#martha and mickey were bad enough

[leikeliscomet]

Flop and Bubble - Part 3/End - The Writers Room

When I recommended I May Destroy You, Mood, Dreaming Whilst Black and Champion it wasn’t just because they were Black British shows, even though that’s part of it. It was because they all represented similar themes to Dot and Bubble with more tact, nuance and depth than that episode could ever dream of. Arabella’s social media dependency became her outlet because she thought it was the only way to reclaim power after her assault. Sasha’s obsession with social media is because she knows social currency can turn financial and in her dire situation, she needs the reach. Kwabena’s outbursts take place inside his head because even though he knows he’s right, he knows what the consequences are if he speaks out and he walks the tightrope of validation and authenticity. Vita’s musical image is under control by her white manager because her roles as a dark-skinned Black woman in the music industry are limited. I also recommended them because they all reflect the dissonance between Black British media and creatives and white British media like Doctor Who. Every show essentially is the story of a Black British creative struggling to ‘make it’ in their respective industry. Arabella’s book. Sasha’s EP. Kwabena’s short film. Vita’s music career. Each of these reflects the struggle of the Black British creative in real life from lack of funds, the right imagery and ultimately what the white British consumer wants.

Again, by giving Black people our creative agency, there’s a place for Black experiences that Doctor Who can’t provide, or at least could but hasn’t. In Doctor Who, Adjani Salmon was just that guy with the ‘weird hair’ from that Eve of the Daleks episode. In Dreaming Whilst Black, he’s the creator and lead actor of a critically acclaimed show, BAFTA nominated alongside David Tennant. In Doctor Who, Malorie Blackman was just that Black woman that made Rosa. In Noughts and Crosses, she’s a critically acclaimed author, the first Black Children’s Laureate and to me, a massive inspiration that showed me Black girls can be book protagonists too. In Doctor Who, Tosin Cole as Ryan Sinclair is the ‘worst companion of the whole show’, a bad actor and a cardboard cutout. In Supacell, he’s the leading man and a breakout star of 2024. Where Doctor Who fails in Black representation, Black British media gets it right. In a bittersweet sense, I know the true representation I’d want from the show won’t come (or not at least for a very long time) but I know where it could be outside it. To repeat from previous essays, I don’t expect the perfect Black representation to come from Doctor Who as it's a predominantly white show intended for a white audience. I only expect the bare minimum of living up to its promise (which it made all by itself by the way) of having ‘space for all’, in this case providing Black representation both in and behind the screen. If it can’t do that, then at least be honest and say you just don’t want us here. It saves a lot of time. We can make our own spaces where we’re actually wanted.

-

The tone drastically changes when you shift from performing for white validity to defending yourself and essentially, stop chasing after the boat. It’s harsh and cold. It even exists in the show. When Martha defended herself she was ‘aggressive’. When Mickey and Danny called out their mistreatment they became ‘abusive’. When the Fugitive held a gun she never fired she was ‘violent’. The price you pay for not chasing after the boat is that you become the Bogeyman. It’s very clear from the responses I got from my OG thread, many white fans and non-Black fans of colour wanted me to stay in my place and be grateful for the steaming dump I was given. How dare I not bow before RTD? He wrote about racism and he’s got a Black guy what else can you want? Isn’t that enough? Didn’t he try his best? Isn’t RTD’s best good enough? 

No. It’s not good enough. I don’t care who cries about me saying this. As I’ve already addressed in my Fugitive Doctor essay, I’m not crediting Black stories to RTD. Simply enjoying his work is fine. I enjoy his work myself, specifically the Sarah Jane Adventures, It’s a Sin and Years & Years. But when the Doctor Who fandom claims RTD, a white writer, is the reason for progress in Black representation and Black art over the countless Black creatives who’ve worked before him, the same time as him and after him, I will always, always push back on that as a Black person. I had no reason to gas this episode because it disappointed me from the initial watch and rewatch. From the disgusting antiblackness I experienced from this fandom for critiquing Dot and Bubble, I have zero reason to ever call it a good story about my own experience as a Black person. If you’re looking for a Black user to gas this episode to make your interest in this episode and season look morally superior and woke, it’s not happening. I don’t need to consider your disagreements, your interpretations, your opinions or your permission to dislike Dot and Bubble as a Black person. I will also push back on the bold comments made by RTD himself. You have a Black character and racism plot. Cool. How this is written and how this plays out is what actually matters to me than it just simply existing. Allyship isn’t the state of going from racist to anti-racist overnight. It’s not clinging onto the nearest Black person for dear life. It’s through consistent actions and support that someone becomes an ally. For once, you aren’t instantly rewarded for just showing up, you have to do more than the bare minimum. And that’s the closest to the Black British experience this fandom will ever get.

In a renaissance of Black British media, if Doctor Who’s getting any accolades from me, it needs to keep up. The idea I have to praise an episode just because ‘it's the racism one’, with shallow messages meant to soothe the ego of its audience instead of challenge it, with no Black writers in the creation process, no original theme of racism to begin with and that dozens of pieces of Black media have done a hell of a lot better, to sum it up, is a fucking joke. Black creatives don’t have to ask permission to create and represent ourselves. We just have to get on with it because it’s not gonna create itself. I’m not asking for permission to hate this dutty episode. I’m not chasing after that boat.

<- Part 2

[trelkez]

Notes from my current Doctor Who rewatch, which has just reached s3 (having started with s4/early s5, at which point I gave in and started from the beginning):

We really don't give Nine enough homicidal credit for building a humanity-ending doomsday weapon out of loose wires and scrap parts and then putting his hands on the detonator

But then he took his hands off the detonator, unlike Ten, who decided to destroy the Cybermen by making them self-aware, thus effectively torturing to death untold numbers of innocent converted humans (...a thing I had completely blocked out)

(All of this really undermines Ten's point later about how Tentoo is him when Rose met him, before she made him better. The two of you unhinged each other! It doesn't somehow make things better that you're giving him to her pre-unhinged!)

On that topic: I don't rewatch s2 often and it's been so long that I had forgotten why, but Ten and Rose are just A Lot. Two mutually enabling sets of character flaws racing headfirst for tragedy, staring each other in the eyes on the way down

Some of those character flaws are interesting; some were just unnecessary. Why does Rose turn into a territorial misogynist any time the Doctor has a conversation with a woman? Didn't we address this in School Reunion and move on? Rose did not rewrite the universe in 2005's finest Punkyfish so that the writers could constantly undo her character growth

[ this space reserved for a lengthier rant about how Mickey deserved better ]

Tommy from Idiot's Lantern is gay? They went to great lengths to make the subtext as overt as possible and it still took me almost two decades to catch on

Knowing that makes the ending of that episode even worse. Don't tell that abused gay kid he's personally responsible for redeeming his horrible father! Why is that the moral of the story!! Just Walk Out! You Can Leave!

I've made it to Martha! She has always been one of my faves, but her season makes me constantly want to punch the Doctor in the face, so this should be ... another adventure

"Trelkez, do you even like Doctor Who?" yes I love it more than I can say but RTD Era 1.0 sure did have some content in it

That said, things I loved about s1-s2: Sarah Jane! Mortal Jack! The Runaway Bride! The Girl in the Fireplace! The Doctor Dances! Cassandra dying in her own arms, Jackie saving humanity because a guy with a truck owed her a favor, Mrs. Moore teaching herself how to be the tech support of the revolution, the Doctor finally catching on to Bad Wolf in Boomtown - that moment gave me chills again like it was 2005

I will not be watching Torchwood before/alongside s3 for the full experience, because I lived that and I am not going back. Torchwood stays in the box. No thank you

[nvzblgrrl]

Every time I see Moffat and Chibnall hate that goes on about 'pointless characters without an arc only there for a joke', 'only knows how to write one kind of woman', 'kills off characters for shock value', 'uses Ex Deus Machinas to resolve their poorly thought out plots', 'did their best at ruining the show', and other shit like that rooted in 'well, I didn't watch it but someone else told me it was like that' and 'I just watched enough to make a bad faith reading', I would like everyone to be reminded that, unlike all of the other Revival Showrunners, RTD did all of that and more for real.

(Beneath the cut: complaining, specific examples, talk of sexual misconduct, talk of non-sexual misconduct)

Ah, like how Jack Harkness's main thing is 'hits on everyone'. How Mickey's entire presence in any given story is mostly there to make the Doctor look better or be the chew toy for any given joke/misfortune.

Or how there's actually exactly two flavors of women - 'young one that's unhappy with her boring Earth life which only the Doctor can fix because Not Loving The Doctor Means You're Wrong' and 'Horrible Mother Who Hates Everything You Do'.

Or maybe it's the fact that Rose had a fake-out death (dead but not really), Donna had a 'well might as well be death' memory wipe (character development dead), and only a schedule conflict with Freema kept Martha from getting actually killed off in Torchwood. 'Well that wasn't Proper Death so it doesn't count' (misinformative, found out over half a year after this post and had believed it for almost 2 years before disproven) - you see me pointing at Clara and Bill then? Or even Amy and Rory, who literally had full lives off-screen. As for Ex Deus Machinas, let's see... literally Bad Wolf, literally Tinker Belle Jesus Doctor, magic revival ritual to bring the Master back when he was needed again for drama, weird prophecy thing between the Doctor and the Master that was only relevant for like half an episode... And let's not forget moments like 'hey we're about to hand off to the next Doctor, let's make Ten's last line infinitely wankable to the point where every Doctor after has to make an acceptance of Death speech/story because the fandom behaved Just That Badly over four words.' (and then y'all have the audacity to complain about the speeches.)

Oh and this is before we even get to the real life behind the scenes stuff. Like how all the sex misconduct tied to the revival only seem to have manifested around people who were on the RTD 1.0 run. I mean, seriously, I see people passing around some of John Barrowman's 'adventures in workplace sexual harassment' as cute little things instead of creeptacular behavior that should have been addressed first off instead of 'eh, so what? It's just a surprise penis, he thinks it's funny'. Not to mention that Noel Clark was also doing the same things and made a point of trying to ruin one of his victims' career after she refused his advances.

And I doubt that this covers other accounts of mistreatment of workers behind the camera. Or was it not supposed to be telling that, of all the Doctors that won't come back for whatever reason, Christopher Eccleston is the only one that has cited the work environment and three people - not one, not two, THREE - at the top of said-environment as the reason rather than more mundane concerns like other career opportunities or not distracting from other Doctors?

Or that after he decided not to continue as the Doctor, a false quote from him was presented as part of a press release, claiming that he was 'afraid of being typecast' and 'tired from the grueling filming schedule', which they then had to retract because of, y'know, being lies that would have definitely impacted Chris's career if they'd gone unaddressed.

And then somebody had the brilliant idea to make one of 10's first actions as the Doctor being ruining someone's career by asking someone if she looked tired. Yeah, definitely the actions of a Good And Saintly Showrunner That Can Do No Wrong. 'But,' you might say, 'it's been years since then! Maybe RTD made some mistakes, but he'll do better now -'

Are you sure about that? Are you absolutely sure? Because I at least have evidence here, unlike to the self-propagating, bad-faith reading sustained Moffat/Chibnall Hate Parades.

