The Bits In Between - or why the word 'Mate' still hurts.

[sensiblecat]

(Do I need a warning for S5 extra scene spoilers? Consider youselves warned, then).

So, SM prefers to write his own fanfic, and the two little scenes between episodes that are leaking out of the S5 DVD set show him doing just that - giving us the character development many of us missed from S5.

Comments

[tiggerallyn]

River's line of surprise/shock in "Silence in the Library" upon meeting Donna (words to the effect of "Oh my god, you're Donna") carries some not insignificant weight about Donna's role in the Doctor's emotional life.

In one way, an out-of-the-box way, you can look at the line as foreshadowing about Donna's great sacrifice at the end of the season. It's RTD intended that, and Moffat acquiesced when he wrote the script.

But, in an in-the-box way, that a River who didn't really know the tenth Doctor would be awed by his companion but not be awed by a later companion (Amy) suggests strongly that Donna was the subject of some serious heartfelt conversation(s) between the Doctor and River at some point in their lives. Kind of like a guy who can't stop talking about an ex- with the current girlfriend to the point where the current girlfriend feels like she's competing for his heart.

[tiggerallyn]

Typo correction time. "It's RTD intended that..." should read "It's possible that RTD intended that..."

[sensiblecat]

How true, and how ironic - that's exactly where Martha was in S3. (Though I've a feeling River will handle it better).

Moff's been quite canny with River. He's given the Doctor a love interest that effectively declares him off-limits to everyone else. By doing that, he's allowed us to have our cake and eat it. The Doctor is asexual, or more correctly he appears not to do sex with humans, either by inclination or by choice (we can't be certain River is human in any sense we'd define humanity right here in 2010 because her way of life is so far beyond everyday human experience). But, as I've argued before, River is shrouded in a highly erotic aura of mystery. She is the archetypal mistress, never around long enough in linear time for her to become completely predictable.

[scarfman]

Rose will always have been someone important to the Doctor. Recently (enough that I don't think you've heard it before) I've come to say, I don't 'ship Doctor/Rose but the Doctor and Rose sure did.

[sensiblecat]

I suppose that's what couples do, isn't it - falling in love with the narrative of their own romance? Making their own little world, their own reality? We saw that from the first moments of S2, where a simple outing to get chips had morphed retrospectively into "our first date."
And it's the best explanation I've heard for the strange "How long are you going to stay with me?" scene.

[caz963]

You make some very good points - as always. I've only had the chance to watch each scene once, and the second one has definitely created the more lasting impression. The thing that's stuck with me is Eleven's admission that everything is "just stuff" after you've lived as long as he has, and we get to see that his slightly nutty professor thing is as much a mask for him as the flirty, cheeky-chappie thing was for Ten.

I definitely agree with tiggerallyn in that it seems that the Doctor has told River about Donna somewhere along the way and judging by her reaction to Donna, it was clearly A Big Thing. My inner D/D shipper also likes the explanation about the ex- and the "rebound" ginger *g*

He's given the Doctor a love interest that effectively declares him off-limits to everyone else.*nods* I've thought that since seeing the Library episodes. Modern telly seems to demand some sort of romance for the central character(s) along the way, and Moff has - cleverlly, I have to admit - worked out how to have his cake (not have the Doctor falling for

[sensiblecat]

I was struck by how Eleven's default setting is lying, just blocking any personal questions. And he makes it quite obvious that he's lying, whereas Ten relished his ability to take people in and fool them (another reason why he needed Donna, who wouldn't tolerate that shit

[kalleah]

I miss Donna so much. While I (like you) am a D/R shipper, there is something so intensely right about the way the Doctor and Donna were together that I don't think he'd get over it. He always expected to lose Rose and braced himself against that fact, holding always that little bit back from her. With Donna, he never did (or more properly, she never let him).

[sensiblecat]

TRB remains my favourite episode. The two of them are so vulnerable, so heartbroken and so determined to put on a brave face, and then they're thrown into intimacy in this crazy situation. If you'd asked me at the time whether I'd have bought into the Doctor moving on from Rose so soon, I would certainly have resisted the idea. But in retrospect, it's a lovely acknowledgement that life does go on and we find new beginnings in the strangest places.

I've never understood the Donna-hate in that episode. Yes, she's stroppy and loud, but so could Ten be when he was struggling with emotional pain. And she shows the most remarkable sensitivity to him. The final scene of TRB is Russell at his very best, and CT and DT both step up to the plate magnificently.

[kalleah]

Donna was an abrasive character from the start, and I get why there was a negative reaction - IF you only consider the first five or ten minutes. Watch the whole episode, though, and it's a different story.

I am so glad that I got one of my wishes in that Donna came back as a full-time companion.

[captaintish]

It's my personal canon that the two of them fathered Shakespeare and had him fostered out to a glovemaker in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Just gotta say, you HAVE to write that. ;)

[sensiblecat]

As an Appendix to my PhD, perhaps? I wonder what the Shakespeare Institute would make of that! I think Greg Doran might sue me for tainting the Bard with popular culture.

[captaintish]

LOL!