#no other character I will always be down to write more than rory!master. sadly but also lovingly.

[canisonicscrewyou]

Wearing a big t shirt with text that says “Ask Me about my 10-year-running hyper-specific mildly-to-intensely-convoluted blorbo AU” and a big caution symbol underneath it

[lovethefangirls]

How Doctor Who FAILED the Impossible Girl

SPOILERS!!!!!

Clara Oswald, the Impossible Girl, her other alias's include

- Oswin Oswald Jr. Entertainer on the Starship Alaska (Season 7 Episode 1, "the Dalek Asylum", Matt Smith Era)

- Clara Oswin Oswald (Season 7 Episode 6, 2012 Christmas Special "the Snowmen", Matt Smith Era)

- The Woman Twice Dead (Season 7 Episode 7, "the Bells of Saint John", Matt Smith Era)

- Doctor Clara Oswald (Season 8 Episode 9, "Flatline", Peter Capaldi Era)

I'm not sure if this is true but she is suspected to be Charlotte (Cal) Lux from Season 4 Episode 8 "the Library" and Episode 9 "Forest of the Dead" David Tennet Era.

Clara has been known as many things throughout her time as a companion, however she is just mostly known as the Impossible Girl.

Don't get me wrong I loved Clara for the most part. There is no doubt in my mind she was one of the more popular companions since Rose Tyler. She certainly held a place in the hearts of the Doctor and the Doctor Who Community that is comparable to Rose and River.

In Clara's first season it was clear that she would be a companion no one would forget anytime soon (Except the Doctor).

Clara's character was full of mystery since her first appearance in Dalek Asylum. There were many theories surrounding her, multiple of them linking her to Rose Tyler or "Bad Wolf".

Later on in the season it is revealed that she went back into the Doctors Timestream to prevent the Great Intelligence from killing the Doctor over and over again. As a result of this she split into millions of versions of her; "Echos" of herself.

If we count her Echos she has known the Doctor for almost as long as the Master.

Clara was a force to be reckoned with, even after Matt Smith's departure as the Doctor and Peter Capaldi's introduction Clara was still a force to be reckoned with. Clara grounded the Doctor and the Doctor lightened up Clara.

Then Clara met Danny Pink.

This is where her downfall as a character began.

Don't get me wrong I think Danny Pink could've been a great character. He certainly had the potential to be one and I'm not saying he was a bad character. His writing is what prevented him from being a better character.

Danny pointed out hard truths about the Doctor, the fact that the Doctor could act like an Officer in the Military and give orders like one and how he sort of made Clara a soldier in that regard.

I wasn't expecting another Amy and Rory Pond but I wasn't expecting what Danny and Clara were either.

In fairness to Danny, Clara put off telling Danny the truth about the Doctor until she couldn't didn't help.

However, Danny didn't help matters when he gave an ultimatum.

In Addition, the Doctor was condecending to Danny wasn't helping either.

In the end their relationship turned into one of constant lying and hiding on Clara's part. She didn't want to stop travelling with the Doctor and instead of confronting Danny and telling him she kept it hidden. So that way she can stay with him.

I've been witness to toxic relationships all of my life (been in one myself) and sadly this is what Clara and Danny's relationship had become...toxic.

After the events of Danny's death and the toll it took on her, her becoming more and more reckless and loosing her grounding and just becoming another Doctor. It hurt me to see her character become like this.

Before any of you say it was "love" and "grief" that drove her to be increasingly reckless and borderline suicidal I want to paint a picture for you.

Clara was her own character, she was quick witted and funny and she was a perfect companion. But beyond that, let's look at who she is without the doctor and before danny. Clara Oswald had a family, she had a support system. she had her grandmother, her father. She had her students, she had family and friends outside of the Doctor a whole other life that she cared for. If she didn't she would've been like Rose. completely abandoning her life from before the Doctor. However, Clara cared about her family and her life outside the Doctor.