[roxannepolice]

16, 22, and 23 for the choose violence ask game? always love hearing your takes :)

Aaw, thank you! 🥰

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc) I already answered this one here and I don't want to copy paste everything, but the short answer is: the vault arc 😔. I might expand by adding it breaks my little tensimm heart when s10 Saxon is viewed as either perfectly in character or even "finally enjoyable" in comparison to his s3 and 4 run.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores 9 ISN'T RADICALLY GOOD WHEN HE CHOOSES "COWARD" IN PARTING OF THE WAYS as tends to be framed in the takes that make the Doctor 100% anti violence. He refuses to use a weapon that will kill not only the Daleks but also everyone on Earth, that's why Bad Wolf Rose manipulating reality is the morally superior option, Chibs. This is deservedly praised as one of NuWho's best moments but denying the complexity of the fact that the Doctor can't bring himself to kill innocent people that the Daleks are going to kill anyway and accepts this as a failure takes away so much weight from him. He's not morally superior in search of a better solution only actually aware of not being strong enough to take this responsibility on himself again, even though the wave would instantly kill him too, it's not like he's be left with his conscience forever again (Thus conscience does make cowards of us all)! This is such a layerd excellent moment that gets flattened into radical non-violence that I want to scream. (Incidentally, that also suggests there were innocent people on Gallifrey when the Doctor destroyed it, as another hot take I've seen is that by the time he used the Moment only corrupt Time Lord council was left)

Also, the Master actually has philosophical outlooks, or at least used to have, they aren't motivated exclusively by wanting to get the Doctor's attention. And it usually IS explained how they came back from certain death, especially if a new regeneration appears

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to I think Martha and Mickey's marriage? Not sure if they meet dictionary definition of "ship", bc if anything they tend to be dismissed as RTD ending two left behind (poc) characters' arcs in one go, and I used to agree, but upon nth Eot rewatch they grew to give me such a cool power couple that has no illusions about the Doctor vibes? Guess I just wish they had more screen time because the chemistry is really there in just one interaction!

[whoreviewswho]

Wokeness, Responsibility and if RTD is problematic - The First Black Doctor and the Meaning of Mavity

Is Russell T Davies a problematic figure? Is he too woke or not aware enough? Is he doing something wrong to illicit negative responses from the conservatives as well as the progressives? Is it something in the programme, something in the marketing or is he doing nothing particularly bad at all? Well, perhaps you and I, faithful reader, can come to some sort of conclusion. Let's find out together as we take a dive into the controversial choices behind RTD2 and the mind of the man behind them.

"The Doctor is the last of their kind - one of the last of their kind - and has never, like, fit in anywhere... and I really relate to that. I felt like there were lots of parallels... I was about two when we left Rwanda, so very, very, very wee... and something that I don't have much memory of. But it's something that has felt like this thing over my head. This thing that's guided my life, that's kind of like informed every aspect of it. It's the reason why my family came to this country. It's the reason for lots of things." - Ncuti Gatwa, DWM 598

Doctor Who's relationship with racial representation is complicated. Fuck that – Doctor Who has a lot of precedent for being racist. The original series is littered with explicitly harmful depictions of race from the pro-slavery parable that was The Ark to the notorious depiction Chinese culture in The Talons of Weng-Chiang and several examples of mindless, mute brutes in the Troughton era. This is before we even get into the less obtuse complexities of white, British actors donning any number of over-the-top costumes, extravagant voices and, frequently, some thick makeup to portray everybody from high priests of the Aztec empire to Egyptian and Syrian sultans. And, of course, there is the most pertinent example of these tendencies in The Celestial Toymaker, which we shall be getting back to shortly.

In the first article of this series, I referenced a video from YouTuber Princess Weekes called Martha Jones Deserved Better (And Other Correct Doctor Who Takes). In this video, Weekes breaks down a number of problematic elements from the revived series and, specifically, RTD's first tenure as showrunner. It is well worth a watch and gets into a lot more detail on these issues than I feel inclined to dismiss here but some of the key points include the problematic use of both Mickey and Martha within the 'disposable-black-love-interest' trope and the broader implications of Martha's relationship with the Doctor as a time travelling companion, for example, the poor optics of the Doctor becoming human and deliberately hiding with Martha in, of all places in the history of universe, pre-WWI England as if that would be a low-key and safe environment for her. These examples are emblematic of his mishandling of black characters across his first five years on the show.

With this in mind, let us fast-forward to the eighth of May 2022. On the day that turned out to be almost exactly two years before his first full season debuted, Rwandan born Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa was announced as the newest actor to portray the eponymous hero in Doctor Who. On Christmas Day 2023, Gatwa made history as the first black leading man in the franchise's history. He is not, as will forever be rightfully and dutifully noted, the first black actor to play the role of the Doctor. That honour goes to Jo Martin's guest appearance in 2020 as the Fugitive Doctor. It will forever remain true, however, that Gatwa is the first black actor to assume the role as the leading man. As he put it himself in Doctor Who Magazine #598; "I'm the first Doctor of colour, fully". Ncuti's time as the Doctor, however long it may reign, will forever be associated with the man who spearheaded his casting – Russell T Davies.

Significantly, RTD2 does not begin with a black Doctor Who. As everybody reading this will know, it begins with the very white David Tennant, standing on a clifftop not wearing his predecessor's clothes. However, this is not to say that the three 60th anniversary specials entirely avoid engaging with race – far from it. I would think it much more reasonable to say that all three of them go to some lengths to be mindful of how characters of non-white and mixed race are depicted.

Let us take a glance at The Star Beast and, given that Donna Noble is particularly relevant to this conversation, I feel obliged to contextualise her two romantic partners from RTD1 and how they illustrate his similarly poor optics. Take her fiancé Lance, portrayed by Don Gilet in The Runaway Bride. He is introduced as a successful and charismatic love interest for Donna. She more or less works for him at H.C. Clements and falls head over heels for him before he reveals himself as a turncoat at around the halfway point. Soon after this, Lance, proving himself to be an irredeemably villainous figure, is killed by the Racnoss. It is perhaps notable to remember that there is nothing at a script level, insofar as Lance's characterisation and implied background, that suggests any specific racial or cultural background. Therefore, it is possible that his being a black man was not a choice made until the casting stage.

Fast forward to The End of Time when we learn of Donna's life since she returned home and discover that she is engaged once again, this time to Shaun Temple, as played by Karl Collins. Shaun returns in The Star Beast alongside Donna and their daughter Rose. In regards to Shaun, there is frankly very little to say because he is a very thinly drawn character. He is a supportive husband and father, he drives a taxi and he has a decent sense of humour. This makes up an exhaustive list of character traits he exhibits. Really, he is less of a supporting character and better resemble a minor role. He only exists as an extension of Donna and Rose's characters and serves to be a convenient mouthpiece for RTD to get out exposition. 

Rose, on the other hand, plays a key part in the plot and is pivotal to the conclusion. She is a strong and well-rounded character of mixed race who is essential to the story. That being said, and as the previous entry in this series explores in-depth, her actions in this story and the character herself are intrinsically connected to her trans identity, more so than her racial one. Regarding the supporting cast, it is also worth noting that Ronak Patani, an English-Indian actor, features as UNIT Major Singh. While a small role, it is a positive example of diversity in RTD2's casting and character roles.

Like Lance, Singh is likely an example of 'colour-blind casting', the practice of casting actors of any given race or ethnicity in roles and stories that place no particular emphasis on their respective backgrounds. Bridgerton (2020-present), for a popular example, frequently casts diverse ensembles despite the stories being told making little engagement with the implications of such a choice – Bridgerton is not a series about black people in high societal roles in the 1800s. There is an obvious appeal to this, not least of all the opportunity to cast phenomenal actors in roles they would conventionally be rejected from. 

In a similar vein is the notion of 'colour-conscious casting', a similar practice but one that provokes an active dialogue between the casting and content of the work. Hamilton is perhaps one of the the most recognisable works in this vein. Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical features a primarily non-white cast and retells the political history of the United States and the life of Alexander Hamilton. In Miranda's own words, Hamilton is "America then, as told by America now". Miranda's explicit intention here is to present the oppressive, white history of his country through the lens of Black and Latinx culture – being culturally and racially diverse is an essential component of Hamilton's thesis.

There has been criticism of these practices over the years with some black voices proclaiming it a problematic and racist approach. Playwright August Wilson, in 1996, spoke strongly against the practice insisting that "The idea of colorblind casting is the same idea of assimilation that black Americans have been rejecting for the past 380 years. . . . In an effort to spare us the burden of being “affected by an undesirable condition” and as a gesture of benevolence, many whites (like the proponents of colorblind casting) say, 'Oh, I don’t see color.' We want you to see us". This line of criticism has extended to works such as Hamilton, suggesting that the practice perpetuates the belief that white stories and white voices are the ones most valued in Western society. In an article by Emi P. Cummings for The Harvard Crimson, they articulated that "Any moment a white actor adopts the role of a person of color and vice-versa, there is an underlying suggestion all humans navigate their surrounding environments in the same manner. Race and ethnicity are minimized and reduced to negligible factors that can be transferred from person to person. In reality, one’s racial identity is an inalienable entity paramount to how they perceive themselves and are received by others."

So let's get to how colour-conscious casting pertains to Doctor Who for the first time with Wild Blue Yonder. In the cold open for this special, we find ourselves in the year 1666 and English-Indian actor Nathaniel Curtis emerging from his home in period appropriate garb. We quickly learn that Curtis is portraying a significant historical figure; Sir Isaac Newton, a white English man. For many viewers, the choice was received positively but it was not without its criticism. As popular YouTuber JayExci noted on X, "I'm not a rightoid and I'm not mad about it. I just think it's weird to cast someone of a historically inaccurate ethnicity to play a well known historical figure in the same way it would be weird to have a bodybuilder as Churchill or a teenager as current year Trump...It's not a big deal but I really feel there are better ways to achieve representation. Just portray a wider range of historical figures or whatever. One thing I actually did respect the Chibnall era for was finally exploring the history of parts of the world that aren't in Europe".

It is not a coincidence that this is a scene where a notable change happens in-universe. As a consequence of the Doctor and Donna's interaction, Newton fails to attribute the term 'gravity' to his theory of gravitation. Instead, he decides to call it the theory of 'mavitation'. The term 'mavity' then continues to be used in place of 'gravity' in-dialogue for all subsequent Doctor Who episodes to date. Most fans I have seen describe this change as a running joke or plot thread but I think that it has more weight than that. What 'mavity' signifies is the fact that Doctor Who stories are not beholden to the real world. Doctor Who, especially in RTD2, is a fantasy series that can play fast and loose with the established facts of the real world and make sweeping changes to its universe at the drop of a hat. This is also what is being demonstrated with Curtis' casting. He is not the same as the real Isaac Newton. He is different and changed and not beholden to the real world. Mavity is not just a random, ongoing joke but a statement of intent about race and representation in Doctor Who.

And so was the Toymaker. Let's get into this then. In 1966, a four-part Doctor Who serial that came to be known as The Celestial Toymaker aired on the BBC. In the words of Elizabeth Sandifer, from her article The Most Totally Closed Mind (The Celestial Toymaker); "this story is unrepentantly racist". The Toymaker, in his original conception and presentation, is a racist caricature of Chinese people. He is dressed in traditionally Chinese clothes, he is referred to as "the Mandarin"– he is, in Sandifer's words, "a nefarious, evil Chinese man who twists good Victorian children’s culture into sadistic and evil games".

With this in mind, it seems like an all-round terrible idea to revive the character for television in 2023. Like virtually every aspect of the Doctor Who universe, the Toymaker had already made numerous reappearances in expanded media before his return in The Giggle. To some extent, it is easy to see why. Throughout the wilderness years, The Celestial Toymaker serial was held in high regard and the concept of the Toymaker more broadly, an immortal and god-like entity who whiles away the doldrums of his existence by challenging lesser beings to sadistic games, is a really compelling one. These revivals have, for the most part, steered well clear of the 'celestial' connotations as they were onscreen, instead opting for the more cosmic definition of the word; he is the celestial toymaker who sits above us all in the sky.

