Riona (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rionaleonhart) wrote2022-04-23 09:32 pm
rionaleonhart) wrote2022-04-23 09:32 pm
Entry tags:
See You In Hell.
Finished rewatching Christopher Eccleston's run of Doctor Who!
We really didn't get enough of the Ninth Doctor. The entirety of my favourite Doctor Who era, over in just thirteen episodes. I wonder what Doctor Who would look like if Eccleston had stuck around for another series or two. (I know he came back to do some audio dramas recently, but audio dramas aren't really my thing, and I'd miss his dynamic with Rose!)
Of course, it's entirely possible that, in the AU where Eccleston stayed on, I'd be posting 'sigh, the Ninth Doctor's first series was so good, it's a shame it all went downhill after that.' Those thirteen episodes may not be much, but I'm glad we have them.
We didn't get nearly enough of the Doctor-Rose-Jack team in the TARDIS, either. I can't believe we have a grand total of five episodes for that particular OT3 (although it's clear they've had more adventures than we've seen, which is some consolation). Jack's a great addition; he's a breath of fresh air for the increasingly claustrophobic relationship between the Doctor and Rose, although of course I also enjoy the claustrophobia. And, even though we've only seen a few episodes with him, he absolutely succeeds in making me believe that he's in love with both the Doctor and Rose by the time he kisses them goodbye.
It's interesting to think about how Jack views his own role in the TARDIS team. He thinks of himself as expendable to some extent, I think. He's their soldier; the Doctor and Rose have to live, and Jack's role is to protect them, even if he dies in the attempt. (It's possible that, because they saved him from the bomb, he feels his life belongs to them now.) He's in love with both of them, but I don't think he feels his relationship with them is on the same level as the Doctor and Rose's connection to each other. It's a fascinating and slightly tragic dynamic, although I think it's something Jack accepts, rather than pining.
There's a part of me that wants to write Doctor/Rose (I really am sixteen again), but I wouldn't know where to start. It's a really difficult pairing to write! There are simultaneously too many options (they can go to any time and any place; how do you settle on a concept?) and not enough. The Doctor is too alien and too emotionally reserved for me to picture anything explicitly romantic happening between them; the Ninth Doctor in particular has walled off his emotions because the grief and rage are too much for him to handle, and nothing good happens when that wall comes down.
Honestly, what I want out of Doctor/Rose is exactly what we get in Eccleston's series: this weird, ambiguous dynamic between two people who will go dangerously far for each other. I love that they're very intense about each other, very fond, very physically affectionate, but they never actually tip into being a couple. It's nice that Doctor Who gave me what I wanted, but it means I'm left with nothing to write!
Am I seriously rambling about Doctor/Rose in 2022? It's so strange to be back here. I was so passionate about their dynamic back in 2005; they weren't my first ship (that would be Squall/Zell), but I shipped them a lot harder than anything that preceded them.
They hold hands so much and I love it. How much do you remember the Doctor and Rose holding hands? They hold hands at least twice as much as that. It's extremely weird and therefore great.
We really didn't get enough of the Ninth Doctor. The entirety of my favourite Doctor Who era, over in just thirteen episodes. I wonder what Doctor Who would look like if Eccleston had stuck around for another series or two. (I know he came back to do some audio dramas recently, but audio dramas aren't really my thing, and I'd miss his dynamic with Rose!)
Of course, it's entirely possible that, in the AU where Eccleston stayed on, I'd be posting 'sigh, the Ninth Doctor's first series was so good, it's a shame it all went downhill after that.' Those thirteen episodes may not be much, but I'm glad we have them.
We didn't get nearly enough of the Doctor-Rose-Jack team in the TARDIS, either. I can't believe we have a grand total of five episodes for that particular OT3 (although it's clear they've had more adventures than we've seen, which is some consolation). Jack's a great addition; he's a breath of fresh air for the increasingly claustrophobic relationship between the Doctor and Rose, although of course I also enjoy the claustrophobia. And, even though we've only seen a few episodes with him, he absolutely succeeds in making me believe that he's in love with both the Doctor and Rose by the time he kisses them goodbye.
It's interesting to think about how Jack views his own role in the TARDIS team. He thinks of himself as expendable to some extent, I think. He's their soldier; the Doctor and Rose have to live, and Jack's role is to protect them, even if he dies in the attempt. (It's possible that, because they saved him from the bomb, he feels his life belongs to them now.) He's in love with both of them, but I don't think he feels his relationship with them is on the same level as the Doctor and Rose's connection to each other. It's a fascinating and slightly tragic dynamic, although I think it's something Jack accepts, rather than pining.
There's a part of me that wants to write Doctor/Rose (I really am sixteen again), but I wouldn't know where to start. It's a really difficult pairing to write! There are simultaneously too many options (they can go to any time and any place; how do you settle on a concept?) and not enough. The Doctor is too alien and too emotionally reserved for me to picture anything explicitly romantic happening between them; the Ninth Doctor in particular has walled off his emotions because the grief and rage are too much for him to handle, and nothing good happens when that wall comes down.
Honestly, what I want out of Doctor/Rose is exactly what we get in Eccleston's series: this weird, ambiguous dynamic between two people who will go dangerously far for each other. I love that they're very intense about each other, very fond, very physically affectionate, but they never actually tip into being a couple. It's nice that Doctor Who gave me what I wanted, but it means I'm left with nothing to write!
Am I seriously rambling about Doctor/Rose in 2022? It's so strange to be back here. I was so passionate about their dynamic back in 2005; they weren't my first ship (that would be Squall/Zell), but I shipped them a lot harder than anything that preceded them.
They hold hands so much and I love it. How much do you remember the Doctor and Rose holding hands? They hold hands at least twice as much as that. It's extremely weird and therefore great.
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Unfortunately, rumours are Eccleston left in protest due to background performers and crewmembers being treated poorly by the more "important" members of the creative team. If that's true, yikes!
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Strongly agreed. I also agree with you on the side of him both being the Less Beloved One and also accepting it without turning a hair, which does say some interesting things bout his self-worth that kind of played out again in Torchwood IMO.
he absolutely succeeds in making me believe that he's in love with both the Doctor and Rose by the time he kisses them goodbye.
To be fair to him, John Barrowman could sell that he was in love with a post box if he wanted to.
He's their soldier; the Doctor and Rose have to live, and Jack's role is to protect them, even if he dies in the attempt. (It's possible that, because they saved him from the bomb, he feels his life belongs to them now.
Again based on some of the stinkingly awful Torchwood lore I do think that's also an underlying personality trait.
(Also if you want to write them, why not pick some of the "more adventures" they've clearly had that weren't shown onscreen, and use that as the starting point?)
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Also if you want to write them, why not pick some of the "more adventures" they've clearly had that weren't shown onscreen, and use that as the starting point?
This is a good thought; thank you! There's an intriguing gap between 'The Doctor Dances' and 'Boom Town' where Jack's settling into the TARDIS; that could be an interesting period to explore.
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