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The Tenth Doctor : A Retrospection
"Facing death is part of being human. You can't change that."
"No, Doctor. Avoiding death. That's being human. It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fiber of being."
-The Lazarus Experiment
One of the best things about the Doctor is his timelessness. (A Timeless Time Lord, get it?) It's a rare feat that something made with 70s BBC production values is still so enjoyable to watch today. Even if you're not as crazily dedicated to the black & whites as I am. I think a lot of it is that since the writers and producers and directors allowed the show to evolve and change over time, the episodes both reflect the series in general, and the time it was made. It's one of the great attributes of the show, it's unending devotion to change. So the question remains to why so many people are upset that Ten in regenerating.
A lot of it could be written off as fan worship. "David Tennant is the best doctor ever, no one could ever replace him how dare they!!!" And even saner fans can see the sorrow in losing "their" Doctor, since many got introduced to the series when Tennant took over. (For the record, Tennant is technically my Doctor, but my heart belongs to Patrick Troughton who was already gone long before I ever had a chance to weep at his departure.) But there does seem to be a stronger attachment to this particular Doctor than any other. I mean, Christopher Eccleston was an amazing talented actor, who filled the role well, so why weren't there riots when he resigned? I think, and this is only a theory, that it's because the Tenth Doctor is not actually a Time Lord. He's human.
"See, there's the thing. I'm the Doctor, but beyond that, I - I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested. Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy?"
-The Christmas Invasion
One of the only times the new Doctor was passionately happy was when he was in the company of Rose, but she was a crutch and a distraction. Instead of reflecting on his actions and adapting, he was busy making jokes and googly eyes. Their all-too-codependent relationship meant that he was more than crushed when it ended. He went too far ("The Runaway Bride", anyone?), showing little to no mercy to anyone else because of his own pain and loss. He was a broken, shattered man and Martha did all she could to help him get over her, but that's mainly because she had ulterior motives herself. But aside from generating some stirring drama for the series to explore over a number of seasons, it also marked a stunning first for the Doctor.
This is the first time that the Doctor has really ever made continuous reference to a previous companion after they've left (much to Martha's chagrin). He's always had special relationships with the girls (and boys!) that he brings along with him, but it's never really been defined as love. I certainly can't see the Third Doctor getting it on with Jo, or The Fourth and Sarah, for that matter. It was added in retrospect in the new series to make it seem like it would fit. For the most part, after a companion leaves, there might be some chatter about them in the next episode (although the only reference I've seen so far is Jamie pining over Victoria), but the Doctor always moves on, finding someone new and exciting to tag along with him. It's been noted by the media and the fans that David Tennant's Doctor was the first to be sexualized, and they went for the full monty with it (no pun intended. Well....kinda). The abundance of girls in the new series is not only aggravating, because I believe in the power of three, but also very telling in regards to what the Doctor's reformatted image is supposed to represent. I have no doubt that much of this re-imagining had to do with studio executives demanding higher ratings, but in order to market this, the alienness of the Doctor had to be downplayed. No one wants to kiss an alien.
"Your ancestors have a talent for self-destruction that borders on genius."
-The Invisible Enemy
In the past, one of the things that distinguished the Doctor from everyone else was his pure oddity. There always seemed to be a cultural wall, a little bit lost in translation. Not only did the companions not understand the mumb-jumbo that the Doctor spits out, but he wouldn't always know what his companions were getting at. Humans were a continual mystery and surprise to him in their reactions and feelings to things, while he also took to heart our little accomplishments (jelly baby, anyone?). Humanity in general still surprises him, he never shies away from proclaiming their amazingness, but it's in a different way. His whole praise revolves around how humans survive. This is mostly because his race has not. He believes that he's the last of the time lords (which we all know now is not true, leading us to the need for regeneration and a happier, more controlled Doctor) and so the one thing he focuses on is how the human race keeps repopulating and escaping inevitable perish. There's been a run of episodes where things were coming to an end (end of the earth, end of the universe, etc. etc.), and I think the reason the Doctor keeps visiting these places is because he needs reminding that everything dies, including him, and also needs something to be jealous about. The Doctor has a sick obsession with everything else that dies around him because he's so scared of his own inevitable death.
Death and mortality have always been running themes, by nature of the show itself. When you deal with time travel, you deal with watching people grow up and die, while you remain a fixed point (in Jack's case this is literal, leading to his accidental immortality). But the new series seems to be absolutely obsessed with this concept. The Doctor only leaves death and sorrow in his wake, he's a hurricane of bad fortune, ruining the lives of the people who are not only in the random places he visits but also his companions. He didn't used to leave his friends in such distress (I would imagine that Dodo eventually got back up on her feet alright), but now Rose is in an alternate dimension, Martha and her family have gone through hell (I've been told that she dies as a cyberwoman, but I don't remember that episode...), Donna has massive brain damage and Jack is...well, Jack. The Doctor has started making real, painful mistakes in concern to himself and those around him, and what else is more human than that?
