#I can not STAND the way John Smith treats Martha

[itwasanangryinch]

I think it would have made for a much better/more interesting episode if instead of John Smith getting the fob watch and having to decide as to whether or not to open it, they let Thomas Brodie-Sangster keep the watch for more of it. Let him become more and more Doctor, eventually becoming completely The Doctor to the point where Martha and Thomas!Doctor end up saving the day.

It would have:

Forced Martha to really confront The Doctor's alien nature and regeneration.

Added an interesting aspect to her crush on him (a la Rose with 9->10 or Clara with 11->12)

Given The Master/other Time Lords more ways to body hop

Spent less time on John Smith

[melancholydreadfuldream]

Dreamer File 01

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairing: Tenth Doctor x reader

Warning: angst

More warning: English is not my native language and I suck at it but I wanted to write for DW so here it is. My name is (YN) (LN) and I'm a traveler in time and space. I met the Doctor on his tenth incarnation. He picked me up alongside Rose. I have been with him for so long. He is a wonderful man so of course I ended up catching feeling for him. But he only have eyes for Rose.

Rose has the advantage because she has been with him the longer and I have to admit that she is a wonderful person but she is possessive of the Doctor. I'm the third wheel in this. They laughed and joked around and I didn't feel included. At least, the Doctor didn't kick me out because I do love to travel with them.

When Rose is gone trapped in the other world, his love for Rose is so great he even burn out a sun just to say goodbye. How can I ever compete with her? No chance.

The Doctor wanted to drop me home despite my protest. He said if I stay with him, I will ended up like Rose.

Before he could though, Donna appeared on board of the Tardis and we ended up having to sort her out.

He invited Donna to come with us but she refused. I felt hurt that the Doctor invited her when he said he want to drop me off. Did he got tired of me? That is so unfair.

Thankfully the Doctor no longer insisted that I go home. We eventually met Martha and she became a fellow traveler.

I could tell that Martha is smitten with the Doctor. I warned her that the Doctor is still hung up on Rose.

The Doctor didn't treat me and Martha very well. We endured it but one day I just snapped.

"I know you are still hurting over Rose but Martha and I deserve better than your treatment so far. Doctor, we love traveling with you and I know we can't replace Rose. She has a special position in your hearts. But I would appreciate it if you stop comparing us with her."

The Doctor is silent and I thought he will be mad at me. But he told me he didn't mean to make us feel like that and promise to do better.

And then the Family of Blood happened. Martha and I ended up having to care for a human Doctor. We worked as servants at the military school where John Smith will be a teacher.

He fell in love with Nurse Redfern. I can't help feeling bitter about it. Why am I never the one? I could drive myself crazy thinking about it so I don't. I pushed my feeling down. I am lucky that Martha is with me. I don't think I could bear it alone.

When John Smith turned back as the Doctor, I am glad to leave that time period behind.

I think my relationship with the Doctor improve a little during the time we got marooned on the year 1960. We have a moment together under a starry sky on top of a building after I finished my work. I also bonded some more with Martha since we both have to work hard to support the Doctor.

Then things with Jack and the Master happened. It was the worst time of my life. My father was taken on board the Valiant by the Master as hostage.

For some reason, the Doctor send Martha off to do whatever he told her to do. He didn't ask me to go with her and so I stayed and wonder if he think so little of me that I can't do whatever it was he tasked Martha to do. Maybe I really am useless.

During my time aboard the Valiant, between the mental and physical abuse from the Master, my father got a heart attack and died. I cried so hard that day. I didn't even get to bury his body. The Master ordered the soldiers to throw his body off the ship. I wanted to kill him but Martha's family stopped me before I did a stupid thing.

I cried and begged the Doctor to fix it. I knew that was selfish of me to ask that of the helpless Doctor but I was out of my mind with grief.

Then Martha came back and the paradox machine got destroyed. The Doctor returned to his former self and able to neutralize the Master.

Everything got a reset. The world had forgotten about what happened. The year that never was. Except for the lot on board of the Valiant. I didn't get my father back. I hated the Master with my whole life. I picked up the gun, wanting to kill him but the Doctor stopped me.

