#digging my fingernails into martha and refusing to let her go even when she's not there :)

[jennycalendar]

just watched planet of the dead and my first and strongest thought is that dw is overtly racist to martha. we've got multiple specials where the doctor flirts with gorgeous white women and isn't at all put off by their interest -- in fact is shown to deeply enjoy it! but whenever martha makes any kind of overture, he reacts with dismissiveness at best and open revulsion at worst. when i was watching s3, i was very generous, because i was like "this could still be seen as dw's way of saying that it's only rose for the doctor, and anyone else is not going to happen!" but then we had astrid, joan, lady christina, ALL white women, all seen as worth the doctor's time and attention. martha is not. martha is an option that the doctor finds annoying.

there's this real emphasis on "rose and ten had this Deep True Love Story and that's why the doctor was a dick to martha!" but like. that is just categorically not true and the rest of the show demonstrates it by having the doctor show interest in and romantic appreciation for multiple other women post-rose. why was it the first black companion in new who that got the entire season arc about how she wants so badly to be loved by the doctor but he will never notice her??? why do we then watch the doctor delight in mutual flirting and canoodling with only white women? it's soooo goddamn disturbing and christina was really the nail in the coffin for me.