Long delayed thoughts on Human Nature/Family of Blood
Oh, Paul Cornell...please grab Chris Chibnell, take him down to the local pub and explain to him how you take the tension, the scary and the emotional, wrap it up and present it to the fans with a big red bow.
This pair of eps just brought it, across the board. The scarecrows were the creepiest villians this year and Baines...dude...who knew Wil Scarlett could twist his face into such a creepy visage? Plus, who here will ever look at a girl with a red balloon the same way again? Or, for that fact, a mirror?
What impressed me the most, however, is even though this story was written for Seven, it works so exquisitely well for Ten. I think I had this conversation in dark_aegis's lj but the choice of 1913 England was perfect for Ten. As so many have noted, John Smith embodied so many stereotypical "Time Lord" qualities: arrogance, casual cruelty, racism and an implaccable sense of what is "right". And, when you think about it, 1913 England was a time period when values and morals were very fixed, they had yet to shaken by the class upheaval's brought on by war, everyone knew their place and right was right and wrong was wrong. There was very little grey in that black and white world. For the TARDIS to pick that time and that persona says an awful lot about her knowledge of *her* Doctor. She was looking out for him by placing him in a time and place that he would feel comfortable and adjust to without question because on some, deep level it harkened back to the society he knew as a child and we all know how those deep, primary memories shape us. He wouldn't waste valuable time or resources questioning the society because on an elemental level, it felt *right*.
Now, Martha, on the other hand, certainly got the short end of the stick. I guess you could argue that the TARDIS either a) didn't care about the companion's well being as much as the Doctor's; b) didn't realize what Martha would face; or c) as was suggested in a recent fic, by making her uncomfortable she wouldn't settle in and be tempted to let the watch lie unused. This is a difficult thing to suss out and one I hope we come back to. As Baines says, he wasn't hiding out of fear, but out of mercy which means he could have dispatched The Family far earlier but chose not to, thereby subjecting Martha to months of servitude so he could save himself from committing a horrible act. I'm curious as to whether Martha knew when/where the TARDIS was taking them prior to his transformation because if she didn't and doesn't at least call him, or his ship, on it the I'm going to be a bit disappointed. While the time was perfect for the Doctor, the reality of being a servant, especially of color, in that time period would have been dismal at best.
This last theory (and fic), while working on an interesting concept, implied that Rose would have tossed it all and grabbed the chance to live a human life with the Doctor. I think this attitude is more a case of fanon retcon. Rose, while certainly capable of making a stupid decision such as dying for/with/because of the Doctor (a la the teenaged romantacism of Juliet) I do not believe for a second she would sacrifice the greater good for a chance at an uncomfortable human life with someone who was decidedly *not* the Doctor. She bought into the mission of "making a difference" and even though she did silly, thoughtless things at times she did believe that what the Doctor did was important and necessary and would have set aside personal feelings for that. (I know someone is going to jump in with "but she was willing to destroy two worlds to get the Doctor back". If you believe that was a serious comment and she would have been willing to do that for "love" than we will agree to disagree and not comment on this anymore.)
As far as the John/Joan love story, I bought into it completely. I know there was some rumbling about it happened so fast and comparing it to GiTF but this notion of "love" rang far more true to me than Ten/Reinette. While I believe that Ten was completely besotted with Reinette and their relationship may have deepened with time, I think the relationship with Joan had already deepened. First, they had been working togethere for some time and while things did seem to move quickly with the invitation to the dance, I got the impression that Joan, as a widow with far more experience in such wordly matters as teh sex, had probably been mildly flirting or engaging with Mr. Smith for some time and got tired of dancing around his cluelessness and decided to force the issue. Being a practical woman, she must have had some indication that her attentions would not be unwelcome.
Like John Smith, she was very much a product of her time and her casual dismissal of Martha rang far less of "OMG Bitch!" than something that would and did happen. It says a lot about the sort of person that she was, and what it was that attracted John (and the Doctor) to her that she was able to move beyond that, accept the fantastic and help save the world. She was competent, intelligent and very adult in a way that you don't often see in today's society. The way she processed information, made decisions (finding them shelter, checking the teapot) and, finally, stripped bare the Doctor's actions and the results of those actions made me respect her. I also respect the casting of an actress who is older and unassuming in appearance because she was a perfect fit.
Which brings us to John Smith, I didn't love him, didn't hate him. He was perfectly in character for that time. DT played the confusion, the denial and the anger amazingly well. As much as we all like to think we'd act with bravery when faced with the unthinkable, most of us I imagine would be far more like John Smith than Joan. What was painful was filtering John's emotions and images of the future through what we *know* of the Doctor and his painful past. He mourned for what he was losing, we mourned for what was losing and what he'd already lost. It was a double tragedy.