The Master is dead, shot by his dutiful wife. I only felt bad for the Doctor for losing the only other Time Lord but I'm also relieved because if he is alive and the Doctor take him on board of the Tardis, I don't think I could cope.

Martha decided to leave us. I couldn't leave the Doctor. The man with the sad eyes, how could I? Also it was easy because I no longer have any family now my father is gone.

I don't even want to sort my life anymore. I want to stay with the Doctor for as long as I could. Martha warned how unhealthy my choice was.

"Don't waste your life for someone who didn't appreciates you..." She said. "But maybe...you still have hope with him. I saw how he look at you. But be careful, don't let yourself be second best for someone, not even him."

But the thing is I will always be second best compare to Rose. And yet I can't bring myself to leave him. Not brave enough, not strong enough.

After she left, it was only the Doctor and I. We didn't talk much except during adventures. There were times when I caught him looking at me but he never said a word.

When Donna joined us, I felt so grateful because she made the mood more lively.

Donna knew of my feeling for the Doctor and often pushed me to be with the Doctor even after I told her that he still in love with Rose.

Of course, I had to experience almost dying of poison before I decided to confess to him.

"I love you, Doctor. I know you didn't feel the same and that's all right." I lied. "But I just want you to know how much you are loved and that this is not your fault. I choose this. I choose you."

But then, he managed to cure me and thing become awkward between us. Donna who heard my confession, pushed me to have a talk with him.

"No way. Just pretend that it didn't happen. He doesn't feel the same. I don't want to be a  nuisance. What if he drop me home and never come back because of this?" I ranted at Donna.

I don't know what Donna said to him but the Doctor ended up cornering me for a talk. Thankfully, he didn't kick me out as I feared. He made sure I knew that he care for me. He didn't exactly rejected me and he is being confusing when he kissed me in the forehead.

Donna pushed the both of us to have a date night together and to my surprise, he didn't turn away the idea. Of course, having a sort of date night with tour on Midnight, didn't end well when the Doctor almost killed by the passengers and I'm helpless to stop it.

Then Rose come back. I missed her but I resented her for coming back. The Doctor forgot about me and it's all about her.

Donna and Jack comforted me. Jack knew of my feeling for the Doctor during the year that never was. He sympathized with my situation because he also knew that the Doctor is all about Rose.

Martha is right, I should have left. But I can't.

The Daleks forced the Tardis into their ship and then Donna got trapped on the Tardis, presumed to be dead.

Rose took the Doctor's hand to comfort her and once again I was left behind. My heart hurts.

Next thing I knew there are two Doctor. A metacrisis,the Doctor said.

After we saved the world, Martha approached me and she give me a hug. I hugged her back.

"Remember what I said." She said before she said goodbye to the Doctor and left the Tardis.

I sat in the corner alone watching the others interact with each other. There were only Donna, Rose, Jackie and the metacrisis doctor left. The Doctor was outside saying goodbye to Martha, Jack and Mickey.

"Are you okay?"

I jumped in surprise when I saw the metacrisis doctor stand before me.

"I'm okay." I forced a smile.

"Why are you sitting alone?"

"I hates goodbye."

"Me too."

I wonder if I should ask him about his feeling for me. He still technically is the Doctor. But I'm a coward, too afraid of the answer.

The Doctor entered the Tardis and proclaimed their next destination, Bad Wolf Bay.

I was confused why he did that. Rose is staying, isn't she?

I observed the conversation between the Doctor, Rose and the metacrisis from the Tardis doorway.

I heard Rose proclaimed loudly about what she said last and what the Doctor intended to say during their last meeting.

And then I saw Rose kissing the metacrisis.

The Doctor and Donna got inside the Tardis and we left them behind.

"Doctor..." I called out. I stopped, unsure if I should mention Rose again. Will it really be okay to leave Rose again? Didn't he love her so much?

Donna pulled me aside and told me about how Rose and metacrisis will get to stay and grow old together.