But RTD is too clever for this. RTD thinks. So, he brings back the Toymaker and drops the racist adjective entirely. A sensible decision but then he goes that step further, the step he continues to take. He steps into the spotlight on an episode of Doctor Who Unleashed. On the issue of racism with the Toymaker, Russell made the following statement; 

"I can absolutely guarantee you, on transmission, people will pipe up, saying, in 1966, this was a racist character. And if we haven't acknowledged that in some way, we look ignorant, I'm very, very aware of it, and it's baked into him. And that's part of the reason bringing him back. He's a villain, of course he's going to do terrible things, and that's one of them. I did not want to whitewash the Toymaker then, so I gave him this side of putting on accents. He's a murderer. He's a mass murderer. So, I like the fact there's that very slight thin thread of him playing with race, playing with voices, playing with accents, using it as an attack."

This was an approach I can't imagine many people predicting. Instead of reintroducing the Toymaker with an entirely different characterisation and set of aesthetic qualities, instead of attempting to severe ties with the character's history as a racist caricature, RTD decided to double-down on it and make the Toymaker a racist entity who relishes in cultural appropriation in-text. Now, as per RTD's vision, the 1966 Toymaker was in-fact actively and intentionally racist. He chose to appropriate the Chinese because that is the sort of thing his character is liable to do. There is still an objectionable issue to this approach that some fans have noted, however, which is that, despite the intended reasoning, The Giggle depicts racist acts despite the story itself not actually being about race in any meaningful way at all.

But we should get to the bigger elephant in the room here; the debut of Ncuti Gatwa. Unlike tradition, David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor does not regenerate into his successor. Instead, RTD introduces a new concept which he called 'bi-generation'. Instead of regenerating, the Doctor splits off into two seperate bodies, one still resembling David Tennant and the second resembling Ncuti Gatwa. In a lot of ways, this is a great idea. In a subtextual and meta sense, the Fourteenth Doctor embodies the BBC Wales version of Doctor Who. He is rundown and burnt out. The return of an old face becomes, not just a turn toward nostalgia but, a signifier of a character and a programme that is too tired to keep moving forward and out of ideas. Gatwa's Doctor is the clean break, free of all of the emotional baggage that the last version of the show had built up over the years. The old version of the show has a definitive ending and is retired for good while the new version races off into the future, entirely unimpeded by the past and ready for new adventures.

This is also a terrible idea and another exercise in poor optics. Intentionally or otherwise, RTD has now created the perfect out for any racists watching the show to never accept Gatwa as part of the fold. As Charles Pulliam-Moore states in his article for The Verge, The new Doctor Who debut felt like a timey-wimey slap to the face, "everything about the way 'The Giggle' brings Fifteen into the picture — from the way he’s left standing in his underwear while Fourteen remains mostly clothed to the implication that the two Doctors will seemingly coexist — makes it seem as if Davies is trying to placate the contingent of fans who don’t want to accept a queer, Black actor playing the Doctor role by keeping Tennant in the mix". RTD has created an entirely plausible read where the Doctor splits off into a queer black man, while the original, the 'proper' Doctor in the eyes of bigots, walks off into the sunset.

Unfortunately, the problems do not end here. As Pulliam-Moore goes on, "The trappings and optics of “The Giggle” also add an unfortunate kind of magical negro quality to Fifteen’s heart-to-heart talks with Fourteen... The concept of a time traveler “doing rehab out of order” certainly sounds cool on the page. But within the episode itself, it frames Fifteen less as his own person living for himself and more as a source of emotional support for Fourteen, who ends up being inspired by Fifteen’s sage wisdom". And all of this in the same episode as the deliberately racist Toymaker. 

Ncuti Gatwa made his leading debut in Doctor Who with The Church on Ruby Road. The Christmas special introduces a new leading lady with Millie Gibson and introduced the threat of goblins which received minor backlash for their association with negative Jewish stereotypes. Thankfully, their depiction and the story offered little reason to draw this connection. As for the Doctor himself, the story adopts a distinct colour-blind approach presenting the Doctor, at a script level, with no particularly defined racial subtext. He is safely written as a standard, vaguely defined Doctor archetype that happens to be performed by a black actor.

At the time of writing, we are just shy of two weeks from Ncuti's first season dropping in iPlayer and Disney+. Of the eight episodes, we now know that none of them are written by black authors leaving, to date, the sole black writer of the first mainline black Doctor to be Abi Falase and her novel Eden Rebellion. So, in 2024, we have RTD as the loudest voice and architect of Ncuti Gatwa's era. I suppose that this series of articles exists in this moments as less of a definitive statement and something more like a prolonged literature review in preparation for what RTD2 is really going to be like. RTD has his heart in the right place. He remains a good intentioned and intelligent writer whose ambition often exceeds his abilities. Is there anything inherently bad about saying that racism is something evil people engage with but being disabled is certainly not reserved for them? Not at all. RTD is an excellent writer who means very well. He also sometimes, despite all of this, goes about things in the wrong way. 

And I think that that is okay :)

[wow-its-me]

Here’s what I think about YOU PERSONALLY based off of your favorite New Who Doctor Who companion

Rose Tyler - You’re sweet, maybe a bit boring, kind and generally well liked. Your currently a casual Doctor Who fan, may or may not of been more into it when you were younger

Mickey Smith - Chill on the outside, extremely intese on the inside. Were a more hardcore fan when you were younger and may or may not still be. Golden retriever energy

Captain Jack Harkness - Gay. Or a tumblr girlie. Or both. Either way you kinda want to be him, but aren’t even close. It’s gonna be okay I still love you.

Martha Jones - You okay? Genuine question. Quiet and Introverted, but very passionate and assertive of your opinions

Donna Noble - I love you. No further comments.

Amy Pond - You think your the main character. You’re not. That’s not necessarily a bad thing! Confident! A bit of a daydreamer bit of a space cadet.

Rory Pond - similar to the Amy fan but you spend more time outside. You think this makes you better, it does not. Unrelated but I imagine you read a lot.

River song - You think you’re really cool. You are cool, just maybe not as much as you think you are. Kind and chill. If you’re a hardcore fan you scare me a little. You watched the series from Rivers perspective. ,,,,, neurodivergent??

Clara Oswald - We are fundamentally different people with different morals, values, and preferences in fictional characters. This is only an example of a deeper difference that would ultimately keep us from developing a stronger personal connection. However despite doubting I’ll ever understand you I do see you and have a high respect you. Not many would stand with an opinion like this. (I promise I don’t hate Clara)

Bill Potts - You’re cool. Like actually cool. You probably don’t see it though.

Nardole - I have nothing to say about you. Take this in whatever way you like. I’m not being negative or positive, just indifferent.

Graham - read “Clara Oswald”

Ryan - I’ve never seen, heard of, or met anyone who’s favorite is genuinely Ryan. If you are reading this I am both confused and delighted at your existence. I have questions though. Mainly, Why him?

Yaz - You’re defending season 13 with your life. A thasmin shipper who reads too much fan fiction and wants nothing more than her to get a better ending. Tumblr girlie, probably a Good Omens fan.

Dan - I love you. No further comments.

Ruby Sunday - you do not have enough information or time with her to claim that she’s your favorite new who companion ever. She’s been in one episode. New fan or someone who forms opinions like it’s a race.

[iceinherheart-kissonherlips]

If Moffat or Chibs had done a child stealing goblin episode it would've had people performatively up in arms while still not grasping why it might be considered offensive tbh because a lot of people don't know why or refuse to acknowledge why unless they can use it against creators they hate. And it's infuriating. The fact that there's silence when RTD does these things or has lines like the colors one shows that those fans don't give two shits about racism and/or antisemitism, just whether or not it's done by their fave or something that can be used as an excuse to bash creators they don't like. Like. Idk it's just exhausting to watch the fandom rn

Yeah. It is kind of baffling. And over they years I've understood that some people will hate on certain creators no matter what (and by that, in this case, I mean the Moffat hate boner some people had back in the day and still have until now. I can't say anything about Chibs, bc I haven't watch enough of his era and I haven't been up to date to know what people think about him). And let's get things straight: I do prefer Moffat's writing. But do I think he's the greatest and have never done any mistakes? No, I don't think so. Do I hate RTD? No. I don't think he's a bad writer either. He's quite brilliant actually. I just think he's inability to let go of some aspects of his first era makes him repetative and tiring.

But yeah, it is kind of baffling that people have no problem with RTD putting these things in the script. I get it's not just him, but also the producers & other people at BBC, but still - it was in the script. It was put in the episode. That they let the first black actor playing the Doctor to run without trousers in his first episode. That a black character was once again an emotional crutch for the poor little white meow meow who happens to be RTD's fave. As for the goblins - I don't believe that they were written in bad faith, just quite tone deaf. But I understand that some people felt like it was antisemitic/offensive. But as you said - if it had been done by Moffat/Chibnall, people would've been angry and up in their arms. And some of them would be the same people who say that Moffat is racist for killing Danny Pink, but have no problem with calling Mickey 'the idiot' or who don't see that Ten was actually pretty shitty towards Martha. But RTD's era has really that kind of grasp on some fans and they're able to excuse a lot when it comes to it. Which is guess it's just how people behave - we all have our biases and vices, but it's still mind-boggling. Idk, when it comes to the "'60th"' specials I feel gaslighted with almost everyone being like 'omg, these were the best thing ever!!!!' and I am just sitting here with my half-finished bottle of wine being like 'were they?', because I know that if things like that has been pulled with other Doctors/companions - the pitchforks would be out and heads would roll lol.

[rragnaroks]

ten is doing his goodbye rounds and i am fucking sobbing

have you ever translated the lyrics to vale decem, the oods' swan song for ten, by the way? i can't fucking breathe

[starrysilverweed]

Honestly everything about season four scratches the many itches in my brain. First there’s the extremely satisfying build up to the climax of the plot.

The throwaway mentions of various planets having disappeared in various episodes, and the Doctor questions it in each individual episode but never connects the disappearances until the climax.

The several nods from Donna to the bees disappearing and the Doctor once again questioning it every time it comes up but forgetting seconds later.

Donna herself being imo a perfect companion. She’s sassy, she’s funny, she matches the Doctor’s exuberant and bubbly personality. But just as much she’s soft and kind and gentle.

The way she treats the Ood in POTO, so caring and not understanding why they subject themselves to mistreatment.

And the way she cares for the Doctor. She’s so good with him when he’s hurt or upset. I have so many examples but the few on top of my head are Midnight when she slowly walks up to him all concerned and just silently hugs him after what he went through on the bus, The Poison Sky when she smacks his arm after he teleports back but then just leans against him and holds his arm silently, glad he’s okay, and my favorite, Partners In Crime when he’s panicking because he can’t save the humans and he very calmly and clearly interjects his ranting with “Doctor, what do you need?” and solved the problem.

Oh and let’s not forget that she’s a boss ass bitch. Never afraid to shove it in the Doctor’s face when he’s wrong and needs to be told. The Doctor is an easy man to let take the reins and just follow his lead but she never did. She made it clear from the start they were equal.

Oh and her immediate respect and mutual rapport with Martha? Unparalleled. Despite not being in love with the Doctor she still could’ve gotten jealous, best friends get jealous. But nope, she was just happy to meet her, gave her a warm smile, and started cracking jokes. And she noticed her engagement ring when the Doctor didn’t.

