"Broken"?

[scarfman]

Someone on my friendslist (I think I remember who, but I'm not certain; speak up if you wish to remind me), a week or three ago, wrote an entry about 20th century Doctor Who companion relationships, something that the Doctor (and the companions) valued tremendously, and that he had difficulty functioning without (despite claimed contrary preferences); and contrasting all that with the Doctor's inability to relate to his companions well enough in Season 2007 to keep them with him. In the comment discussion s/he stated that what s/he really resents is that Rose "broke" the Doctor's classic relationship with his companions. After mulling this over for some time I have to come out and disagree: it wasn't Rose who broke it, it goes back farther than that.

I've been arguing since last March at the latest (that's just the first time I said it in my own journal) (I think) that the dynamic of the Doctor's relationship with Rose was dictated by the fact that she was his first companion after the Time War when his planet and people were destroyed. Now, there are those who don't find the Doctor's reaction to that loss in character when, in all 20th century Doctor Who, he avoided his planet and people as desperately as he could. But there's a huge difference between not wishing to go home and not being able to go home. Consequently, at the time the Doctor met Rose, he was unwilling or unable to keep the distance from a companion that he had always maintained before. And everything that has happened since then in terms of the Doctor's relations with his companions is a logical chain of extrapolation from that. It was the Time War that broke his relationship with his companions.

Rose was as much a victim of this as Martha or Jack. The Doctor should have known better than to allow her to believe she'd be with him forever. It's part of his post-Time War complex that he didn't know better; perhaps he believed himself that it would be different this time. But it wasn't. And he'd not only allowed himself closer to Rose than he'd been to a companion before, but to her family, having lost his in the War. Losing all them at one blow was as bad as losing his family all over again, particularly since Daleks were involved. So, with Martha he was torn between his post-Time War need for companionship and his post-Rose pain, and sent all kinds of mixed messages, not necessarily realizing till he'd driven her away. Time will tell how post-Martha pain on top of all that will affect his relationship with Donna, but I bet you minutes to memories that it does.

And it seems obvious to me that Russell Davies did that on purpose, in order to affect the Doctor in a way that'd never been explored before. The consequences to the Doctor-companion relationship - that it's now a dynamic thing, evolving and deriving from what came before - is part of the Time War arc, and may be what Davies was most interested in exploring about the Time War arc when he conceived it. Or it may just be Davies recognized that today's tv drama audiences have expectations of more a complex relationship between series regulars than did audiences forty to twenty years ago, so he's giving it to them. Most likely it's an inextricable holism of both.

Whether this sort of realism in relationships is an issue that's appropriate for Doctor Who is a debate outside the scope of this post. My opinion of Rose having been put on a pedestal as the Doctor's 1 Tru Luv 4evar is on record. But, in-text or out-, if the Doctor is "broken" it's not Rose's doing.

Comments

[stoplookingup.livejournal.com]

I agree with all this, especially Rose was as much a victim of this as Martha or Jack. But I think whether one says that the Time War broke the Doctor/companion dynamic or Rose did is a function of whether you're talking in-text or out-of-text. What I mean by this is that the Time War and the destruction of Gallifrey is backstory created off-screen to set up the characters we meet in S1 (or whatever you want to call it). So as a plot point, absolutely, the Doctor's issues related to the destruction of Gallifrey and being the last remaining Time Lord leave him all emotionally needy and scared and whatnot, and his companion relationships reflect that. But in terms of the dramatic structure of the series with which we're actually presented, Rose is the first manifestation of all that; it's through her that that story is told. The backstory just serves to launch us into her relationship with the Doctor. So in a more out-of-text sense, looking at the dramatic structure of New Who (or whatever you want to call it), Rose is the companion who breaks the pattern.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

The thing that annoys me about the companion/Doctor relationships RTD has set up, in 21st Century Who, is that, twice in a row, now, he's paired the Doctor with human women who are as clingy to him as he is to them. With Rose, that was somewhat excusable, as she was already desperate for some kind of escape before the Doctor shows up.

But Martha was more mature, and living a more independant life. We'll have to see what happens with Donna, but giving us a similiar pattern with two (supposedly) very different characters, leads me to think that Davies wants us to believe that this kind of relationship is normal, and that everyone wants this kind of romance and pining, which, if you ask me is anything but "realism in relationships." It's not "real," but distorted and unhealthy.

