Link recommendation of the day.
Sep. 27th, 2013 09:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyofleithianhttp://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-09-25/why-i-love-doctor-who
Because really, I think just about all the entries on this list are beautiful. Seriously. And they really sum up why the show is so awesome -- its faith in humanity, its compelling storylines, and a lot more. I think without things like that, I don't think Doctor Who would have gotten this far.
I know it holds special value to me considering that when I first discovered it...I wasn't exactly in the best of places. I was kind of cynical, really, and rather sad, and certain events that happened back in 2011 didn't really help any. But I think there was something about this show about a madman in a box that was enough to at least make me start believing again.
Especially the Tenth Doctor. I know that just sitting down and watching his episodes -- they've made a tremendous impact on my writing, especially in things such as characterization and emotion. I know that scenes such as the Master's death from "Last of the Time Lords", and from the same episode, Martha and the human race wishing the Doctor back to full strength thanks to the power of belief (something that should have been horrible and cheesy, but instead turned out to be very, very moving. Especially this.) definitely deeply impacted my work, and helped me look at writing in a new way. Just the matter of sheer emotion -- not shying away from it, but going fully for it, because I think what makes these scenes and others very effective is just the emotion in them. Because it taps into feelings that so many people experience one way or another -- it can be small scenes, such as Donna's talk with Wilf in "Partners in Crime" (the "I'm not drifting, I'm waiting" speech), or big, crushing scenes such as the scene from "Doomsday" when Rose and the Doctor are separated. There's been so many episodes that have definitely moved me -- "Vincent and the Doctor", for example, "Journey's End", "The Girl Who Waited", "The Rings of Akhaten", "The Name of the Doctor", "The Doctor's Wife" -- too many to count, really. And I think it's because they have all these engaging, wonderful characters -- characters that you can laugh with and cry with and adventure with, at least in a sense. I've always believed that if you have great characters, you're pretty much all well and good. And Doctor Who has amazing characters. I think it helps that they have great actors behind them -- Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman, Catherine Tate, Karen Gillan, and so on and so forth -- but there's also the matter of the writing for them. Because they're genuinely likable, lovable, honorable characters -- little things like Martha's fangirl moment in terms of meeting Shakespeare in "The Shakespeare Code" (as well as...pretty much any time a companion gets excited in terms of going someplace, because seriously, it's adorable, and I think it's how someone really would react in terms of going to, say, Shakespearean England for the first time), as well as Donna bonding with Evilina, Rose comforting one of the terrified maids in "Tooth and Claw" and saying that the Doctor can help (granted, the both of them get kidnapped later, but it's still a lovely gesture on Rose's part. And I think it's one of many reasons that Rose is one of my favorites, because she has a very empathetic, friendly spirit, all while also having enough flaws to make her...well, a young girl. I think it's the same with all the companions, really), Martha bonding with Chantho, and a lot more. And the characters showing basic regard for human or alien life no matter what it is -- remember Martha's sadness after electrocuting the pig men in "Evolution of the Daleks"? (Yes, I like that two-parter. Seriously, it's not that bad. Cheesy in parts, but not bad. And that scene is one of many reasons I love it) Not to mention her compassion for her dying clone -- because after all that said clone had done, Martha saw that at her heart, she was as much a victim as anyone. Not to mention Rose's compassion towards that one Dalek in the episode "Dalek" (even talking down the Ninth Doctor from killing it when he had a gun pointed at both her and the Dalek. That's another reason I love Rose -- she managed to talk the Doctor out of killing the Dalek just through asking "What are you changing into?" That...that's amazing), Donna shouting at the Doctor that he can stop while the Racnoss are dying (made all the more poignant considering the revelation in "Turn Left" that if Donna hadn't been there to stop the Doctor, he would have died with the Racnoss), Amy stopping Bracewell from committing suicide as well as saving him later from the bomb going off inside him, and much more. Not to mention the Doctor's mercy -- for all the man can be incredibly ruthless, he can also be quite kind. It can range from befriending those like Jabe in "The End of the World" and Lynda in "Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways", to reassuring the Acting Captain in "The Impossible Planet" (along with an honestly lovely line: "Human beings, you are amazing!") to pretty much any time that he or one of his companions has a You Are Better Than You Think You Are moment (people such as Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, Vincent Van Gogh and Donna Noble) or tries to make someone's life better (such as with Vincent Van Gogh) to being willing to help his enemies (Davros, for example, and the Master. The latter made especially poignant because it's made clear at least how much the Master means to the Doctor -- because in a way, they're still friends), and much more. It's almost funny, I think, but in a way, I think Doctor Wh has definitely helped me be (or want to be, at the very least) a better person. Kinder, for one thing, more forgiving, stronger, and so on and so forth.