My absolute favorite part about her though is that she wasn’t in love with him. No hate to Rose and Martha, but as an ace fan it’s so relieving to have a season without the romance drama of literally every other season. Especially since she loved him just as much as they did, simply in a different way.

I mean every single episode is just gut punch after gut punch, 10/10 after 10/10 you can’t say a bad word about it. I could rant and rave for hours.

And we meet River, in such a scrumptiously complex and confusing way, that in hindsight is so fucking wonderful I can’t get enough of that two parter, and will never get enough of River or Alex’s acting in that episode.

And the big reunion in the finale with Rose’s family, Jack + Torchwood, Martha, Sarah Jane! Ooh it’s just so good. And even Davros. Like the little clips of Rose scattered throughout the season just barely out the Doctor’s reach are so fucking sexy from a writing standpoint like UGH IT MAKES MY BRAIN TICKLE like you know he’s standing right there and she’s right there and he can’t see her.

And then we finally get some Rose closure (let me tell you I will never not weep at their reunion, just that euphoria on Tennant’s face ugh), in End Of Time we get even MORE Rose closure, Mickey AND Martha closure (can I just say I’m obsessed with this pairing idea gg Russel T), Ten has a deservedly beautiful send off with the Ood singing him to sleep, and then we’re gifted with Eleven.

But honestly like season four is a solid 10/10 and the best of Ten’s era. There’s not a single episode I don’t like and it’s literally the ONLY season where I can say that.

And don’t get me started on Wilfred. That man is a gift to this show and to the Doctor and to his family. His absolute giddiness at seeing Donna in the TARDIS with the Doctor in PIC, his speech to the Doctor about taking the gun and not wanting him to die, him saying he’ll look to the stars every night for the Doctor, him stepping into the machine to save some man he’d never met, him telling that woman that never having killed a man in the army wasn’t a bad thing, his undying dedication to the Doctor no matter what because he saw all the good in him, like ugh I’m sobbing what a man

Oh and the running bits throughout the season, like people assuming the Doctor and Donna are married, and Donna constantly getting taken/disappearing and the Doctor not even noticing, her never ending use of the nickname ‘Spaceman’ for the Doctor, mostly mockingly although sometimes affectionately.

Like AHHHH TEN OUT OF TEN

[doccywhomst]

I'm a casual Ryan fan and I get that there's gonna be some people who don't like him, but it's one of those razor lines where it's like 'okay do you just not vibe or is it the thing where you ignore everything but his most surface level traits to make a bad faith argument'. You're not jumping hard on the whole thing so I'm disinclined to say that you'll get in trouble but linking the 5 hour 13 Bad video probably will get some people annoyed enough to unfollow but probably nothing harsher.

this got long, lol - you don't have to read it!:

well, i hope i'm not making a bad faith argument 🥲 i actively looked for traits that i liked about him, and i really did want to love his character! after series 10 (my favorite series ever!!), i felt like we could be moving into a golden age of doctor who - i was very excited for a series with two companions of color, a disabled companion, and a story about families (recovering from loss, building relationships, juggling tardis and family life simultaneously, etc.).

to be fair, we did get a lot of that, but i think it could've been handled better and with a bit more nuance. there were just so many characters who barely got any screen time at all, it was so difficult to get to know them... and when they did get screen time, it felt strange. the plot felt very dominating, like their choices were secondary to the story. i was expecting something a bit more character-driven like Rose, Jackie, and Mickey's episodes, where their choices make events unfold - or how Martha's family was so prominent in her life and were dragged into the mess in the S3 finale, or how Donna's mother and Wilf popped up time and time again, and how it was ultimately Wilf's decision to save someone that led to Ten's death...

i'm not trying to say that Ryan is a terrible character, or that no one should like him, because i genuinely don't think that. i just wish i could reach behind the curtain and improve the writing for this blorbo a little bit - i want him to have power over the plot. i want him to make choices that deeply change the flow of the story. i want him to take up space because i think this character deserved to be in the spotlight.

his bare bones (those DnD character sheet traits: complex family situation, disability, working class) are so, so good. i desperately wanted him to have something. like, that spark. but he just fell by the wayside, and i think Ryan's unlived potential might be one of the greatest losses in the show's history.

original post (for other ppl's reference)

[leikeliscomet]

No, Ncuti Gatwa's Casting Isn't Regressive

Chapter 1 - For Black Boys?

The general consensus of male companions is they don’t really stand out like their female peers. If I said ‘iconic male companion’ I doubt many people would think of Adric. However, some are still loved by certain parts of fandom regardless. Rory’s nerdiness turned bravery has gotten him a small stanbase. Captain Jack is loved by many especially as he was an openly bisexual character, being Nuwho’s earliest example of queer representation. Or Wilf, whose light-hearted personality and humour engaged so many (Rest in Peace Bernard Cribbins). Black male companions on the other hand didn’t really get those types of flowers, let alone reaching Clara Oswald or Rose Tyler levels of popularity. The amount of lead Black men in Who is little (3 to be exact) and from them, their stories didn’t reach the icon status of the other companions of the show. And the reasons why unfortunately weren’t that surprising.

The first Black male companion was Mickey Smith. Mickey played the role of the scared boyfriend of Rose Tyler, simping after her as she ran off with a mysterious Ninth Doctor. Nine’s best-of-the-best mentality meant there wasn’t a Mickey shape in the TARDIS to fill in. The two would constantly have nitpicky back and forths putting Rose in the position of having to ‘choose’ her man. But her mind was made up. Rose and Mickey split by the end of the season with Mickey revealing his fling with a Ms Trisha Delaney. It wasn’t a universe-defying breakup where the galaxies tried to separate them but instead a case of two people with different wants and needs calling it quits. That doesn't sound too bad on paper, right? But unfortunately, RTD gave Mickey Smith a pre-Martha Jones arc, where so much of his arc would be dedicated to his failure to live up to a Rose Tyler standard. Despite Rose’s contributions to the RoseMickey split and how both characters had cheated on the other, both RTD and the fandom had given Mickey most of the blame. Mickey’s relationship with NineRose would eventually warm up towards the end of series 1, agreeing with Nine that Rose travelling was what she wanted and her council estate days were over. Series 2 decided to flip this on its head however, having Ten and Mickey being a lot more hostile towards each other. From Rose’s eyerolls to Ten forgetting Mickey’s existence it was clear the TenRose TARDIS team only had room for two. After getting fed up with his Tin Dog treatment, Mickey decided to stay in Pete’s World a little longer. The last of his official arc would be his return in the series 2 finale, gun-slinging against Daleks and Cybermen. He wouldn’t return until series 4 for the 2008 Dalek Invasion and a cameo with Martha Jones announcing their offscreen marriage. Although creating a small Mickey Smith standom, Mickey’s time in RTD1 was rough. He was mainly reduced to a comic relief or punching bag for the main white characters, having little room for his own developments. And the ones he did have, such as his absentee father, dead grandma and random Martha marriage were brief moments and not really enough to fully flesh him out.

Moffat gave us another Black male lead in Danny Pink. Although not a companion, Danny would be the math teaching counterpart to Clara Oswald and his conflict with TwelveClara would actually serve a narrative purpose. Unlike RoseMickey, our main companion would choose her boyfriend over the moody Time Lord although it was only briefly. Danny’s soldier past would have him demonised both in show and fandom, from Twelve’s bias against soldiers to Clara’s uncertainty to many TwelveClaras keeping him at arm's length and even going as far as to call him abusive. Danny, like Mickey, wasn’t super popular Black male representation either. Just as Nine and Ten made it clear Mickey wasn’t welcome, Twelve’s issue with ‘PE’ made it clear the two weren’t besties either. Danny would have to prove to Twelve he was worthy of Clara’s love and this would be achieved through his cyber-self sacrifice in the series 8 finale. Obviously, a child murderer would not be a fan favourite overnight, especially from the POV of a former solder Time Lord who’d suffered the consequences of war himself. However, series 8 established Twelve’s arc of moral ambiguity and potential for change, where he’d go on to question the type of man he was; good, bad, both or neither. Yet, Danny Pink was irredeemable. Whether we personally believe Danny deserved a second chance or not, he wasn’t given one like his white counterparts. To the fandom, Twelve and Clara’s actions were the byproduct of context and factors, heart-wrenching decisions in situations they couldn’t control. But Danny Pink was irredeemable, evil and the worst character of Moffat Who. Twelve and Clara were compelling. Danny Pink was trash. In fact, Missy, who’d claimed more lives than Mr Pink ever did would be set up for her own moral ambiguity arc, taking the iconic Time Lord villain and questioning if they could ever become good in their first female incarnation. Against a narrative of growth and change, a white woman’s redemption would be set up for a greater arc that would end at the end of Moffat’s run itself, with most fans supporting her growth and potential, whilst a Black man’s was found in his death to protect the other white characters. Danny’s final appearance would be in Last Christmas where he and Clara shared their final goodbyes. TwelveClara’s arc would continue in series 9 and Danny’s name was never mentioned again.

Chibnall introduced us to the first Black male companion to travel full-time, Ryan Sinclair.  Despite this achievement, Ryan would somehow have even less visibility than Danny and Mickey. Ryan’s arc was simpler, focusing on his ability to ride a bike with his dyspraxia. He wouldn’t achieve this goal, not as a slight but as a small commentary on how disability wasn't something to be fixed and instead a part of people’s everyday lives. Ryan’s dyspraxia was heavily critiqued for being written inconsistently and so would many other aspects of his character. His missing YouTube channel post-series 11, his way of mentioning his dead nan each episode and his relationship (or lack thereof) with his dad were seen as many misses in the writing department. Even after losing his nan, most gun-wrenching heartfelt moments about her death were given to Graham instead. Along with this, there was and still is harsh criticism of Tosin Cole’s acting (which ironically hasn’t stopped him from securing lead roles in House Party and Supacell, making him a breakout star of the Chibnall era). Series 12 wouldn’t help Ryan’s case either as after the initial Tim Shaw storyline ended with Graham and Ryan finding a type of closure for Grace, Ryan would slip further back in the queue for priority characters. With the return and new incarnation of the Master, the Fugitive Doctor reveal, the Timeless Child, Ashad the Lone Cyberman and the hunt for the Cyberium, there wasn’t really room for a new companion arc for any of the fam, let alone Ryan specifically. At most, he got a small subplot involving shooting a basketball hoop, similar to his bike-riding storyline. This would only be relevant in two episodes; its introduction and a small scene of him teaming up with Ko Sharmus to take out some Cybermen. His dad whom we were introduced to in series 11 wouldn’t return in this series either, missing the opportunity for a follow-up from that storyline. Instead, we got Tibo, similar to Amy and Rory’s Mels, a companion’s alleged best friend who we never saw in the previous season. This friendship wouldn’t play a key role either and Tibo was reduced to irregular small appearances. Ryan would be ready to leave in Revolution of the Daleks with a wallet of psychic paper. No new YouTube video or completed mechanic NVQ in sight. The Chibnall era companions already faced a fair share of unpopularity and plenty of ‘cardboard cut-out’ allegations. In most companion polls, Ryan tends to sit at the bottom with his grandad Graham following close behind. 