I felt like a dose of cold water being poured over my head. Of course, the Doctor is immortal and I am not. How could we ever work out? How could he stand to have me? I will die someday and he will move on from me. He gave Rose the greatest gift he could ever give. But where that left me?

I didn't get the chance to break down because of what happened next to Donna.

The Doctor erased her memory of us and dropped her home.

We are alone again, only the two of us again.

"I'm not going anywhere." I blurted suddenly which surprise the Doctor and the smile he gave me next made me pushes down all my insecurities aside temporarily.

I hugged him tight and he hugged me back.

I was scared and worried about the future but I keep being in denial about it and continue to run away with the Doctor.

The Doctor has become somewhat affectionate with me. He didn't say he love me but he would look at me with that warm grin that I loved. Almost look like the grin he shared when he was with Rose. Almost. It did make me hoping that he finally see me.

I think the Doctor is sad but he wouldn't tell me why. He seemed to be running from something. It wasn't until later that I learned about how he is going to die and regenerate into a new man.

The Master is alive and took over the world in creepy way. Every last human on Earth turned into his clone.

Of course, the Doctor saved the day. But at a cost, to save Donna's grandfather, he sacrificed himself and now he is dying.

He went to his farewell tour while I remained at the Tardis.

When he returned on board, I knew he is about to drop me off for my own safety.

"I'm not going anywhere. Don't you dare say goodbye to me or I will hate you forever!" I yelled stubbornly.

He sighed at my stubbornness. "You always stay with me even after I hurt you. Why?"

"You know why."

He nodded with a sad smile. "It's time..." He whispered as he started to glow.

I watched in tears. "Doctor..."

"I don't want to go..." He whispered.

And then he changed into a new man right before my eyes.

I didn't get a look at him because the Tardis is crashing.

I woke up on the floor near the swimming pool. There was blood on my face. I think I got bumped my head pretty hard.

There was a strange man in front of me, fussing over me.

"Let me take a look at you. Oooh, you look like you might have concussion. That’s no good."

"Doc...tor?"

He smiled at me. "Hello again."

[the-desolated-quill]

Hide - Doctor Who blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

I’m going to be honest with you. I had completely forgotten this episode had even existed. I remember all the other episodes of Doctor Who, but Hide somehow slipped from my memory, and I don’t know why. I must have watched it when it was broadcast because at the time I used to watch Doctor Who religiously every Saturday until Moffat’s bullshit became too much for me, so I don’t know how I could have forgotten it.

Watching Hide again for the purposes of this was very much a journey of rediscovery for me. It was like watching for the first time all over again, and yeah, I liked it a lot. It’s got some problems, but I’d say it’s definitely a winner.

Hide takes place in a haunted house in the 1970s. Professor Alec Palmer and his assistant Emma Grayling are trying to make contact with a spirit inside the house, but when the Doctor and Clara show up, it turns out there may be a more scientific explanation for what’s going on.

Written by Neil Cross, who previously wrote The Rings Of Akhaten, Hide takes a lot of inspiration from the works of Nigel Kneale, most notably The Quatermass Experiment and The Stone Tapes (which is ironic considering how much Nigel Kneale reportedly hated Doctor Who at the time). When you watch the episode, it does have a very Kneale-esque feel to it. The plot itself feels like it could have been ripped straight out of one of the original Quatermass serials, but Cross manages to do just enough with it to make it his own and not have the episode just be a homage.

I think the two things that make Hide so effective is its simplicity and its scale. There’s no alien invasion or world ending disaster to worry about. It’s kept mostly to one location with only a couple of characters, which means there’s more time for Cross to really develop them as well as to play around with the idea and the setting.  In some ways Hide is a traditional ghost story, and it’s done very effectively. The atmosphere is really creepy and the episode does a really good job of keeping you in suspense, making you question just what is going on. What’s even more refreshing is the episode’s use of subtlety. There’s no giant info dumps or overly sentimental bombast like we usually get in New Who. It’s all pitched perfectly for the most part.