I've commonly come across people who say that the rise in flawed characters is because, in a way, we don't want to better ourselves (which has always been a source of me calling "bullshit", because flawed doesn't mean weak. Flawed characters can be poorly executed, but it hardly means that flawed characters in and of themselves are bad. It's like any trope -- it can be done well, it can be done horribly. I kind of wish more people would realize this), but I think the Doctor and his companions are a good balance between flawed characters, characters we can identify with, and characters that we can look up to. The Doctor himself, for example -- he is heavily flawed, that can't be denied. For how good a man he really is...well, for starters, he seems so deadset on not realizing that (which is just fucking heartwrenching; the idea that such a good, wonderful, utterly kickass man just can't really see himself as anything else than a monster. I mean, he does, frequently -- he sees himself as ruining his companions' lives, when really...he doesn't. He makes his share of mistakes, but he's not a life ruiner). And even then, like we all do, he has his darker tendencies that he struggles with (as seen in instances such as "The Waters of Mars". And I think it's very brave of the show, really, to take a straight-up hero and make him have these dark moments). From what I can gather in the Classic era, while the Doctor did go into some darker moments (see also Six's opening episode, "The Twin Dilemma", where he nearly murders his companion-at-the-time, Peri), the new series definitely made them worse in terms of him having to participate in a war that ended in him destroying both the Daleks and the Time Lords. You see the effects of it throughout the series (Nine especially), and thus, you feel for him -- because the idea of having to destroy both the Daleks and your own people because the latter was led by a madman willing to destroy all of creation is just horrific. And it ties into one of the themes of the new series -- war is hell, and it doesn't stop being hell even when the fighting ends. I think that both Nine and Ten's sort of messiah tendencies (which were especially blatant in Ten later on) mostly came through the fact that the Doctor had already committed a multiple murder. He couldn't commit another one. And I think that Rose's influence definitely helped, because she provided him with a reason to keep going -- as did Martha, Donna, Amy, Rory, River and Clara. It's one of many things I love about the companions -- how they interact with the Doctor. There's the bouts of witty banter (because seriously, the dialogue in the show is excellent, it really is), yes, but there's also the balancing act -- the Doctor making them stronger, in a sense, and them making him better, just like relationships and friendships do. Things such as Rose stopping him in "Dalek", as well as a lot of moments with Donna and Amy stopping him in things such as "The Runaway Bride", "The Beast Below", etc. stand out very well. And when Donna begs him to at least save Caecilius' family in "The Fires of Pompeii". It helps that these moments are frequently very powerful -- little touches such as, for example, in "The Fires of Pompeii", when Donna's voice breaks on "It isn't fair" (I know that in an already heartbreaking scene, this definitely gets me more than a bit watery), as well as the Doctor saying, in regards to Gallifrey, that if he could, he'd go back there, but he can't. And the reactions of the family as they watch Pompeii, their home, burning. Peter Capaldi especially. And the small details of the brother