This isn’t to say Mickey, Danny or Ryan are blips in Doctor Who’s universe and had no impact whatsoever but that they all suffered due to a lack of meaningful writing. Mickey and Danny mainly served to facilitate white characters and many of their scenes functioned as reminders of how much the Doctor hated them. Ryan on the other hand, despite having what was supposed to be his own arc as a full-time companion, had to share screentime with two others on top of Thirteen’s arc as well. Thirteen and Yaz’s narratives stretched across three series whilst he only got two, and those two were already packed with a lot of other narratives. In the same way the treatment of Martha and Bill reflects the show’s issues in representing Black women, the treatment of these characters shows the issue in the show’s representations of Black men. The vulnerabilities of Black manhood are rarely portrayed in mainstream media due to the stereotypes of Black men being tough, aggressive and hypermasculine (key examples being the Black Brute trope or Thug trope). Even though I wouldn’t argue Mickey, Danny or Ryan fit these tropes exactly, their treatment reflects the antiblackness Black men experience; the false idea of inevitable struggle that Black men are supposed to ‘handle’ because of their ‘inherent’ strength. Across genders, Black characters are made to feel like they have to ‘work’ and ‘earn’ their spot in the TARDIS or ‘work’ to be worthy of the Doctor’s attention, which can feel like a barrier when it comes to feeling represented by this show. The Fugitive Doctor was a step forward, moving beyond Black characters as the companions but an attempt at a Black doctor, a Black main character. But with the Fugitive reduced to cameo roles and the end of the Chibnall era, this never came through. The main options seem to be Tin Dog or three seconds of screen time. Gatwa’s casting can not only be an attempt to build from the sidelining of the Fugitive but also provide a form of Black male representation the show has never done before, building on the neglect of Mickey, Danny and Ryan. The only way to move when you’re stuck at the bottom is upwards.

<- Intro

Chapter 2 ->

[aion-rsa]

Doctor Who: Perfect 10? How Fandom Forgets the Dark Side of David Tennant’s Doctor

https://ift.tt/2URb21b

As recently as September 2020 David Tennant topped a Radio Times poll of favourite Doctors. He beat Tom Baker in a 2006 Doctor Who Magazine poll, and was voted the best TV character of the 21st Century by the readers of Digital Spy. He was the Doctor during one of Doctor Who‘s critical and commercial peaks, bringing in consistently high ratings and a Christmas day audience of 13.31 million for ‘Voyage of the Damned’, and 12.27 million for his final episode, ‘The End of Time – Part Two’. He is the only other Doctor who challenges Tom Baker in terms of associated iconography, even being part of the Christmas idents on BBC One as his final episodes were broadcast. Put simply, the Tenth Doctor is ‘My Doctor’ for a huge swathe of people and David Tennant in a brown coat will be the image they think of when Doctor Who is mentioned.

In articles to accompany these fan polls, Tennant’s Doctor is described as ‘amiable’ in contrast to his predecessor Christopher Eccleston’s dark take on the character. Ten is ‘down-to-earth’, ‘romantic’, ‘sweeter’, ‘more light-hearted’ and the Doctor you’d most want to invite you on board the TARDIS. That’s interesting in some respects, because the Tenth Doctor is very much a Jekyll and Hyde character. He’s handsome, he’s charismatic, and travelling with him can be addictively fun, but he is also casually cruel, harshly dismissive, and lacking in self-awareness. His ego wants feeding, and once fed, can have destructive results.

That tension in the character isn’t due to bad writing or acting. Quite the contrary. Most Doctors have an element of unpleasantness to their behaviour. Ever since the First Doctor kidnapped Ian and Barbara, the character has been moving away from the entitled snob we met him as, but can never escape it completely.

Six and Twelve were both written to be especially abrasive, then soften as time went on (with Colin Baker having to do this through Big Finish audio plays rather than on telly). A significant difference between Twelve and Ten, though, is that Twelve questions himself more. Ten, to the very end, seems to believe his own hype.

The Tenth Doctor’s duality is apparent from his first full appearance in 2005’s ‘The Christmas Invasion’. Having quoted The Lion King and fearlessly ambled through the Sycorax ship in a dressing gown, he seems the picture of bonhomie, that lighter and amiable character shining through. Then he kills their leader. True, it was in self-defence, but it was lethal force that may not have been necessary. Then he immediately topples the British Prime Minister for a not dissimilar act of aggression. Immediately we see the Tenth Doctor’s potential for violence and moral grey areas. He’s still the same man who considered braining someone with a rock in ‘An Unearthly Child’. 

Teamed with Rose Tyler, a companion of similar status to Tennant’s Doctor, they blazed their way through time and space with a level of confidence that bordered on entitlement, and a love that manifested itself negatively on the people surrounding them. The most obvious example in Series 2 is ‘Tooth and Claw’, where Russell T. Davies has them react to horror and carnage in the manner of excited tourists who’ve just seen a celebrity. This aloof detachment results in Queen Victoria establishing the Torchwood institute that will eventually split them apart. We see their blinkers on again in ‘Rise of the Cybermen’, when they take Mickey for granted. Rose and the Doctor skip along the dividing line between romance and hubris.

Then, in a Christmassy romp where the Doctor is grieving the loss of Rose, he commits genocide and Donna Noble sucker punches him with ‘I think you need somebody to stop you’. Well-meaning as this statement is, the Doctor treats it as a reason to reduce his next companion to a function rather than a person. Martha Jones is there to stop the Doctor, as far as he’s concerned. She’s a rebound companion. Martha is in love with him, and though he respects her, she’s also something of a prop.

This is the series in which the Doctor becomes human in order to escape the Family of Blood (adapted from a book in which he becomes human in order to understand his companion’s grief, not realising anyone is after him), and is culpable for all the death that follows in his wake. Martha puts up with a position as a servant and with regular racist abuse on her travels with this man, before finally realising at the end of the series that she needs to get out of the relationship. For a rebound companion, Martha withstands a hell of a lot, mostly caused by the Doctor’s failings. 

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Series 4 develops the Doctor further, putting the Tenth’s Doctor’s flaws in the foreground more clearly. Donna is now travelling with him, and simply calls him out on his behaviour more than Rose or Martha did. Nonetheless the Doctor ploughs on, and in ‘Midnight’ we see him reduced to desperate and ugly pleas about how clever he is when he’s put in a situation he can’t talk himself out of.

Rose has also become more Doctor-like while trapped in another reality, and brutally tells Donna that she’s going to have to die in order to return to the original timeline (just as the Doctor tells Donna she’s going to have to lose her memories of travelling with him in order to live her previous life, even as she clearly asks him not to – and how long did the Doctor know he would have to do this for? It’s not like he’s surprised when Donna starts glitching). Tied into this is the Doctor’s belief in his own legend. In ‘The Doctor’s Daughter’ he holds a gun to Cobb’s head, then withdraws it and asks that they start a society based on the morals of his actions. You know, like a well-adjusted person does.

What’s interesting here is that despite presenting himself as ‘a man who never would’, the Doctor is a man who absolutely would. We’ve seen him do it. Even the Tenth Doctor, so keen to live up to the absolute moral ideals he espouses, killed the Sycorax leader and the Krillitanes, drove the Cybermen to die of despair, brought the Family of Blood to a quiet village and then disposed of them personally. But Tennant doesn’t play this as a useful lie, he plays it as something the Doctor absolutely believes in that moment, that he is a man who would not kill even as his daughter lies dead. It’s why his picking up a gun in ‘The End of Time’ has such impact. And it makes some sense that the Tenth Doctor would reject violence following a predecessor who regenerated after refusing to commit another double-genocide.

In the series finale ‘Journey’s End‘, Davros accuses the Doctor of turning his friends into weapons. This is because the Doctor’s friends have used weapons against the Daleks who – and I can’t stress this enough – are about to kill everyone in the entire universe. Fighting back against them seems pretty rational. Also – and again I can’t stress this enough – the Daleks are bad. Like, really bad. You won’t believe just how mindbogglingly bad they are. The Doctor has tried to destroy them several times by this point. Here, there isn’t the complication of double-genocide, and instead the very real threat of absolutely everyone in the universe dying. This accusation, that the Doctor turns people into weapons, should absolutely not land.

And yet, with the Tenth Doctor, it does. This is a huge distinction between him and the First Doctor, who had to persuade pacifists to fight for him in ‘The Daleks’.

In ‘The Sontaran Strategem’ Martha compares the Doctor to fire. It’s so blunt it almost seems not worth saying, but it’s the perfect analogy (especially for a show where fire is a huge part of the very first story). Yes, fire shines in dark places, yes it can be a beacon, but despite it being very much fire’s entire deal, people can forget that it burns. And fire has that mythical connection of being stolen from the gods and brought to humanity. The Time Lord Victorious concept fits the Tenth Doctor so well. Of all the Doctors, he’s the most ready to believe in himself as a semi-mythic figure.

Even when regenerating there’s a balance between hero and legend: the Tenth Doctor does ultimately save Wilfred Mott, but only after pointing out passionately how big a sacrifice he’s making. And then he goes to get his reward by meeting all his friends, only to glare at them from a distance. His last words are ‘I don’t want to go’, which works well as clearly being a poignant moment for the actor as well, but in the context of Doctor Who as a whole it renders Ten anomalous: no one else went this unwillingly. And yet, in interviews Russell T. Davies said it was important to end the story with ‘the Doctor as people have loved him: funny, the bright spark, the hero, the enthusiast’.

It’s fascinating then, that this is the Doctor who has been taken to heart by so many viewers because there’s such an extreme contrast between his good-natured front, his stated beliefs, and his actions. He clearly loves Rose and Donna, but leaves them with a compromised version of happiness. They go on extraordinary journeys only to end up somewhere that leaves them less than who they want to be, with Russell T. Davies being more brutally honest than Steven Moffat, who nearly always goes the romance route. Davies once said to Mark Lawson that he liked writing happy endings ‘because in the real world they don’t exist’, but his endings tend towards the bittersweet: Mickey and Martha end up together but this feels like they’re leftovers from the Doctor and Rose’s relationship. The Tenth Doctor doesn’t, as Nine does, go with a smile, but holding back tears.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

It’s a testament to how well written the Tenth Doctor is that the character has this light and shade, and with David Tennant’s immense likeability he can appeal to a wider audience as a result. It’s not surprise he wins all these polls, but I can’t help but feel that if the Doctor arrived and invited me on board the TARDIS, I’d want it to be anyone but Ten.

The post Doctor Who: Perfect 10? How Fandom Forgets the Dark Side of David Tennant’s Doctor appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3iaqbDk

[anteroom-of-death]

Honestly, 10 and 13 are the scariest doctors. They hide so much behind the masquerades of flirty, perky, dolt and childlike buffoon, respectively...

But They are the ones with the most simmering rage and narcissism underneath them. I know a lot of people argue that 11 was a very dark doctor that mocked childhood innocence scheme but no one in universe bought it. Not even Amy passed a couple of adventures. Everyone knew this young looking man was ageless and ancient and destructive. Just from Initial sight.

I have not seen flux I don't plan on seeing it, Purely because I hate the show runner and I wish him a very happy die painfully. I disapprove of the whole timeless child Story arc. But 13 and 10 they are the ones that act out on the anger and don't try to be kind or caring past their companions. And hardly even them because they can be quite brutal such as the case of Martha Jones and Yasmin Khan. Hell even very dismissive like Mickey Smith and Graham O'Brian. And both gave Captain Jack a bad time. Even though Jack did the best he could for the doctor no matter what. Jack is a loyal asset that the doctor will and can and definitely is going to continue to use and abuse because Jack is loyalty incarnate and credits the doctor for turning his life around just enough to create his real family, Ianto, Gwen, Owen and Tosh...

We've seen them be both blood thirsty and act purely out of self-agrandizing behavior. Doing anything to come out on top and prove their moral superiority. They don't care who they kill as long as they win.

