DW 4x03 - Slavery is wrong, mmmkay?

[seriousfic]

Man, it's weird how well the Doctor/Companion dynamic works when the writers aren't Trying Too Hard to make them OTP. Which is good, as New Who seems to have a thing for changing out Companions every three hundred miles, so it'd make the Doctor look like a bit of a cad for having a series of "conquests" that way. Even James Bond doesn't get to get in, get out, get off these days. But yeah, lots of neat Doctor/Companion-y-ness this ep, with Donna getting a double dose of horror after blowing up Pompeii. Last episode had the quantifiers that Pompeii was, from Donna's perspective, mostly already dead and in the past anyway. The future was supposed to be better.

Your "What Do You Mean It's Not Symbolic?" of the week: The particularly odious slavers are all minorities. Discuss.

My real complaint is that I wish the Doctor had helped back in some valid way instead of mostly sitting on the sidelines. I think the most "Doctor" thing he did this episode was flash some psychic paper around. Would it have been too hard for him to disable the crane with a sonic screwdriver or do something measurable to reduce the loss of life on both sides? I can understand they didn't want the episode to be "white liberals swoop in and save the day for the exploited! White people roxxors!" But the series is called Doctor Who, not Doctor Ood. (I'd watch Doctor Ood, though. It'd have to be better than Torchwood S1.) Because when this episode gets a callback, I have a feeling...

Doctor: Hey, it's me! Guess what? Davros is alive and wants revenge!

Ood: Yeah. Duh.

Doctor: So, can you help me?

Ood: And we'd do that because...?

Doctor: Because...? I freed you!

Ood: By freed, you of course mean "stood back and watched while we freed ourselves"?

Doctor: ...Would you change your mind if I stood in the doorway of the TARDIS, looking all messianic in a secular sort of way?

Ood: Probably not.

Doctor: Fine, I'm going to go give the Slitheen a guest shot for the nine billionth time! Later, skater!

And in the most obvious bit, "Your song will end soon." The most obvious answer is that the Doctor and Donna will be separated, but... nah, too easy. Given that the Doctor was referring to the TARDIS, I take this anvil to mean...

A. The Doctor's going to be turned into a human (uh, again).

So far, all the episodes this season have dealt with "body horror" in some way. There was your fat turning into little creatures, there were aliens that got inside you and turned you to stone, and now there's a hair tonic that turns you into Cthulu. So the Doctor going from Time Lord to human would track with that.

B. The Doctor's going to lose the TARDIS.

They're bringing Martha and UNIT back, so they could be stranding him on Earth again. They could even make a bit of ensemble out of old Companions. Though with Torchwood and SJA both focusing on Earthbound adventures, doing the same to the Doctor would be pretty redundant.

Or the Doctor could show up at the Oodsphere in the season finale and say "Nah-nah, my song's still going, nah-nah!" Anything's possible.


Next week: "You turned [Martha] into a soldier?" Oh dear.

Comments

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

I can understand they didn't want the episode to be "white liberals swoop in and save the day for the exploited! White people roxxors!" But the series is called Doctor Who, not Doctor Ood.

Yeah, I've been feeling for a while that the format does create a bit of a systemic problem in that respect. It's one of the reasons I'd really like to see a woman or an actor from a minority community cast as the Doctor.

I'd watch Doctor Ood, though. It'd have to be better than Torchwood S1.

Oooh, yes, a series based on Sigma would be cool, I reckon. Or a Doctor regenerated into an Ood form - apart from having two hearts, do we know of any other physical constraints on what his body can be like?

[ms-sardonicus.livejournal.com]

Body horror-plzstopnao! LOLZ-mmkay?

[iwanturhorror.livejournal.com]

lol Hilarious reveiw!!!

"Man, it's weird how well the Doctor/Companion dynamic works when the writers aren't Trying Too Hard to make them OTP"
Totally agree!! Donna FTW
And I like your ideas for what "your song will end soon" might be.
Me? I always go for the more dramatic... their gonna kill Ten. lol It won't be that! Right? hehe

[thesoulwithin.livejournal.com]

"it's weird how well the Doctor/Companion dynamic works when the writers aren't Trying Too Hard to make them OTP."

I concur! I actually agree in a "hey, I thought so too" way for most of the post. Not the last part, though. Damn foreshadowing is probably something to throw fans off, I wouldn't try to piece anything out of something so blatantly obvious.

[cassikat.livejournal.com]

I rather thought it was nice that the Ood didn't need the Doctor to set them free, that they were already working on the issue themselves. The Doctor actually needed to be involved for his own sake, because he had willfully blinded himself to the issue of the Ood earlier. Even Donna pointed out that it wasn't like him to do that, and from his expression even he knew that his excuse of 'being a bit busy at the time' was just that - an excuse. And it's very telling in a character-growth sense that the Doctor asked if he could pull that final switch to set the Ood free. Even S2 Doctor wouldn't have done that, just assumed it was his right.

[seriousfic.livejournal.com]

Or a Doctor regenerated into an Ood form

I'm not sure I'm ready for all my Eleven-smut to be tentacle porn.

[seriousfic.livejournal.com]

David Cronenberg's Doctor Who, featuring Viggo Mortensen as the Doctor, having lots of rough sex with his companion, then brutally killing someone with a sonic screwdriver.

[rozzietheaussie.livejournal.com]

with the song will end thing I took that to mean something to do with rose and of course the build up to the finale (as the doomsday music was playing at this time)

personally I thought the episode was alright but a bit genial, noting relaly excited me or gripped me and it seemed that the only reason why the doctor stuck around to help the Ood was because of Donna???

and as much as I love Martha (can;t wait to see her next week) and Rose Donna is so amazing simply for the lack of "oh doctor I love you" ness because it's so much more interesting without it for once!

[parsimonia.livejournal.com]

I'm really loving the fact that the Doctor and Donna aren't interested in each other romantically.

They're bringing Martha and UNIT back

I forget, what's UNIT?

[isacuttlefish.livejournal.com]

I have to admit, I only watched the episode for the Ood. They're the best actors. Of course, my weakness for cuttlefish and hive minds might play a part, but I'd still like an Ood companion. Preferably one that kicked Catherine Tate in the head.

As for the song ending soon, my thought was that the song is life/connection, therefore the Doctor is going to regenerate at the end of the series. I can't remember if Tennant said he was bored with it yet, but it seems the most likely.

The Doctor lost the TARDIS and thought he was human last series, so I really don't see it happening again.

[seriousfic.livejournal.com]

I forget, what's UNIT?

Kinda like SHIELD, only the Brigadier isn't anywhere near as cool as Nick Fury.

[parsimonia.livejournal.com]

That analogy is lost on me. I know Nick Fury is a Marvel character, but that's about it. But I wiki'ed it, so I'm good now. =)

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

Hah! Yes, good point!

[kittykat2305.livejournal.com]

United Nations Intelligence Taskforce

however my understanding is something to do with the UN not wanting to be involved they aren't able to say the full name, but I swear I have heard them say it. But then again they may have just said UN Intelligence Taskforce and I think they might do that as a way around it.

I know on the website for UNIT they just refer to it as Intelligence Taskforce. And now I shall shut up as I outing myself as a bigger geek then I meant to.

BTW here's the UNIT site http://www.unit.org.uk/