But the other thing the series has been adamant about is that change is inevitable. There's a great sense of progress that goes along with traveling hundreds of years into the future and past. Although some fundamentals of human kindness and courage never change, the series has a sense of always barreling forward to the next adventure and invention. Everyone around the Doctor constantly changes, a steady stream of people, so although he's constantly lonely, there is always someone there to fill the gap. The entire series hinges on the fact that one character is played by multiple actors, who change personalities and physical attributes at will (well, in a sense, since The Master proved that regeneration is a choice).
One of the biggest things I've come to realize recently when I think about Tenth's death, is that we've seen a Ten regeneration before, but all the action was offscreen. In two of my personal favorite episodes, "Human Nature" (Get it? Get it?) and "Family of Blood", the Doctor becomes a human named John Smith using a chameleon arch. His memory is completely wiped and replaced, but he still shows signs of being a Doctor. Basically just like every other regeneration on the show. Of course, Time Lords remember their previous lives, but their emotions and reactions differ completely. Just like Nine turned into Ten and fell in love with Rose, John Smith returned to being Ten and no longer loved Nurse Redfern. "John" had to die, but he was still somewhere in Ten, just like all the other generations of Doctors. The heart of that episode, the part that made everyone cry, was John having to deal with sacrificing himself so that someone else could live. Now the Time Lord Doctor is facing the same fate, and had almost the exact same conversation with Wilf in the cafe. I think that's what hit me the most about that episode. He basically just broke down and showed exactly how human he was. He's doing everything he can to avoid death while still having a morbid fascination with it. And that's generally what humans do and are.
"That's why I left you behind. It's not easy just looking at you, Jack, 'cause you're wrong."
-The Sound of Drums
I think this theme was the most present in the third season, because it was all leading up to bringing back The Master. The Master has always been the opposite side of the coin to The Doctor. Where The Doctor sees humanity and relishes it and tries to hold on, The Master wants to squash it for being unbeatable. He can't believe that his own civilization fell and this pitiful, monstrous one still survives. Where The Doctor has run away from being a Time Lord, The Master can never escape it. The drums are the Time Lord's heartbeat, the most alien thing about their anatomy. I'm not going to get much into The Master, because that's a whole other rant, but the entire ending episode arc is still all about human survival.
The latest season led The Doctor to embrace what The Master always believed, that since he was a Time Lord, he could do anything, which is why it's appropriate that The Master has returned to finish the deal. After years and years of denying it, of pushing it away and forgetting the horrible things he had to do in the name of being a Time Lord, he's finally accepted all that he can do. And that's why he needs to regenerate. The Tenth Doctor is an amazing, er, person, but having this power would absolutely corrupt him. He's much too cocky and flippant. He's much too human. It even worries me that the preview for the last episode (I haven't seen it yet, but will shortly) has the Doctor holding a gun, since he's so outspokenly against it in every other episodes. Right now, I think he's near crazy enough to go through with it, but again, I haven't seen the episode and don't know the proper context. But I do know that in order to change and become a healthier, happier Doctor, he needs to become a new person who is fully equipped to return to his Time Lord roots and not be so falteringly human. I think this is where they're going with the tweed jacket, hopefully, because while astonishingly stylish, it's not quite as James Bond (a.k.a. sexy) as the striped suit. I have other things to say about Ten, of course, I could probably go on incoherently for ages, but I feel like I've said more than enough for now. I love Ten, and will miss him dearly, but I think the show is ready for a new Doctor, so I'm gonna go watch the newest episode and cry my hearts out.
P.S. Does it come as a surprise that I've been watching the Series Three marathon on BBCAmerica?
P.P.S. And no, I didn't make reference to any of the Doctors Fifth through Eight, but that's because, unfortunately, I haven't gotten that far yet. I don't proclaim to know everything about Doctor Who, these are just my opinions about everything that I've seen so far.
P.P.S. Some of my "theory" (if you can call it that) gets ruined by the second part of End Of Time, but I don't think it's affected that much.
"No, Doctor. Avoiding death. That's being human. It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fiber of being."
-The Lazarus Experiment
One of the best things about the Doctor is his timelessness. (A Timeless Time Lord, get it?) It's a rare feat that something made with 70s BBC production values is still so enjoyable to watch today. Even if you're not as crazily dedicated to the black & whites as I am. I think a lot of it is that since the writers and producers and directors allowed the show to evolve and change over time, the episodes both reflect the series in general, and the time it was made. It's one of the great attributes of the show, it's unending devotion to change. So the question remains to why so many people are upset that Ten in regenerating.
