Doctor Who, series 1

[rm]

The Sliveen or however they are spelled are really the most irksomely boring villains ever. The return of them though in the episode about the Rift surfboard had a lot of nice acting in it and a decent plot. Certainly, lots of explanations of useful stuff (often clunky) and some amazing character insights.

And then there is The Game Station and The Parting of the Ways. These episodes upset me deeply, despite not being as good as The Empty Child arc. The Daleks are scary by the sheer virtue of speaking at the most aggravating pitch/tone in the universe. The Doctor asking the Dalek emperor if he would be his highest angel was downright chilling, but again leads me to ask -- what's with the Christian mythology in Doctor Who and hey, what's with the Gnosticism in SF/F in general (a source of endless fascination to me and a reminder that _someone_ needs to return my Milton to me)?

Anyway, my suppositions about Jack figuring out he is immortal (which apparently doesn't happen the way The Parting of the Ways left me thinking it happens) led me to annoy redstapler with questions which led me to the Doctor Who wiki, which led me to the fairly common theory that Jack may be the Face of Boe which led me to writing melancholy Face of Boe fic.

In all these bad effects, clunky explanations and cheesy bits of humour there are some deeply, deeply strange, unsettling, sad and even slightly profound things going on. What a weird show.

Comments

[rm.livejournal.com]

Well I think Jack's already lonely. I think Jack was lonely from the second he let go of his brother's hand -- if not sooner. I really think it's a constitutional thing with him, and life has just dealt him a hand that makes it make sense (of course, I would read it this way, so take that with what you know of me).

I do think the Jack/Nine/Rose relationship seemed very balanced and even and that Jack and Nine's issues about Mickey are pretty much like "this will fuck up the balance" -- I thought Boom Town had interesting stuff going on because you see Rose on her fraught date with Mickey and Nine out with the Slitheen and Jack fucking around with the Tardis and they're all _fine_ and occupied and it's just a really nice funny little thing. It also, to me, helps explain why Jack winds up immortal as a result of the Bad Wolf situation -- there were three dates that night, and the only one that went at all decently was Jack's with the Tardis. It liked him. And that's the parting gift. I think Rose's will to save him wouldn't have been enough alone.

As to Jack's cowardice (which is discussed a lot in DW but not in TW, although it's just as present), I think he's aware that he can't be a constant in people's lives, but because of that runs away much fucking sooner than he has to because he's terrified. And it's a picture that takes a while to emerge and when it does, it's just like -- ow.