Why I Love the Tenth Doctor Part II
Whew! I have finished part II of my 'Why I love Ten' post! (For part I go here.) And amazingly (or not so amazingly) I *still* have several reasons to love him that I just didn't have room for in either post.
Which means there may a part III at some point in the future. These take a fair amount of time and effort, so it won't be terribly soon.
Caps from larissa_j.
7. I love that he's easily distracted by shiny things.
He's brilliant and over a thousand years old (we all know he's lying about being 903) but all you need to do to divert his attention is show him some edible ball bearings. Or, heck, some garden variety hor d'oeuvres. Add in a light show and he'll forget that the universe is ending for at least a few minutes. No matter what's going on or how serious the situation is, he can find a moment to appreciate any new or interesting thing to come his way.
(FH)The Doctor turns. She's holding out a cupcake decorated with edible ball bearings. He starts to laugh, as does she.
DOCTOR: (taking it) Top banana!
He takes a bite out of it whilst Rose watches, grinning from ear to ear.
DOCTOR: Mm. I can't stress this enough. Ball bearings you can eat - masterpiece!
(TLE) Inside the main reception room, guests are mingling. Dominating the room is a large white round cabinet surrounded by four pillars with a slight curve at the top. The Doctor
takes some hors d’oeuvres from a passing tray.
DOCTOR: Oh, look, they’ve got nibbles! I love nibbles!
The Doctor tosses one whole into his mouth.
(TSE) SHADOW ARCHITECT: What did you do?
DOCTOR: Nothing. The planets rearranged themselves into the optimum pattern. (appreciatively) Oh... look at that. Twenty-seven planets in perfect balance. Come on, that is gorgeous!
8. I love his arrogance.
Even if it does want to make me smack him sometimes, I still love it. It's part of what makes him so interesting to watch. Another word for this is his god complex. He's the last of the Time Lords and there is no one to stop him or overrule him anymore. And why is there no one to overrule him? Oh, yeah, because he *killed* them all. Even though I don't believe he wants to be god, I wouldn't be surprised if there is a small part of him that did feel like god in that moment. He chose who lived and who died. For someone who comes from an immensely powerful and immensely arrogant race (the bit where they call themselves Time Lords is a clue), the temptation to take absolute power must be intense. He never even questions the Master's assertion that he has to right to reorder time. All he wants to do after the Master has tortured the Earth for a year is to forgive him. What right does he have to forgive? And even when he's not tempted by power, he has a nearly unshakable belief in his own rightness. Sometimes it works for him and sometimes it all backfires on him, but stories of him can make unstoppable shadows retreat.
(LotTL) DOCTOR: You wouldn't listen.
MASTER: No!
DOCTOR: Because you know what I'm going to say.
MASTER: No! (curls into fetal position)
The DOCTOR lands, walks over to the whimpering MASTER and wraps his arms about him.
DOCTOR: I forgive you.
(VotD) RICKSTON: Hang on a minute. Who put you in charge and who the hell are you anyway?
DOCTOR: I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all six billion of the people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?
(TFotD) DOCTOR: I'm giving you back your forests, but you are giving me them. You are letting them go.
He walks back to the terminal. Shadows reach out from skeleton/Anita towards the Doctor.
ANITA/VASHTA NERADA: These are our forests. They are our meat.
DOCTOR: Don't play games with me! You just killed someone I liked, that is not a safe place to stand. I'm the Doctor and you're in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up.
After a short pause, the shadows withdraw.
(Midnight) DOCTOR: No, I've got to stay back. If she's copying us, maybe the final stage is becoming us. I don't want her becoming me, or things could get a lot worse.
VAL: Oh, like you're so special.
DOCTOR: As it happens, yes I am. So that's decided. We stay back, and we wait. When the rescue ship comes, we can get her to hospital.
9. I love that he's too damn old to deal with your bullshit.
He's old and he's seen so much that it's not surprising that he gets tired sometimes. Every time he smacks down one megalomaniac genius with a plan to take over the world, there's another to take their place. He just doesn't have the patience anymore to coddle the latest would be supervillain. He's not heartless; you get your warning. Don't take it? Let the consequences rain on your head.
