Death comes to Time?

[scarfman]

For some time I've been speculating in this space about what I call the lonely god character arc in Russell Davies Doctor Who; that the Doctor's behavior since his regeneration in 2005 - pining for the Lords, and treating this companion like an angel and that one poorly - is reflective of a story arc planned to last for as long as David Tennant plays the part. I'm not the only one who's independently noting that the Doctor's indulged in some less-than-role-modelish behaviors and hoping that there's a resolution coming.

On one or more of my Doctor Who LJ communities it's being linked to news that Elizabeth Sladen, who played Sarah Jane Smith with Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker in the 70s and in one episode with Tennant in 2006, is coming back for near the end of Season 2008. All Tennant's companions are shooting reappearances for late in the new season. Even the season's new companion is a reappearance, because she was in the 2006 Christmas special.

People are speculating that the companion reappearances are building up to the annual season finale climax, and that that climax is one of them is going to die.* And I think that's exactly what would happen if what I call the lonely god arc is in fact planned.** The good news is, a companion death is precisely what it would take to snap the Doctor out of his funk so he'd take a needed look at himself. The bad news is, we're going to go another season before the turnaround.

* One of them who doesn't currently head up a spinoff.
** Edit On more thought, I supposed it could have evolved the same way without being planned.

Comments

[daisyrainwater.livejournal.com]

The good news is, a companion death is precisely what it would take to snap the Doctor out of his funk so he'd take a needed look at himself.

I don't know about this. Six didn't do much reflecting when he thought Peri was dead. Even regeneration didn't help much because Seven seemed hell bent on making the Valeyard a reality. (At least I think so.)

[scarfman]

Six didn't do much reflecting when he thought Peri was dead.

But we're not talking about JNT Who now. We're talking about RTD Who.

[leoff.livejournal.com]

Six didn't do much reflecting on Peri's "death." Five did a whole 2 episodes on Adric's. And none of the first 7 Doctors ever had any meaningful reflection on companions that they've been separated from. A show or two later and all is good?

Like Scarfman says, it's a new show. RTD is all about the over-emotion.

[trinalin.livejournal.com]

In my happy little mind, the season finale will end with each of his former companions, Rose, Martha, Sarah Jane, the Brigadier all slapping the Doctor. ;-)

[friedbrain.livejournal.com]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes, that would be just lovely. Question is, is this before or after Rose and Martha's cat fight?

[kensieg.livejournal.com]

The Brigadier was which Doctor's Companion?

[goatsfoot.livejournal.com]

Yes please, all of them slapping him in turn :D

I hope there is some more character development of Ten that does involve some of his more gittish behaviour catching up with him. He's too much like the model typical male bastard for me to be comfortable with him getting away with it all. (I mean, I love Ten, but I'm disturbed by his apparent deification by Davies and I hope there's a twist to that eventually.)

[purplemonster77.livejournal.com]

If there's going to be a non-spinoff companion death ... that must mean you think Donna, Martha or Rose is going to die. Who do you think is most likely to kick both the bucket and the Doctor's backside?

[kensieg.livejournal.com]

can't be Martha she's Torchwood this season

[scarfman]

I dunno. Which one would make for the best story?

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

Donna. Catherine Tate's already said she's only doing this one season, and I don't think the writers would have the same concerns about her being an identification figure for the kids in the audience as Rose and Martha.

[ide-cyan.livejournal.com]

So it'd take a woman's death to advance the Doctor's emotional growth. How progressive. Yuck.

[kensieg.livejournal.com]

Things don't have to be progressive every time. Also if Jack didn't have his own show he might be the dying companion. The doctor thought Jack had died at the Game station and it didn't knock the Doctor out of his funk.

How would you write the arc if you were RTD?

[scarfman]

Yeah. But does that make it something RTD wouldn't do?

[surrexi.livejournal.com]

I dunno. I mean, when Adric died, Five felt bad for a couple minutes and then he was all "It's okay, it's what he wanted." (um, NOT REALLY. *sniffles*) and there was practically no emotional fallout.

Of course, one of the things I like about the new series when compared to the classic series (which, don't get me wrong, I love as well) is that the new series deals with emotional fallout... I'd say better, but it's really that it deals with the fallout at all, whereas the classic series just... didn't, really.

One of the main reasons why I am so excited for Donna to travel with the Doctor is that I think she just will not tolerate the level of mopeyness and angsting that Martha let the Doctor get away with. I think her presence and her attitude are going to make a lot of progress towards forcing the Doctor to take a good hard look at himself.

