing to die for her survival, and he’s willing to risk the universe for her survival because that makes him feel like a martyr. It validates his new perspective on love and friendship as self-sacrificial and makes him feel like a true romantic hero. However, he’s not willing to put anything on the line for her mental well-being. He’s willing to damage her substantially by having her kill him. And that’s what proves this is not true love for Charley as a person.

Charley does try to kill him. The Doctor manages to subvert the Zagreus energy to bring himself back to life, the TARDIS is restored, and the threats are contained, but the Doctor is still afraid of the Zagreus energy, so he banishes himself back to the anti-time/divergent universe. He doesn’t expect Charley to follow him. This is where we get even more insight into how twisted and toxic this relationship has become.

When the Doctor sees Charley has joined him, he’s livid. Not just livid—he becomes verbally abusive, calling her a silly little girl. He belittles her in cold and cruel ways. This isn’t what happens in love. When you love someone, you will be concerned for their safety. But the Doctor’s reaction comes not out of love but out of anger that she has undermined his romantic and heroic act. At first, he denies loving her—calls it an urge he might have had in the past but that it’s gone. They’re in an evolution lab, and their bodies start to merge together. They lose their own physical identities and create a sound creature together. This is a really good metaphor for the psychological enmeshment that’s been happening during their entire relationship. Loving the idea of love is one very possible source of enmeshment. Because the Doctor does not love Charley as an individual, but instead loves her for the ideals he feels she allows him to live out, she’s become an unhealthy obsession. The Doctor wants to be a romantic hero, and so his whole identity has become rooted in whatever makes him feel like he’s the person he wants to be. And sacrificing himself for Charley fulfills that so well, he no longer has an individual identity outside of that. Charley has no identity outside of the Doctor either. She doesn’t have any ego based motives, but there’s no implication she’s ever had an intense romantic experience before either. She too is trying to play out what she thinks her ideal of love should be. That’s not to say first loves never work out, they can, but it’s certainly not working well for the Doctor and Charley.

After the really twisted mental torture in an evolution lab in the anti-time universe, the Doctor goes and says he loves her again—despite having denied it earlier. I see this as his continued love for the idea of love, but also his brain having to cope with the fact that the evolution chamber has merged their bodies together. It’s messed up because he’s not love bombing and devaluing her like a narcissist. The Eighth Doctor isn’t fully narcissistic. He doesn’t meet the criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. However, this relationship and the circumstances have brought out the worst in him and cause him to behave in a narcissistic manner within this specific dynamic with her. He makes her into more than she is to serve his heroic martyr narrative, and lashes out when she disrupts that fantasy. The Doctor could also be struggling with cognitive dissonance here, really wanting to believe he loves Charley, but knowing his actions are really aligning.

They meet another companion called C��rizz in the divergent universe, and then they make it back to the prime one and travel together for a bit. Until C’rizz dies. Charley sees how indifferent the Doctor seems to his death. This disturbs her deeply. What she’s seeing is how he’s stayed somewhat distant to people as a defense mechanism all this while. Up until now, the vast majority of the Doctor’s companions have made the choice to leave him. He’s developed a lot of abandonment wounds that are contrasting his desire for more intense connections. But for Charley, this callousness is too much. And she decided to leave. The Doctor may have developed an avoidant attachment style over time, making it hard for him to form healthy emotional connections. This would explain why his relationship with Charley is so dysfunctional—he wants intense love but doesn’t know how to handle it in a way that’s not self-destructive. Not yet anyway.

They have another last adventure involving Cybermen, but they get separated at the end and the Doctor loses his memory after Charley’s initial decision to leave. Having no idea Charley did change her mind after her first decision to leave, he finds a goodbye note she wrote him when she first made the decision to leave. The letter was written really quite sweetly.

The last sign of how unhealthy the dynamic is, is that he reacts to the goodbye note with pure vitriol in his voice. Crumpling it up and throwing it away. He doesn’t cherish it and he doesn’t respect Charley’s feelings at all.