(TCI) Behind them, the Sycorax Leader gets to his feet. He picks up his sword, roaring, ready to charge. Without even turning around, the Doctor lobs the satsuma at a switch on the side of the ship, causing the ground beneath the Sycorax Leader to open. He tumbles to Earth, screaming. The Doctor's smile has faded from his face.
DOCTOR: No second chances. I'm that sort of a man.
(SR) DOCTOR: (quietly) I'm so old, now. I used to have so much mercy.
He stares him out.
DOCTOR: You get one warning. That was it.
(TLE) DOCTOR: I’m old enough to know that a longer life isn’t always a better one. In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle. Tired of losing everyone that matters to you. Tired of watching everything turn to dust. (squats beside Lazarus) If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you end up alone.
10. I love that he truly loves people.
What makes him happiest is helping and getting to know the people around him. It doesn't matter what size, shape, color, or species you are, he wants to get to know you. Of all the Doctors, Ten may have the strongest desire to connect with others. The thought of spending hours just chatting with other people is great fun for him. While he may need some solitude, he usually just wants to get out there and be with people.
(NE) CASSANDRA/ROSE: What did they pass on? Did you kill them? All of them?
DOCTOR: No. That's your way of doing things.
He walks into their midst.
DOCTOR: I'm the Doctor and I cured them.
(TIP) DOCTOR: (still grinning at them all fondly) So, when it comes right down to it, why did you come here? Why did you do that? Why? I'll tell you why. Because it was THERE. Brilliant. Excuse me, ah, Zach, wasn't it?
ZACH: That's me.
DOCTOR: Just stand there, 'cos I'm gonna hug you. Is that all right?
(Midnight) BIFF: We've got four hours of this! Four hours of just... sitting here?
DOCTOR: Tell you what! We'll have to talk to each other instead!
He grins at the passengers who seem to find this a weird idea.
11. I love that he's scary.
Damn, fig_gin already said this so well, it's going to be tough to put her words out of my head and come up with my own. Here we go. Ten can turn on a dime from smiling and happy to Oncoming Storm. His stability and his sanity are hard won but not terribly secure. Scratch the surface and he's full of pain, and rage, and guilt, and self loathing. He's mercurial and if you cross him, he will Take You Apart. It scares me how far he's willing to go to take his pain out on someone else. Even though his opponents deserve to be punished for their deeds, he doesn't stop, not until he has destroyed them utterly. He can be a cold heartless bastard. But I don't hate him for it, I love it even when I think he's completely wrong.
(TCI) DOCTOR: (stepping towards her angrily) Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones. 'Cos I'm a completely new man. I could bring down your Government with a single word.
HARRIET JONES: You're the most remarkable man I've ever met. But I don't think you're quite capable of that.
DOCTOR: No, you're right. Not a single word. (looks down at her silently for a few seconds) Just six.
They stare at each other for a few more seconds, a battle of wills. Then the Doctor walks around her and approaches Alex. He takes off his earpiece and speaks to him quietly, so Harriet Jones cannot hear.
DOCTOR: Don't you think she looks tired?
(TRB) EMPRESS: (hysterical and in torturous pain as she is consumed by flame) No! My children! My children!
DONNA: Doctor! You can stop now!
But the Doctor can't stop -- he watches the Racnoss writhe and wail in agony with dark eyes, full of some secret pain.
(TFoB) BAINES: (v.o.) He never raised his voice. That was the worst thing. The fury of the Time Lord. And then we discovered why. Why this Doctor, who had fought with gods and demons, why he'd run away from us and hidden--he was being kind. He wrapped my father in unbreakable chains, forged in the heart of a dwarf star.
He tricked my mother into the event horizon of a collapsing galaxy to be imprisoned there...forever.
He still visits my little sister once a year every year. I wonder if one day he might forgive her, but there she is--can you see? He trapped her inside a mirror, every mirror. If ever you look at your reflection and see something move behind you, just for a second, that's her. That's always her.
