30 Days of Who meme: Day 19: The Scene That Made You Cry the Most
No, I hadn't abandoned the 30 Days meme, just...put it on hiatus at those TV types say. So, to continue:
Day Nineteen: The Scene That Made You Cry The Most
Without trying to sound like some sort of big-shot or anything, I can actually make the shocking admission that I don't think I ever have actually cried-type-cried about anything I've ever seen in Doctor Who. Sure, I've "got something in my eye" on occasion, but I don't think I've ever cried. I have, to be fair, shed a tear or two over films/TV over the years; mostly, it has to be said, over cartoons for some reason. Now, the ending of Watership Down (book and film!) and practically the whole of the Raymond Briggs nuclear-war animation When the Wind Blows (if you've never seen it, do - bring tissues!) and, on not an entirely unrelated theme, Grave of the Fireflies. They've all made me cry, seriously.
I tend to be more affected in that way by Who in written form rather than on screen. The Paul Cornell New Adventures novel Timewyrm: Revelation, one of my favourite Who novels of them all, has that "something in my eye" thing about it for me, towards the ending. It's probably something to do with its pitch-perfect depiction of Seven and Ace at their most dysfunctional and yet closest, that might be it.
Which isn't to say that there aren't emotional moments for me in Who, but they tend not necessarily to be the "sad" ones. Although Five's demise in Androzani, just for the quiet unassuming heroism of it (Androzani and End of Time; compare and contrast!), can get me "right there". Same with the bit at the end of The Green Death, and I'm not even a massive fan of Three and Jo. And, of course, the whole "people made of smoke/cities made of song" speech at the end of Survival, which I have already mentioned in another of these days. That, though, quite apart from being a perfectly lovely way to end that story, and the Seven era, and classic Who, is mainly emotional for me for reasons of context, for what it means with hindsight rather than anything in the scene itself (although the scene itself, I hasten to add, is absolute magic just on its own terms).
Things like Rose and Ten on the beach, though, leave me cold. And I don't mean that in a Ten-bashing way; they just don't touch me the way they do some others. I suspect this basic difference of perception may be why I find myself irreconcilably out of step with some wings of Who fandom; it's one of those situations where nobody is right or wrong, just different. Same with Vincent and the Doctor, to a point; it was a lovely, sensitively-written, strongly-acted story that I loved to bits, but that bit where they took him to the future at the end just seemed to be trying a little too hard. The story did touch me, and make me think, but it didn't make me make odd sniffing sounds while trying to look "normal", if you know what I mean...
Having said that, and having as good as said above that I don't really have an answer to this question, I'd like to draw that attention to the following. Yes, I'm going to look even more like some sort of mindless Moffat admirer/Eleven shill than I already do, but there's one thing that really affected me emotionally, in my little fanboyish heart, in S5. And it was the following speech from The Big Bang, not because it was supposed to be "sad" (although it was), but because of the way it, for me, summed up Doctor Who and its wonder and appeal, and the wonder of appeal of being a Doctor Who fan, and kind of proves conclusively, to my mind, that the new regime "get it", whatever some people might have you believe:
"When you wake up, you'll have a mum and dad. And you won't even remember me. Well, you'll remember me a little. I'll be a story in your head. That's okay. We're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh? Because it was, you know. It was the best. A daft old man who stole a magic box. Anyway, did I ever tell you that i stole it. Well, I borrowed it, I was always going to take it back. Oh, that box. Amy... you'll dream about that box. It'll never leave you. Big and little at the same time. Brand new and ancient and the bluest blue ever. And the times we had, eh? We had, never. In your dreams, I'll still be there. The Doctor and Amy Pond. And days that never came."
I just wish I could have found a YouTube clip of him actually saying it, because the acting was pretty spectacular too. There is, however, this, which is the payoff to the above and, well, may have had me dabbing a man-sized tissue to the old eye. Might have:
I mean, that's Doctor Who there, that is.
The Rest of the Days:
Day 01 - Your Favorite Quote
Day 02 - Your Favorite Classic Series Episode
Day 03 - Your Favorite New Series Episode
Day 04 - Your Favorite Doctor
Day 05 - Your Favorite Companion
Day 06 - Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 07 - Your Favorite Piece of Music
Day 08 - A Who-Related Photo That Makes You Happy
Day 09 - A Who-Related Photo That Makes You Angry/Sad
Day 10 - A Who-Related Photo That You Took
Day 11 - Your Favorite Season (Classic or New)
Day 12 - Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 13 - Your Favorite Villain
Day 14 - The Villain Who Scared You the Most
Day 15 - Favorite Who-Related Tumblr
Day 16 - Your Favorite Who-Related FanFic
Day 17 - A Piece of Who-Related FanArt
Day 18 - Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 19 - The Scene That Made You Cry the Most
Day 20 - The Character Who Is Most Like You
Day 21 - Your Doctor Who OTP
Day 22 - A Who-Related Fan-Site
Day 23 - A Who-Related YouTube Video
Day 24 - Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 25 - Favorite Who Actor
Day 26 - Favorite Who Actress
Day 27 - An Episode You Wish Hadn’t Been Made
Day 28 - An Episode Idea You Created Yourself
Day 29 - Who You Think Should Be the Next Doctor
Day 30 - Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day Nineteen: The Scene That Made You Cry The Most
Without trying to sound like some sort of big-shot or anything, I can actually make the shocking admission that I don't think I ever have actually cried-type-cried about anything I've ever seen in Doctor Who. Sure, I've "got something in my eye" on occasion, but I don't think I've ever cried. I have, to be fair, shed a tear or two over films/TV over the years; mostly, it has to be said, over cartoons for some reason. Now, the ending of Watership Down (book and film!) and practically the whole of the Raymond Briggs nuclear-war animation When the Wind Blows (if you've never seen it, do - bring tissues!) and, on not an entirely unrelated theme, Grave of the Fireflies. They've all made me cry, seriously.