moving to hold his sister's hand, because despite their rather rocky relationship, shall we say, thanks to Evilina being sort of the favorite in the family, he still loves her. Just like most siblings do. It's really the human element that, even in the most fantastical of stories, really keeps Doctor Who very much grounded in reality. Things that range from the domestic things (which I've heard some people complain about, but frankly, I don't mind, because it really gives a very real sort of touch to the show) to moments of conflict (Donna and the Doctor in "Planet of the Ood", for example, as well as Rose and the Doctor in "The End of The World", Amy in "The Beast Below", Wilf and the Doctor's debate in regards to the Doctor killing the Master in "The End of Time Part Two" *) to just moments of lightness (Elton and LINDA chilling out in "Love and Monsters" prior to Victor Kennedy showing up, Rose and the Doctor collapsed on the floor of the TARDIS laughing in "The Unquiet Dead" and "Tooth and Claw", any moment between Rose and the Doctor or the Doctor and Amy, the Doctor, Mickey, Rose and Jack hanging out in "Boomtown", the Doctor, Jack and Rose at the end of "The Doctor Dances", Rose and Sarah Jane having a laugh about the Doctor, and much more) **, moments that really tap into what we think and feel (Donna's confession to the Doctor in the midst of them working to foil Mrs. Foster's plan in "Partners in Crime", for example, as well as Jackie's talk with Rose in "Army of Ghosts" about how...Doctor-y she's been getting, Donna and the Doctor talking in "The Doctor's Daughter" including Donna reassuring him that he won't have to be alone anymore, Vastra's reaction when Strax manages to restart Jenny's heart in "The Name of the Doctor", a lot of the more emotional scenes between the Doctor and River, the Doctor's breakdown when he realizes the meaning of the four knocks in "The End of Time Part Two" *** and more), and even moments of heartbreak for the villains (for example, the Master begging the Doctor to hear the drums in "The End of Time Part One", as well as the Doctor trying to save him in "The End of Time Part Two" and later, the Master realizing the truth about the drumbeats, as well as Yvonne Hartman **** and Blon *****). The fact that Doctor Who has a talent to pull at your heartstrings (a lot), terrify you (the Weeping Angels, the Daleks, the Midnight entity, the gas mask zombies, the Silence, and more), inspire you (I know, for example, things like Vincent Van Gogh's description of the night sky in "Vincent and the Doctor" -- as a writer, you just hear that speech and you fall in love with it, it's just that beautiful), shock you (I know that things like "Midnight" and "The Waters of Mars" definitely did that for me. And horrified me as well; I could watch "Blink" without freaking out too much ****** but "Midnight" and "The Waters of Mars"...there's something about the mob mentality and a good man going off the deep end that terrifies me more than a Weeping Angel ever could, and Weeping Angels are pretty terrifying in and of themselves), draw you in (I know that's another strength of Doctor Who -- that sense of adventure, that "Come with me" sort of feeling, like all good stories do), warm your heart (because seriously, for how angsty and intense it can get at times, and it can get that, there's enough heartwarming in this show to fill an entire room with light), make you laugh (because that's another thing that it's good at. Things like the Cyberman-Dalek trashtalking), make you cheer (because seriously, they have a ton of epic goddamn moments ********), and a lot more.
