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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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Shipping ships outside of ST:
Date: 2005-05-09 09:22 pm (UTC)Re: Shipping ships outside of ST:
Date: 2005-05-09 10:13 pm (UTC)I know, but...
Date: 2005-05-09 10:35 pm (UTC)Oh, and: yay for ship femslash!
So, how about my offer of sending you some new Who?
Re: I know, but...
Date: 2005-05-10 03:34 am (UTC)*Giggles.* Aww, can't hold the shift button down through the ARDIS? :)
So, how about my offer of sending you some new Who?
I talked to my folks and they agreed we should have some of the New Who, however good or bad it is. I mean we've got the '96 movie with Paul McGann's Doctor...
Re: I know, but...
Date: 2005-05-10 04:58 pm (UTC)As a matter of fact, I can't. I'm typing with ten fingers, which means I type 'TARDIS' like this:
T = left forefinger on the 't' and right little finger on the shift button
A = left little finger on the 'a' and right little finger on the shift button
R = left forefinger on the 'r' and right little finger on the shift button
D = left middle finger on the 'd' and right little finger on the shift button
I = *right* middle finger on the 'i' and *left* little finger on the shift button
S = *left* ring finger on the 's' and *right* little finger on the shift button.
You've got to admit that that is slightly awkward! The QUERTY keyboard clearly wasn't made for comfortable TARDIS typing.
>I talked to my folks and they agreed we should have some of the New Who, however good or bad it is. I mean we've got the '96 movie with Paul McGann's Doctor...
Okay... I'll wait until the season is through and send you the CDs then. (I assume you can't download stuff from the internet yourself due to lack of broadband or something? 'cause if you *can*, then, naturally, that would be a lot faster than waiting for me... I could give you a link if you just don't know where to get it. *g*)
Got some other stuff lying around for you here, too, btw.
Re: I know, but...
Date: 2005-05-10 05:52 pm (UTC)Hmm, maybe it's that I've got a spiffy ergonomic keyboard. I type all of TARDIS with my left little finger on the shift button, and pretty quickly. *Ponders.*
I assume you can't download stuff from the internet yourself due to lack of broadband or something?
Heh, yeah or something. I wonder if I should try to download an episode anyway. See if this machine is even capable of playing a television episode on it.
Got some other stuff lying around for you here, too, btw.
Really? Cool!
Hey, any chance you'll be in Leeds in March?
Re: I know, but...
Date: 2005-05-10 08:41 pm (UTC)Nope, it's because I type with ten fingers. An ergonomic keyboard wouldn't change a thing as the 'i' would still be on the right half of the keyboard that is being manipulated by the right hand, while the rest of the letters are pushed with the left hand. See, I type the 'official way' - the way you're taught to in a typing class. There's a set way to type every word by that method (see my description of how I type 'TARDIS'), and some words are easier to type than others. For example, 'rest, 'test' 'art' 'sad' and other words only consisting of letters on the left half of the keyboard are really easy. And all-caps words are a pain to type, be they TARDIS or 'OMG TEH DOCTOR IS TEH HAWT!!!!!' ;-) All-caps is really only easy to do if you type the letters with one hand and hold the shift button down with the other, but that's not the way I was taught to type. And it's hard to unlearn the way you're typing - not to mention that it's not really something I would want to unlearn, as ten finger typing probably still is the fastest way to type.
>Heh, yeah or something. I wonder if I should try to download an episode anyway. See if this machine is even capable of playing a television episode on it.
Eeek. If the computer is the problem, then I'm not sure my eps would be any help to you at all. They're also supposed to be played on a computer. Though my parents' DVD player will play them, too - but not all DVD players play them.
>Really? Cool!
Yeah, remember, I wanted to send you a 'thank you' parcel for the book.
>Hey, any chance you'll be in Leeds in March?
Leeds? March? Uhm... No, not really. Or rather - what exactly is happening in Leeds in March? I don't really know where I'll be in March 2006, but if you give me a good enough reason to be in Leeds...
I'll be in Glasgow in August, though, if that's any help. ;-)
And the rest of the time anyBABE is welcome in Frankfurt, Germany, at Hmpf headquarters. ;-)
Re: I know, but...
Date: 2005-05-12 07:54 pm (UTC)Okay, then it's a difference in how we've been trained to use our ten fingers. I hold the left shift key down with my left little finger the entire time I'm typing TARDIS. I hit TARD and the S with other fingers on my left hand. The "I" however I hit with a finger from my right hand.
If the computer is the problem, then I'm not sure my eps would be any help to you at all.
Heh, don't panic. My computer might not be up to playing the Doctor Who episodes, but my dad's must be.
Though my parents' DVD player will play them, too - but not all DVD players play them.
Well, along with my dad's computer we've got two DVD players that might work. ;)
Leeds? March? Uhm... No, not really. Or rather - what exactly is happening in Leeds in March?
A Highlander convention with all four horsemen. I'm registered for it. I just have to get the money, and paper work like my passport, together in time.