Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic And the new Doctor is...

Roger, from what I understand Stephen Moffat (the new lead writer for the 2010 series) intended to bring back River Song and tell the story of her relationship with the Doctor, but then once David Tennant announced he was leaving those scripts had to be scrapped. Fandom is pretty divided on River Song, and those of us who couldn't stand the character weren't too disappointed

Tank, this surprises me:
It was made pretty explicit, actually. The love/attraction was implied with the Ninth Doctor, but then Rose actually told the Doctor she loved him in Doomsday and, though he never said it back, it was strongly implied twice that he would have except that he doesn't say that sort of thing He then pined for her all through the third season and was overjoyed to get her back. Rose's final scene - kissing the duplicate Doctor - made the romance pretty clear. Writers, producers and actors, in interviews and behind-the-scenes documentaries, have all described the Doctor/Rose relationship as a romance and a love story.

In New Who, too, the Doctor's far more of a sexual creature than ever before, though admittedly that started with the Eighth Doctor movie. Nine flirted with just about every attractive woman, and even one man, who crossed his path, and kissed Rose (and Jack). Ten kissed Rose, Reinette, Martha, Astrid and Donna, and it's very strongly implied that he slept with Reinette. With Moffat taking over - the writer who, more than anyone, has tended to write the Doctor as an intergalactic Casanova (see Reinette, River Song) - I expect there'll be a lot more of that.

That's one of the biggest differences between Classic and New Who. Peter Davison (Fifth Doctor) has said that - because at the time he was the youngest actor to play the Doctor - he was instructed not to touch his companions on-screen at all, though he also said that he played the role as if he was in love with Nyssa As for Tom Baker, watch his episodes with Romana II (Lalla Ward), in particular City of Death; while there's no explicit romance, the chemistry is blazing. Hardly surprising, since the two of them fell in love on-set and married!


Wendy (who, for the record, loved Donna and is very sorry that she's gone)

And there has to be a romantic element in a TV show before it can interest women?

I'll admit that many of the TV shows I enjoy have a ship element to them and that's partly what I enjoy about them. But it certainly isn't the whole of my TV enjoyment by any means. Heroes, House and Battlestar Galactica are just three shows I can think of, off the top of my head, which I thoroughly enjoy but which either have no ship elements or the ship elements they do have interest me not at all and certainly aren't the reason I tune in each week.

For me, the last series of DW was its finest and the relationship (non-romantic) between the Doctor and Donna one of the most satisfying to watch.

LabRat

I have to take exception with the same remark Labrat did. I grew up watching science fiction thanks to my dad, including watching TNG. Sure, I rooted for Riker/Troi, but that was never the reason I watched it. Same goes with Doctor Who. Such a long-running series couldn't be all bad, and I was intrigued. And with the first episode, I was drawn in. And there are a few other shows that I watch without any expectation of romance.

The other point, probably, is since when did fans of a show need an explicit romantic element in order to enjoy it?

Practically every male character in a TV show you can think of out there - including many so hetrosexual you could break your teeth on their machismo - feature in slash fiction. Without any sign of them having a romantic/sexual relationship on screen.

Similiarly, fanfic galore has been written in reams by fans pairing couples who show not the slightest interest in each other in the show itself.

Romance - for the internet fan - is in the eye of the beholder. And if it doesn't exist there on the screen, most of them will make it up anyway in fanfic to satisfy themselves.

LabRat

Just to clarify a point. I didn't mean to say that women 'have' to have a romantic interest in a series to enjoy watching it, I just was making an observation regarding the folks who play on these boards since it has been fairly established that the 'ship' part of L&C has always been a major aspect of the show's appeal.

Tank (who warns the gentle board members not to read too much into his comments... he's not that deep)