The eighth doctor isn’t evil, but this does seem to be the first incarnation where he’s experiencing strong attractions and romantic feelings. Love affairs down seem like something that would’ve been encouraged on Gallifrey. My headcanon is that arranged marriages are probably pretty popular on Gallifrey. Combine that with the fact the Doctor used to keep a certain distance from companions, this is all new to him. For the first time he WANTS romantic love. Or at least he wants something more intense than what he’s experienced with companions before. His desire to be a romantic figure doesn’t start off as twisted or toxic. It starts off like any pre teen or teen who wishes for romance. However, the forces surrounding Charley help force it into something deeply toxic. I do think the Doctor eventually learns from this. He stops using companions as reminders of death or instruments to become heroic, romantic or a Martyr. He learns to appreciate them for who they are. I think the hard lesson of his relationship with Charley was a key point in his development.

Rose also plays a key role in his ability to love in a healthier way. She loves him for him and thus he finally learns to love in a healthy way. I’m not saying their relationship was entirely healthy, but he did love her for her. His silent demonstrations of love from Rose onwards were far more meaningful than the vocal declarations Charley got. Perhaps the experience with Charley contributed in part to his avoidance of saying I love you, because the only time he said it before (until Tentoo) was out of a deeply unhealthy form of attachment and not genuine love.

There’s a lyric from Daylight by Taylor Swift that sums this up perfectly:

I once believed love would be burning red, but it’s golden.

Rose was his golden love, but he needed to experience burning red love(s) first.

[badwolfrose34]

Switched At Birth

I know it’s a really small fandom. But I hadn’t found too many fix its for Bay and Emmet. So if anyone is still wanting those, I made one! The two of them totally belonged together. I kind of dragged Travis and Tank through the mud a little. But if anyone wanted me to write a follow up clearing Travis’ name, I can!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63320404

[badwolfrose34]

Ummm. So he does say sorry Rose 😭😭😭😭 this just cuts it off.

“sorry, rose.”

[badwolfrose34]

doctor who big finish audio stories!

⚠️ this post is no longer being updated or monitored x ⚠️

you may have seen my nuwho books post and thought “well that’s all good and proper but i wanted the big finish audio dramas >:(“ fear not, because i have a collection of those too and i am still not allergic to sharing :)

also up for grabs: doctor who novelisations (x) and torchwood big finish audios (x)

a list of what’s there + how to play below the cut x

things you’ll find here:

new who + misc

the diary of river song (series 1-12)

the death and life of river song (series 1)

the tenth doctor and river song (series 1)

the tenth doctor adventures (series 1-3)

the ninth doctor adventures (series 1 + series 4 vol. 1)

unit incursions (episodes 8.04 + 8.05)

unit nemesis (series 4)

missy (series 1-4)

the eighth of march (3.01 + 3.02)

masterful + terror of the master

rose tyler: the dimension cannon (series 1-3)

the paternoster gang (series 1-5)

master! (series 1-3)

time lord victorious (008)

once and future (005)

tenth doctor adventures: dalek universe (3.02)

classic who

the eighth doctor adventures (series 1-4)

stranded series (series 1-3)

doom coalition (series 1-4) (exc. 3.02.... working on it)

dark eyes (series 1-4)

ravenous (series 1-4)

classic main range (134, 135 + 168)

companion chronicles: the second doctor (vol 1-3 / series 10, 12 + 14)

gallifrey (series 1-3)

!!! torchwood audios have moved. they can now be found here !!!

and how to access them

press play!!

if you like to listen at 1.5x speed like me, you can use an independent media player. on ios, press the 3 dots -> open with: [audio player of choice] (i use evermusic)

make and save copies of what you want even if you don’t have time to listen right now. don’t rely on this link always being here.

want something you can't have?

⚠️ this post is not currently being monitored or updated ⚠️

if there's a particular story/series you wanted to hear that i don't have listed yet, send me an ask or pop it in the comments x

happy listening! x

[badwolfrose34]

Donna: That friend of yours, what was her name? The Doctor: Her name was Rose.

[badwolfrose34]

look people who've been around here for a while know exactly how i feel about the early doctor who serial edge of destruction but i rewatched it recently and i have feelings

so edge of destruction is the third ever serial of doctor who, right? it's an unearthly child, the daleks, then edge of destruction. and it's also kind of a bottle episode. edge of destruction is a two-parter, and is set entirely on the tardis featuring only the main cast

the plot is weird. everyone wakes up in the tardis with confusion and memory loss, not knowing what's going on. the tardis isn't safe, and strange things are happening. the ship seems to be malfunctioning, but there's nothing notably wrong with it. everyone's freaking out and accusing each other of sabotaging the tardis or hurting each other