So you mean to tell me that this woman in her grief over a (what I'm going to assume) 1 year relationship. All because she was convinced that she was going to spend her life with him and have a family by some dude who looked like him and vaguely said they were related?

It doesn't make sense.

So this character completely changed (and I was expecting her to but not this extreme since I know grief can change a person or a loss like that) because she just couldn't bare to live without Danny Pink and assumed that there was no future for her anymore with him so what was the point.

She died because she made a stupid mistake that didn't make sense in the first place for her to do that.

and in the end she outgrows the Doctor and flies around in a TARDIS of her own.

I'm actually not mad at her ending but what occured in the middle and how a strong character like her was brought down because she "just couldn't live without him" insults me.

It insults me whenever this happens to any character no matter gender or race or sexual identitiy.

This is NOT TRAGIC ROMANCE. it's just a tragedy.

there is more to life than one person.

there is more to life than what the writers did to Clara.

yes grief and depression and anger and heartbreak and all of those negative emotions change a person forever, and not always for the better.

but there is so much more to life than just that.

Doctor Who's big message was that life was so much more than just the horrible stuff we always get stuck in, yes horrible stuff happens and nothing can change that and it always feels like the end of the world

but there is so much more.

there's family and friends that you love and hold dear.

there's that show you always wanted to watch but never had the time.

there are sunrises and sunsets and rainy days and snow days.

there are stars and the moon.

there is music and art that you've never seen before

there are beautiful places you've never been before

all of these activities that you've never tried before.

that's the message they shouldve tried to write for her

[whos-satan-now]

My Problem With S11&12 So Far

Okay so I don't write on here much but my parents are sick of hearing me rant and my best friend is yet to watch the latest episodes (Get to it Tia) so here I am. 

UNPOPULAR OPINION ALERT (You might not like what I have to say - Please please convince me otherwise RESPECTFULLY in the comments or in dms) 

Okay, so my problem with Jodie Whittaker's stint as the doctor so far is layered and mostly uninvolved with Jodie herself. Personally, I think that when the opportunity arises Jodie can act and do so well - she just doesn't get the chance within this particular script. If you ask me, her doctor would (sadly) go down as the most unmemorable new who doctor if not for the fact that she was the first female to take the role. 

Now as I said I don't think that this is majorly her fault. The script restricts this doctor to largely a functionality role to the plot. Any emotion she displays is largely carried by dialogue and much of her own thoughts, feelings and reasons for what she does what she does is overlooked as an expected knowledge of doctor who. She has not been developed as separate from the past doctors almost at all and unfortunately, it shows. Horrifyingly it has made me not care about her that much nor feel the wonder that I feel around other doctors. 

Now I’m not saying its all bad, I loved her in Skyfall part 1, it was the first time that I have really started to feel any connection to her especially with the masters reveal. But it came with a cost as I was so disappointed with the New Years Special. Her reaction to the Dalek was almost non-existent. She showed almost no emotion other than straight-up saying that she was afraid of it before promptly forgetting about even that. Dalek episodes have always been used (especially in New Who after the destruction of Gallifrey) as an opportunity to challenge the doctor and their morality. They terrify the doctor not because of the damage they could inflict but because they are a reflection on the doctor at his/her worst. My point is that this episode was a clear opportunity to establish the doctor as her own. To challenge her and for her to overcome or not. This was just blatantly not the case in this episode and left me bored and unfulfilled. 

Now I don't think that my disconnect to s11 & 12 is on the doctor alone, it has to do with the companions. Now in vague terms, I like all the companions. I do. I have no major personality issues with them they seem like the kind of people I would want to get to know some more. But that's the issue in itself. I don't know these characters hardly at all and its been a season already. In the 12 episodes that I have watched of them, I feel almost zero connection to them or the doctor. When compared to Donna Nobel who was in for 14 episodes but remains one of my favourite (if not my favourite) companion of all time. 

