(Luministi) OOC: Application
Player Name: Beth
E-mail and/or AIM: graceomallet (AIM) / evilgiraffe (plurk)
Timezone: ET (generally 1:00-4:00 AM for tagging purposes)
Character: Jamie McCrimmon (James Robert McCrimmon)
Fandom/Series: Doctor Who
Original or Alternate Universe: Original
Canon Used: TV episodes, not including 'The Two Doctors'. Also includes the following Big Finish audios: Prison in Space, The Glorious Revolution, The Emperor of Eternity, The Forbidden Time. (Other audios may be added in as appropriate/when I get a chance to listen to them.)
Age: 20
Gender: M
Species: Human
Appearance: Here are a few pictures of Jamie for you, taken from the Doctor Who's Tragical History Tour website. The only major difference between these pictures and his current description would be that he is completely garbed in 18th century clothing, rather than the mix of more modern outfits and his kilt as seen in the examples. The only major difference between these pictures and his current description would be that he is completely garbed in 18th century clothing, rather than the mix of more modern outfits and his kilt as seen in the examples.
Personality:
Jamie is a brave young man, with an impulsive streak that has gotten him into trouble more times than one may care to count. He may not seem intelligent to the casual observer, but that is more a drawback of the time that he comes from than anything else. Many things are strange and new to someone from the 18th century, after all, and that lack of knowledge doesn't mean he isn't possessed of the ability to figure out what something is once he's presented with it. In fact, when scanned by Rago on the planet Dulkis, the Dominator noted that his brain showed evidence of recent rapid learning. He is quite quick to pick up new ideas and concepts, although he is prone to linking those concepts to other ones that he's already familiar with, such as calling an aeroplane a 'flying beastie' or thinking of a space station as a giant floating castle. Sometimes there's a bit of confusion that manifests when he's trying to figure out something new. Quite a lot of times he'll wind up giving whoever he's talking with a blank look followed by a question (or two or three or four). Other times he decides it's just easier if he pretends he knows what's going on, often showing this by a simple shrug and something spoken along the lines of "Oh, aye, that."
He also occasionally has a problem with unfamiliar words, which either results in him trying to pronounce them and giving up partway through or coming out with something that only bears a passing resemblance to what it was he was trying to say in the first place. But he doesn't always have to necessarily take those steps when comes to these strange new things. If he can't get an explanation or make an analogy to something else, then he'll simply accept whatever it is with wonder.
Personal space is something Jamie's not very good at recognizing, unfortunately. He is a very tactile man, often times grabbing someone's arm or plucking on their sleeve to get their attention. When frightened, he becomes downright clingy, latching on to the nearest person and holding on for dear life, until the moment's passed - at which point he lets go and may very well pretend nothing is wrong. Other than those moments, though, he seems to not show much in the way of worry or concern, unless it comes to his companions, especially the women. He does have a marked tendency to show fleeting moments of annoyance, often by pressing his lips together in such a manner that his mouth pulls off to one side in a very visible way. He may stay grumpy for a bit, and sometimes even seems to take a perverse pleasure at being contradictory or even negative, but for all those times, there are others when he expresses an equal amount of joy or excitement over his adventures. When he is well and truly furious, however, you will know it.
Jamie has a very strong connection to his Scottish homeland, and still holds fast to some superstitions and convictions that come from his upbringing there. He believes in the Phantom Piper, a figure that appears to the members of his clan when they are about to die, and was almost able to be lured out from the TARDIS by a vision of Scotland seen upon the TARDIS scanner. Normally, he is a straightforward and practical man, and usually exhibits at least some common sense. But that impulsive nature of his has been known to cause him to react without thinking, especially if he thinks that someone is in danger. For instance, when they were forced to leave normal time and space and landed in an endless white void, Zoe was lured outside. Even though the Doctor tried to get Jamie to stay in the relative safety of the TARDIS, he was determined to rescue her and left despite the Time Lord's efforts. He also has a tendency to say too much about things better kept secret, which does not help in keeping him (and his friends) out of trouble.