Tim = LOVE. He was just adorable. I love the parallel of his "every time" reply to the accusation of being a coward with the Doctor's line in PoTW. I think I remember an interview when he cheekily said that he could be the 12th incarnation of the Doctor. Give that boy a few years and I'd buy it.
Another reason why this set of eps worked so well is Martha's role. As much as I still feel the writer's are doing her a disservice by not giving us any additional backstory or motivators for her character (beyond the unrequited love crap), she really brought it this episode. When she grabbed the gun and turned it on The Family or when she rattled off the bones in the hand to prove her story to Joan, she gave a whole new meaning to "kick-ass". But.....and I've thought about this a lot...she's starting to come off as "too perfect". She's experiencing places, times and species that are beyond her imagination and yet, she's handling them all with aplomb and firearms. She hasn't made a misstep yet and, statistically, that's impossible and is starting to come off as a tad unrealistic. I don't know if this is lazy writing, a design to make us all love the new girl or will play out in the last few eps, but I want to see her stumble. The one thing that I loved about Rose was that she *wasn't* perfect and cocked it up quite a bit, much like most people do with, you know, life. Having Martha make a mistake or two will make her a much more well-rounded and realistic character.
Now, to the meat, the gristle in the teeth, the I TOLD YOU SO moment of the show - the Doctor's treatment of The Family. I've said over and over again that this Doctor is much darker, almost unhinged and probably slighty sociopathic than Nine ever could hope to be. We are starting to see the overt manifestation of "no second chances" and my god, is it delicous. I get the impression he's trembling on the knife-point of completely losing control and the cracks in his facade are widening. It's starting to pile up - Gallifrey, the loss of his people, his companions, his friends and if he doesn' t let it out and deal then the meltdown will be of nuclear proportions. There was a line in the BBC7 audio "Phobos" where he kills an empathatic species with an overload of his memories and thoughts. What finally kills isn't what he's done, or what he's afraid of, it's what he's capable of doing. I think a full-out Time Lord metldown would bring down galaxies and that's always lurking just below the surface with this Doctor. His choice of *justice* for The Family went beyond punishment. It was vindicative and cruel. He knows the curse of immortality and the pain of being separated from your people yet he cruelly condemns The Family to that very fate. It crossed a line and I don't think he particularly cares. He just seems so tired of losing what little he clings to over and over again. I don't know how he can come back from this and fall back into the happy-go-lucky scamp mode that a good chunk of fandom seems to prefer.
Now that I think about it, his characterization deepens as Martha's becomes more shallow - maybe he is a characterization vampire?
It would be an understatement to say I am giddy with anticipation for the rest of the series. The Doctor has some 'splaining to do.
This pair of eps just brought it, across the board. The scarecrows were the creepiest villians this year and Baines...dude...who knew Wil Scarlett could twist his face into such a creepy visage? Plus, who here will ever look at a girl with a red balloon the same way again? Or, for that fact, a mirror?
What impressed me the most, however, is even though this story was written for Seven, it works so exquisitely well for Ten. I think I had this conversation in dark_aegis's lj but the choice of 1913 England was perfect for Ten. As so many have noted, John Smith embodied so many stereotypical "Time Lord" qualities: arrogance, casual cruelty, racism and an implaccable sense of what is "right". And, when you think about it, 1913 England was a time period when values and morals were very fixed, they had yet to shaken by the class upheaval's brought on by war, everyone knew their place and right was right and wrong was wrong. There was very little grey in that black and white world. For the TARDIS to pick that time and that persona says an awful lot about her knowledge of *her* Doctor. She was looking out for him by placing him in a time and place that he would feel comfortable and adjust to without question because on some, deep level it harkened back to the society he knew as a child and we all know how those deep, primary memories shape us. He wouldn't waste valuable time or resources questioning the society because on an elemental level, it felt *right*.
Now, Martha, on the other hand, certainly got the short end of the stick. I guess you could argue that the TARDIS either a) didn't care about the companion's well being as much as the Doctor's; b) didn't realize what Martha would face; or c) as was suggested in a recent fic, by making her uncomfortable she wouldn't settle in and be tempted to let the watch lie unused. This is a difficult thing to suss out and one I hope we come back to. As Baines says, he wasn't hiding out of fear, but out of mercy which means he could have dispatched The Family far earlier but chose not to, thereby subjecting Martha to months of servitude so he could save himself from committing a horrible act. I'm curious as to whether Martha knew when/where the TARDIS was taking them prior to his transformation because if she didn't and doesn't at least call him, or his ship, on it the I'm going to be a bit disappointed. While the time was perfect for the Doctor, the reality of being a servant, especially of color, in that time period would have been dismal at best.
