Department of ... Uh ... Wow

[kaffy_r]

RTD, BBC?
(Plus Timeless Child Brilliance from masakochan )

So, yes, Russell T. Davies is coming back as Who's showrunner. My f'list immediately blew up, which, as eve11 mentioned meant folks were having Who-related discussions for the first time "in a jillion years", and I am happy with that as well. 

I love RTD for bringing Who back, for Rose (yes, folks I like don't like her. That's how these things often go.) But I personally found most of his run beyond the first season kind of gormless - it's hard to explain what I mean, so I'm going with that. And what he did to Donna? Do. Not. Get. Me. Started.

Ultimately, The Moff was my jam. I fell for him hard, and even harder for his Doctors, for River, for oh, so much. 

Still, beyond the "wut" reaction I'm still processing, I'm truly interested in what Rusty might have in the works for us. Could part of what he's planning include Jo Martin as the next Doctor, and a return of both Sacha Dhawan and Michelle Gomez, kthxbai?

And here's where I slightly switch topics; still Doctor Who, but concerning the "Timeless Child" turn of events that I found to be one of the only interesting things in Chibnall's short-but-still-too-long run.

I know that a metric ton of fans really hate it, and I understand that part of that is because they feel as if this means that the Doctor isn't a Timelord/Gallifreyan, and thereby invalidates everything we knew about the Doctor from the Doylist perspective, and what the Doctor knew about herself, from the Watsonian.

When I mentioned this in a comment over on elisi 's journal, I said I didn't mind it because I didn't see why we should trust what the Master said, and also because, if the Timelords worked that hard to make the Doctor believe she was a Timelord, they obviously wanted her to be one. I also said that Timelords could designate anyone they wanted as a colleague. All the preceding is Watsonian, obviously. 

I wasn't prepared for the lightbulb that the perspicacious masakochan  turned on above my head. I am absolutely gobsmacked by her brilliant take on this: 

 

"It adds a lot of serious layers when the main character is revealed to essentially be an immigrant that an entire society built itself off the back of, after stealing said immigrant's special ability."

In our current world, that resonates so damned hard for me. 

Thanks, my dear, for pointing this out!

ETA: Here are three links that masakochan sent me that look at what the Timeless Child disclosure suggests on both Watsonian and Doylist levels. I like the suggestion that the Doctor's tendency towards mind-wipes might hark back to what was done to her, but all of the commentary is invaluable and brilliant. 

As she put it:  

ichi
ni
san

Comments

[dewline]

Boom, lowered, right there.

masakochan is right to point that out.

[eve11]

I liked Rose! I just don't want to see her again. And maybe soured more because of the metric ton of insipid Ten/Rose shippers out there. Not all shippers, mind you.

I'm worried that fandom is going to blow up no matter who RTD picks as the next Doctor. Some section will, anyhow.

That's an interesting thought about the Doctor's background. I'm afraid it still doesn't make me like the execution of the TC arc, but it's definitely food for thought. I do hope if he keeps it, that RTD figures out how to make this TC thing jell with prior canon a bit better.

I definitely preferred the Moff as well. Though I did really enjoy a lot of episodes from the RTD era. If anything, they weren't boring. And the Doctor *did some things*. Whitaker-Doctor has not had a lot of opportunity to do stuff, it feels like.

Also ETA: perfect icon! :D

[owlboy]

yeah there was a bunch of good meta about both colonialism and child abuse trauma that came out of that timeless child thing which is why i didn't hate it

[nostalgia]

I've seen that take around tumblr and it's an interesting one and it'd probably work for me more if they actually went with that angle. IDK if anything could make me like the Child being the Doctor though, it's very Do Not Want for me :(

[thisbluespirit]

I think there are interesting things they could potentially do with TC, but as it was, it broke so many things so unnecessarily on so many levels I can't even begin without going into an epic rant & am not going to - and it was badly executed as just a big infodump, even if you did like it!! I have eventually come around to being able to mostly ignore it and like the bits I like, but it broke so much I nearly stopped loving DW after all these years and I had no idea that was possible & I'm not going to ever like something that made me feel that way.

But it'll be interesting to see wht RTD does this time around. he's written some pretty brilliant TV in his absence, so hopefully he'll bring that back with him and be a little less AND NOW DALESK AND CYERBMEN FIIIIGHT!! YAY Y/Y??? And, oh God, I suppose he will bring Rose back for the anniversary, won't he? It would make sense, since that was where New Who started. But aargh. The Rose fans are still out there being annoying and don't need encouragement. :-/ (Not that that's a reason to do or not do something in the show. Heh.)

[promethia_tenk]

My f'list immediately blew up, which, as eve11 mentioned meant folks were having Who-related discussions for the first time "in a jillion years", and I am happy with that as well.
Oh this, so much this. *weeps for joy*

[beccadg]

I hate both the RTD news and the Timeless Child. I haven't gotten over how outraged I feel by the Timeless Child to even enjoy Classic Who, much less the bits of New Who I like. I can't imagine RTD helping.

[elisi]

Thank you for this post. I remember this from back when the ep first aired - as well as comparisons to The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin (which I have not read, but I got the basic gist).

All of which is very good, but we still don't know what they'll do with it all.

(My youngest turned 16 on Thursday and the whole weekend has been taken up with birthday things. It's all been very lovely, but I've not had the time/spoons to do anything else. I'll write up Thoughts at some point... next weekend maybe.)

[a_phoenixdragon]

I am nail biting, as I still have not yet gotten through Jodie's second season, as every avenue to get it and SEE it has been naffed for me.

I am...not happy about Rusty. But it is his style and story that gets me. Not the guy himself. I'm willing to give him a chance, but I much preferred the oft-maligned Moff, myself.

*HUGS*