The funny thing is that they come after doctors that are grumpier and exterior. And these grumpy doctors, 9 and 12: They wanted to be curative they wanted to get rid of the sins of their past so to speak. They wanted to recover from their trauma and help the universe Get over the trauma that they caused..

Sure we've had violent and narcissistic doctors beforehand, I mean, look at 4 and 7 (and somewhat 6... )But they were only minor players on universal universal retribution. It was nothing personal I was just them doing what they did and moving on.

They truly believe themselves to be gods amongst mortals. And they pair up around these false facades that they know are false and they seem to use it against everybody else whenever anybody even remotely starts becoming wise. We see it even more in 13 with how she treats the master...

Cold and callous marketing itself as cheery and cheeky.

10 and 13 Believe themselves above everything. And they act accordingly.

[edelwoodsouls]

i still pick up at the sound of your call [fic]

"Is that a dalek on tv?" [or: Martha has some choice questions for the Doctor regarding the new Prime Minister's addess]

Inspired by this post

Word Count: 1,799 | Also on Ao3

"Oi, what the fuck is going on?"

The Doctor blinks. Pulls the phone away from her ear, to check the number again, check she isn't hallucinating. She'd hardly believed it when she saw it, hasn't seen those numbers strung together in years, though they're still burned into her mind.

Another life, another time.

Another friend burned to ashes.

She hesitates, for just a moment. Takes a deep breath. "Hey, Martha," she cringes instantly at the hollow lightness of her tone, only drawing attention to the lifetimes between their last words. "What's up?"

A heavy pause on the other end. The Doctor tries to imagine her old companion, for just a moment. She'd promised herself she would check up on her friends from time to time, make sure they were okay, if she could help them from the shadows in any way - but that promise has fallen between the cracks, lost along the way with everything she ever thought was true.

The last time she saw Martha, she saved her life. Moments before her own - his own, back then - had slipped between her fingers.

She'd looked happy. The Doctor could never have predicted Martha and Mickey of all people, but she was glad for them. She had ruined their lives in so many ways by crashing through them, by falling in love with Rose - this was the least they deserved.

So she imagines Martha like that. Curled up on the sofa, cornrowed hair and sparkling eyes. Legs tangled up with Mickey as they watch tv in the burnt orange glow of a dying London afternoon.

Oh, fuck. The tv.

"Uh, hi," Martha answers finally, wrong-footed and uncertain. "I wanted to speak to the Doctor, could you put him on, please? Sorry, I- uh, I'm Martha. Jones. I used to travel with him. I'm guessing you're the new companion? What happened to Donna?"

An unexpected lump rises in the Doctor's throat. Thousands of years - thousands - have passed since she last bothered to check in on Martha Jones. How many companions have been and gone in that time? How many have crumbled to ash beneath her fingers?

She swallows it down, files it under Compartmentalise, and Never Think of Again.

Sunshine. Enthusiasm. Energy. The tenets she's founded herself on this go around. She plasters a bright smile on her face, as if contorting her muscles will trick her tone into believing she means it.

"Just me, I'm afraid," she grins, skipping around the TARDIS to fiddle with the controls to keep her hands busy. "Had a bit of a change of face since you last saw me."

Furious whispers on the other side of the phone, far enough away from the receiver that even she can't hear them. She imagines Martha and Mickey, confusion and surprise warring with each other.

This reveal never gets old.

"Sooo, how've you been? How's Mickey? It's been, what, nearly ten years since you last saw me?"

"Uh, yeah," Martha returns to the phone, hesitant. She's never had to deal with regeneration, really. "I didn't know you could- I mean, when you said you change, I didn't realise that-"

"I can be anything I like! It's great, innit? I could have two heads or green skin if I felt like it. First time I've been a woman, though. Well, first time I remember, I guess. Still haven't been ginger, though. Maybe one day."

"Different face, same amount of energy," Martha laughs, and the sound lifts a weight from the Doctor's chest she didn't even know was there. "Mickey says hi."

"Yeah- hi!" A more distant voice echoes through the phone, startled at being addressed.

"Hi! It's great to hear from you!" She twirls the phone cord around a finger. If there's one thing she always regrets in her lives, it's the way her previous selves treated their companions. Each one with a different idea of relationships, of how things should be done.

This version of her thinks Mickey would be a great companion, if not for her Rose-tinted blinders.

"So, to what do I owe this call? Hope you kids have been keeping out of trouble, though somehow, I doubt it."

"Right!" Martha yelps. The whole regeneration thing definitely threw her for a loop. "Yeah, Doctor, what the fuck is going on? Is that a dalek we just saw on tv?"

"Ah, yeah... it is, yeah."

"And?"

"And I'm sorting it out?" The Doctor glances over her shoulder, towards the corridor the fam disappeared down a few minutes ago to get ready. They'll be back any second.

It's not that the Doctor doesn't want the fam to know about her old companions. They've met Jack, know she hasn't been on her own all this time, but- still.

Her companions don't have the best survival rate. It's selfish, probably, to keep having them, and yet she somehow never goes without them for long.

(She's lonely, she knows it. She's not a good person on her own. She clings to these fragments of knowledge and calls it reason.)

"But why is there a dalek on tv, Doctor? New security drones, that's what they're saying. Do they not remember the whole Earth-moving, twenty-seven planets, dalek invasion thing?"

"Or the Battle of Canary Wharf?" Mickey adds, words heavy with an underlying anger. Rose was lost to save the world from daleks, after all.

The least she deserves is to have her sacrifice remembered.

"I'm not sure, to be honest," the Doctor admits, flinging herself onto one of the crystalline seats near the console. "It's incredibly weird, actually. As far as I can tell, the entire human race has forgotten that aliens exist at all. No stolen Earth, no Titanic flying over London or Racnoss star at Christmas. No Battle of Canary Wharf."

"That's- I mean, how does that even happen?"

"I have no idea. Something to do with collective consciousness, I'd guess. Some manipulation from another race wanting to remove Earth's knowledge and wariness of aliens. The Arkangel network is still flying strong in your orbit, after all. It wouldn't be so hard to harness the technology. Maybe even your own governments, or some rogue branch of Torchwood. I never did find Torchwood 2 or 4."

"Then how the hell do we still remember?"

"Probably my fault. You're still keyed into the TARDIS's neural network, so she's protecting you from the effects. Sorry about that."

"No, it's- it's good," Martha splutters. "Are you going to try and fix it?"

"Maybe," the Doctor leans back in her chair, pulling the phone cord as far as it will go. "Once all of this is over, I might look into it. Just to check if it's malevolent or not. It's not a bad thing, necessarily. To forget. Some of things they must have seen..."

She shakes her head to clear it. Can't let herself stop and think for too long, or she might never escape the whirlpool's tide.

"Anyway," Martha says - she always was good at noticing her spirals, circumventing them. "How's Donna?"

Nevermind. She speaks the words lightly, but in a tone that says she noticed the Doctor's avoidance earlier and is bracing for bad news.

"She's great!" the Doctor manages a smile, glad to have something, anything to latch onto that isn't her own thoughts. "Happily married, actually. Won the lottery a few years ago, doing very well for herself."

"That's- that's really good to hear."

"She doesn't remember me." She lets the words fall, as much as she wishes she could hold them close and buried and gone. But Donna needs to be kept safe, and Martha reaching out to her would be- not good. "She doesn't remember anything that happened. I- I had to wipe her memory, after the daleks. It was killing her."

The silence stretches longer this time, and for a moment the Doctor is sure she's broken everything.

"Well, I'm glad she's happy," Martha says eventually. "There are worse fates, right?"

So many of your companions have had worse fates, she doesn't say, but the Doctor reads between the lines anyway.

"Yeah," she breathes.

"And how are you doing, Doctor? You're not alone, are you?"

"No! I'm great, actually. Got my fam. Yaz is really cool, you'd love her. Ryan and Graham are great. Jack's back in town right now, helped me out of prison-"

"Helped you out of where?"

"-and we're just sorting out this whole dalek thing! Should be all over pretty soon. Just, stay where you are."

"You know we can't do that, Doctor." If anything, Martha sounds amused. Determined. Ready to pick up her sword once again, defend the Earth from whatever might be coming.

In this second, everything is right with the world, and she misses Martha Jones in a way that hurts both her hearts at once.

"Well, stay safe at least. I'll call you back when this is done, to let you know."

"Thank you, Doctor. Maybe we could, I don't know- grab a drink, or something. Catch up."

"I'd like that," she replies, and they both know she has very little intent on following through.

Yaz appears at the end of the corridor, eyes bright, smile warm. She's chattering to someone, probably Ryan, completely oblivious, no weight on her shoulders.

The Doctor wishes she could keep Yaz like that, happy, delighted, laughing. Wishes that smile was just for her.

But she might have ruined it forever.

She's learnt to trust the TARDIS over the years, learnt that the TARDIS arrives when she thinks the Doctor should be rather than where the Doctor wants to be. She wants to trust that this, too, was for a good reason. The TARDIS has never led her wrong, in the end.

She has to believe.

"Well, I'll let you crazy kids go be heroes. Beat up some daleks for me, will you?"

"Of course, Doctor," Martha says. The Doctor imagines her smiling, linking fingers with Mickey. "Stay safe out there."

"Always," the Doctor grins. As Yaz and Ryan approach, she jumps up, throws the phone back on its hook and grabs hold of the TARDIS's controls.

"Who was that?" Yaz asks, wary, unsure of how to act around her. They need to sit down and talk, hash out the last ten months - and nineteen years - but now isn't the time.

Unfortunately, the time rarely seems to appear.

"Just an old friend checking in," the Doctor shrugs, avoiding her new companions' eyes. "There's daleks on the tv, haven't you heard? Let's fix that."

She throws the TARDIS into flight with a delighted whoop - after all these years, the thrill of flight never quite fades.

She's lost companions before, but as Martha’s call has reminded her, not all of them have met bad ends.

She refuses to let the fam down on that one, too.

[greendreamer]

Torchwood S2 Ep 6 - Reset

 Love Martha’s entrance!

Jack goes zooooom

Big old puppy

“Suddenly, in an underground mortuary, on a wet night in Cardiff, I hear the song of a nightingale.” “Miss Martha Jones.”

Love Jack and Martha’s banter

Love the idea of Jack just inviting Martha over, If the show had gone on longer (in the S1+2 format) I feel Jack would have invited her over more. Which would have been beautiful for both of them.

“How's the family?” This is something I often ask myself, Like what happened to Martha’s family after the events of TYTNW? What about after the Daleks? How did they react to Martha joining both UNIT and Torchwood? Do they try to avoid anything alien related? Or are they pro protecting the Earth from aliens? How did they react upon meeting Mickey for the first time? Was there any sort of wariness surrounding him? After all, he spent a few years in a freaking parallel universe.

I love the idea of Jack and Martha having a deeper friendship, just they are just a phone call away, no matter what is happening

Love how they are talking about the mutual ex

Love how Martha bonds well with the rest of the team

No, I haven’t gotten around to listening to Dissected, even though there were slightly spoilers to it in R&IEB

Science montage!

“Except Barry Leonard was a student. Who'd assassinate a student?” “Student Loans Company.” “Yeah. Yeah, I think you just cracked it.”

I love this whole science-ly intelligent side of Martha

You know, they don’t use ‘Here he comes in a ruddy great tractor’ enough

“ Yeah. I had a bad experience with a politician recently.”

“Trust me. She's more than capable. I'd rely on Martha if the world was ending. In fact, I did.”