What’s even more impressive is how Cross transitions from supernatural horror to science fiction really subtly over the course of the story. Turns out the ghost isn’t a ghost, but a survivor that crash landed into a pocket universe, and what we’ve been seeing all this time are snapshots of her running away from a monster as well as the effects of time dilation. One second in the pocket universe represents hundreds of years in our universe. That’s a really clever idea and a very novel way of exploring the time travel aspect of Doctor Who. And the reveal at the end that the ‘ghost’ is actually Alec and Emma’s great great great great great great granddaughter is just the cherry on top of the cake. It explains why the psychic connection between Emma and the ‘ghost’ was so strong and you can tell Neil Cross was really thinking how all of this fits together.

Let’s talk about Alec and Emma for a moment. With such a small scale episode and more emphasis on characters, it’s important that the performances are at their best, and Dougray Scott and Jessica Raine don’t put a foot wrong. Alec is a very sympathetic character. An intelligent and well meaning man who fought in the war and sent many people to their deaths, leaving him with years of guilt and turmoil that made him decide to take up ghost hunting in the hopes that he can get in touch with his deceased comrades and thank them for their service. Emma too is very likeable and sympathetic. A psychic (empath to be precise) who can sense the feelings of others, and thus makes it hard for her to form close bonds with people because of the pain she would feel from sensing such intense emotions from them. It also ties into why she’s a ghost hunter because she says at one point that the ghost is lonely, and clearly she can relate to that due to her own situation. They’re both good characters and I like their relationship, which, again, is handled very subtly and effectively. If this was a Russel T Davies script or even a Steven Moffat script, there would probably be a lot of swelling music and OTT monologues as the characters confess their love for each other, but Hide thankfully doesn’t go that route, instead plumping for a less is more approach, which is more effective. Yes there are a few declarations of love here and there, but it’s handled really well and Alec and Emma’s feelings for each other are conveyed more through their actions and body language rather than dialogue. It’s a combination of great writing and great acting.

While I did really enjoy Hide for the most part, I do have some issues with it. First I’m slightly annoyed by how the episode treats the male and female characters. Hide very quickly has the Doctor pair up with Alec and Clara with Emma, and you think fair enough. Makes sense I guess. But while the Doctor and Alec get to have all these interesting discussions about their past and angst, Clara and Emma are reduced to talking about the men in their life, which profoundly irritated me. Hello! Emma is an empath who has trouble with social interactions! Do you reckon she might have an interesting backstory to tell?! I feel it undermines the whole romance angle because it puts more emphasis on Alec and his feelings and worries, whilst any that Emma has is merely an afterthought.

Something else that undermines the episode are the monsters. Apart from the fact that the animatronic puppets they use for them are utter crap, I don’t understand why this episode needed to have monsters in it in the first place. Doctor Who is such a flexible format and there are loads of different kinds of stories you could tell, which is why it always puzzles me why we always seem to revert back to the monster of the week format, to the point where a monster gets shoehorned in for no reason other than the BBC feel they have to. The reason Hide works so well is because of the uncertainty of it all. The fear factor comes from us and the characters not knowing what’s going on. Why cheapen that with some shitty monster? (yes I know it looks like John Carpenter’s The Thing and it’s meant to reference just how much influence Nigel Kneale had on the sci-fi genre and how under appreciated he is today, but it’s still pointless). And then it just got worse when it turned out the monsters aren’t monsters at all, but long lost lovers trapped in different universes wanting to reunite. Dear God, give me strength! Any subtlety the episode had at that point just sailed clean out of the window. Why couldn’t they have just kept it as a ghost in a pocket universe? That was fine. I was enjoying that.

