(Untitled)

[solitary_summer]

[Hu. I still can't quite believe that I'm actually, finally, clicking 'post' on this entry.]

Author's note (sort of): Massively tl;dr, sneakily disguised by fake lj-cuts; don't say I didn't warn you. Looking at the deaths seemed like a good starting point since they're such a persistent theme and especially once the last three DW specials turned

Comments

[elisi]

Am slowly working my way through this. Am afraid I've not got anything to say, really, except that this is all excellent.

Actually, that's not quite true. I think that for the Tenth Doctor it comes down to control - Nine's final sacrifice was about relinquishing control (to the Daleks, to giving his life for Rose), and Ten seems to react against this, trying to control situations and people by setting up parameters (no second chances). Also, on a deeper level, if he can *control* things then maybe he can *fix* them, stop them going wrong (stop losing people) - this of course not blossoming completely until WoM.

And having just finished 'The Writer's Tale', I found it very interesting to discover that originally all the 'test subjects' in 'New Earth' were supposed to have died, but RTD changed his mind since he thought it too bleak for the first episode with a new Doctor. But the thought is there underneath, and - as you point out - much more fully realised in TW.

[solitary_summer]

First of all, thanks for reccing! :) (I'd have commented on your entry, but comments are disabled.)

What you're saying about control is interesting; I never really thought about it like that (mostly because I was looking at everything through the 'death' lense), although it does come up a bit in the parts about S4, the specials, and CoE. OTOH, the power issues are also very much control issues...

For me maybe the most interesting thing was to see how the themes develop across DW and TW, because that wasn't something I even considered before I started writing. I kept the shows more or less apart in my mind until I was surprised that TEoT actually worked as closure for both the Doctor and Jack, because after CoE I had no idea how Jack was ever supposed to appear in DW again. But if you put the seasons of both shows in a chronological order, it's definitely visible...

[jrsz]

[here from elisi's link]

I'm reading through slowly to try and absorb everything, because this is really quite, and by quite I mean really really really, amazing. I love how you've identified the main theme for each series within the theme of life, death and humanity for each season and then compared them to each other.

I would quote some of the things I liked best, but I'd end up just copying and pasting the whole thing :) It's really a fascinating read, and I you've pieced things together in ways that I've never considered but make so much sense, and it's certainly changed the way I'll see a lot of things in those series.

[solitary_summer]

Thank you! :) I hope you enjoy the rest, too. I was really unsure about how this would come across, so every time someone comments saying that they like it and are actually getting something out of it, it makes me ridiculously happy.

[caz963]

I know I'm a bit late to the party - but elisi linked me to this in a comment, and I just had to comment to say that this is fascinating. I'm working my way through all of it gradually and find myself nodding furiously at some points and slapping my forehead - yes, of course! - at others.

Incredibly well thought out and argued - thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.

[solitary_summer]

Thank you for commenting! *beams*