I think something else that Doctor Who does very well is take sort of black and white concepts and paint them in shades of gray. I know some people prefer black and white (and fair enough), but I personally love when a show goes into the gray areas, and really explores the matter of what's happening. I know, for example, instances such as with "A Town Called Mercy" and Kahler Jex -- what he did is horrible, and yet he's not necessarily a bad man. If nothing else, he's tormented with guilt over what he's done, and he mostly did what he did if only to win a war for his people. A lot like the Doctor, in a way. Not to mention the matter of Blon's possible punishment in "Boomtown" (because yes, she did and tried to do terrible things, and yet you pity her if only a little), and the Doctor going into these darker areas -- "The Waters of Mars" is just one example. The fact that the Doctor was taken into that territory is a very brave move -- hell, the fact that they made a main character who was more than willing to go into horrible areas and have it be done intentionally (instead of taking the whole "he's the good guy, so what he does is always right" thing that other works of fiction have done, sadly enough) is brave enough, but "The Waters of Mars" was definitely one of the best dark!Ten episodes. The acting is perfect, the monsters are genuinely terrifying (seriously, Steven Moffat? Eat your heart out. ;-), the dialogue is perfect, the visuals are stunning (seriously, I just love things like the shot of Ten getting up outside the base, as well as walking back in, as well as Ood Sigma in the snow -- it's the sort of imagery that isn't forced down your throat, and it makes it all the more powerful. Hell, Doctor Who is really good at showing and not telling -- it doesn't say, for example, here, that Ten's done a bad bad thing, but shows not just what he does, but why he does it, and why it ultimately backfires), you care about the characters...it's just perfect, really. I think the fact that Doctor Who is willing to take risks -- go outside the expected hero/villain dynamic a bit with the Doctor and the Master, explore the darker side of the hero while never truly forgetting his heroic traits, hell, even in some of the formats of the episodes such as "Turn Left", "Journey to the Center of the TARDIS", "Blink", "Midnight", and the ideas such as "The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit", they took risks -- is definitely another reason why this show is so awesome, and one of many things I admire about it.
That and in a very rough year (to say the least), this was one of many bright spots in it -- I think there was something about just sitting with my mom and brother, watching the show, getting them hooked on them (seriously, I think I just turned my mom and brother into Whovians, which I think is one of the best things I've done this year), as well as just escaping the real world for a bit, that was really a joy. Just being there with great adventure, great characters, great emotion, and just overall great storytelling, has definitely helped me. So...yeah, thank you, Doctor Who. Thank you for all you've given me and so many others, and happy fiftieth anniversary.
* And Wilf's begging the Doctor not to die definitely makes the scene all the more poignant. It helps that Bernard Cribbins is amazing.
** And I love moments like this. Because even in the midst of really, honestly heavy angst and epic adventure, there's just really honestly sweet moments to be found.
*** I know that "I can do so much more!" was definitely heartrending.
**** And yet it turns into a Crowning Moment of Awesome when she overrides her Cyberman programming to fight off the Cybermen. All for Queen and Country.
***** I think it says volumes about how good a writer Russell T. Davies really is when he can take a character who was previously shown to be quite awful, to say the least, and make her sympathetic. Because even after all she's done, she still loves her family very much, and she did sort of have her reasons for what she did or tried to do, horrible as it was. I remember him saying in an interview that you can't simply describe a character as "evil" -- you have to motivate them somehow, whether it be by greed or anything else. And I quite agree with him. While straight-up evil characters can work (for example, Palpatine, Michael Myers, etc.), there's something about characters who are motivated by something that's all the more powerful. I know, for example, the desire to create a better world or to save someone is a very powerful motivation, and it's all the more frightening because, in a way...don't we all want to do that? We've all got light and dark inside us. It's really what we act on that counts.
****** Although my brother watching it with me definitely helped.
******** Also, the fact that Donna mentioned the whole "human instinct" sort of thing -- which is another thing that I love about Doctor Who; typically in fiction, we humans get a bad rap, whether it be as barbarians or inferior beings or whatnot; it's nice to see a show that acknowledges that while we have our faults, we kick a lot of goddamn ass -- and the fact that Davros inadvertently caused his own defeat (which seems to be a bit of a running theme for most villains in Doctor Who at least according to TV Tropes, which makes their defeats all the more satisfying) just gives that Donna clip even more of an epic feeling. Also, seriously, I don't think I've even covered half of the epic moments in Doctor Who with those links alone -- considering how long it's been on air, it has a ton more. Clara and the leaf, for example, Amy remembering the Doctor back into existence, any time River Song is onscreen, Mickey and the big yellow truck, Ten's first proper appearance in "The Christmas Invasion", Eleven's "Colonel Runaway" speech in "A Good Man Goes To War", Nine ultimately choosing to not pull the lever that will destroy Dalek and human alike (also known as something else we need more in fiction, I think)...Doctor Who can really do epic.