As for me, I was suspended in time. And the Doctor put me to work...standing over the fields of England...as their protector. We wanted to live forever, so the Doctor made sure that we did.
12. I love that he's not afraid to cry.
The Tenth Doctor lives his life on the surface of his skin. Sure he can hide things, lie, deflect attention when he has to; but he's emotional and he's not interested in pretending he isn't, possibly because he's too old to care about keeping that stiff upper lip anymore. Or maybe it's because he's lost so much that he can't see the point in not living his life to the fullest. When he's happy, his whole body lights up. His smiles and joy in life are infectious. When he's mad, he can scorch rocks with his gaze. You probably don't want to be standing on the same planet if you're who he's mad at and, even if you aren't the focus of his rage, you can still get burned. And when he's sad, the grief rolls off of him in waves. I love that children are watching this man, this larger than life hero, and he cries when he's sad. He may suppress later, but in the moment he doesn't try to hide and he isn't ashamed.
(Doomsday) The Doctor stands alone in the TARDIS, eyes filled with tears which are spilling down his cheeks, his mouth already open to form the words he never got to say. He swallows hard, closing his eyes with a heavy heart.
(LotTL) MASTER: How about that? I win. (pause) Will it stop, Doctor? The drumming. Will it stop? (dies)
The DOCTOR holds the MASTER close, rocking back and forth as he cries. He screams in despair and loss as the others simply look on.
(TDD) DOCTOR: You're my daughter and we've only just got started. You're gonna be great. You're gonna be more than great. You're gonna be amazing! You hear me? Jenny?
She closes her eyes and dies. The Doctor kisses her forehead in despair.
13. I love that he's the Doctor.
No pictures for this one, just a statement. Even though I haven't been moved to write odes to Five or Four or Nine or so on, I love the Doctor in all his forms. I watch the show for the Doctor above all. I can love companions but the Doctor is my character. My sympathy, my interest, and my viewpoint is always with the Doctor. I admit that I only have a passing familiarity with a few of the Doctors, but I have no doubt that I would love them as I do the others. And of all the Doctors, the one I love the most is Ten. To me he *is* the Doctor.
Which means there may a part III at some point in the future. These take a fair amount of time and effort, so it won't be terribly soon.
Caps from larissa_j.
7. I love that he's easily distracted by shiny things.
He's brilliant and over a thousand years old (we all know he's lying about being 903) but all you need to do to divert his attention is show him some edible ball bearings. Or, heck, some garden variety hor d'oeuvres. Add in a light show and he'll forget that the universe is ending for at least a few minutes. No matter what's going on or how serious the situation is, he can find a moment to appreciate any new or interesting thing to come his way.
(FH)The Doctor turns. She's holding out a cupcake decorated with edible ball bearings. He starts to laugh, as does she.
DOCTOR: (taking it) Top banana!
He takes a bite out of it whilst Rose watches, grinning from ear to ear.
DOCTOR: Mm. I can't stress this enough. Ball bearings you can eat - masterpiece!
(TLE) Inside the main reception room, guests are mingling. Dominating the room is a large white round cabinet surrounded by four pillars with a slight curve at the top. The Doctor
takes some hors d’oeuvres from a passing tray.
DOCTOR: Oh, look, they’ve got nibbles! I love nibbles!
The Doctor tosses one whole into his mouth.
(TSE) SHADOW ARCHITECT: What did you do?
DOCTOR: Nothing. The planets rearranged themselves into the optimum pattern. (appreciatively) Oh... look at that. Twenty-seven planets in perfect balance. Come on, that is gorgeous!
8. I love his arrogance.
Even if it does want to make me smack him sometimes, I still love it. It's part of what makes him so interesting to watch. Another word for this is his god complex. He's the last of the Time Lords and there is no one to stop him or overrule him anymore. And why is there no one to overrule him? Oh, yeah, because he *killed* them all. Even though I don't believe he wants to be god, I wouldn't be surprised if there is a small part of him that did feel like god in that moment. He chose who lived and who died. For someone who comes from an immensely powerful and immensely arrogant race (the bit where they call themselves Time Lords is a clue), the temptation to take absolute power must be intense. He never even questions the Master's assertion that he has to right to reorder time. All he wants to do after the Master has tortured the Earth for a year is to forgive him. What right does he have to forgive? And even when he's not tempted by power, he has a nearly unshakable belief in his own rightness. Sometimes it works for him and sometimes it all backfires on him, but stories of him can make unstoppable shadows retreat.
