Re: Nice review. :)whatinthewhoApril 18 2012, 16:08:19 UTC
Thanks.
The Doctor definitely isn't being heartless when he leaves Susan behind. He does it because he believes it is what's best for her, and he makes the decision to leave her because she can't make the decision to leave him.
But Susan could go either way, afterward. She could have a wonderful (if difficult) life and be grateful to her grandfather for giving it to her. But since she has always suffered from separation anxiety, it is also possible that she could end up resenting him for leaving her trapped on a ruined world so far from home. Especially when you factor in the fact that she would most likely outlive David - and their children. That's partly why I feel it would be so intriguing to re-visit the character and explored what must surely have been extremely conflicting emotions about having been left like that, with no way to even contact him again.
It really is a fabulous adventure, definitely one of the best of the First Doctor era.
I loved this story so much. It's absolutely loaded with WW2 metaphors with the daleks playing the part of the germans, which they kept on doing ever since (Russle T. Davis got it wrong with his version of the cybermen). In 1964, you can be the writers were either in the war or were closely in relation to people who fought or survived the war. It is also one of the last times in a popular product of western media touches on partisan-like resistance in WW2.
hehehe, I'm glad it isn't just me who tends to bang on and on when I get going!
The Eighth Doctor's claim to be half-human is one of those details I try to pretend never happened, since it doesn't jibe well with anything else in the show - but if true, it would mean that there's no reason Susan couldn't be compatible with David and have a family. So far as rates of aging go, since Gallifreyan/Time Lord mythology developed after her departure from the show, we have no way of knowing how she fits into it, so she's a character ripe for re-visitation and exploration...but I can see how complicated that would be.
Like I said, I'm not really keen on the expanded media and the directions it takes the mythnology of the show - the books especially. I'd rank the audios way above the books in terms of canon authenticity, but for me, if it's on the telly then it's real, if it isn't then it's glorified fanfic and can be taken or left at will.
Oh I do understand your point of view on the expanded media. I was just adding a touch of detail with examples really. I generally prefer the books but in the instance of Legacy of the Daleks saying what it says I just don't buy it. I don't care how much he thought that she was in love with David. I cannot believe that the Doctor who loved Susan so much would ever leave her in a situation where she just had to watch as everyone around her whithered away and died and with the Doctor unsure of whether or not he could ever go back for her. The Doctor loves Susan to much to condemn her to that IMHO
( ... )
Oh, I reserve the right to be inconsistent in my attitude toward an inconsistent canon! For example, if Sarah Jane claims to come from 1980 when every other scrap of evidence says she's from the mid-70s, I'll handwave the detail that doesn't fit rather than strain my brain trying to reconcile them all. This is a show where it pays to be flexible and not get too invested in trying to prove or disprove particular details.
Sorry, I've realised I'm replying from the wrong account but I can't be bothered logging back out and in again - this is still me, whatinthewho, just posting from my other account!
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The Doctor definitely isn't being heartless when he leaves Susan behind. He does it because he believes it is what's best for her, and he makes the decision to leave her because she can't make the decision to leave him.
But Susan could go either way, afterward. She could have a wonderful (if difficult) life and be grateful to her grandfather for giving it to her. But since she has always suffered from separation anxiety, it is also possible that she could end up resenting him for leaving her trapped on a ruined world so far from home. Especially when you factor in the fact that she would most likely outlive David - and their children. That's partly why I feel it would be so intriguing to re-visit the character and explored what must surely have been extremely conflicting emotions about having been left like that, with no way to even contact him again.
It really is a fabulous adventure, definitely one of the best of the First Doctor era.
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The Eighth Doctor's claim to be half-human is one of those details I try to pretend never happened, since it doesn't jibe well with anything else in the show - but if true, it would mean that there's no reason Susan couldn't be compatible with David and have a family. So far as rates of aging go, since Gallifreyan/Time Lord mythology developed after her departure from the show, we have no way of knowing how she fits into it, so she's a character ripe for re-visitation and exploration...but I can see how complicated that would be.
Like I said, I'm not really keen on the expanded media and the directions it takes the mythnology of the show - the books especially. I'd rank the audios way above the books in terms of canon authenticity, but for me, if it's on the telly then it's real, if it isn't then it's glorified fanfic and can be taken or left at will.
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Sorry, I've realised I'm replying from the wrong account but I can't be bothered logging back out and in again - this is still me, whatinthewho, just posting from my other account!
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