Because really, I think just about all the entries on this list are beautiful. Seriously. And they really sum up why the show is so awesome -- its faith in humanity, its compelling storylines, and a lot more. I think without things like that, I don't think Doctor Who would have gotten this far.
I know it holds special value to me considering that when I first discovered it...I wasn't exactly in the best of places. I was kind of cynical, really, and rather sad, and certain events that happened back in 2011 didn't really help any. But I think there was something about this show about a madman in a box that was enough to at least make me start believing again.
Especially the Tenth Doctor. I know that just sitting down and watching his episodes -- they've made a tremendous impact on my writing, especially in things such as characterization and emotion. I know that scenes such as the Master's death from "Last of the Time Lords", and from the same episode, Martha and the human race wishing the Doctor back to full strength thanks to the power of belief (something that should have been horrible and cheesy, but instead turned out to be very, very moving. Especially this.) definitely deeply impacted my work, and helped me look at writing in a new way. Just the matter of sheer emotion -- not shying away from it, but going fully for it, because I think what makes these scenes and others very effective is just the emotion in them. Because it taps into feelings that so many people experience one way or another -- it can be small scenes, such as Donna's talk with Wilf in "Partners in Crime" (the "I'm not drifting, I'm waiting" speech), or big, crushing scenes such as the scene from "Doomsday" when Rose and the Doctor are separated. There's been so many episodes that have definitely moved me -- "Vincent and the Doctor", for example, "Journey's End", "The Girl Who Waited", "The Rings of Akhaten", "The Name of the Doctor", "The Doctor's Wife" -- too many to count, really. And I think it's because they have all these engaging, wonderful characters -- characters that you can laugh with and cry with and adventure with, at least in a sense. I've always believed that if you have great characters, you're pretty much all well and good. And Doctor Who has amazing characters. I think it helps that they have great actors behind them -- Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman, Catherine Tate, Karen Gillan, and so on and so forth -- but there's also the matter of the writing for them. Because they're genuinely likable, lovable, honorable characters -- little things like Martha's fangirl moment in terms of meeting Shakespeare in "The Shakespeare Code" (as well as...pretty much any time a companion gets excited in terms of going someplace, because seriously, it's adorable, and I think it's how someone really would react in terms of going to, say, Shakespearean England for the first time), as well as Donna bonding with Evilina, Rose comforting one of the terrified maids in "Tooth and Claw" and saying that the Doctor can help (granted, the both of them get kidnapped later, but it's still a lovely gesture on Rose's part. And I think it's one of many reasons that Rose is one of my favorites, because she has a very empathetic, friendly spirit, all while also having enough flaws to make her...well, a young girl. I think it's the same with all the companions, really), Martha bonding with Chantho, and a lot more. And the characters showing basic regard for human or alien life no matter what it is -- remember Martha's sadness after electrocuting the pig men in "Evolution of the Daleks"? (Yes, I like that two-parter. Seriously, it's not that bad. Cheesy in parts, but not bad. And that scene is one of many reasons I love it) Not to mention her compassion for her dying clone -- because after all that said clone had done, Martha saw that at her heart, she was as much a victim as anyone. Not to mention Rose's compassion towards that one Dalek in the episode "Dalek" (even talking down the Ninth Doctor from killing it when he had a gun pointed at both her and the Dalek. That's another reason I love Rose -- she managed to talk the Doctor out of killing the Dalek just through asking "What are you changing into?" That...that's amazing), Donna shouting at the Doctor that he can stop while the Racnoss are dying (made all the more poignant considering the revelation in "Turn Left" that if Donna hadn't been there to stop the Doctor, he would have died with the Racnoss), Amy stopping Bracewell from committing suicide as well as saving him later from the bomb going off inside him, and much more. Not to mention the Doctor's mercy -- for all the man can be incredibly ruthless, he can also be quite kind. It can range from befriending those like Jabe in "The End of the World" and Lynda in "Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways", to reassuring the Acting Captain in "The Impossible Planet" (along with an honestly lovely line: "Human beings, you are amazing!") to pretty much any time that he or one of his companions has a You Are Better Than You Think You Are moment (people such as Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, Vincent Van Gogh and Donna Noble) or tries to make someone's life better (such as with Vincent Van Gogh) to being willing to help his enemies (Davros, for example, and the Master. The latter made especially poignant because it's made clear at least how much the Master means to the Doctor -- because in a way, they're still friends), and much more. It's almost funny, I think, but in a way, I think Doctor Wh has definitely helped me be (or want to be, at the very least) a better person. Kinder, for one thing, more forgiving, stronger, and so on and so forth.
