The Doctor Who/Torchwood Thread

Yes the Vashta Nerada would go to the top of my list of scariest. The concept of the shadows as living creatures is great.

I like the character of River Song, but since they have just let the cat out of the bag about who she really is I'm skeptical about how she'll play in stories now. I kind of liked the idea of keeping who she was a secret. It gave her a similar uniqueness to the Doctor and played into why there would be an attraction/relationship between the two somewhere down the line.

 

I agree, I think it was a mistake to make her Melody Pond. But the character rocks. I want to be River Song when I grow up ;-)

 

Tonight's Torchwood **SPOILERS**

This show...I am such a huge fangirl of Russell Davies creativity and writing. And while Jane Espensen penned tonight's episode, you can see his hand all over the thing.

Interracial sex, gay sex...Jack sort of admitting he needs Gwen...

And the whole pharmaceutical company - I had a feeling they'd go in the direction of exposing the faults in that industry and health care in general.

Esther: You've done this before!

Gwen: Sooooo many times.

But there were plot holes. I've had a migraine all day and very little sleep last night so maybe I missed something. But why in the middle of all that was going on, did Jack choose to wander off to a bar and get drunk? I understand why he went after Oswald, but why he went off to drink and pick up the bartender was a little vague to me. Did I miss something or did anyone else wonder what that was about?

 

I didn't continue to read your post after the first line as the show will be coming on in approximately another hour and a half in my time zone & I have not seen it yet so will comment later or tommorow if I log on.

 

OOOOOOH Ra, I am so sorry, I should have done a warning for spoilers. I'll go back and edit. I forgot about the time zone thing, I'm really not with it tonight.

I will go stand myself in the naughty corner for five minutes as punishment.

 

I was really hoping she'd turn out to be Romana, concealing her Time Lord nature through a Chameleon Arch, like the Master did. But I still love River.

 

Yey! People seem really divided by River, they either love her or they hate her. I have friends who find her *really* annoying - which I don't understand.

A badass archaeologist with a wise ass attitude who's always just a half step ahead of everyone else? Who can't love that?

 

Nothing off in Jack's behavior from my POV. Jack when first introduced in Doctor Who was a time traveling grifter and although he is reformed he still has that impulsive/reckless/selfish edge to his character. Remember his initial reason for becoming part of Torchwood was on the selfish end in that he gained access to resources/technology to help him locate & track the Doctor when/if he would appear on Earth since he rightful assumed the Doctor knew how/why he had become immortal. And when the opportunity presented itself as we saw at the end of Season One & the beginning of Season Two of Torchwood's original BBC run, Jack for all intent & purpose selfishly abandoned the team. It was only due to his getting some answers about his immortality and the bonding/struggle he endured alongside the Doctor & Martha during the whole Master/John Saxon adventure while he was "missing" that he came to realize and embrace what Torchwood actually could/should be about and return to the team.

 

True enough. I guess there's something about the way that Barrowman plays Jack that I tend to see him always as an inch deep, and don't really think too much about his depth. He's never been my favorite Torchwood character, though I did love his scene on the phone with Gwen last night - showed some real depth.

 

I love seeing a companion is more equal footing with the Doctor. Romana was the only one from the classic series who could keep up with him.

It is also nice to have another brickhouse companion, and a MILF to boot. Martha Jones & Peri Brown were the last "built" Who Girls.

Well, I'm about to watch Inferno, staring the 3rd Doctor. I always call Pertwee the Pimp Doctor due to his "Dandy" sense of style.

 

I'd say in the new series, Donna was a close match - she kept him in line when he needed it. (I also wish Wilf had spent more time as a companion, I think the relationship between the Doctor and Wilf was very touching - that scene of the two of them sitting chatting in the coffee shop brings me to tears every time I see it)

I have to say Martha Jones irritated me - she's a stunningly beautiful woman, but they wrote her to spend a season doing little but whining that the Doctor didn't love her.

 

The best runs for Doctor Who are when one strong Doctor passes the baton to another strong Doctor.

I have a DVD collection with Doctors 2-7. But I love watching 2-4. Those were 3 strong Doctors with great stories. It is a pity that so many of Patrick Troughton's stories were lost. After Tom Baker's exist, the quality of stories took a nose dive. It was tough to watch a consecutive string of good stories.

To me the 9th Doctor was cool. But the 10th is in league with 2-4. I am really enjoying the 11th Doctor. His Doctor is as alien as the 4th Doctor (my favorite). It is a shame he seems to be catching some hate.

I would love to see a multiple Doctor epic. They can still use 8-11 for it. Too bad the writing team swore to never do that.

 

To be fair they actually wrote the Doctor to be somewhat "irresistible" to some females. Rose spend the bulk of her companion time with not just one but two Doctor incarnations and so got the full reciprocated effect with Martha coming in after, hence her whining. They made the conscious effort to down play this aspect of the Doctor when Donna came aboard. Of course they brought it back with Matt Smith's Doctor and Amy Pond, but we see they aren't trying to have a repeat of what happened with Rose.

 

I forgot, Donna had it goin' on too from a curvy standpoint. Leela was another hottie.

Well Donna, Sarah Jane, & Amy Pond can keep up with the Doctor in a verbal sparring match. I just feel that Romana & River were on the same scientific level as the Doctor (Liz Shaw was another intelligent companion). Donna, Sarah Jane, Amy, & Martha all kept the Doctor honest in a moralistic POV. Martha's only set back was being hopelessly in love with the Doctor. But you have to admit, she is the best companion since River in helping the Doctor overcome his foes. Martha's determination during the Master/Saxon storyline was awesome. I thought it was touching that she married Mickey Smith in the end, giving their relationships with Rose & the 10th Doctor.

Do you find it funny that Rory is alot like Mickey? A doofus/dork who becomes a total hero.

 

Yeah, and Donna right from the start made it clear she wanted to be friends and nothing more. It was the way Martha was written - it wasn't fair to her that the Doctor wasn't more upfront about the fact his heart was still hurting and he wasn't emotionally available. His cluelessness about how Martha felt often bordered on the cruel, though I think it was unintentional.

I don't get the Amy love for 11. Actually I don't get Amy, though she's a bit better this season. He's waaay too alien and weird to fall in love with. Ten, Nine, I could understand, but Eleven makes it clear he has limited patience and love for humans to start with.

 

Yes, and I freely admit I found both of them irritating as hell in the beginning. Props to the writers and the actors for the character development in both.

Youre right about River, she's often a step ahead of the Doctor, which both 10 and 11 seemed to find a bit disconcerting, and I find amusing as hell. It's nice to see him shocked out of his complacency about being the smartest in the room occasionally.

 

With Amy, I think it has alot to do with her meeting him as a child. Remember, she fell asleep on her suitcase waiting for the Doctor to return(how cute was that?). Add to the fact that she grew up in that big lonely house mostly by herself. All she had was the memory of her imaginary friend as company. I think alot of her "love" is really childhood crush she has not fully grew out of. I do whince when writers play to idea that she still carries some torch for the Doctor. Rory is the one that waited 2000 years for her.

 

Absolutely spot on. Repped.

I had not really thought about the childhood crush thing before, and I think you're absolutely right.

 

I think Amy's connection with Smith's Doctor is due to her being "introduced" to him as a little girl so even though he's clearly alien in attitude and outlook, she has that "school girl crush" thing with him more so than an actual love for him IMO.

 

You men both got that, and I totally missed it. I think you're both right.