now, as i said, this is early doctor who. companions barbara and ian had been kidnapped by the doctor and susan so they don't tell anyone that time travel is real, and at this point they don't trust the doctor and the doctor doesn't trust them. the doctor immediately starts accusing barbara and ian of sabotaging the ship to force him to take them home, which they angrily refute. they've spent the last two stories saving the doctor and susan from whatever's trying to kill them

barbara has a speech here which is brilliant and i can quote verbatim. 'do you realise, you stupid old man, that you'd have died in the cave of skulls if ian hadn't made fire for you? and what about what we went through against the daleks? not just for us, but for you and susan too. and all because you tricked us into going down to the city. accuse us? you ought to go down on your hands and knees and thank us! but gratitude's the last thing you'll ever have, or any sort of common sense either'

and the doctor spends the whole two episodes either accusing ian and barbara of being evil or being wholly unhelpful. (he straight up drugs everyone with a sedative at one point!) yeah, turns out the tardis is trying to tell them what's wrong via cryptic clues, and barbara's putting the pieces together. and the doctor still doesn't listen to her! she's so close to figuring it out and saving them all - they're all gonna die in about ten minutes and the doctor's basically given up, but barbara's trying to solve the problem

and in the end, they have the eureka moment and get out of trouble, but barbara's still understandably pissed. that is, until the doctor takes the time to apologise to her and tell her that yeah, she was right and he's sorry he didn't listen to her and he's going to do better to respect her opinions in future. they go into the next serial as friends, a first for the series to that point

so why do i love this weird little two-parter so much? because it is the moral centre of modern doctor who. this is the start of the characterisation of the doctor that we know and love. before this, the doctor is ruthless! he tries to kill a guy with a rock! he sabotages the tardis to satisfy his curiosity and lands everyone in danger from the daleks! he drugs them just because he doesn't trust them! he thinks he's smarter, better, and more important than the people he travels with

but then barbara stands up to him. she tells him that, no, she and ian are important too. and no, they're worth listening to. and yes, they can help and are worth something. and that's important, because barbara and ian are way more compassionate than the doctor is at this point. they want to help people they come across even if it means putting their own lives in danger.

sound familiar? yeah, the doctor's whole thing of helping everyone they come across and compassion towards everyone starts here. this is one of the most enduring things about the doctor and it would never have happened without barbara telling the doctor he's full of shit

and it's all because he listened to an ordinary woman

[badwolfrose34]

Doctor Who companions summarised in ten words or less (classic edition)

Susan Foreman: Gallifreyan teenager abandoned on post-apocolyptic earth because love.

Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright: Married schoolteachers educate grumpy alien about morality.

Vicki Pallister: New granddaughter acquired!

Steven Taylor: Future Blue Peter presenter enjoys double act with adoptive sisters.

Katarina: She's lovely- oh, wait, now she's dead.

Sara Kingdom: She's cool- oh, wait, now she's dead.

Dodo Chaplet: Northerner loses accent due to BBC classism, more at ten.

Ben Jackson and Polly Wright: Opposites attract couple near-immediately overshadowed by new companion.

Jamie McCrimmon: Himbo highlander as gay as sixties television will allow.

Victoria Waterfield: Nineteenth century teenager has worst week of her life.

Zoe Heriot: Master martial artist knows one (1) throw.

Liz Shaw: Scientist is too competent for this nonsense.

Jo Grant: Cinnimon roll has no self-preservation instinct.

Sarah-Jane Smith: Feminist journalist surrounded by idiotic military men.

Harry Sullivan: Otherwise-sensible medical professional becomes world's biggest imbecile.

Leela of the Sevateem: Knife lady kicks ass, takes names.

K9: Robotic dog malfunctions for ninety minutes.

Romana: Sheltered Gallifreyan has surprisingly good fashion.

Adric: Math kid go boom!

Tegan Jovanka and Nyssa Of Traken: Hypercompetent space girlfriends have unintentional homoerotic subtext.

Vislor Turlough: Universes most incompetent assassin accidentally becomes friends with intended target.

Kamelion: BBC producer gets tricked into buying cursed prop.

Peri Brown: Dubiously-accented botanist struggles with sexism and BBC wardrobe department.

Mel Bush: Health nut weaponises volume of scream.

Ace McShane: Awesome butch bisexual pyromaniac hits things with baseball bat.