He is very much a product of his time when it comes to his views about the roles of men and women, expressing a very firm opinion that the women in his life need to be protected - whether or not they feel the same way. However, he is always gentlemanly and chivalrous in his treatment of women, and solicitous of their well-being. When he first started to travel with the Doctor, he was quite shy around girls, and not entirely comfortable when they would be more forward with him. Over time, he has become less hesitant with them, enjoying a little flirtatious teasing with Victoria - who he is quite fond of - and the occasional admiration of some lassies in certain outfits that he finds quite intriguing. He can appreciate a beautiful woman, and he has been known to remark upon it to other people in the nearby vicinity. He may not always elaborate on his feelings to the women in his life verbally, but does show them in other ways. It seems he's no longer quite exactly the same shy lad who didn't want to go through a makeover because he was afraid of what might happen if he looked charming.
The Doctor is a friend and mentor to him, someone who has shown him so many different things in the few short years they've been traveling together. He trusts the Time Lord implicitly and is willing to do quite a lot in the name of that trust, from creeping down unknown corridors to fighting terrible beasties. Jamie enjoys a friendly, bantering relationship with the Doctor most times, but things are not always smooth between the two of them. But given the Time Lord's propensity to get into trouble, Jamie believes that the Doctor needs someone to look after him - and that, coupled with his love of adventure, has kept him traveling in the TARDIS for years. If he had a choice, he may very well not ever want to leave.
Strengths/Abilities:
Jamie is a capable fighter, capable of using both a dirk (which he usually carries with him) and a sword, and on several occasions has utilized other weapons, such as guns, grenades, explosives and even rocks. He has expressed interest in quite a few more futuristic types of weapons like laser guns, and has proven capable of learning how to use them - even if it does make the Doctor nervous from time to time.
He is quite good at hand to hand combat and other methods of close quarters fighting, tackling opponents when necessary and able to knock them unconscious with a well placed punch. He has also been known to go after beasties when necessary, using his wits to find means of defeating or trapping them with the objects at his disposal. Many times, he will face his opponents with a battle cry of "Creag an tuire!" Whether or not it strikes fear into the heart of the enemy depends on the foe in question, but it does seem to provide him with a useful focus for the upcoming fight.
While he is not always familiar with more modern means of transportation (although he's picked up quite a bit about that during his travels with the Doctor), Jamie is an excellent horseman, using this skill to escape from a Confederate solider - after, of course, knocking the man off the horse to start with. He is quite good at climbing, thanks to growing up in the Highlands, and can scale steep cliffs, given the right equipment.
Jamie has what might be termed a 'danger sense', although perhaps it's just his Highland instincts kicking in from time to time. When this instinct does manifest, it starts off as a general unease and eventually becomes more intense the closer the danger gets. Normally, this ability just gives the "feeling" of danger. If reacted to, he may be able to do things such as dive out of the way of a trap or be able to pull a weapon against an attacker. He has not evidenced signs of a more specific sort of precognition and it is unclear if this ability will ever be more than a chance to avoid being surprised occasionally [reference episodes: Fury from the Deep, also possibly evident at the end of The War Games]. He also has been known to sense and reject subconscious directives while asleep (although he has been more easily swayed by hypnosis when awake), as evidenced during their stay in the Colony.
Of course, he has musical ability - which is perhaps fortunate given his position as piper to Clan McLaren. Trying to wring something out of bagpipes that is actually recognizable as music and not, say, dead cats screeching...well, it does take some talent. He is also capable of mending instruments - once he found a set of broken bagpipes in a chest onboard the TARDIS and told the Doctor he could fix them easily. And he is able to dance, once using the Highland Fling as a means to escape from an unwanted situation.
Weaknesses:
Jamie is young and strong, but human, and like any human can be injured or even killed quite easily. He has a sensitivity to toxic gases - in 'Fury From the Deep', he had violent sneezing reactions to the stuff.
When he first meets the Doctor, Jamie states he cannot swim at all. It is likely he has learned since, but he may have trouble in rougher waters. He also is not particularly good at tying knots - or, at least not knots that are able to stand up to the strength of a Cyberman.
As well, Jamie suffers from occasional motion sickness, having become ill during his first flight on a 'flying beastie', and nearly suffering the same fate while traveling on the extremely rickety Liz 79.