I've commonly come across people who say that the rise in flawed characters is because, in a way, we don't want to better ourselves (which has always been a source of me calling "bullshit", because flawed doesn't mean weak. Flawed characters can be poorly executed, but it hardly means that flawed characters in and of themselves are bad. It's like any trope -- it can be done well, it can be done horribly. I kind of wish more people would realize this), but I think the Doctor and his companions are a good balance between flawed characters, characters we can identify with, and characters that we can look up to. The Doctor himself, for example -- he is heavily flawed, that can't be denied. For how good a man he really is...well, for starters, he seems so deadset on not realizing that (which is just fucking heartwrenching; the idea that such a good, wonderful, utterly kickass man just can't really see himself as anything else than a monster. I mean, he does, frequently -- he sees himself as ruining his companions' lives, when really...he doesn't. He makes his share of mistakes, but he's not a life ruiner). And even then, like we all do, he has his darker tendencies that he struggles with (as seen in instances such as "The Waters of Mars". And I think it's very brave of the show, really, to take a straight-up hero and make him have these dark moments). From what I can gather in the Classic era, while the Doctor did go into some darker moments (see also Six's opening episode, "The Twin Dilemma", where he nearly murders his companion-at-the-time, Peri), the new series definitely made them worse in terms of him having to participate in a war that ended in him destroying both the Daleks and the Time Lords. You see the effects of it throughout the series (Nine especially), and thus, you feel for him -- because the idea of having to destroy both the Daleks and your own people because the latter was led by a madman willing to destroy all of creation is just horrific. And it ties into one of the themes of the new series -- war is hell, and it doesn't stop being hell even when the fighting ends. I think that both Nine and Ten's sort of messiah tendencies (which were especially blatant in Ten later on) mostly came through the fact that the Doctor had already committed a multiple murder. He couldn't commit another one. And I think that Rose's influence definitely helped, because she provided him with a reason to keep going -- as did Martha, Donna, Amy, Rory, River and Clara. It's one of many things I love about the companions -- how they interact with the Doctor. There's the bouts of witty banter (because seriously, the dialogue in the show is excellent, it really is), yes, but there's also the balancing act -- the Doctor making them stronger, in a sense, and them making him better, just like relationships and friendships do. Things such as Rose stopping him in "Dalek", as well as a lot of moments with Donna and Amy stopping him in things such as "The Runaway Bride", "The Beast Below", etc. stand out very well. And when Donna begs him to at least save Caecilius' family in "The Fires of Pompeii". It helps that these moments are frequently very powerful -- little touches such as, for example, in "The Fires of Pompeii", when Donna's voice breaks on "It isn't fair" (I know that in an already heartbreaking scene, this definitely gets me more than a bit watery), as well as the Doctor saying, in regards to Gallifrey, that if he could, he'd go back there, but he can't. And the reactions of the family as they watch Pompeii, their home, burning. Peter Capaldi especially. And the small details of the brother