[scarfman]

which, if you ask me is anything but "realism in relationships"

Point. Perhaps I'm sloppy to call mainstream tv audience expectations "realism", but that's how they would describe the difference.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Which is one reason RTD annoys me. Maybe his intentions and thought processes behind his writing really are sincere, but from my vantage point, it looks like he's pandering to mainstream audience expectations.

It's neither new nor 'cutting edge.' It's just more of the same thing that we get from every other tv drama that's airing right now, except with added funky aliens.

Rose didn't break the Doctor/Assistant relationship paradigm, Russel T. Davies did.

(and guns don't kill people, bullets do) ;-)

[nebbity.livejournal.com]

Oh, completely. I am a Rose/Doctor shipper, but I really believe that the Doctor would have clung to pretty much anyone at that point in his life. Rose was just lucky to be the first person he tripped over.

My proof would be Jabe, in The End of the World. There was obviously a relationship forming there, even though he already had Rose right beside him. He was reaching out and clinging to anything that he conceivably hold on to, not just Rose. And he continues to cling, as evidenced in (deep breath) Sarah Jane, Reinette, Donna, Martha, Joan, the Master, and Astrid.

The fundamental difference, I think, is that in the new series he invites people to come with him, even to the point of begging (Joan and, sort of, the Master.) I think a lot would have been different if Rose or Martha hadn't been invited but were forced upon him in some way, like nearly every old school companion. But he’s at a point where he can’t take the risk of not inviting them, in case they don’t come.

[dancesontrains.livejournal.com]

Very well said- yay for sane shippers \o/

[nina-ds.livejournal.com]

I really believe that the Doctor would have clung to pretty much anyone at that point in his life. Rose was just lucky to be the first person he tripped over...And he continues to cling, as evidenced in (deep breath) Sarah Jane, Reinette, Donna, Martha, Joan, the Master, and Astrid.

I agree with this, but I would extend the "clinging" - or rather, the reaching out for contact - back through Nine, not just Jabe, but in every single episode, there's at least one person he makes contact with, guides, changes, that you could see being a companion - Dickens; Gwyneth in the end; Harriet; Mickey - he does ask; Diana Goddard - the most tenuous, it's an episode focused elsewhere, and he gets lumbered with Adam; Cathica and Suki, Nancy and Jamie, Jack, Lynda... I'm always surprised when fanon declares that Nine was prickly and standoffish, when I see him making contact all the time. I think Ten's personality makes it more about him, rather than about the other person, so I guess it's more noticeable for some viewers.

[nebbity.livejournal.com]

Well, to a large extent, that's been a constant throughout the entire series, not just post Time War. He makes connections everywhere he goes, and always has. I was thinking specifically about people he explicitly asked to come with him.

I did forget about LyndawithaY though. There was some serious inviting going on there. And Jack is highly negotiable. The first time, Rose invited him along, and the second time (LoTTL) seemed more like the Doctor throwing Jack a treat because he piddled on the paper for the first time.

This is not to say that he didn't enjoy Jack's company or love Jack any less than any of his other friends, but I see Jack as more of an Old School style character; an assistant, rather than a companion.

[nina-ds.livejournal.com]

He makes connections everywhere he goes, and always has.

I agree and disagree. Nine, to me, was a surprisingly engaged Doctor. Yes, he was damaged and tended to be prickly to protect the wounds, but the desire to make contact seemed particularly strong. In fact, I feel his connection with those characters mentioned above more than I feel Ten's connection with those he asks along, or more than most one-off characters in the past. Nine asked Mickey, too - for Rose, but he was thinking about someone else's needs above his. I know it's supposed to be desperation, but Ten always seems to be most concerned about himself. I don't even think he's mourning Rose, or Rose-as-symbol-of-Gallifrey, as much as he's mourning someone who'll tell him he's wonderful, but that's at least partially an acting thing. I do see narratively how it's the Time War that makes the difference, but I feel like they've gone way too far in wallowing, perhaps because emo is fashionable.

The second time (LoTTL) seemed more like the Doctor throwing Jack a treat because he piddled on the paper for the first time.