Love how supportive Martha is of Ianto and Jack’s relationship

“So, Jack asked me if I could get you a UNIT cap to wear.” “Did he? Well, red is my colour.”

“Did I mention she was brilliant?”

“She's beautiful.” “Is she?” “You know she is.”

Ah a pair beautiful Bisexuals

“Plus, if I tried anything with her, I think Jack would have my kneecaps.”

You have to wonder how much guilt and regret Jack would be feeling if something bad did happen to Martha

*Causal handling of a weevil*

I wonder what Torchwood did with that Mayfly, probably killed it

A dead body driving, with a bunch of dumbasses in the back

Welp, there goes Owen

At least that was a good death

[riversofmars]

Answers at last! Well, I saw answers... :D

Chapter 7: So We Meet Again

The Library, 52nd Century

“Sorry, am I interrupting something?“ A male figure appeared in their midst. Dark hair and beard, stout frame, he took a twirl, looking around, delighted at the surprise and shock on everyone’s faces.

“It’s can’t be…“ River mumbled, trying to catch up with what was happening. How did he get in here? He was not part of the memory.

“It’s been a while, Professor Song.“ He turned to face her with a wide grin, baring his teeth.

“He’s not the Doctor, is he?“ Anita spoke slowly. She had learned enough about Time Lords during their extensive research to understand about regeneration and River had shown her pictures of all her husband’s faces. That man was not one of them and even on first impressions, he seemed in no way similar to the man she herself had met. He certainly didn’t look at River like someone would look at their wife, he looked at her like she was prey.

“The Doctor? Oh, don’t be ridiculous.“ He nearly burst out laughing as if it was the funniest thing he had heard all day. “Been there, done that, just wasn’t my cup of tea.“ His voice turned to a snarl, it seemed to change ever so slightly; he shushed himself.

“No, this is another Time Lord.“ River said, balling her hands to fists, trying to maintain her composure.

“Of course you get it, you’re clever like that.“ He mused, tilting his head. “I’m difficult to forget, didn’t we have he best of times.“ He interrupted himself, his voiced higher and more excitable. He smirked with a mad sort of glee in his eyes. “No, no, shut up, it’s my turn now!“ His voice turned normal as he snapped angrily. Anita and CAL exchanged confused and worried glances, fearing they might be dealing with a mad man. River, however, already knew for a fact that they were:

“You’re the Eleven.“ She circled around the room slowly, coming to stand protectively in front of CAL and Anita. She didn’t know whether he was really here or just a projection, but she couldn’t take the risk. She had to keep them safe. They had no idea who they were dealing with.

“The Thirteen, actually, but who’s counting.“ He retorted graciously and took a little bow.

“Must be getting pretty crowded in that head of yours.“ River hummed and in response, another personality emerged:

“Long time no see, Ms. Song.“ His face contorted into a grin.

“Hello again, Nine.“ River remained calm. She knew it was the best way to deal with them.

“I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure.“ His voice turned higher, almost feminine.

“Twelve?“ River could only guess, as it was the regeneration of his she hadn’t met before.

“Shut up, the lot of you.“ The Thirteen regained control of his personalities. “Sorry, this is not how I was going to introduce myself, best foot forward and all that, but they’re just so excited to see you again. The Six, in particular, is very eager but we’ll save that for later.“ He smiled apologetically.  

“What are you doing here? How did you get in?“ River decided to ignore the games and cut right to the chase. She glanced to CAL, hoping she was paying attention. If they found out how he got in, they surely would be able to get rid of him as well. She would have to regain control of the computer.

“Seven hacked the system, child’s play really; and now I can see why.“ He smirked at CAL who took a fearful step back and Anita put a protective arm around her. “I’m not really here, of course, just a projection, but I liked the personal touch. Better than talking to a screen, you know?“ River felt a little better for knowing he wasn’t actually part of the artificial world of the Library core but hacking the system was just as bad. Who knew what else he was planning on doing?

“So you’re responsible for this?“ Anita concluded gesturing around to the woman and child that had stopped moving. She hadn’t really followed who exactly he was but it was was blatantly obvious that this scary vision was his doing.

“It’s from the Matrix.“ River stated and the Thirteen grinned:

“Indeed. I didn’t really have the means to play it. I needed a bigger computer, something able to convert it. And I needed someone who’d be able to interpret it.“

“So you used the Library, a computer big enough to handle Matrix data.“ River was beginning to understand. They weren’t her memories that had bled into the artificial reality. It was data the Thirteen had fed into the system. In turn it had helped her unlock her own memories of what she’d seen in the Matrix. “What is that memory? What’s the story behind it.“ She asked, drawing his attention back as he seemed momentarily distracted. Not by his other personalities, for once, but seemingly by something outside.

“A missing puzzle piece.“ He answered briefly and gave a dismissive wave with his hand. “Now we best get going.“

“What?“ Anita asked confused while River remained silent, her mind racing. What was he planning? She knew better than to underestimate the renegade Time Lord.

“The shadows will be back in a moment.“ He explained in an off-hand sort of way. “Get your coat, Professor Song. Oh wait, you haven’t got a body to put it on.“ He laughed, then disappeared.

“River…“ CAL reached out for River’s hand but she grasped into thin air, River was gone as well.

——

Glasgow, 2021

“So this is where you went once the Daleks were gone?“ Ryan asked Jack as they started walking further into the underground building.

“Had to go say hi to Gwen here and she filled me in on what’s been going on. I’ve been out in the universe too long it seems. Time to look after the home front.“ Jack explained with a determined nod and Kate smiled:

“We’re glad to have you, Captain.“

“How many people have you got here.“ Graham looked around, marvelling at the size of the place. It could have housed a hundred easily and there was an erie quality to it with how quiet and seemingly empty it was.

“Not as many as you’d hope. Friends of the Doctor’s it’s quite an exclusive club, but it’s not quantity, it’s quality.“ Kate answered leading the way.

“So how do you know the Doctor?“ Ryan asked Gwen who was walking alongside him.

“Only met him briefly, during one Dalek invasion or another. Honestly, it all blends together.“ She chuckled.

“Ms. Cooper is one of Torchwood’s finest.“ Kate interjected and Gwen sighed:

“And only remaining member…“

“Hey!“ Jack took offence and elbowed her.

“You don’t count, you’re off doing other stuff all the time.“ Gwen slapped his shoulder affectionately and carried on to explain: “I have been trying to rebuild the Torchwood Three hub as well, seeing as it’s closer to home, but it’s slow progress.“

“Torchwood, like UNIT, is like an agency, is it? To ward of aliens?“ Graham asked, trying to wrap his head around it.

“In a nutshell, yes.“ Kate nodded as she lead them down some stairs. “If you come through here, I will introduce you to the rest of the team.“ The steps opened up into a large room. “I know it’s late but they have been waiting up for you.“ They reached a big communal living and working area. There were several tables, desks, computers and such and amongst it all: four people.

“Mr. O’Brien, Mr. Sinclair, let me introduce Dr. Martha Jones and Mr. Mickey Smith, two of UNIT’s finest field agents and former travelling companions of the Doctor’s.“ Kate gesture towards a couple who were lounging on a sofa, currently devouring a Chinese take away with great enthusiasm.

“Nice to finally meet you.“ Martha smiled at them warmly and Mickey, his mouth full of food, couldn’t speak and just gave a wave with his chopsticks. They got up to shake hands as the group approached.

“Likewise, I guess.“ Graham managed an awkward smile as well. During their travels with the Doctor, they had never really stopped to think how many more people had taken trips in the TARDIS before them. It was strange to think that there were other people out there who would understand what it was like, experiencing the vastness of the universe like they had.

“And these are the Osgoods, the scientific hearts and minds of UNIT.“ Kate carried on and gestured to two women, apparently twins, who were sharing a work station. They simultaneously looked up and smiled in greeting.

“I’m Ryan, this is my granddad Graham.“ Ryan introduced them. “We don’t usually do, like, formal…“ He looked around the room awkwardly. This was a lot more official than he was used to. “Like if you don’t mind, first names are fine.“ Graham nodded in agreement.

“Petronella.“ One to the Osgoods smiled.

“Petronella.“ The other Osgood smiled.

“So… you two have the same name? How do we keep you apart?“ Graham asked, confused, wondering what their parents had possibly been thinking.

“You don’t.“ Kate answered in amusement. “That’s the whole point.“

“Right.“ Ryan decided it was best to just accept that. They had just been recruited into a secret organisation to fight of extraterrestrial threats and entered what looked like a very fancy underground bunker… identical twins with the same names really wasn’t top of the weird-list right now.

“Care for some Chinese?“ Mickey offered. They had ordered way too much as usual.

“Don’t mind if we do.“ Graham grinned since they hadn’t had time to eat before setting of on the long drive. He had been eyeing it up, hoping that was where the evening would be going.

“Ma’am, if we might have a word…“ One for the Osgoods demanded Kate’s attention as everyone else settled down to eat.

“What is it?“ The UNIT chief asked and walked around the desk to be able to look at their computer screens.

“We have found another two bodies.“ The other Osgood answered, pointing something out on the computer and Kate frowned:

“Same MO?“ She asked, leaning closer.

“We fine-tuned the algorithm, running through police data bases and found two matches.“ Osgood confirmed.

“Where?“

“Greater London.“ The other Osgood answered. “Pulled out of a lake. It was fortunate that a couple was walking nearby and spotted movement by the water. Otherwise they wouldn’t have been found for weeks probably.“

“Captain?“ Kate looked up to Jack who was currently recounting to Gwen, Martha and Mickey how he had met Ryan and Graham. “Two for pick up.“ She announced.

“On it, will be back in a flash.“ He gave a dazzling and apologetic smile to the others and came to join Kate and the Osgoods. “Just tell me which morgue they’re in and you’ll have them on your slab momentarily.“ He looked at the screen and skimmed the report.

“So… not just people disappearing from time, murders too?“ Graham asked, listening in.

“This is not your garden variety homicide, I’m afraid, Mr. O’Brian.“ Kate retorted thoughtfully. “You’ll see when the Captain returns with the bodies.“

Jack gave a nod and engaged his Vortex Manipulator.

——

Orbit around the Library, 52nd Century

“Here we go.“ Jenny slipped her hand into her wife’s. She had a bad feeling about this but it couldn’t be helped. They had come out of hyper speed a few minutes ago and had fallen into orbit around the Library.

“A whole planet full of books?“ Yaz couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer size of it. The idea of having every book ever written together in one place was overwhelming and beautiful.

“And shadows that can kill…“ Dorium couldn’t help but point out. The idea that a world so beautiful was forever lost made Yaz’s heart feel heavy. What a waste.

“Right, here’s what we’re going to do: your UV grenades, Strax: our best bet would be to send one down ahead of us.“ Vastra looked to her butler who grinned with excitement as he proudly presented the grenades. “We arm ourselves to the teeth with torches and such. We won’t have to stay long. Just contact the Professor, ask our questions, fill her in, and be on our way.“ Vastra gave her wife’s hand a reassuring squeeze and looked around the room into determined faces. “Strax, Jenny and I will go.“

“I want to come, too!“ Yaz insisted immediately, she thought herself just as capable as any of them and she didn’t want to be left behind.

“That’s not part of the plan.“ Vastra shook her head.

“I have been in tight spots with the Doctor as well, I can handle myself.“ Yaz retorted, frustrated.

“I don’t doubt that but someone needs to teleport us back. Mr. Maldovar sadly won’t be able to.“ Vastra pointed out. She had no doubts about Yaz’s ability to hold her own but they needed someone to stay behind. She refused to be split up from her wife and Strax was best placed to handle the weapons equipment. It was the logical solution. “We all have a job to do and we need you to keep us safe from up here.“ She carried on to explain.