I tend to be more affected in that way by Who in written form rather than on screen. The Paul Cornell New Adventures novel Timewyrm: Revelation, one of my favourite Who novels of them all, has that "something in my eye" thing about it for me, towards the ending. It's probably something to do with its pitch-perfect depiction of Seven and Ace at their most dysfunctional and yet closest, that might be it.
Which isn't to say that there aren't emotional moments for me in Who, but they tend not necessarily to be the "sad" ones. Although Five's demise in Androzani, just for the quiet unassuming heroism of it (Androzani and End of Time; compare and contrast!), can get me "right there". Same with the bit at the end of The Green Death, and I'm not even a massive fan of Three and Jo. And, of course, the whole "people made of smoke/cities made of song" speech at the end of Survival, which I have already mentioned in another of these days. That, though, quite apart from being a perfectly lovely way to end that story, and the Seven era, and classic Who, is mainly emotional for me for reasons of context, for what it means with hindsight rather than anything in the scene itself (although the scene itself, I hasten to add, is absolute magic just on its own terms).
Things like Rose and Ten on the beach, though, leave me cold. And I don't mean that in a Ten-bashing way; they just don't touch me the way they do some others. I suspect this basic difference of perception may be why I find myself irreconcilably out of step with some wings of Who fandom; it's one of those situations where nobody is right or wrong, just different. Same with Vincent and the Doctor, to a point; it was a lovely, sensitively-written, strongly-acted story that I loved to bits, but that bit where they took him to the future at the end just seemed to be trying a little too hard. The story did touch me, and make me think, but it didn't make me make odd sniffing sounds while trying to look "normal", if you know what I mean...
Having said that, and having as good as said above that I don't really have an answer to this question, I'd like to draw that attention to the following. Yes, I'm going to look even more like some sort of mindless Moffat admirer/Eleven shill than I already do, but there's one thing that really affected me emotionally, in my little fanboyish heart, in S5. And it was the following speech from The Big Bang, not because it was supposed to be "sad" (although it was), but because of the way it, for me, summed up Doctor Who and its wonder and appeal, and the wonder of appeal of being a Doctor Who fan, and kind of proves conclusively, to my mind, that the new regime "get it", whatever some people might have you believe:
"When you wake up, you'll have a mum and dad. And you won't even remember me. Well, you'll remember me a little. I'll be a story in your head. That's okay. We're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh? Because it was, you know. It was the best. A daft old man who stole a magic box. Anyway, did I ever tell you that i stole it. Well, I borrowed it, I was always going to take it back. Oh, that box. Amy... you'll dream about that box. It'll never leave you. Big and little at the same time. Brand new and ancient and the bluest blue ever. And the times we had, eh? We had, never. In your dreams, I'll still be there. The Doctor and Amy Pond. And days that never came."
I just wish I could have found a YouTube clip of him actually saying it, because the acting was pretty spectacular too. There is, however, this, which is the payoff to the above and, well, may have had me dabbing a man-sized tissue to the old eye. Might have:
Click to viewI mean, that's Doctor Who there, that is.
The Rest of the Days:
Day 01 - Your Favorite Quote
Day 02 - Your Favorite Classic Series Episode
Day 03 - Your Favorite New Series Episode
Day 04 - Your Favorite Doctor
Day 05 - Your Favorite Companion
Day 06 - Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 07 - Your Favorite Piece of Music
Day 08 - A Who-Related Photo That Makes You Happy
Day 09 - A Who-Related Photo That Makes You Angry/Sad
Day 10 - A Who-Related Photo That You Took
Day 11 - Your Favorite Season (Classic or New)
Day 12 - Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 13 - Your Favorite Villain
Day 14 - The Villain Who Scared You the Most
Day 15 - Favorite Who-Related Tumblr
Day 16 - Your Favorite Who-Related FanFic
Day 17 - A Piece of Who-Related FanArt
Day 18 - Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 19 - The Scene That Made You Cry the Most
Day 20 - The Character Who Is Most Like You
Day 21 - Your Doctor Who OTP
Day 22 - A Who-Related Fan-Site
Day 23 - A Who-Related YouTube Video
Day 24 - Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 25 - Favorite Who Actor
Day 26 - Favorite Who Actress
Day 27 - An Episode You Wish Hadn’t Been Made
Day 28 - An Episode Idea You Created Yourself
Day 29 - Who You Think Should Be the Next Doctor
Day 30 - Whatever Tickles Your Fancy