This last theory (and fic), while working on an interesting concept, implied that Rose would have tossed it all and grabbed the chance to live a human life with the Doctor. I think this attitude is more a case of fanon retcon. Rose, while certainly capable of making a stupid decision such as dying for/with/because of the Doctor (a la the teenaged romantacism of Juliet) I do not believe for a second she would sacrifice the greater good for a chance at an uncomfortable human life with someone who was decidedly *not* the Doctor. She bought into the mission of "making a difference" and even though she did silly, thoughtless things at times she did believe that what the Doctor did was important and necessary and would have set aside personal feelings for that. (I know someone is going to jump in with "but she was willing to destroy two worlds to get the Doctor back". If you believe that was a serious comment and she would have been willing to do that for "love" than we will agree to disagree and not comment on this anymore.)
As far as the John/Joan love story, I bought into it completely. I know there was some rumbling about it happened so fast and comparing it to GiTF but this notion of "love" rang far more true to me than Ten/Reinette. While I believe that Ten was completely besotted with Reinette and their relationship may have deepened with time, I think the relationship with Joan had already deepened. First, they had been working togethere for some time and while things did seem to move quickly with the invitation to the dance, I got the impression that Joan, as a widow with far more experience in such wordly matters as teh sex, had probably been mildly flirting or engaging with Mr. Smith for some time and got tired of dancing around his cluelessness and decided to force the issue. Being a practical woman, she must have had some indication that her attentions would not be unwelcome.
Like John Smith, she was very much a product of her time and her casual dismissal of Martha rang far less of "OMG Bitch!" than something that would and did happen. It says a lot about the sort of person that she was, and what it was that attracted John (and the Doctor) to her that she was able to move beyond that, accept the fantastic and help save the world. She was competent, intelligent and very adult in a way that you don't often see in today's society. The way she processed information, made decisions (finding them shelter, checking the teapot) and, finally, stripped bare the Doctor's actions and the results of those actions made me respect her. I also respect the casting of an actress who is older and unassuming in appearance because she was a perfect fit.
Which brings us to John Smith, I didn't love him, didn't hate him. He was perfectly in character for that time. DT played the confusion, the denial and the anger amazingly well. As much as we all like to think we'd act with bravery when faced with the unthinkable, most of us I imagine would be far more like John Smith than Joan. What was painful was filtering John's emotions and images of the future through what we *know* of the Doctor and his painful past. He mourned for what he was losing, we mourned for what was losing and what he'd already lost. It was a double tragedy.
Tim = LOVE. He was just adorable. I love the parallel of his "every time" reply to the accusation of being a coward with the Doctor's line in PoTW. I think I remember an interview when he cheekily said that he could be the 12th incarnation of the Doctor. Give that boy a few years and I'd buy it.
Another reason why this set of eps worked so well is Martha's role. As much as I still feel the writer's are doing her a disservice by not giving us any additional backstory or motivators for her character (beyond the unrequited love crap), she really brought it this episode. When she grabbed the gun and turned it on The Family or when she rattled off the bones in the hand to prove her story to Joan, she gave a whole new meaning to "kick-ass". But.....and I've thought about this a lot...she's starting to come off as "too perfect". She's experiencing places, times and species that are beyond her imagination and yet, she's handling them all with aplomb and firearms. She hasn't made a misstep yet and, statistically, that's impossible and is starting to come off as a tad unrealistic. I don't know if this is lazy writing, a design to make us all love the new girl or will play out in the last few eps, but I want to see her stumble. The one thing that I loved about Rose was that she *wasn't* perfect and cocked it up quite a bit, much like most people do with, you know, life. Having Martha make a mistake or two will make her a much more well-rounded and realistic character.
Now, to the meat, the gristle in the teeth, the I TOLD YOU SO moment of the show - the Doctor's treatment of The Family. I've said over and over again that this Doctor is much darker, almost unhinged and probably slighty sociopathic than Nine ever could hope to be. We are starting to see the overt manifestation of "no second chances" and my god, is it delicous. I get the impression he's trembling on the knife-point of completely losing control and the cracks in his facade are widening. It's starting to pile up - Gallifrey, the loss of his people, his companions, his friends and if he doesn' t let it out and deal then the meltdown will be of nuclear proportions. There was a line in the BBC7 audio "Phobos" where he kills an empathatic species with an overload of his memories and thoughts. What finally kills isn't what he's done, or what he's afraid of, it's what he's capable of doing. I think a full-out Time Lord metldown would bring down galaxies and that's always lurking just below the surface with this Doctor. His choice of *justice* for The Family went beyond punishment. It was vindicative and cruel. He knows the curse of immortality and the pain of being separated from your people yet he cruelly condemns The Family to that very fate. It crossed a line and I don't think he particularly cares. He just seems so tired of losing what little he clings to over and over again. I don't know how he can come back from this and fall back into the happy-go-lucky scamp mode that a good chunk of fandom seems to prefer.
Now that I think about it, his characterization deepens as Martha's becomes more shallow - maybe he is a characterization vampire?
It would be an understatement to say I am giddy with anticipation for the rest of the series. The Doctor has some 'splaining to do.