moving to hold his sister's hand, because despite their rather rocky relationship, shall we say, thanks to Evilina being sort of the favorite in the family, he still loves her. Just like most siblings do. It's really the human element that, even in the most fantastical of stories, really keeps Doctor Who very much grounded in reality. Things that range from the domestic things (which I've heard some people complain about, but frankly, I don't mind, because it really gives a very real sort of touch to the show) to moments of conflict (Donna and the Doctor in "Planet of the Ood", for example, as well as Rose and the Doctor in "The End of The World", Amy in "The Beast Below", Wilf and the Doctor's debate in regards to the Doctor killing the Master in "The End of Time Part Two" *) to just moments of lightness (Elton and LINDA chilling out in "Love and Monsters" prior to Victor Kennedy showing up, Rose and the Doctor collapsed on the floor of the TARDIS laughing in "The Unquiet Dead" and "Tooth and Claw", any moment between Rose and the Doctor or the Doctor and Amy, the Doctor, Mickey, Rose and Jack hanging out in "Boomtown", the Doctor, Jack and Rose at the end of "The Doctor Dances", Rose and Sarah Jane having a laugh about the Doctor, and much more) **, moments that really tap into what we think and feel (Donna's confession to the Doctor in the midst of them working to foil Mrs. Foster's plan in "Partners in Crime", for example, as well as Jackie's talk with Rose in "Army of Ghosts" about how...Doctor-y she's been getting, Donna and the Doctor talking in "The Doctor's Daughter" including Donna reassuring him that he won't have to be alone anymore, Vastra's reaction when Strax manages to restart Jenny's heart in "The Name of the Doctor", a lot of the more emotional scenes between the Doctor and River, the Doctor's breakdown when he realizes the meaning of the four knocks in "The End of Time Part Two" *** and more), and even moments of heartbreak for the villains (for example, the Master begging the Doctor to hear the drums in "The End of Time Part One", as well as the Doctor trying to save him in "The End of Time Part Two" and later, the Master realizing the truth about the drumbeats, as well as Yvonne Hartman **** and Blon *****). The fact that Doctor Who has a talent to pull at your heartstrings (a lot), terrify you (the Weeping Angels, the Daleks, the Midnight entity, the gas mask zombies, the Silence, and more), inspire you (I know, for example, things like Vincent Van Gogh's description of the night sky in "Vincent and the Doctor" -- as a writer, you just hear that speech and you fall in love with it, it's just that beautiful), shock you (I know that things like "Midnight" and "The Waters of Mars" definitely did that for me. And horrified me as well; I could watch "Blink" without freaking out too much ****** but "Midnight" and "The Waters of Mars"...there's something about the mob mentality and a good man going off the deep end that terrifies me more than a Weeping Angel ever could, and Weeping Angels are pretty terrifying in and of themselves), draw you in (I know that's another strength of Doctor Who -- that sense of adventure, that "Come with me" sort of feeling, like all good stories do), warm your heart (because seriously, for how angsty and intense it can get at times, and it can get that, there's enough heartwarming in this show to fill an entire room with light), make you laugh (because that's another thing that it's good at. Things like the Cyberman-Dalek trashtalking), make you cheer (because seriously, they have a ton of epic goddamn moments ********), and a lot more.
