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hmpfHow do I love the Doctor? Let me count the ways...
I love his stick-out ears. I love his lived-in face. I love his lanky frame. I love his frankly magnificent (*g*) hands. I love the way he moves – the way he almost seems to *drop down* stairs instead of walking down. I love his grins – warm or manic. I love his dangerous calm. I love his rage. I love the almost imperceptible shiver he gives when Jabe tells him it's a miracle he even exists. I love that single tear that drops when she says she's sorry. I love that single muscle that twitches when the Dalek says 'So are you.' I love his taunting, his mocking, his hatred, his guilt. His obscene satisfaction. I love his energy. I love his mania. I love his sadness. I love his loneliness. I love his desperate need to be with Rose. I love his jealousy. I love his manipulativeness. I love his caring.
I could go on.
The effect of all this is magnified rather by the fact that you find it where you least expect it, on a family programme ostensibly produced 'for the kids', and in a character who has, in his long history, seen a fair number of ups and downs, displayed a lot of mania and a little bit of darkness, but has never been this damaged, this dark, this seriously screwed up. 'Oh,' says my internal naysayer, 'but it's so cliché nowadays to make things 'dark'!' Well, maybe it is – but the beauty of the new Who is that it pulls off the very difficult feat of striking a balance. It's actually a lot of *fun* to watch, and the darkness only creeps in slowly, subtly. Much of the time it's a fun romp through science fiction clichés, and then suddenly, when you don't expect anything of the sort, it gets serious, and gives you a truly disturbing or truly touching character moment. And one by one, you put together the pieces, and see the bigger picture...
If you're a well-trained fangirl, it's not that difficult to see, really, and I suppose you even *could* say it is a bit cliché. Some of the old-time Doctor Who fans complained, after the first episode or two, about Christopher Eccleston's manic performance, his too-wide, mask-like grin. This fangirl here saw immediately that this was not the actor hitting a wrong note accidentally, but a deliberate decision to play the Doctor like that – with a half-faked enthusiasm bordering on the insane; basically, to play the Doctor as if the Doctor himself is trying to play the Doctor. The angst fangirl in me couldn't help but wonder about the reasons. I haven't seen a lot of the old Doctor Who but I've seen enough, I think, to know that the Doctor didn't use to be that manic, didn't use to appear quite that unhinged. Eccentric, yes, but not crazy. So, wonders the angst fangirl, what unhinged him so badly? And then the big revelation comes in ep two, and it's like straight out of a fanfic... but in a good way.
And that is largely thanks to Christopher Eccleston. The writing on the new show, while certainly way above average, and often a lot of fun, is occasionally anything but subtle. Christopher Eccleston, however, is nothing *but* subtle. All the emotion that the writing paints in very broad strokes, he plays out in a million intricate facets on his face, in his entire body and his voice. He layers in dimensions that probably weren't even scripted. It's amazing to watch.
(I should probably say something about Billie Piper here, too, because she honestly is very, very good as well, but I think I've gushed enough for one day. *g*)
I love his stick-out ears. I love his lived-in face. I love his lanky frame. I love his frankly magnificent (*g*) hands. I love the way he moves – the way he almost seems to *drop down* stairs instead of walking down. I love his grins – warm or manic. I love his dangerous calm. I love his rage. I love the almost imperceptible shiver he gives when Jabe tells him it's a miracle he even exists. I love that single tear that drops when she says she's sorry. I love that single muscle that twitches when the Dalek says 'So are you.' I love his taunting, his mocking, his hatred, his guilt. His obscene satisfaction. I love his energy. I love his mania. I love his sadness. I love his loneliness. I love his desperate need to be with Rose. I love his jealousy. I love his manipulativeness. I love his caring.
I could go on.
The effect of all this is magnified rather by the fact that you find it where you least expect it, on a family programme ostensibly produced 'for the kids', and in a character who has, in his long history, seen a fair number of ups and downs, displayed a lot of mania and a little bit of darkness, but has never been this damaged, this dark, this seriously screwed up. 'Oh,' says my internal naysayer, 'but it's so cliché nowadays to make things 'dark'!' Well, maybe it is – but the beauty of the new Who is that it pulls off the very difficult feat of striking a balance. It's actually a lot of *fun* to watch, and the darkness only creeps in slowly, subtly. Much of the time it's a fun romp through science fiction clichés, and then suddenly, when you don't expect anything of the sort, it gets serious, and gives you a truly disturbing or truly touching character moment. And one by one, you put together the pieces, and see the bigger picture...
If you're a well-trained fangirl, it's not that difficult to see, really, and I suppose you even *could* say it is a bit cliché. Some of the old-time Doctor Who fans complained, after the first episode or two, about Christopher Eccleston's manic performance, his too-wide, mask-like grin. This fangirl here saw immediately that this was not the actor hitting a wrong note accidentally, but a deliberate decision to play the Doctor like that – with a half-faked enthusiasm bordering on the insane; basically, to play the Doctor as if the Doctor himself is trying to play the Doctor. The angst fangirl in me couldn't help but wonder about the reasons. I haven't seen a lot of the old Doctor Who but I've seen enough, I think, to know that the Doctor didn't use to be that manic, didn't use to appear quite that unhinged. Eccentric, yes, but not crazy. So, wonders the angst fangirl, what unhinged him so badly? And then the big revelation comes in ep two, and it's like straight out of a fanfic... but in a good way.
And that is largely thanks to Christopher Eccleston. The writing on the new show, while certainly way above average, and often a lot of fun, is occasionally anything but subtle. Christopher Eccleston, however, is nothing *but* subtle. All the emotion that the writing paints in very broad strokes, he plays out in a million intricate facets on his face, in his entire body and his voice. He layers in dimensions that probably weren't even scripted. It's amazing to watch.
(I should probably say something about Billie Piper here, too, because she honestly is very, very good as well, but I think I've gushed enough for one day. *g*)
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Date: 2005-05-09 05:52 pm (UTC)Look! I found you! (squee) ;)
And I'm going to tell you here, although I read what you wrote on OG, that I think you're absolutely right, and that's such a beautiful, *celebration* I think is the best word for it, of CE and his Doctor.
*gets a bit teary*
He has bandy legs. I love that. And I love the vulnerability in his eyes. Gah. *loves your post some more* See, I try to be that articulate about the Doctor, but then I forget how to type ;)
And I'm going to cry buckets when he goes. Despite being a grown woman who is usually fairly sensible. In fact, I may find myself Crying In Advance a week or two before, lol.
Hey there!
Date: 2005-05-09 09:05 pm (UTC)As for crying buckets... yes. Definitely. It's a cruel world where we're robbed of Beautiful Men on TV after only one season...
BTW -
Date: 2005-05-09 09:10 pm (UTC)Re: BTW -
Date: 2005-05-09 10:11 pm (UTC)Gleet...
Date: 2005-05-09 11:17 pm (UTC)That should have been 'glee'.
Date: 2005-05-10 04:47 pm (UTC)