A lot of it could be written off as fan worship. "David Tennant is the best doctor ever, no one could ever replace him how dare they!!!" And even saner fans can see the sorrow in losing "their" Doctor, since many got introduced to the series when Tennant took over. (For the record, Tennant is technically my Doctor, but my heart belongs to Patrick Troughton who was already gone long before I ever had a chance to weep at his departure.) But there does seem to be a stronger attachment to this particular Doctor than any other. I mean, Christopher Eccleston was an amazing talented actor, who filled the role well, so why weren't there riots when he resigned? I think, and this is only a theory, that it's because the Tenth Doctor is not actually a Time Lord. He's human.
"See, there's the thing. I'm the Doctor, but beyond that, I - I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested. Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy?"
-The Christmas Invasion
One of the only times the new Doctor was passionately happy was when he was in the company of Rose, but she was a crutch and a distraction. Instead of reflecting on his actions and adapting, he was busy making jokes and googly eyes. Their all-too-codependent relationship meant that he was more than crushed when it ended. He went too far ("The Runaway Bride", anyone?), showing little to no mercy to anyone else because of his own pain and loss. He was a broken, shattered man and Martha did all she could to help him get over her, but that's mainly because she had ulterior motives herself. But aside from generating some stirring drama for the series to explore over a number of seasons, it also marked a stunning first for the Doctor.
This is the first time that the Doctor has really ever made continuous reference to a previous companion after they've left (much to Martha's chagrin). He's always had special relationships with the girls (and boys!) that he brings along with him, but it's never really been defined as love. I certainly can't see the Third Doctor getting it on with Jo, or The Fourth and Sarah, for that matter. It was added in retrospect in the new series to make it seem like it would fit. For the most part, after a companion leaves, there might be some chatter about them in the next episode (although the only reference I've seen so far is Jamie pining over Victoria), but the Doctor always moves on, finding someone new and exciting to tag along with him. It's been noted by the media and the fans that David Tennant's Doctor was the first to be sexualized, and they went for the full monty with it (no pun intended. Well....kinda). The abundance of girls in the new series is not only aggravating, because I believe in the power of three, but also very telling in regards to what the Doctor's reformatted image is supposed to represent. I have no doubt that much of this re-imagining had to do with studio executives demanding higher ratings, but in order to market this, the alienness of the Doctor had to be downplayed. No one wants to kiss an alien.
"Your ancestors have a talent for self-destruction that borders on genius."
-The Invisible Enemy
In the past, one of the things that distinguished the Doctor from everyone else was his pure oddity. There always seemed to be a cultural wall, a little bit lost in translation. Not only did the companions not understand the mumb-jumbo that the Doctor spits out, but he wouldn't always know what his companions were getting at. Humans were a continual mystery and surprise to him in their reactions and feelings to things, while he also took to heart our little accomplishments (jelly baby, anyone?). Humanity in general still surprises him, he never shies away from proclaiming their amazingness, but it's in a different way. His whole praise revolves around how humans survive. This is mostly because his race has not. He believes that he's the last of the time lords (which we all know now is not true, leading us to the need for regeneration and a happier, more controlled Doctor) and so the one thing he focuses on is how the human race keeps repopulating and escaping inevitable perish. There's been a run of episodes where things were coming to an end (end of the earth, end of the universe, etc. etc.), and I think the reason the Doctor keeps visiting these places is because he needs reminding that everything dies, including him, and also needs something to be jealous about. The Doctor has a sick obsession with everything else that dies around him because he's so scared of his own inevitable death.
Death and mortality have always been running themes, by nature of the show itself. When you deal with time travel, you deal with watching people grow up and die, while you remain a fixed point (in Jack's case this is literal, leading to his accidental immortality). But the new series seems to be absolutely obsessed with this concept. The Doctor only leaves death and sorrow in his wake, he's a hurricane of bad fortune, ruining the lives of the people who are not only in the random places he visits but also his companions. He didn't used to leave his friends in such distress (I would imagine that Dodo eventually got back up on her feet alright), but now Rose is in an alternate dimension, Martha and her family have gone through hell (I've been told that she dies as a cyberwoman, but I don't remember that episode...), Donna has massive brain damage and Jack is...well, Jack. The Doctor has started making real, painful mistakes in concern to himself and those around him, and what else is more human than that?
But the other thing the series has been adamant about is that change is inevitable. There's a great sense of progress that goes along with traveling hundreds of years into the future and past. Although some fundamentals of human kindness and courage never change, the series has a sense of always barreling forward to the next adventure and invention. Everyone around the Doctor constantly changes, a steady stream of people, so although he's constantly lonely, there is always someone there to fill the gap. The entire series hinges on the fact that one character is played by multiple actors, who change personalities and physical attributes at will (well, in a sense, since The Master proved that regeneration is a choice).