History:
James Robert McCrimmon was born in Scotland. His father, Donald, was the piper to clan McLaren (as was Donald's father before him), and the young lad was brought up to be a piper as well. Like many young children, he was curious, eager to learn about the world around him. Unlike many young children of the time, he was also lucky. Surviving through early childhood was no small feat in the 18th century, and the uncertainty of the time he grew up with did not help. But things were mostly unremarkable, until he found himself caught up in the second Jacobite uprising, referred to sometimes as the "The Forty-Five".
Just after the battle of Culloden, the Doctor, Ben and Polly arrive in the Highlands and are taken prisoner by a small band of Scottish rebels that includes one James Robert McCrimmon, commonly known as Jamie. Jamie, the piper to clan McLaren, is helping protect his Laird, Colin, who has been injured during the fighting. He and the Laird's son Alexander reluctantly agree to let the Doctor tend to Colin's wounds. Ben, however, alerts the Redcoats to their hiding place when he drops a loaded pistol. Alexander is killed trying to draw off the Redcoats. Jamie finds himself captured, along with Ben and the Doctor and given into the hands of a crooked solicitor who means to sell them into slavery. The Doctor uses an unwitting Jamie in order escape, infuriating the young Scot at first. Ben manages to explain what it is the Doctor is doing, and once Jamie knows what's going on, he accepts the situation - although not without some reservations. Eventually, the Doctor manages to smuggle arms to the Highlanders who in turn defeat the solicitor and his men. Afterwards, Polly - fearing for Jamie’s safety on the Highlands - asks the Doctor to let Jamie accompany them on their travels. The Doctor agrees, asking only that Jamie teach him how to play the bagpipes.
The TARDIS itself is strange and alien, and Jamie finds it hard to believe that he's left Scotland, but he soon finds that he has indeed traveled through space and time. He travels to the lost city of Atlantis, finds himself on the moon, in the far future and Earth - but over 200 years past his time. He meets the fearsome Cybermen, the crab-like beings known as the Macra, the time-walking Vist and the face-changing Chameleons, and does things no 18th century Scotsman would dream to be possible - like fly on an airplane or walk on the moon.
After their encounter with the Chameleons, Ben and Polly choose to leave the Doctor and remain on Earth. Jamie chooses to stay with the Doctor instead, assuring Ben and Polly he will take good care of him.
Shortly thereafter, he meets Victoria Waterfield. The TARDIS has been taken, and in their search to find the time machine, Jamie and the Doctor wind up back in Victorian England and face to face with an old enemy - the Daleks. As part of their plan, they captured Victoria, using her to ensure her father's cooperation, but what they really want is the Time Lord and his companion to be used in an effort try and isolate the "Human Factor". While Jamie is forced to undergo a test to rescue Miss Waterfield, the Doctor has to record his reactions. with the Doctor and Victoria's father, they travel to Skaro, the Dalek's home planet and find that the Doctor not only has found the "Human Factor", he has unwittingly provided them the "Dalek Factor" as well. They must find a way to stop the Daleks from taking the "Dalek Factor" and using it on the unsuspecting people of Earth. They do so, but not without losses. The greedy Maxtible, the noble Kemel, and Victoria's father all lose their lives.
Just before he dies, Victoria's father asks the Doctor to look out for his daughter, as she has no family left. The Doctor agrees, and Victoria joins them on their travels. Once again, they meet the Cybermen, this time facing off against the fearsome Cyber-Controller on their home planet of Telos. Afterwards, the crew of the TARDIS travel to Tibet and run into what is later revealed to be the robotic Yeti, under control of the Great Intelligence.
In their next encounter, with the reptilian Ice Warriors, Jamie is temporarily paralyzed by a blow from one of their weapons. However, the technology of Britainnicus Ice Base means they have advanced medical capabilities and they are able to heal Jamie.
He then meets the evil Salamander, who is a near-exact duplicate of the Doctor, and nearly winds up getting sucked out of the TARDIS when Salamander tries to impersonate the Doctor in order to effect an escape. The Yeti and the Great Intelligence are faced again, this time with the help of U.N.I.T. and Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart. The TARDIS is then forced to make an emergency landing in China in the year 200 BC and the Doctor is taken to the Imperial City. After they rescue him, they then encounter a parasitic form of seaweed that is capable of mind control.
