Alpha, Tin-They’re All Dogs to Me
Hello, I'm new here, and thought I might be able to get some insight into things.
I was watching Revenge of the Cybermen last night when a scene just struck me hard across the brain. Four, Sarah, and Harry are trying to get through Station Nirva to find out what killed all the people littering the corridors. Four dismantles one of the hatches, sticks his hand through, and gets caught in the sliding door. Sarah and Harry quickly rush through, stop the door, and help Four out.
Four then comes through the door, flashing a warm, beaming smile at Sarah Jane. Then he turns to Harry and glares at him. Harry just looks at Sarah Jane and says, “What? What did I do?”
And it hit me, just like a big old brick-Harry is Mickey. They are the same person. Verbatim (except for the clothes and appearance and the fact that there is about a thirty year age difference and they’ve never met and stuff.)
You see, I’d just seen The Age of Steel that very afternoon, and noticed that Ten’s behavior towards Mickey was exactly the same as it was towards Harry. Rose could do no wrong, and Mickey was an idiot. They could do the same thing, and Ten would just shrug off Rose’s behavior, and nail Harry (I mean, Mickey) for it.
So I got to wondering, why is he so hard on the guys and not the girls? Was it just Rose and Sarah, imho, the two companions he cared about the most? Was he marking his territory, making sure that the two males knew they were and would always be inferior, and that he would be the top dog? Was he like this with all males on his ship, regardless of which female companion was there?
I noticed in The Five Doctors that One and Five did not seem dismissive at all of Turlough. It baffles me, and I just can’t understand it. If the Doctor is not like this with all of his male companions, then what is it about Mickey and Harry that raised this animosity in him? Their personalities are nothing alike, they don’t look alike, and they represent very different areas of human culture.
There are two common denominators I can find between Harry and Mickey. The first is the girl. Harry is a complete gentleman to Sarah, very old-school, very much what most normal girls would want in a beau. Mickey has an established romantic relationship with Rose. Four and Ten, if they had feelings for Sarah and Rose, might feel hostile if they thought someone was moving in on their “territory.” (I think SJS would laugh her head off if she knew I was even suggesting Harry as a romantic possibility, but that doesn’t mean it hadn’t crossed Four’s mind.) Nine was a little more open to Mickey, even inviting him to come along. But by the time it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Rose and Ten loved each other, his attitude towards Mickey became much less generous.
The second common denominator between Harry and Mickey is that neither of them will just let the Doctor tell them what to do without questioning. Both of them have very strong minds and will gladly contradict the Doctor if they think his decisions are wrong. This might be okay coming from a girl, or woman, that he has grown fond of…but coming from a bloke? I think the Doctor’s ego is a little too big for that. He plays alpha male all the time, using verbal and even physical intimidation (observe the body language between Four and Harry) to establish dominance. Words like “imbecile” and “idiot” flow freely, and there is always Four’s famous “You may be a doctor, but I’m the Doctor.”
And while I firmly believe that both incarnations of the Doctor were fond of the Tin Dogs, I definitely think their behavior towards Harry and Mickey bordered on verbally abusive. (Oh, I know there are M/M slashers out there who will say it's all subtext, and he attacks Harry and Mickey because he wants them and cannot have them. :P ) It looks like Four and Ten systematically tried to cut them down, demoralize them, make them feel inferior, and (subliminally) drive them away.
And the Doctors succeeded in both cases.
So my question to those of you who have seen more of the series-is this a constant between the Doctor and all his male companions, or was it just Harry and Mickey? Did he engage in the same behavior with characters like the Brig? Did he ever exhibit the same behavior with any of the female characters?
I think on the one hand, I love the Doctor's complexity. On the other hand, I hate how he treats the Tin Dogs. I’m surprised more people haven’t commented on this.
I was watching Revenge of the Cybermen last night when a scene just struck me hard across the brain. Four, Sarah, and Harry are trying to get through Station Nirva to find out what killed all the people littering the corridors. Four dismantles one of the hatches, sticks his hand through, and gets caught in the sliding door. Sarah and Harry quickly rush through, stop the door, and help Four out.
Four then comes through the door, flashing a warm, beaming smile at Sarah Jane. Then he turns to Harry and glares at him. Harry just looks at Sarah Jane and says, “What? What did I do?”
And it hit me, just like a big old brick-Harry is Mickey. They are the same person. Verbatim (except for the clothes and appearance and the fact that there is about a thirty year age difference and they’ve never met and stuff.)
You see, I’d just seen The Age of Steel that very afternoon, and noticed that Ten’s behavior towards Mickey was exactly the same as it was towards Harry. Rose could do no wrong, and Mickey was an idiot. They could do the same thing, and Ten would just shrug off Rose’s behavior, and nail Harry (I mean, Mickey) for it.
So I got to wondering, why is he so hard on the guys and not the girls? Was it just Rose and Sarah, imho, the two companions he cared about the most? Was he marking his territory, making sure that the two males knew they were and would always be inferior, and that he would be the top dog? Was he like this with all males on his ship, regardless of which female companion was there?
I noticed in The Five Doctors that One and Five did not seem dismissive at all of Turlough. It baffles me, and I just can’t understand it. If the Doctor is not like this with all of his male companions, then what is it about Mickey and Harry that raised this animosity in him? Their personalities are nothing alike, they don’t look alike, and they represent very different areas of human culture.
There are two common denominators I can find between Harry and Mickey. The first is the girl. Harry is a complete gentleman to Sarah, very old-school, very much what most normal girls would want in a beau. Mickey has an established romantic relationship with Rose. Four and Ten, if they had feelings for Sarah and Rose, might feel hostile if they thought someone was moving in on their “territory.” (I think SJS would laugh her head off if she knew I was even suggesting Harry as a romantic possibility, but that doesn’t mean it hadn’t crossed Four’s mind.) Nine was a little more open to Mickey, even inviting him to come along. But by the time it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Rose and Ten loved each other, his attitude towards Mickey became much less generous.
The second common denominator between Harry and Mickey is that neither of them will just let the Doctor tell them what to do without questioning. Both of them have very strong minds and will gladly contradict the Doctor if they think his decisions are wrong. This might be okay coming from a girl, or woman, that he has grown fond of…but coming from a bloke? I think the Doctor’s ego is a little too big for that. He plays alpha male all the time, using verbal and even physical intimidation (observe the body language between Four and Harry) to establish dominance. Words like “imbecile” and “idiot” flow freely, and there is always Four’s famous “You may be a doctor, but I’m the Doctor.”
And while I firmly believe that both incarnations of the Doctor were fond of the Tin Dogs, I definitely think their behavior towards Harry and Mickey bordered on verbally abusive. (Oh, I know there are M/M slashers out there who will say it's all subtext, and he attacks Harry and Mickey because he wants them and cannot have them. :P ) It looks like Four and Ten systematically tried to cut them down, demoralize them, make them feel inferior, and (subliminally) drive them away.
And the Doctors succeeded in both cases.
So my question to those of you who have seen more of the series-is this a constant between the Doctor and all his male companions, or was it just Harry and Mickey? Did he engage in the same behavior with characters like the Brig? Did he ever exhibit the same behavior with any of the female characters?
I think on the one hand, I love the Doctor's complexity. On the other hand, I hate how he treats the Tin Dogs. I’m surprised more people haven’t commented on this.