One of the biggest things I've come to realize recently when I think about Tenth's death, is that we've seen a Ten regeneration before, but all the action was offscreen. In two of my personal favorite episodes, "Human Nature" (Get it? Get it?) and "Family of Blood", the Doctor becomes a human named John Smith using a chameleon arch. His memory is completely wiped and replaced, but he still shows signs of being a Doctor. Basically just like every other regeneration on the show. Of course, Time Lords remember their previous lives, but their emotions and reactions differ completely. Just like Nine turned into Ten and fell in love with Rose, John Smith returned to being Ten and no longer loved Nurse Redfern. "John" had to die, but he was still somewhere in Ten, just like all the other generations of Doctors. The heart of that episode, the part that made everyone cry, was John having to deal with sacrificing himself so that someone else could live. Now the Time Lord Doctor is facing the same fate, and had almost the exact same conversation with Wilf in the cafe. I think that's what hit me the most about that episode. He basically just broke down and showed exactly how human he was. He's doing everything he can to avoid death while still having a morbid fascination with it. And that's generally what humans do and are.
"That's why I left you behind. It's not easy just looking at you, Jack, 'cause you're wrong."
-The Sound of Drums
I think this theme was the most present in the third season, because it was all leading up to bringing back The Master. The Master has always been the opposite side of the coin to The Doctor. Where The Doctor sees humanity and relishes it and tries to hold on, The Master wants to squash it for being unbeatable. He can't believe that his own civilization fell and this pitiful, monstrous one still survives. Where The Doctor has run away from being a Time Lord, The Master can never escape it. The drums are the Time Lord's heartbeat, the most alien thing about their anatomy. I'm not going to get much into The Master, because that's a whole other rant, but the entire ending episode arc is still all about human survival.
The latest season led The Doctor to embrace what The Master always believed, that since he was a Time Lord, he could do anything, which is why it's appropriate that The Master has returned to finish the deal. After years and years of denying it, of pushing it away and forgetting the horrible things he had to do in the name of being a Time Lord, he's finally accepted all that he can do. And that's why he needs to regenerate. The Tenth Doctor is an amazing, er, person, but having this power would absolutely corrupt him. He's much too cocky and flippant. He's much too human. It even worries me that the preview for the last episode (I haven't seen it yet, but will shortly) has the Doctor holding a gun, since he's so outspokenly against it in every other episodes. Right now, I think he's near crazy enough to go through with it, but again, I haven't seen the episode and don't know the proper context. But I do know that in order to change and become a healthier, happier Doctor, he needs to become a new person who is fully equipped to return to his Time Lord roots and not be so falteringly human. I think this is where they're going with the tweed jacket, hopefully, because while astonishingly stylish, it's not quite as James Bond (a.k.a. sexy) as the striped suit. I have other things to say about Ten, of course, I could probably go on incoherently for ages, but I feel like I've said more than enough for now. I love Ten, and will miss him dearly, but I think the show is ready for a new Doctor, so I'm gonna go watch the newest episode and cry my hearts out.
P.S. Does it come as a surprise that I've been watching the Series Three marathon on BBCAmerica?
P.P.S. And no, I didn't make reference to any of the Doctors Fifth through Eight, but that's because, unfortunately, I haven't gotten that far yet. I don't proclaim to know everything about Doctor Who, these are just my opinions about everything that I've seen so far.
P.P.S. Some of my "theory" (if you can call it that) gets ruined by the second part of End Of Time, but I don't think it's affected that much.
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And I do love Ten a lot. He's definitely one of the best doctors that I've seen, but they're all really great in their own way. I don't think I made the human point well enough, but that's mostly because I got distracted by all the other things I wanted to say! But thank you! I'm also super-excited for Eleven!
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It's not "Martha" who dies but rather the character played by Freema Agyeman in Series 2's episode 12 (Army of Ghosts). She's the woman working at Torchwood that sneaks off with her boyfriend and then has her mind taken over. They really liked Freema, so when they brought her back on the show as "Martha" they pointed to the 12th episode and said that that was her cousin. I think this is actually mentioned in Series 3. Somewhere in the last few episodes?
Past that, this essay is amazing. I've never really thought of him as the "human" Doctor, but it does make sense. I did think that he had become one of the most unstable Doctors since his whole regeneration started out kind of wonky and then he kept changing companions like crazy because intense circumstances forced them to quit traveling with him. It was just so much he was spiraling out of control and really did need to regenerate. I am sorry to see him go (I was sad when Christopher Eccleston left (he was my first Doctor)) which I think says a lot as I remember being apprehensive when Tennant first came on because I only knew him as super creeper crazy Barty Crouch, Jr. from HP: Goblet of Fire. However, the new season does look pretty sweet.
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Thank you so much! I'm still not sure I made all the points that I wanted to, but I'm glad that the essential parts got across! He was kind of manic-depressive, wasn't he? I'm excited for the new season like nobody's business...