“Fine.“ Yaz huffed after brief consideration. “Doesn’t mean I like it though.“ She could see her point but she still felt like she was being sidelined.

“We will be back in no time.“ Vastra assured her.

“Right, let’s get this over with… before I change my mind.“ Jenny sighed feeling anxious. She ran her hand along the hilt of her sword despite knowing it would be useless against shadows.

“Oh, well that’s a surprise.“ Dorium pipped up, drawing everyone’s attention.

“What is it?“ Vastra frowned, confused.

“There is an incoming transmission! Someone in that Library is trying to reach out.“ Dorium explained quickly. He closed his eyes, trying to focus with the help of the communications chip connected to him.

“How do they even know we’re here?“ Vastra asked, worried. That didn’t feel right.  

“Beats going amongst the shadows, doesn’t it.“ Jenny pointed out and Strax huffed in disappointment:

“I have been looking forward to this for hours…“

“Put it on screen.“ Vastra ignored his complaint and turned to the large screen at the front of the ship. Yaz turned Dorium’s box around so he could see as well.

“River! River! Where are you!“ A small girl appeared on the screen, looking distraught. She couldn’t be older than ten years old, taking everyone by surprise. “Who are you?“ She demanded to know before any of them could get over their shock. Her eyes jumped between all of them. Her message clearly hadn’t been meant for them.

“I’m Madame Vastra, these are Jenny Flint, Strax, Yasmin Kahn and Dorium Maldovar. We mean you no harm.“ Vastra raised her hands appeasingly, trying to reassure her. What was a little girl doing in the Library? And why was she looking for River Song? “You were calling for River, I can only presume you mean Professor Song, we’re here to talk to her.“ Vastra carried on, hoping to explain and gain her trust. She seemed scared.

“You’re too late.“ The girl sobbed, getting more upset.

“What?“ Yaz asked, with a frown. They all exchanged confused glances.

“She just left, I was trying to reach her but it drains the power, so much energy…“ The screen flickered. There was a blip in the transmission, it wasn’t stable.

“Hang on, hang on, you’re in the computer?“ Vastra asked to clarify.

“I am the computer.“ The girl answered, taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She was not as little as she looked. “I’m CAL.“

“And Professor Song, she’s not with you anymore?“ Jenny deduced and her heart sank. This was the one eventuality they had not been prepared for.  

“She was taken.“ CAL confirmed, nodding, wiping her tears away.

“By whom?“ Vastra gripped the back of the pilot’s chair and dug her claws into the fabric. Wherever they turned, it seemed as though they were one step behind.

“A Time Lord.“ CAL answered, after brief consideration, seemingly deciding to trust them.

“What did he look like? Did he give a name?“ Yaz asked quickly.

“He called himself the Thirteen.“ The girl said quickly, as the transmission stalled again. “I’m sorry, I can’t maintain this much longer. Why are you looking for River?“

“We’re friends of the Doctor’s. There are some terrible things going on out in the universe and we need to talk to her.“ Vastra rushed to explain.

“Please find her, he… “

The connection broke and for a moment, there was stunned silence.

“How is that possible?“ Yaz turned to the others, slowly finding her voice again. “You can’t just, like, download a consciousness onto a USB stick or something…“

“Don’t underestimate Time Lord technology…“ Vastra mused, mulling over what they had learned. This was far worse than facing the Vashta Nerada. They had fallen another step behind in a race in which the goal posts seemed to keep moving.

“We need to find her.“ Jenny said, shaking her head to herself. If only they had been a little earlier, they could have prevented this.

“Who’s the Thirteen?“ Yaz looked around the room, hoping for an explanation. Was this another of the Doctor’s enemies she didn’t know about?

“Doesn’t mean anything to me either, I was hopeful you might have come across them?“ Vastra retorted with a frown as they exchanged confused glances. They had each assumed the other would have the answers but the alias was familiar to any of them.

“Oh no…“ Dorium mumbled, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Can you shed some light on this, Mr. Maldovar?“ Vastra asked, turning his box around to face them again.

“I’ve heard of a Time Lord that goes my numerical designations… The Nine, the Ten, the Eleven… depending on which regeneration he is on…“ He answered slowly. The reluctance in his voice gave them all pause.

“Stands to reason this is a new regeneration then?“ Yaz nodded, relieved that they weren’t completely in the dark after all.

“Why change the name though with every regeneration? Must be quite… disorienting, mustn’t it?“ Jenny asked.

“He is a very unique case…“ Dorium hummed thoughtfully.

“How so?“ Vastra could already tell she wouldn’t like the answer but she asked anyway.

“From what I have heard, he suffers from a strange affliction… called regenerative dissonance. While the Doctor and other Time Lords retain a sense of self and just change their appearance, he becomes a new person every time and when he regenerates, the other selfs are still present.“ Dorium revealed. He had never actually met them but he had heard enough stories to make sure he never would.

“Like a schizophrenic?“ Yaz asked, unsettled. That didn't sound like the kind of person they wanted to be dealing with.

“Anything else you can tell us, Mr. Maldovar?“ Vastra asked and Dorium gave a wary smile:

“He is a thief, a killer and utterly mad.“

——

The TARDIS

“Do you always leave the door open like that? Anyone could wander in.“ The Doctor found the Master leaning against the console as she reached the control room. Dark hair and beard, stout frame, he hadn’t regenerated, just looked a little worse for wear.

“Master…“ Her voice was barely above a whisper. All sorts of emotions boiled up in her: Disbelief at finding him alive. Worry for having him inside her TARDIS. Hate for all the things he had put her through.

“Hello, Doctor.“ He smirked pushing off the console to step closer. “Nice of you to finally show up.“

“How are you not dead?“ It was the most prominent question on the Doctor’s mind.

“Dying is for other people, dear.“ The Master laughed at how ridiculous that notion was.

“How did you survive the death particle?“ She pressed through gritted teeth as they started circling each other slowly. She was assessing her option for subduing him.

“Did you really think the Cyberium would let its host die?“ The Master’s grin was patronising, as if the answer had been obvious.

“Is it still inside you?“ The Doctor hadn’t even thought about the Cybermen AI that resided inside the Master. She had assumed it dealt with, just like the Master themselves but she should have known they wouldn’t be that easily destroyed.

“Nah… Fizzled out.“ He gave a dismissive wave with his hand. “The effort of creating a force field to protect me was a bit much… Plus, I expelled it and electrocuted it until it stopped moving. I was getting fed up of sharing my memory space.“ He snickered and the Doctor couldn't help but feel a little relieved; one thing she didn’t have to deal with at least.

“You’ve been here this entire time?“ She questioned.

“Where was I gonna go? I destroyed everything! No TARDISes, no space ships left… I did start fixing up a TARDIS but turns out your death particle wiped out the organic components in there as well. I’d have to grow a new one but where to start when every living thing has been destroyed!“ He started rambling in a maniacal sort of way, snapping with increasing anger.

“How long has it been?“ The Doctor asked, hoping he had at least suffered in the meantime. She wasn’t proud of it but after everything he had done to her, she felt he deserved it.

“Oh… a few years, blink of an eye. Ten, twenty? Not sure. Anyway, nice of you to turn up.“ He smirked and his eyes flickered to her reaching for something on the console. “Oh no, you don’t!“ He snapped and pointed the Doctor’s own sonic at her. That’s when she remembered leaving her coat; what a stupid thing to do. And to leave the door unlocked… “So why are you here, Doctor?“ He asked as she raised her hands appeasingly.

“To see if you’re still alive.“ She answered slowly.

“Well I am. What difference does it make to you?“ He snarled.

“And you haven’t left Gallifrey?“ She carried on, hoping to at least get her answers.

“I already told you, are you going soft in the head?“ He snapped.

The Doctor remained silent, unsure how to respond. Should she believe him? Did he have reason to lie? But why would he be back here if he had managed to escape in the meantime?

“And what’s this, Doctor?“ The Master demanded her attention again and held out another item he had found in the pocket of her coat: the green prayer leaf.

“Give that back.“ The Doctor exclaimed, quick to anger. She tried to snatch it off him but he pulled away, putting the sonic between them again.

“Oh, is it personal by any chance?“ He hummed, delighted.

“Give it here.“ The Doctor’s voice turned low and threatening. In her mind, she ran through the possibilities of what the Master could do with her sonic in here. There was so much sensitive technology, a blast at the wrong thing and they could either be thrown into the vortex or explode.

“A prayer leaf from the Gamma Forests if I’m not mistaken… traditional gift for a child… tell me, Doctor, are congratulations in order?“ The Master was quick on his feet as always.

“That’s none of your business.“ The Doctor bit back.

“I take that as a yes. But where is the little devil? And where is the wife?“ He asked feigning surprise. “I presume it is the Professor’s child, isn’t it? Not a little bastard born out of wedlock?“

“Hand that over.“ The Doctor demanded again, holding her hand out.

“No, I think I’ll keep it for the time being. Return it to the little one myself… Like Maleficent taking a gift to little Aurora. Why don’t we go see them.“ He suggested circling around towards the console but the Doctor didn’t move away, instead she stepped right up to him. “Come on, Doctor, I know how much you like your Disney movies. That was funny.“

“Where is he?“ She demanded to know, ignoring his giggling.

“Who?“ The Master frowned.

“My son!“ The Doctor practically yelled, losing her temper at last.

“Ohhh so he is missing? Let me guess, someone took him while you weren’t looking?“ The Master grinned and the Doctor couldn’t tell whether he was pretending not to know anything or if he really didn’t. “Was he getting ice cream across the street and a stranger snatching him away?“

“Don’t play dumb with me, Dorium saw you, you have something to do with this!“ The Doctor wasn’t thinking now. Anger and pain were overshadowing her rational thoughts.

“Dorium? Doesn’t ring a bell…“ The Master shrugged, unimpressed.

“You told him about the Timeless Child, that’s how this whole thing started!“ The Doctor yelled and gave him a shove.

“The Timeless Child? Why would I tell anyone about that dirty secret? Give you all that power? Elevate you? I don’t think so, that secret died with the Time Lords and it’ll die with you.“ The Master spat, suddenly furious as well. They were done doing their dance and playing games.

“You and me are the only people who know about it and I sure as hell haven’t told anyone!“ The Doctor snarled stepping into his personal space again. She wasn’t scared of him anymore. He had no power over her.

“Why would I tell anyone?“ The Master seemed genuinely disbelieving of her accusations. “I killed everyone that could possibly have known about it. And I’m gonna kill you, too.“ He jabbed his finger at her.

“You just try.“ The Doctor pressed through gritted teeth. “Where is my son?!“ She shoved him again and he stumbled backward.

“I haven’t got the faintest idea.“ The Master laughed and the Doctor could tell he was speaking the truth. It threw her for a moment, until a more horrifying idea occurred to her: What if she was just enabling this whole series of events to start? What if she was the reason the Master managed to get off Gallifrey? What if this was how he found out about her child, about Dorium, about the whole thing?

So, just to clarify, the Thirteen (well their previous regenerations), plays a huge part in the Eighth Doctor's audios but you really don't have to know them to (hopefully) follow this story. I fully intend to write it like he's a new character and weave all the information necessary into the plot as everyone else, the Paternoster Gang in particular, learn about him. Originally, I intended to just use Time Lord OCs but as I thought about it, I realised how pointless that would be seeing as there are so many interesting Time Lords in the extended canon. So, if anything is difficult to follow, please let me know! <3