Doctor Who: Some Miscellanious Analysis

[hermitknut]

So, I was looking over lists of Doctor Who episodes since 2005 (because I do awesome, special things in my spare time) and I saw some patterns. I'm not claiming that any of this is new or revolutionary, but I found it interesting to think about...

Comments

[armchairdm]

Okay; I'm going to come at this from a Classic Fan viewpoint; so bear with me.

Firstly - Amy and Rory haven't; when looking at a classic companion; been there for a huge amount. Especially not if viewed per episode as opposed to per year. Jamie McCrimmon was there for three full years; at something like 20 episodes a year. So yeah; I've liked the longevity of Amy. Rose was okay; but Martha and Donna were far too short.

As for off-earth episodes being the norm? That -was- the classic series. I doubt we'll ever go back entirely to that; at least partially because I don't think fans are quite as willing to overlook the fact that alien planets really do look a lot like earth...

I don't actually like the continual return to Earth 21st century. But with the way they set up their companions now; we have to do it. Old series companions had very few links to their past or families; so you rarely returned to present-day earth - the Third Doctor the notable exception.

[hermitknut]

Damnit, I had a whole reply to you and then livejournal ate it. Booo.

Thanks for the classic who viewpoint, it's good to have it. I think it's mostly pre-2005 viewers who are getting bored with Amy and Rory - us newbies aren't as used to it ;) - but I could be wrong.

And you have a good point about the familial connection. I feel like RTD did it with Rose because it was a fairly novel idea, but Moffat's doing it... because that's how RTD did so that's how Doctor Who is. Which means he's not really doing it for the right reasons and therefore not doing it brilliantly well. Hm. I'll have to think about that one.

HK

[armchairdm]

I don't mind the familial connection; I'm not fond of so much time being spent on present-day Earth

[hermitknut]

Biases are okay :)

I myself am pretty open on the familial connection and present day earth stuff - it just feels like we need a change.

I absolutely agree about Amy chosing the boy thing. I'm slightly obsessed with Rory :P I think that maybe it depends on the character and the adventure. Some characters work well with that constant connection - I loved Martha's phone conversations with her mum in 42 - perhaps because they have a life away from the Doctor. Is it a little harsh to say that Amy... kind of doesn't? She and her husband travel with him. Their daughter is kind-of-sort-of married to him, and their lives are constantly disrupted by him. It's been good, but it has made me miss the "I can't and won't just drop everything for you" attitude that sometimes turned up elsewhere.

HK

[armchairdm]

You kind of have a point on Rory/Amy. It's not so much that we don't see Amy and Rory's family; they've chosen each other and the family you choose does tend to become more important in some ways than the family you're born with. But because they've chosen each other; and they're -both- on the TARDIS; it has a danger of become 'domestic'. As of the God Complex though; it appears they're no longer travelling with him; but that has problems of it's own. It makes them feel like special guest stars on a show they're supposedly co-stars of