(LotTL) DOCTOR: You wouldn't listen.
MASTER: No!
DOCTOR: Because you know what I'm going to say.
MASTER: No! (curls into fetal position)
The DOCTOR lands, walks over to the whimpering MASTER and wraps his arms about him.
DOCTOR: I forgive you.
(VotD) RICKSTON: Hang on a minute. Who put you in charge and who the hell are you anyway?
DOCTOR: I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all six billion of the people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?
(TFotD) DOCTOR: I'm giving you back your forests, but you are giving me them. You are letting them go.
He walks back to the terminal. Shadows reach out from skeleton/Anita towards the Doctor.
ANITA/VASHTA NERADA: These are our forests. They are our meat.
DOCTOR: Don't play games with me! You just killed someone I liked, that is not a safe place to stand. I'm the Doctor and you're in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up.
After a short pause, the shadows withdraw.
(Midnight) DOCTOR: No, I've got to stay back. If she's copying us, maybe the final stage is becoming us. I don't want her becoming me, or things could get a lot worse.
VAL: Oh, like you're so special.
DOCTOR: As it happens, yes I am. So that's decided. We stay back, and we wait. When the rescue ship comes, we can get her to hospital.
9. I love that he's too damn old to deal with your bullshit.
He's old and he's seen so much that it's not surprising that he gets tired sometimes. Every time he smacks down one megalomaniac genius with a plan to take over the world, there's another to take their place. He just doesn't have the patience anymore to coddle the latest would be supervillain. He's not heartless; you get your warning. Don't take it? Let the consequences rain on your head.
(TCI) Behind them, the Sycorax Leader gets to his feet. He picks up his sword, roaring, ready to charge. Without even turning around, the Doctor lobs the satsuma at a switch on the side of the ship, causing the ground beneath the Sycorax Leader to open. He tumbles to Earth, screaming. The Doctor's smile has faded from his face.
DOCTOR: No second chances. I'm that sort of a man.
(SR) DOCTOR: (quietly) I'm so old, now. I used to have so much mercy.
He stares him out.
DOCTOR: You get one warning. That was it.
(TLE) DOCTOR: I’m old enough to know that a longer life isn’t always a better one. In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle. Tired of losing everyone that matters to you. Tired of watching everything turn to dust. (squats beside Lazarus) If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you end up alone.
10. I love that he truly loves people.
What makes him happiest is helping and getting to know the people around him. It doesn't matter what size, shape, color, or species you are, he wants to get to know you. Of all the Doctors, Ten may have the strongest desire to connect with others. The thought of spending hours just chatting with other people is great fun for him. While he may need some solitude, he usually just wants to get out there and be with people.
(NE) CASSANDRA/ROSE: What did they pass on? Did you kill them? All of them?
DOCTOR: No. That's your way of doing things.
He walks into their midst.
DOCTOR: I'm the Doctor and I cured them.
(TIP) DOCTOR: (still grinning at them all fondly) So, when it comes right down to it, why did you come here? Why did you do that? Why? I'll tell you why. Because it was THERE. Brilliant. Excuse me, ah, Zach, wasn't it?
ZACH: That's me.
DOCTOR: Just stand there, 'cos I'm gonna hug you. Is that all right?
(Midnight) BIFF: We've got four hours of this! Four hours of just... sitting here?
DOCTOR: Tell you what! We'll have to talk to each other instead!
He grins at the passengers who seem to find this a weird idea.