But the worst thing of all is the Doctor and Clara. People wonder why I don’t like the Eleventh Doctor very much, and for me it’s because of episodes like this. Hide does a really good job of setting up a creepy atmosphere, it’s all very tense and chilling, and then along comes Matt Smith with his goofy antics and hands waving around like windmills to spoil it all. I mean for fuck sake, where’s his off switch?! I recognise this is more of a personal taste issue, and if you think Matt Smith is funny then good for you, but I just can’t stand him. And it’s even more infuriating this time around because he’s effectively trampling all over the creepy atmosphere and destroying the tension. Plus there are some scenes that are just inexcusable. There’s a bit where the Doctor is about to use Emma’s psychic powers to open a wormhole to the pocket universe, and she asks whether or not it’s going to hurt. Now obviously the Doctor would be straightforward with her and say yes, it will hurt. How he conveys that depends on the incarnation. If it was Tom Baker or David Tennant, it would probably be in a sympathetic tone and maybe they’d attempt to reassure her. If it was William Hartnell or Peter Capaldi, they would probably be more blunt and to the point. What does Matt Smith’s Doctor say to her?

“No... Yes... Maybe. I don’t know. I’d be interested to find out.”

Yep, they actually try to play it for comedy. Okay, three things. One, fuck you, two, that feels really out of character, and three, how can you be so callous and insensitive?! What makes you think the prospect of a character we happen to like feeling incredible pain and agony is somehow amusing? At this stage I’m practically counting the seconds until he regenerates.

But as bad as the Doctor is, Clara is even worse. Jenna Coleman seems to have reverted back to Asylum of The Daleks mode, where she’s this smug, obnoxious, lecherous cow. She never takes the threat seriously and, like Matt Smith, keeps undermining the tension. One really horrid scene is when Emma closes the wormhole due to the excruciating pain and the Doctor becomes trapped on the other side of the wormhole. Now if it was any other companion like Sarah Jane or Martha or, hell, even Amy, they would probably try to reassure Emma and either convince her to try again or find some other way to save the Doctor. What does Clara do? Berate Emma for leaving the Doctor behind before proceeding to have a full blown argument with the TARDIS. I should also note that it isn’t Clara who ends up saving the Doctor in the end, but the TARDIS itself. Clara was too busy bitching and whining like a tiny child who hasn’t got her way to do much good. Remind me, why am I supposed to like her again? What is it about her that makes her companion material? Oh yeah! The bullshit Moffat mystery! Like I give a fuck about that!

And speaking of bullshit Moffat mysteries, apparently the TARDIS doesn’t like Clara very much. I can understand why, quite frankly. The problem is it feels more like delusional anthropomorphic personification rather than an actual thing that’s happening. In both The Rings Of Akhaten and Hide, Clara can’t open the TARDIS doors. Yes it could be because the TARDIS doesn’t like her, but a more likely explanation is that she doesn’t have a key. In Hide, the TARDIS initially refuses to help Clara. Yes it could be because it doesn’t like her, but a more likely explanation is because the TARDIS could die if it went into the pocket universe, like the Doctor said it would. It’s all just utter bollocks that never goes anywhere. What’s worse is that it’s completely reversed. The TARDIS magically changes its mind for no reason and let’s Clara in to save the Doctor, and then this whole plot point is never brought up again. Same goes for the conversation Clara has with the Doctor when they witness the entire life cycle of the Earth from birth to death and Clara is bothered by the fact that the Doctor doesn’t seem emotionally affected by it. You could have done something with it, but it’s just really clunky and it’s never addressed or brought up again afterward. So what’s the point of bringing it up?

Despite a few flaws and the most obnoxious Doctor/companion pairing in Who history, I still really enjoyed Hide. It has a great central premise, likeable and well developed characters for the most part and decent execution. Two episodes, two wins for Neil Cross. Any chance of a third?

[mikemortgage]

Lawrence Solomon: A guide for left-wingers to watching Fox News

Ever wonder why Donald Trump hasn’t been impeached yet, given the mountains of evidence against him and all those convictions of his cronies? Maybe you were even surprised that he was elected president. And that the stock market immediately soared. And that manufacturing has come back to the United States. And that U.S. economic growth is again at levels many thought were a thing of the past.

Maybe you were also surprised that the Brits voted to exit the European Union, and that the citizens in other European countries are moving in the same direction. And that the Paris climate accord has led to the discord torching Paris streets. Maybe you’re wondering why peak oil never happened, and why you stopped hearing about all those Pacific Islands that were going to be submerged by global warming.

