dangermousie | Doctoring the Doctor...

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Doctoring the Doctor...

Mr. Mousie's view of Martha:

"She is annoying."

Heh.

Two eps in, I was neutral on Martha, with a mild like. If it keeps going like ep 3, I'll end up disliking her. Seriously. Mainly because there is no dramatic tension. Though more likely because she just doesn't have a strong presence. Tennant is kinda a crazy whirlwind, and she can't keep up.

Oh well.

The third episode of Doctor Who was rough in general. Seriously. BORING. Except for the stuff about Gallifrey in the beginning, and stuff with face of Boe at the very end, I was bored bored BORED. Were the writers on vacation that day?

I really find it interesting that the Doctor is completely shut down with Martha. She has to drag anything personal out of him with plyers. He keeps deflecting. Probably because he got burned getting close and personal before. I wish I could sympathize with her, but I don't get a strong sense of anything out of her. Also, if her biggest problem is that a cute guy she recently met and might like isn't sharing his deep dark secrets with her? Welcome to the human race.

And ohhhh, the bit when she is all 'did the face of Boe mean you are not alone because you have me?' and he is all flatly 'no.' Heh. She keeps flirting and it's not taking. Clearly the Doctor is not the only one not really familiar with the term 'rebound.'

But seriously. I know we can't have Rose back. Fine. But either give Martha some interesting personality or I am going to spend this season waiting for Donna next season. Or a Jack appearance. Or the Master. Whoever. Someone to bounce of Tennant, at least.

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I think I read that the character of Martha simply didn't take at all, probably for what you've listed off(though, I don't follow doctor who that much, so I could be wrong)

That makes sense. I mean, Mr. Mousie is not a shipper in the least (he is an old school Who fan :P) and he is bored with Martha and liked Rose around. So...

Sounds like a few others on my f-list who aren't remotely inclined to ship...well...anything.

....yeah. I'm gonna have to stop reading your Who reviews. No offense.

Nah, that's fine. I don't read reviews where the reviewer doesn't like characters I do.

I don't think I can handle people not liking Martha either!

That makes sense. This is how I feel about John and Aeryn in Farscape or anyone in Firefly or Lee or Kara on BSG...

I can tell that you're trying to draw me in to Farscape, and it's working!

I don't have much free time on my hands now uni has started, recommend me a few good episodes so I can decide whether I have the time to invest?

(Also, I saw Rang de Basanti last night. I think I might like it better than Fanaa.)

RdB is a better movie than Fanaa (even if emotionally I am more attached to the latter). But I bawled and bawled in the theater restroom at the end.

Hmmmm, Farscape. Try 'Human Reaction' and then 'Nerve/Hidden Memory' from Season 1. If you want to be spoilered, for later on, I can recommend eps in later seasons, too.

I know some things from general osmosis, but I've forgottten most of the big spoilers, so I think I'll stick with Season One for now.

It's quite daunting to think how many hours of my life I could spend watching this show. If only all tv shows came in little bite-sized chunks. Like Firefly.

But I would end up having a heart attack from being upset about all the cancellations :P

I'd be upset for about a week and then move on to my new obsession. But I suppose I should consider the pain of people with longer attention spans.

The first half of series 3 was pretty "meh" in general. It (and Martha's character) really picks up with "Human Nature" (episode 8). The unrequited love dynamic (as opposed to the possibly requited, but really angsty love dynamic) plays out pretty well over the series. If at the end, you still don't like Martha, well, that's fair, but give her a shot until then. She improves, I swear!

Oh, I plan to watch the rest of S3 anyway.

I'll see if I get to like her.

I don't hate her or anything, but she doesn't grab me at all. My main impression is 'she is very pretty.' But not colorful or with a lot of issues. If she develops either of those things, I'll like her better.

My partner had pretty much the same view of Martha, though I liked her from the start. However, I did think that the weakest element of her character was her crush on the doctor and I am not honestly sure that they really worked out what to do with her in that regard except have her mope about it. But she does a lot in the mid season and she is great in the end. Though that moping about the crush never goes away.

I don't even mind her moping about the crush, but I want her to have some other characteristics. Actually, anything that stands out.

Mr. Mousie's view is that the only good companions are the ones who are colorful with issues or stupid because it makes for fun. I haven't seen enough of all of Dr Who to comment, but I do think my biggest problem with Martha is that she is well-adjusted, well-behaved. There is just not much to grab on there.