[scarfman]

when Adric died, ... there was practically no emotional fallout

Illusions of Adric were used against Nyssa and Tegan by the Master in Timeflight, and against the Doctor by his own subconscious in Caves of Androzani. As non-RTD Who goes, that's sobbing at the headstone. Besides, while the Doctor has never been entirely forthcoming at expressing his deepest feelings, Doctor Five was almost as downright paranoid about it as Doctor Ten is.

the new series deals with emotional fallout

We oughtn't say "old series" and "new series" just yet. We ought to say "old series" and "Davies series".

Donna ... just will not tolerate the level of mopeyness and angsting

That was my initial reaction to the casting announcement too. Though I think the general enthusiastic anticipation of slapping among those who like the casting is getting out of hand.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

I don't buy it, for two reasons.

(1) For all Russell Davies' love of shock, I just don't see him doing something so wasteful as killing off a Companion for a series finale. (As for Davies himself, his emphasis on dark and depressing stories annoys me, but he's much, MUCH better than John Nathan-Turner.)

(2) For me at least one of the keynotes of 10 is his narcissism. I don't think that feature of him- the "poor me, wonderful me, oh are you still here?" side- is going away until the next regeneration, no matter what Companions come or go, live or die.

[scarfman]

1. It isn't a waste if the character already was never going to appear again.
2. I did say "for as long as David Tennant plays the part."

[the-10thdoctor.livejournal.com]

Rose please

*runs*

[garpu.livejournal.com]

I dunno, but given some of the other spoilers I'm hearing about that story, I'm wondering if there isn't a regeneration in the works.

[scarfman]

I doubt that, because Tennant has reportedly signed for the truncated Season 2009.

[(Anonymous)]

I heard Donna gets run over by a van. But its more in depth than that.

[marcella-riddle.livejournal.com]

And Rose comes to her aid.

[sensiblecat.livejournal.com]

I think they'll stop short of companion death - people do identify with the companion figure and they're aware of the number of children watching, some as young as five and six.

I think it can be even more powerful when his companions dump him. As in S3. What does bug me is that he's learnt so little from Jack and Martha's defection, if his behaviour in VOTD is anything to go by. Astrid was very generic and implied that companions are pretty replaceable.

[stoplookingup.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking companion death, too. Only sometimes I think it's just because I'm being like the six year old going, "I'm gonna eat worms 'n die, 'n then you'll be sorry!" Cuz I get so mad at Ten sometimes....

[notfromvenus.livejournal.com]

Maybe. Part of me wants to say "no, everybody leaves him", except we've already got that ending for S3.

[gwynevere1.livejournal.com]

Hi. Here from who_daily. I kind of hope you are wrong about the companion death, not because it wouldn't make sense, but because I don't want to die by being drowned in a sea of wank. Going with your logic that it can't be Jack or Sarah Jane, that leaves:

Donna, resulting in massive amounts of wank about how Rusty killed the middle-aged lady and, therefore, hates anyone over the age of 30;
Martha, resulting in massive amounts of wank about how Rusty doesn't care about black people;
Rose, resulting in an angry mob of shippers, including my mother (who would need to hop on a plane), marching on Rusty's Cardiff home with pitchforks, torches, and chainsaws, calling for his blood.

I'm more inclined to think that Rose will make the decision/sacrifice to return to Pete's World and seal up the walls between the dimensions again, without asking the Doctor's paternalistic permission first, somewhat like Astrid in VotD.

[taleya.livejournal.com]

Grossly OT, but pining for the Lords really does need to go on a python-esque icon :D

[taleya.livejournal.com]

I'm of two minds of this. Whereas I'd like to see a change in character, I doubt it would happen - We're stuck firmly in RTD's vision of a manic, somewhat crazed Doctor. He's taken the worst elements of TBaker's portrayal and run them straight up the wall.

Also given several distasteful comments RTD himself has made about "Driving those online fans mad" I'm 90% of the mind that he's quite happily content with making the Doctor an absolute twat.

If we do get a Companion death, it's highly unlikely that we'll see any modification of behaviour. Even Astrid, coming hard on the heels of the 'death' of the Master resulted in a short moment of Dark!tenth, then back to errant frippery. I'm afraid they're not really lending themselves to any sort of useful introspection - it's either dumped aside come the next episode, or dragged out to the extent where pathos becomes panto (see: Rose Emo)

[scarfman]

it's highly unlikely that we'll see any modification of behaviour

The reason I usually attribute the lonely god character arc (if it exists) to both Davies and Tennant is probably because I don't believe Davies' peccadilloes will get reined in unless he's got a collaborator on the project. Now that I say it out loud, I'm sure I believe it.