The Doctor Who Christmas special guide to the dead bro walking cliche (SPOILERS)

[spiralsheep]

The denial about this is astonishing even cynical old me so I decided to create a handy one-stop guide to the dead bro walking cliché through its presence in all three new Doctor Who Christmas specials written and presided over by Russell T Davies (plot SPOILERS). FYInformation 1 is optional to this guide but provides, imo, an interesting further

Comments

Not in the Who Fandom, Thank Goddess

[witchsistah]

But did Black boys beat up Russ in grammar school or something and this is how he's getting his revenge?

Re: Not in the Who Fandom, Thank Goddess

[spiralsheep]

Or maybe he was the scared kid who sided with the bullies so they wouldn't bully him?

[sugargroupie]

Oh, hell no.

*sigh* As much as I want to support Freema on DW and TW, I cannot in good conscious watch anything else produced by RTD because his racism is so fucking blatant and willful.

[spiralsheep]

I'm trying to give up my lifelong addiction to Who but I fail at cold turkey... unless you count the turkey I watched on Christmas Day, obviously.

"They can take my land fandom but they'll never take my freedom humour!"

[starfishncoffee]

I haven't even watched the Christmas special yet because whenever I think about it I cringe. I swear RTD needs an intervention. Or to leave and let Moffat take over.
I don't know if I can watch this series...I'm gonna start with Torchwood and see what happens.

[spiralsheep]

Don't watch the Christmas special. You won't need it for continuity even if you do decide to watch the series.

[sabotabby]

Oh man. Is it me, or did he actually sit down and plan an episode that incorporated all of the offensive things (the Dead Bro Walking, the ableism, the gratuitous monarchism, the woman-being-transformed-into-semi-conscious-thing) from previous episodes into one really, really offensive episode? Which was also kind of boring?

[spiralsheep]

In fandom it's never only you and, yes, I thought the scripted "joke" about who survived and who didn't was there to let us know that the writer chose his victims and survivors with deliberate and conscious care. Also, yes, tedious and at least 20 minutes too long.

In fandom it's never only you

[jonquil]

My OTP is small dead red prickly guy/Rose.

*now* say that.

On a more serious note, you're right. Every time I say "Am I being oversensitive or..." about five more people pop up their heads and say "Thank God, I thought it was only me."

Warning: Only try this if you are a reasonable human being whose friends do not describe you as 'Well, I love Jonquil, but she's a little... mmm ... touchy.' And even then you may well be right.

Re: In fandom it's never only you

[spiralsheep]

I note that people generally only think someone is being "oversensitive" if they disagree with them, heh.

[jonquil]

Minor correction: fat black guy dies, fat white woman dies next BECAUSE SHE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT HER MANS WAAAH. Astrid the pretty white girl also arguably dies to SAVE HER MANS.

Black guys and women: v. handy when you want somebody to die to save your ass.

[spiralsheep]

Dude, I'm far too busy finding photos of hot black actors to worry about the tiny details details of which non-white, non-male, non-able-bodied, non-middle/upper class character died in which order! Get your priorities right! ;-P

[jonquil]

I just kept thinking yesterday -- wouldn't it have rocked if the *professor* had been a black guy? Not evil, not good, just bumbling on through life?

RTD, you suck.

[spiralsheep]

If the characters hadn't been such clichés or the casting had been swapped around then it wouldn't have been nearly as problematic. I want everyone to have a turn being heroic and cowardly, goodie and baddie, survivor and deathee. Big roles and bit parts.

The professor would've made a great companion. He could've got himself into trouble and then Donna or the Doctor could've rescued him while the other one saved the world/spaceship/whatever.