And that would be a great example of why I was so glad both Jack and Martha left him at the end of S3.

[finmagik.livejournal.com]

I like your theory that the Time-war broke the Doctor.

[ladysarahii.livejournal.com]

I agree with you completely. And I think the episode "Dalek" explores that fact. The idea that he would brutally murder the Dalek because he was the enemy but he needed Rose to stop him goes under that category. He's certainly messed up. And I thought CE played the scene where he asks Rose to come with him in the first place beautifully-- keeping the smile on his face, but you can tell he's disappointed. And yes, he clung to Rose and fell in love with her or whatever, but if it had been Martha, it could have been her as well. He needed a companion, and it didn't matter who.

And I always chalked up Ten's manic behavior to pretending that everything's okay despite the Time War, as opposed to uneven writing. ;)

And asking the Master to come with despite hating him speaks to that as well. I mean, he spent three episodes absolutely despising his guts and then told him to come on board. I saw that as "You are my last link to Gallifrey, don't you go anywhere, young man."

So, to sum up my inane rambling, I just wanted to say I agree with you. :)

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

Here via who_daily...

...and going off on a slight tangent, it's only recently that it struck me that some people were thinking the Doctor's mourning for Gallifrey was out of character. The first Doctor occasionally expressed the wish to go home, and although the backstory the first few production teams envisaged for the Doctor was different to that which was revealed in The War Games, the Doctor as refugee from a galactic war is a possible inspiration for Russell's Time War concept. The Time War also seems to be inspired by throwaway references to Time Lord/Dalek tensions from Genesis of the Daleks onwards. By Remembrance of the Daleks the Doctor seems to have come to terms with his constitutional status as president-elect of the Time Lords; and it may be in this position, or at least as an ex-president (with respect to NA readers), that he undertakes the mission to Skaro at the start of the TVM. So there's already on-screen evidence for a trajectory of reconciliation, with the Time Lords regarding the Doctor as an independent diplomat of high status, and the Doctor representing his home world in certain circumstances. There is no doubt in my mind that he would mourn Gallifrey after its passing, independently of all this - the fall of Arcadia, indeed.

[sensiblecat.livejournal.com]

The analysis works for me, but the real question is there any hope for him? Is he doomed to cling to people and lose them for ever, which is already getting to be an old formula, or do you think he can find lasting happiness - not necessarily with any specific partner?

What will frustrate me, I think, would be if we go into a post-RTD era without exploring those issues a bit. They're interesting, though Tennant possibly overworks them somewhat, and I don't just want a reset button and an unexplained return to the Classic Who dynamic.

I would enjoy a more varied selection of companions, though, including more than one at a time.

[nostalgia-lj.livejournal.com]

The only thing I'd disagree is him being "closer" to Rose than the others, because even taking the view that she's the only one getting romantic attention that doesn't equal closeness beyond that. He's very close to a lot of them, and Martha gets as much (more?) honesty and trust and faith. It's Jack and Mickey (the men in general?) who get held at a distance, for all that Martha never got... whatever it was she wanted, because she pretty much got what Rose got in terms of actual romantic attention.

[scarfman]

for all that Martha never got... whatever it was she wanted, because she pretty much got what Rose got in terms of actual romantic attention.

Now there's an interesting argument: that Rose and Martha were basically treated the same, but Rose was satisfied with it and Martha wasn't. Hm.

[nostalgia-lj.livejournal.com]

I reckon if Martha had ever actually seen that Rose just got hugs and grins she'd have been less jealous.

[notfromvenus.livejournal.com]

Mmmm... I see what you're saying, but I don't think Rose broke the mold. And that's not just because I think there was more emotional complexity and closeness between the Doctor and his companions in the old series than we saw on TV (which IMO was part of what School Reunion was saying). I think the mold was really broken by Sam Jones. We've seen a number of companions between then and now that the Doctor's been very close to. And I don't think it really matters whether the books and audios are canon or not.... regardless, Who writers took the Doctor/companion dynamic in a new direction over ten years ago. I'd argue Fitz or Evelyn were just as close to and codependent with the Doctor as Rose was, even if there wasn't as much of an implied romantic relationship.

[scarfman]

That would explain a great deal.