However once again I don’t think its the actor's fault, I think it was simply doomed from the start. That many new characters in the TARDIS and a new doctor all at the same time means that none of the characters has the opportunity to be developed to the point they need to be. Yas has absolutely no character in most of the episodes past squeezed in functionality which I am always disappointed with. The only character who I feel at all connected to is Graham because he gets all the best lines and because of his relationship with Ryan (which is the only relationship that has been built on at all but I'll get to that). Graham has at least some of his own personality and struggle. While I also sympathise to a degree with Ryan because of his struggles his character is still majorly shafted for most of the show so I never get to see any significant personality or character development more than his relationship with Graham. And even then it is reduced to only a few scenes. 

Overall the relationships between the characters feel almost non-existant, once again because of the number of main characters (and also because of the largely plot focused episodes but I won't get into that right now). They have been travelling together for quite some time now but the doctor still feels like their leader with them following behind like little puppy dogs. They never challenge her or feel like her equal like my favourite characters always did. Because in the past while the characters always knew less than the doctor, they kept him human and challenged him when he stepped out of line (one of my favourite examples of this probably being ‘the beast below’ because say what you will about 11 and Amy but that episode was the perfect way to set up her character and the doctors relationship past imaginary friend) but now they just function as more plot points to follow the doctor around until eventually the problem is solved. You never really get to see them solving anything without the doctor because they are very rarely alone or need to problem solve at all. 

Further, the relationships between the characters have been completely forfeited. Yas seems to have very little connection to any of them in the TARDIS except for occasionally the Doctor, Graham and Ryan are always focused on each other and the doctor is focused on the plot. It's sad but every time an episode ends and a new one begins it feels like just that. I never get the feeling that there are shared offscreen developments or experiences, they simply stop until they get a message for another issue for them to solve. The relationships, therefore, are entirely undeveloped on and off-screen and thus the season is missing what interested me about Doctor who in the first place. 

The fix to this issue was a simple one which is sadly too late to do so.  This was to simply have patience. Introduce the characters slowly, or even all at the one time but maybe Ryan and Graham need a little time after Grace’s death before they decided to go with the doctor so that Yas and the doctor got the chance to be established as characters and develop a relationship before Ryan and Graham are added back into the mix. This is something that was done brilliantly by 9, 10 and early 11. 9 with rose, then jack. 10 with stolen earth/ journeys end (for all its major plot floors) still being one of my favourite episodes simply because I loved to see all these characters meet and get along. And by the patience of slowly introducing River and Rory after Amy. Honestly, I think the solution to this problem might simply to be to leave a few characters at home or even have a solo doctor episode to establish the characters separate from each other and then focus on building the relationships between them. Just whatever they do needs to be done fast before I lose one of my favourite series.

Finally, Chris Chibnall and the writers are the ones I think who are to blame for my lack of love for the latest seasons. I was hoping so so much that I would love it and I hope that Skyfall is a gateway onto greener pastures but unfortunately at the moment, the fact remains that there is a blatant lack of character and development with these characters in season 11 and 12 so far and I really hope that they can move past that. 

[the-desolated-quill]

The Rebel Flesh - Doctor Who blog

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

Any episode was bound to pale in comparison to The Doctor’s Wife, but for God sake, they could have at least TRIED to give us something entertaining to watch.

The Rebel Flesh is the first of a two parter written by Matthew Graham. Does that name sound familiar to you? Not surprised. He wrote a Doctor Who episode a while back called Fear Her. You know, the one about the girl and the drawings? Yeah, that cliched pile of rubbish. (He also wrote Life On Mars, which is apparently very good. Just thought I’d mention that before someone bites my head off about it). Well he’s back now to write another script, and it’s just as rubbish as Fear Her, so points for consistency I guess.

The Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive at an acid factory where the workers use something called the Flesh to create controllable doppelgängers of themselves to work with the corrosive substances. Things go tits up when the factory gets hit by a solar tsunami and the doppelgängers (or Gangers, as they’re quickly dubbed) develop the capacity for independent thought, thinking they’re the original.