If so, don’t blame yourself. Blame the mainstream media, which has misled you and so often left you clueless. But there is a way to recover your understanding of the world, so that current events don’t keep throwing you for a loop. The cure isn’t for everyone. But those who want to be in the know can take the medicine, strictly following instructions.

Lawrence Solomon: Americans still trust Trump more than the media—and they’re right to

Lawrence Solomon: Trump’s basically clinched his re-election thanks to those midterm results

Regulating fake news will only ensure that we only see regulated fake news

The medicine is called Fox News. If you are a progressive for whom a low dose is required, you must never watch Sean Hannity, certainly not in the first year, before you’ve developed antibodies. He’ll make your head explode. Also on the DO-NOT-WATCH list are Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham. If you do happen to stumble on one of them, the only antidote is switching to Shepard Smith’s 3 p.m. ET show at the earliest opportunity (maybe even TiVo him for use in an emergency). Shep will restore your equilibrium with some of TV’s finest Trump bashing, familiarly in the guise of presenting impartial news, just like they do on other networks.

For a fair and balanced Fox experience, start with Martha MacCallum’s 7 p.m. weekday show, The Story. You’ll be hard-pressed to notice any scent of ideology in her thoughtful questioning of brilliant guests, including many of the best legal minds in Democratic circles, such as Harvard University’s Alan Dershowitz and George Washington University’s Jonathan Turley. MacCallum has no rough edges, she’s thoroughly likeable, thoroughly prepared and fearless in asking disarming questions that elicit unscripted answers from her guests.

Super-smart and super-nice also describe Shannon Bream in her 11 p.m. show, Fox News @ Night, a mix of hard news and interviews, typically also of top legal minds of both parties. Bream, a lawyer and formerly Fox’s Supreme Court correspondent, is so unbelievably nice, in fact, that her guests and colleagues spontaneously gush, live on-air, at her unbelievable niceness. Other shows that will impress left-leaners include Fox News Sunday, hosted by Chris Wallace, a tough interviewer whose pro-Democrat biases rarely show, and Bret Baier’s weekday 6 p.m. Special Report, which provides straight news and balanced analysis. Unlike hosts on other networks, who can be counted on to downplay or altogether ignore news embarrassing to Democrats, the poker-faced Baier provides no such cover for wrong-doers of either party.

Fox News provides opposing perspectives, often articulated by their most accomplished advocates in head-to-head debates, letting you judge for yourself whose arguments best stand up to scrutiny. Satisfyingly, these exchanges, and other interviews involving politics and law, also provide the civics lessons that schools today neglect. Crystal-clear explanations from the likes of passionate civil libertarians like Dershowitz are a treat to imbibe. With so much of the news these days involving complex process issues — the Mueller investigation into Trump’s suspected Russian collusion, the Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearing, the rights of migrants to obtain refugee status — the need to understand the rule of law becomes paramount. By meeting that need, Fox makes its viewers smarter.

Because all viewers — Democrats, Republicans and Independents — feel empowered when they “get it,” Fox attracts viewers across the ideological spectrum, with the proportion of Democrat and Independent viewers outnumbering its Republican viewers and the Fox audience sometimes exceeding that of CNN and MSNBC combined. There’s a danger for those on the left who watch Fox, however: They may not stay on the left. According to a study last year in the American Economic Review, watching Fox News as little as an additional 2.5 minutes a week will make someone likelier to vote Republican, while watching MSNBC for that amount of time has negligible effect. The study further found that Fox News has been responsible for an increasing share of the Republican vote: “Our estimates imply increasing effects of FNC (Fox News Channel) on the Republican vote share in presidential elections over time, from 0.46 points in 2000 to 6.34 points in 2008.” That suggests that without Fox News, John Kerry would have obtained more votes than George W. Bush in the 2004 election, and Barack Obama’s 53-46 per cent win over John McCain in 2008 would have looked more like a 60-40 landslide.

The existential question for those who lean left then becomes, “Is becoming knowledgeable on the issues worth the risk that I will lose my identification as a progressive?” In this era of identity politics, the answer won’t be obvious.

LawrenceSolomon@nextcity.com

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