I think something else that Doctor Who does very well is take sort of black and white concepts and paint them in shades of gray. I know some people prefer black and white (and fair enough), but I personally love when a show goes into the gray areas, and really explores the matter of what's happening. I know, for example, instances such as with "A Town Called Mercy" and Kahler Jex -- what he did is horrible, and yet he's not necessarily a bad man. If nothing else, he's tormented with guilt over what he's done, and he mostly did what he did if only to win a war for his people. A lot like the Doctor, in a way. Not to mention the matter of Blon's possible punishment in "Boomtown" (because yes, she did and tried to do terrible things, and yet you pity her if only a little), and the Doctor going into these darker areas -- "The Waters of Mars" is just one example. The fact that the Doctor was taken into that territory is a very brave move -- hell, the fact that they made a main character who was more than willing to go into horrible areas and have it be done intentionally (instead of taking the whole "he's the good guy, so what he does is always right" thing that other works of fiction have done, sadly enough) is brave enough, but "The Waters of Mars" was definitely one of the best dark!Ten episodes. The acting is perfect, the monsters are genuinely terrifying (seriously, Steven Moffat? Eat your heart out. ;-), the dialogue is perfect, the visuals are stunning (seriously, I just love things like the shot of Ten getting up outside the base, as well as walking back in, as well as Ood Sigma in the snow -- it's the sort of imagery that isn't forced down your throat, and it makes it all the more powerful. Hell, Doctor Who is really good at showing and not telling -- it doesn't say, for example, here, that Ten's done a bad bad thing, but shows not just what he does, but why he does it, and why it ultimately backfires), you care about the characters...it's just perfect, really. I think the fact that Doctor Who is willing to take risks -- go outside the expected hero/villain dynamic a bit with the Doctor and the Master, explore the darker side of the hero while never truly forgetting his heroic traits, hell, even in some of the formats of the episodes such as "Turn Left", "Journey to the Center of the TARDIS", "Blink", "Midnight", and the ideas such as "The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit", they took risks -- is definitely another reason why this show is so awesome, and one of many things I admire about it.
That and in a very rough year (to say the least), this was one of many bright spots in it -- I think there was something about just sitting with my mom and brother, watching the show, getting them hooked on them (seriously, I think I just turned my mom and brother into Whovians, which I think is one of the best things I've done this year), as well as just escaping the real world for a bit, that was really a joy. Just being there with great adventure, great characters, great emotion, and just overall great storytelling, has definitely helped me. So...yeah, thank you, Doctor Who. Thank you for all you've given me and so many others, and happy fiftieth anniversary.
* And Wilf's begging the Doctor not to die definitely makes the scene all the more poignant. It helps that Bernard Cribbins is amazing.
** And I love moments like this. Because even in the midst of really, honestly heavy angst and epic adventure, there's just really honestly sweet moments to be found.
*** I know that "I can do so much more!" was definitely heartrending.
**** And yet it turns into a Crowning Moment of Awesome when she overrides her Cyberman programming to fight off the Cybermen. All for Queen and Country.
***** I think it says volumes about how good a writer Russell T. Davies really is when he can take a character who was previously shown to be quite awful, to say the least, and make her sympathetic. Because even after all she's done, she still loves her family very much, and she did sort of have her reasons for what she did or tried to do, horrible as it was. I remember him saying in an interview that you can't simply describe a character as "evil" -- you have to motivate them somehow, whether it be by greed or anything else. And I quite agree with him. While straight-up evil characters can work (for example, Palpatine, Michael Myers, etc.), there's something about characters who are motivated by something that's all the more powerful. I know, for example, the desire to create a better world or to save someone is a very powerful motivation, and it's all the more frightening because, in a way...don't we all want to do that? We've all got light and dark inside us. It's really what we act on that counts.
****** Although my brother watching it with me definitely helped.
******** Also, the fact that Donna mentioned the whole "human instinct" sort of thing -- which is another thing that I love about Doctor Who; typically in fiction, we humans get a bad rap, whether it be as barbarians or inferior beings or whatnot; it's nice to see a show that acknowledges that while we have our faults, we kick a lot of goddamn ass -- and the fact that Davros inadvertently caused his own defeat (which seems to be a bit of a running theme for most villains in Doctor Who at least according to TV Tropes, which makes their defeats all the more satisfying) just gives that Donna clip even more of an epic feeling. Also, seriously, I don't think I've even covered half of the epic moments in Doctor Who with those links alone -- considering how long it's been on air, it has a ton more. Clara and the leaf, for example, Amy remembering the Doctor back into existence, any time River Song is onscreen, Mickey and the big yellow truck, Ten's first proper appearance in "The Christmas Invasion", Eleven's "Colonel Runaway" speech in "A Good Man Goes To War", Nine ultimately choosing to not pull the lever that will destroy Dalek and human alike (also known as something else we need more in fiction, I think)...Doctor Who can really do epic.