I mean, if a crush is her biggest problem? Outside of someone like De Stael's 'Corinne,' it's hardly an intensely-serious-sympathetic feeling which leads the sufferer to keel over.

She does get some more serious stuff to deal with later - some quite horrid stuff, really. And that makes her (I think) an awful lot more interesting.

After watching the first third or so of the S3 last night (yup, I'm accidentally in your exact schedule with DW now), I'm still not sure about Martha, either. But then again, I just about got used to Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, because I just loved Eccleston's Nine and it was so hard to "let go". So I'm more than willing to give Martha a chance. It took me a whole season to really be convinced by Tennant... (He got to me alright in the end, heh.)

But I do have to say I wasn't impressed by Martha's ignorance in the Shakespeare Code. She didn't know Shakespeare had a son called Hamnet? Well, duh... But the Harry Potter references were funny, I love the idea of the Doctor reading the seventh book ahead of time and crying. :) Awww.

I got used to Tennant as the Doctor (after loving Eccleston to bits) in about ten minutes. No idea why.

Re: ignorance. That was sort of an annoying McGuffin. I'd buy that barely-educated Rose wouldn't know, but Martha? Who graduated from the University? In Britain? Come on.

Doctor crying at Harry Potter is definitely FTW :P

I think that Martha gave him a nice emotional respite after all the intensity of his relationship with Rose. He kept treating her like a mate, which did add to her sighs/moans/longing looks. I did like the two-parter "Blood Family." I loved that he had to commit a murder of his human self (I don't think it was a suicide, because as a human he resisted until the very end, for a few seconds I was in doubt that he would actually decide to return to being a doctor). It also showed that Time Lords can be ruthless and horrifying in their mercy. Seen through the eyes of someone unfamiliar with his circumstances, his actions can be seen as morally ambiguous. Overall, it set the stage nicely for the season finale.

I'll wait until I get there then.

I think I am also missing the sense of fun this was with Rose (for Rose). It's sort of like a backpacker trip writ large. I mean, I can't see Martha doing the whole baiting of Queen Victoria with 'we are not amused.' It would strike her as puerile. It is puerile. But I loved it as an interaction/character/dynamic thing.

I didn't watch the Xmas special, so I still have to meet Donna. I am just mildly irritated with the idea of her being the next companion. I like my characters to stick around a bit longer than one measly season, no matter how irritating they are (plus, I find Martha bland, but a nice foil for Doctor), they grow on me by the season finale. Now I will have to watch another relationship to unfold into nowhere.

Martha is what caused me to finally like Ten. There. I said it.

I'm one of the minority who found Rose increasingly annoying as hell. (actress or character? I'm honestly not sure.) So Martha was a breath of fresh air. She definitely had a lag time to catch her footing, but by the end of the series, well, I was all sniffley in the last couple episodes. Her growth, and school-girl ike crush on the Doctor had me looking at him in new eyes. By the time I hit Blood Family, I was completely head over heels about *both* of them.

All I can see about this Donna fiasco is WTF? Donna? hey are seriously going to subject us to Donna? Kill. Me. Now.

Heh. We clearly have the completely opposite taste in companions. I loved Rose and can't wait for Donna but am very meh about Martha. I guess that is why there is so much variety...

yep, i'm very much not tolerant of the "you are the only reason for my living and being in existence" shtick. honey, grow up, get a spine, and learn some independence in the world. cling-film is for food storage, not for relationships. (well, unless you want an interesting saturday night. . .)

i think the contrast to that was what i loved about the return of Sarah Jane (never saw the earlier series with her in it, so don't know what she was like as an actual companion). she admits the hurt and anger of being dumped, but she learned form her experiences, picked herself up, and forged on with the strength and cunning she learned from her time as a companion. Micky, too, really took his time to grow and become bad-ass and seized the opportunity to break away from being the dog.

but there is Rose, a useless pile of sniveling "what about me?" on the beach. let's see, she's a) alive, b) had her family, and c) has been gifted with one of her greatest desires, her father alive in and in her life. but because the ride has ended (hello, it was going to end sometime) she's all "my life is over. i think i'll sit here and die now." ::rolls eyes::

i know, i know, i'm harsh, but the chick never wanted to do anything in her actual life before the Doctor. i just can't stand that lack of drive or making something more of yourself. she has the perfect chance now to be something more, something better than she would have been and she is just wasting it.

