fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2185 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2185 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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[not a repeat; was broken yesterday]

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[not a repeat; was broken yesterday]

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 034 secrets from Secret Submission Post #312.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nah, you're right that Amy was treated really badly by the plot and got really shafted in the character development department from an out-of-universe perspective. But from an in-universe perspective? Er...yes, she was really really important to that particular incarnation of the Doctor and his relationship with her was a lot like how he viewed Susan.

I note that you mention Susan and then suddenly jump to discussing Ian and Barbara. Uhhh...Susan's not Ian or Barbara. Susan was also a rather poorly-developed character, but do you honestly think that because she was poorly developed and not remotely the most awesome companion from our perspective, the Doctor didn't care for her? He probably cared for her more than he ever cared for any other companion ever, for logical, in-universe reasons. That's just what IS, it has nothing to do with her character development.

Also, I'm curious as to why it "undermines the Doctor". Because some random human had a massive impact on him? I mean, the circumstances kinda warrant it: he was regenerating, and he was regenerating alone, and she was the first person he saw in his new form and the first thing he ever did was help her, before his personality was even fully formed. What makes imprinting like that so impossible? It's a really interesting and logical idea. (note I say idea...not character arc...because there was no character arc with the remotest level of consistency in season 6)

If Moffat had actually bothered to follow through on the concept with any kind of actual respect for the idea, I think it could have been a really fascinating and unique concept to explore. He just handled it...really poorly. Rather like RTD handled Rose, saying she was ~so awesome~ and all this shit without really delving into the reasons why she might be important (first companion after the Time War, etc).

One wasn't even a really well-developed character, because they had no idea the show would still be around, so many years later, when they were first writing and filming it.

As for why I think it undermines the Doctor, it's a physiological bit that hasn't been seen in any of the earlier regenerations; and if it is what accounts for the OTT emo nature of the characters' relations with each other, then...it doesn;t serve the character very well, IMO, because then it just comes across as a bad caricature (as opposed to a good caricature, like Four, though there are fans who would disagree with me).

Well, the reason I think it's fine is because...well, he was never in the same situation as new!Eleven was with Amelia. So it was a new situation, and he had to react to it some way. To compare: I didn't like Ten's regeneration because there was no reason for him to react so differently than his predecessors, but I do think that the way Eleven met Amelia was a sufficiently strong and unique reason to be influenced differently. Most of the Doctors had companions across regenerations to bridge the gap, and Three and Eight didn't really have a strong emotional connection right off the bat with the people he first met.

And I'd argue that Four's regeneration into Five could be seen as a subconscious result of becoming someone more suited to his younger companions. Same with One's regeneration into Two. Actually, all the regenerations have a good bit of subtext that gives strong evidence that the current regeneration's personality, and the circumstances shortly before regeneration influence the next regeneration. So the circumstances shortly after regeneration also being influential is just another interesting idea.

Also, I'd seriously dispute the idea that One wasn't a well-developed character. I think he had one of the best character arcs out of all the incarnations -- he was a lost, suspicious wanderer who didn't understand humans much, and he learned a huge amount from Ian and Barbara and from Susan's interactions with them, and it showed. God, it showed so much. Look at One at the beginning of his run versus the end. That is what I call character development. Sure, that was more accidental, due to the writers trying to soften the character for the audience, but it still made a hell of a lot of sense from an in-universe perspective.

I do agree with what you said about everything being defined by emo-ness, as you call it. It's fucking annoying, for one, and gives off the vibe that nothing is "deep" or "meaningful" unless it's really miserable and painful. Which...fuck that. Just fuck it. It's something that pisses me the fuck off about modern tv in general.

" So the circumstances shortly after regeneration also being influential is just another interesting idea."

That is an interesting idea...now I'm wondering if any of the books or the audios dealt with it.

" Look at One at the beginning of his run versus the end. That is what I call character development. Sure, that was more accidental, due to the writers trying to soften the character for the audience, but it still made a hell of a lot of sense from an in-universe perspective."

I should have clarified that I don't think the characters were well-developed intentionally; I agree with what you say above, but like you said, it was accidental, and just goes to show how much better the writing was back then.

[ SECRET POST #2185 ]

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