Matthew Graham apparently took a lot of influence from the James Cameron movie Avatar, but really this has more in common with Frankenstein. An artificial life form arguing about its existential right to exist. It’s an idea that’s been done to death by this point, but it’s possible to find new creative directions to go with it. At the very least it should be executed well enough so that the story is still enjoyable to watch despite its lack of originality.

The Rebel Flesh fails on both counts.

The first major problem is with characterisation. In order to care for the workers and the Gangers, you really have to put the effort into making them three dimensional characters and make us care about their predicament. Graham doesn’t. The workers are all bland and utterly lifeless. Most of them have no distinguishing character traits whatsoever. I certainly couldn’t tell you their names. One has a kid. Another has a cold. Another I assume is the joker of the group, but he never actually says anything remotely funny. The only characters whose names I could remember were Cleaves and Jennifer, but it wasn’t because they were likeable or well developed. 

Cleaves is an arrogant super-bitch who does stupid things for the purposes of plot convenience. Despite knowing that the Doctor comes from the meteorological office (I mean we know he doesn’t, but she doesn’t), she refuses to listen to the Doctor’s warnings about the solar tsunami, which leads to this mess in the first place. Then later she attacks the Gangers with a cattle prod despite there being no provocation whatsoever. She’s got no reason to think the Gangers are dangerous. She certainly has no reason to resort to such extreme actions. And yet here we are. She’s just thoroughly unlikeable as far as I’m concerned.

Jennifer, on the other hand, basically becomes the spokesperson for the Gangers whose main purpose is to convince us how human they are. The trouble is none of it is remotely convincing. Her sappy speech about her red wellies and her birthdays was just utter crap. There’s no effort to actually have us make an emotional connection with her or to develop her character. She’s just saying a bunch of cutesy, nice stuff to make the Gangers look all sweet and innocent and shit.

Which leads me to the second problem. The cliches. There’s not a single original thought or idea in this. It could have been possible to create a genuinely affecting drama about these clones trying to make sense of their new independent lives and debating with their original counterparts their right to life, but that would require a level of depth and complexity that Graham doesn't seem to be capable of. The whole red wellies speech was bad enough, but we also get shit like ‘you used my name,’ ‘us and them,’ and ‘I’m not a monster.’ This is about as cliched as it gets.

It also doesn’t help that the characters only ever seem to operate in extremes. They’re either peaceful little bunny rabbits or bloodthirsty psychopaths. There’s no in-between. No moral complexity. They’re either good or evil, to the point where they constantly flip flop between the two extremes. There’s a scene where the Doctor talks about how the Gangers are just frightened and are trying to make sense of their new lives, and then seconds later we see the Gangers hoarding the acid suits and gloating about how they have advantage and can strike at will. This isn’t light and shade. It’s just utterly random.

The Rebel Flesh really isn’t a very good episode. is there anything I liked about this. Well I did like the Doctor’s enigmatic behaviour. Clearly he knows more about the Flesh than he’s letting on and it reminded me a bit of Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor, who was often kind and warm hearted, but was also a master manipulator who was always five steps ahead of everyone else. 

I also liked Rory’s attempts to bond with Jennifer, but that’s more down to Arthur Darvill than the writing. There’s a missed opportunity to address what happened to Rory in the previous series. Maybe the reason he feels more empathetic towards the Gangers is because he spent 2000 years as a plastic Roman, and he could have brought his own experiences to the discussion. Sadly that’s not the case. But nonetheless, it’s good to see Rory get out from underneath Amy’s thumb.

Apart from that, I was just mostly bored by The Rebel Flesh. They try to inject some shock and excitement at the end with the Ganger Doctor, but come on. It’s an episode about clones. Did you really think they wouldn’t make a clone Doctor?

Normally when I review two parters, I usually end my review of the first part with something like ‘can’t wait for Part 2,’ or ‘maybe things will get better in the next episode,’ but here it would just be pointless. Matthew Graham has already shot himself in the foot with cliches and rubbish characterisation. There’s no way he can possibly claw his way back from this, and do you know what? I was right. He doesn’t...