and sadly, i see the same damn thing in Donna the Utterly Stupid. dead end life, lack of self-confidence, and complete lack of brains. i keep wondering if i need to go back and rewatch that special because everyone else is all "oooh, Donna! she's so funny!" and i'm thinking i saw a different episode. all i remember was it was sheer hell to watch it, and the only thing that made it better was i was seriously hoping she was going to be eaten at the end.

wow. talk about pre-caffeine crankiness. sorry 'bout that. i'm still all sniffley over the season finale, i guess. ::wanders off to get some coffee::

nevertheless, it's always fun to watch the different reactions folks jhave. and hey, i finally, finally came around to Ten. i'm still a Nine girl, but Ten is okay now and i'm no longer sulky the entire time i watch, complaining it isn't Nine. :)

Seriously, Donna annoys me. I know a lot find her funny, but after 5 minutes I needed ear plugs. Not looking forward to her in season four at all. I've only seen a couple eps of season one so I'm not sure how I feel about Rose as a whole, but so far she's ok.

i liked Rose in season 1, but probably because of Nine. :) her relationship with the Doctor and her attitude changes with Ten, and it just seemed to build to an incredibly annoying level. like i said, it may have been the actress grating on me as well as the character.

which bodes oh so well for Donna as I find Catherine Tate downright obnoxious.

I love Donna but to each their own. That level of noise is for the par in my family :)

I actually loved Martha. I think that it was the writers intent to have her grow gradually as the season progressed as opossed to coming in all strong and intense. I took to her right away though. I'm picking my Farscape back up this weekend all thanks to you. I watched the first 2 eps quite a few months ago and got sidetracked. Oh and a rough synopsis on the kdrama only you - a girl meets a girl, they click, she gets pregnant, but he never knows and they part ways. Six years later they run into eachother again and things get interesting. It's seriously one of my fave dramas.

Yay! Farscape virus spreads!

Since I watched the first two episodes of S3 season finale, I went to YouTube to get a general idea as to what happened in the last episode besides Doctor and the world surviving. You are absolutely right about Martha, she is very well-adjusted, self-confident, smart, etc. Basically, she knows when to get out of the dodge in all situations, including a romantic attachment. Her last scene with Doctor and her decision are completely level-headed, like most of us would make in a similar situation in real life. A part of me agrees with you that a character being so normal doesn't make for a good ride, but a part of me was glad to see someone like us traveling with Doctor for a little while. I personally cannot imagine myself in place of Rose, but totally can in place of Martha.

I don't know. I stand by my 'well adjusted is boring in fiction terms' belief. Plus, I certainly wouldn't be like Martha if I was travelling on the Tardis. Nowhere near. But that's the thing. I don't watch to see 'me' travel, I watch to see a fun, dramatically tense story.

I don't necessarily watch to see "me" travel, but some characters are more conducive to substitution than others. Rose was irreplaceable, and very far from how I think I would have behaved, while Martha wasn't. So in some situations Martha got in, I could project, while I could never do it with Rose because her decisions were different from what I might have done. I hope it makes sense:)

It makes sense. I just never want to project myself into characters, which is just as well, considering the angstoriffic kind of stories I seem to prefer.

Wait for "Blink." One of the creepiest, best Dr. Who's evah. I actually like Martha quite a bit. She grows on you.

I am trying to find it everywhere, no luck.

do you still need it? I can upload it somewhere that'll work for you.

Thanks, got it!

No? Hmmmmmm...let me see if I can track it down for you.

Thank you, found it!

Blink is hands down the best episode of Doctor Who ever. which is interesting since it is so much a non-Doctor episode. A lot like Love and Madness in season 2 which i also liked because it gave you break from the Doctor and Rose.

Blink freaked me out to no end. What I love about this show is how they take something we've all seen a thousand times and turn it into the creepiest thing ever.

Eeeee, love creepy stuff.

That icon is FTW

There are some really great Doctor Who episode as you get deeper into the season. Enough to make me really pay attention. I mean, I consider myself a casual viewer. I watched all of this season, but it was like.. while getting dressed, or cleaning my room. But then certain ones would air and I was enthralled.

Oh, I know, they are getting better. I am excited.

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Doctoring the Doctor...

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