11. I love that he's scary.
Damn, fig_gin already said this so well, it's going to be tough to put her words out of my head and come up with my own. Here we go. Ten can turn on a dime from smiling and happy to Oncoming Storm. His stability and his sanity are hard won but not terribly secure. Scratch the surface and he's full of pain, and rage, and guilt, and self loathing. He's mercurial and if you cross him, he will Take You Apart. It scares me how far he's willing to go to take his pain out on someone else. Even though his opponents deserve to be punished for their deeds, he doesn't stop, not until he has destroyed them utterly. He can be a cold heartless bastard. But I don't hate him for it, I love it even when I think he's completely wrong.
(TCI) DOCTOR: (stepping towards her angrily) Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones. 'Cos I'm a completely new man. I could bring down your Government with a single word.
HARRIET JONES: You're the most remarkable man I've ever met. But I don't think you're quite capable of that.
DOCTOR: No, you're right. Not a single word. (looks down at her silently for a few seconds) Just six.
They stare at each other for a few more seconds, a battle of wills. Then the Doctor walks around her and approaches Alex. He takes off his earpiece and speaks to him quietly, so Harriet Jones cannot hear.
DOCTOR: Don't you think she looks tired?
(TRB) EMPRESS: (hysterical and in torturous pain as she is consumed by flame) No! My children! My children!
DONNA: Doctor! You can stop now!
But the Doctor can't stop -- he watches the Racnoss writhe and wail in agony with dark eyes, full of some secret pain.
(TFoB) BAINES: (v.o.) He never raised his voice. That was the worst thing. The fury of the Time Lord. And then we discovered why. Why this Doctor, who had fought with gods and demons, why he'd run away from us and hidden--he was being kind. He wrapped my father in unbreakable chains, forged in the heart of a dwarf star.
He tricked my mother into the event horizon of a collapsing galaxy to be imprisoned there...forever.
He still visits my little sister once a year every year. I wonder if one day he might forgive her, but there she is--can you see? He trapped her inside a mirror, every mirror. If ever you look at your reflection and see something move behind you, just for a second, that's her. That's always her.
As for me, I was suspended in time. And the Doctor put me to work...standing over the fields of England...as their protector. We wanted to live forever, so the Doctor made sure that we did.
12. I love that he's not afraid to cry.
The Tenth Doctor lives his life on the surface of his skin. Sure he can hide things, lie, deflect attention when he has to; but he's emotional and he's not interested in pretending he isn't, possibly because he's too old to care about keeping that stiff upper lip anymore. Or maybe it's because he's lost so much that he can't see the point in not living his life to the fullest. When he's happy, his whole body lights up. His smiles and joy in life are infectious. When he's mad, he can scorch rocks with his gaze. You probably don't want to be standing on the same planet if you're who he's mad at and, even if you aren't the focus of his rage, you can still get burned. And when he's sad, the grief rolls off of him in waves. I love that children are watching this man, this larger than life hero, and he cries when he's sad. He may suppress later, but in the moment he doesn't try to hide and he isn't ashamed.
(Doomsday) The Doctor stands alone in the TARDIS, eyes filled with tears which are spilling down his cheeks, his mouth already open to form the words he never got to say. He swallows hard, closing his eyes with a heavy heart.
(LotTL) MASTER: How about that? I win. (pause) Will it stop, Doctor? The drumming. Will it stop? (dies)
The DOCTOR holds the MASTER close, rocking back and forth as he cries. He screams in despair and loss as the others simply look on.
(TDD) DOCTOR: You're my daughter and we've only just got started. You're gonna be great. You're gonna be more than great. You're gonna be amazing! You hear me? Jenny?
She closes her eyes and dies. The Doctor kisses her forehead in despair.
13. I love that he's the Doctor.
No pictures for this one, just a statement. Even though I haven't been moved to write odes to Five or Four or Nine or so on, I love the Doctor in all his forms. I watch the show for the Doctor above all. I can love companions but the Doctor is my character. My sympathy, my interest, and my viewpoint is always with the Doctor. I admit that I only have a passing familiarity with a few of the Doctors, but I have no doubt that I would love them as I do the others. And of all the Doctors, the one I love the most is Ten. To me he *is* the Doctor.