It seems part and parcel of traveling with the Doctor is a constant sense of excitement. No sooner is one enemy defeated than another is revealed. Jamie finds that he thrives on the adventure. Victoria, unfortunately, does not. After the seaweed incident, she chooses to stay behind with the Harrises.
During their time together, Jamie had become exceptionally fond - more than fond - of Victoria, although he never actually tells her how he feels. He is quite unhappy when she no longer wishes to travel with them and is quite angry with the Doctor for letting her go. For a time afterwards, he loses interest in just about everything, including traveling in the TARDIS.
After Victoria departs, he and the Doctor meet up with the Cybermen again, and a young girl by the name of Zoe Heriot. While at first the young Scot is a bit irritated by Zoe's personality (having her giggle at his kilt probably didn't help), once he gets to know her better they develop more of a friendship. Together, they face the small but deadly robotic Quarks, then find themselves outside of reality in the Land of Fiction. Jamie is turned into a cardboard cutout of himself and his face wiped away. Due to an error by the Doctor in restoring Jamie's features, he is temporarily turned into a different looking young man, and it is Zoe who helps to return Jamie to himself when he is transformed a second time.
Once they break free of the Land of Fiction and return to normal space-time, Jamie, Zoe and the Doctor work with UNIT to prevent the Cyberman invasion of Earth. At some point after this, Jamie and Zoe talk the Doctor into a taking a relaxing break, which turns into anything but when they are arrested for trespassing and Jamie and the Doctor wind up in a prison they supposedly cannot escape from. With a little ingenuity, they manage to do just that - although not until after Jamie has to masquerade as one of the female prison guards. The trio then find themselves caught up in a struggle between the merciless Krotons and the race of people known as the Gonds. Once they have helped defeat the Krotons, they travel to Earth in the 21st Century, where the T-Mat is the primary means of transportation and the Ice Warriors are using it - to attempt to take the Earth for themselves. Managing to defeat the Ice Warriors and their deadly fungus, Jamie and the others find themselves smack in the middle of the Glorious Revolution, where Jamie manages to create an alternate timeline where the battle of Culloden never happened and he never met the Doctor. Fortunately, history was set right, and the crew of the TARDIS continue their adventures, coming up against space pirates who are after the valuable mineral Argonite and eventually bringing them to justice.
Jamie would likely stay with the Doctor for the rest of his life, but unfortunately, the choice is taken out of his hands. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe find themselves in the midst of a battlefield, and the Doctor finds a helmet that at first leads him to believe the TARDIS has landed in the middle of World War I. However, appearances can be deceiving. While the soldiers fighting the battle are from that era, the battleground is one of a series of zones controlled by an alien race as part of their plan to create a super army from the survivors and use that to take over the universe. With the help of Jamie, Zoe and rebel soldiers, the Doctor is able to stop the fighting. However, the Doctor runs into problems with getting everyone home, and is forced to contact the Time Lords for assistance. While the young Scot does his best to help the Doctor escape, they are captured and the Doctor is put on trial to face his crimes. The Time Lords inform the Doctor’s companions that they will have to be placed back in their own times, which neither want to do. Jamie, especially, is still utterly convinced that the Doctor needs him and tries to talk the Time Lords into letting him stay, to no avail.
Jamie and Zoe have been convinced they must go home, and have said their goodbyes to the Doctor. They step into a plain green TARDIS, and as the Doctor watches the door close, there is a discussion with his fellow Time Lord about his two companions forgetting him. The Doctor is reassured that they will remember their first encounter, but nothing more. He is shown images of Zoe, safe on the Wheel, and Jamie, who has a run-in with a Redcoat that ends rather badly...for the Redcoat.
Canon Point:
Just 'The War Games', Episode 10, once the Time Lords have wiped his memories and sent him back to Scotland. A Redcoat, spotting Jamie, goes to fire upon him, but the young Highlander - perhaps sensing the attack - throws himself to the ground and the shot sails harmlessly past. Getting to his feet, he draws his claymore and goes to chase the Redcoat down, swinging the weapon wildly over his head and letting loose a fearsome cry as he does so.