So much for the feminist take on Doctor Who
If you’ve watched the first two seasons of Doctor Who, you can see Russell T. Davies making drunken stabs towards a feminist reading of the Doctor-companion relationship. He and his staff obviously watched a lot of Buffy when writing the show, since Rose Tyler was portrayed as bubbly and blonde, but full of hidden strengths and insights. In Season One, in particular, it was hammered home again and again that Rose was special because she asked the right questions and helped save the Doctor occasionally. And of course the season ended with Rose saving the day, in a power grab that was swept under the rug immediately afterwards.
It wasn’t until Rose had left the show that Davies tipped his hand. She’s really not as cool as the Doctor, nor is she capable of kicking ass all on her own. We know this because Davies announced that he’d canceled a planned spin-off called Rose Tyler, Defender Of The Earth, after it already had a budget and detailed plans. It spoils Doctor Who “if we see as a concrete fact that her life continues to be as exciting without the Doctor,” Davies concluded. So Captain Jack gets to have an exciting life without the Doctor’s guidance. But not Rose, because that would make the Doctor seem less important. Ohhhhhhhhh kay.
Davies probably had it right — the Doctor-companion relationship is intrinsically sexist. You can’t mess with the formula without undermining the entire series. Maybe Doctor Who should have been swept into the dustbin of TV history and never should have been revived.
Hey, what if the Doctor regenerated as a woman…? That might work. Any hack sci-fi TV writer worth his or her salt could come up with some flimsy scientific patter to explain the transformation…that would allow all sorts of “post-feminist” fun and games…
Russell T. Davies talked about the issue of regenerating the Doctor as a woman a year or so ago. At first, he was very anti, and said that the Doctor was intrinsically male and must have a penis in order to be the character we all love. Then, more recently, he’s softened his stance and said it’s not out of the question.
Damn it, ALL blondes have hidden depths!!!
Yeah, I think the new feminism peeked with Sarah Jane Smith actually calling the Doctor on dumping her, and she and Rose’s bonding.
Ah well, maybe with Season 45 or something.
“Then, more recently, he’s softened his stance and said it’s not out of the question.”
This is a creative test for the writers: will they have the guts to pull it off? I hope they do; it would revitalize the series, and it might be an exciting cultural moment. Big question: who could play the female Doctor? I’m thinking Tilda Swinton, although isn’t the Doctor supposed to be getting younger as s/he regenerates? Parminder Nagra from Bend it Like Beckham should be the new companion.
Those of us who have enjoyed “Doctor Who
and the Curse of Fatal Death” (a 1999 Comic
Relief spoof starring Rowan Atkinson as The
Doctor) have already gotten to see The
Doctor regenerate as a woman… Joanna
Lumley, to be precise. ‘Twas delightful!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212887/
Yeah, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death was amazing, apart from the annoying fart jokes, that is.
[...] And to wrap things up with this section, another post from Charlie Anders at othermag: So much for the feminist take on Doctor Who [Caution! Spoilers in link.], which discusses the relationship between the Doctor and his companion. [...]
I’ve found Russell’s take to be one of the more regressive periods for Doctor Who, in terms of sexism. (Beat out by Peri and Jo Grant.)
The high point for Doctor Who was in the late 1970s, with companions Leela and Romana (I and II). That period is really very feminist and progressive; in particular, the Doctor is very often clearly wrong and the companion is right (though the Doctor never admits it, because he’s so arrogant). The companion-Doctor relationships are noticably different from the norm in both cases.
Also, guest cast roles are usually without sex stereotyping during this period, which is certainly not true of earlier or later periods, including Russell’s.
Interestingly, the original 1963 lineup (with Barbara Wright) was also better than many subsequent periods.
The worst periods are 1971-1973 (Jo Grant) and 1984-1985 (Peri). Unfortunately, Russell’s tenure so far, while better than those, is pretty much average-to-poor from a feminist POV. Rose is really just a more believable Ace, or a more modern Victoria. And Jackie, while a very entertaining character, is a broad and negative female stereotype. The only strong female characters in the last two seasons have turned out to be villains, and fairly cliched villians at that.
I sort of liked Ace, especially in “Curse of Fenric” where she’s obviously figuring things out much faster than the Doctor expects her to. Although there’s also the weird “second hand on a stopwatch” seduction scene.
Barbara may have been the toughest companion the Doctor ever had, although she screams a few times during her tenure. But yeah, Leela and Romana were by far the most feminist companions.
Chris Boucher has been playing with the idea that Leela is often right where the Doctor is wrong in his novels, especially “Match of the Day.” It’s a neat twist on the Doctor-Leela relationship.
[...] The episode mostly seemed to be a final insult (of many) to poor old Rose, as the Doctor attempts to replace her with possibly the stupidest companion he’s ever had. (Yes, dumber than Dodo.) Rose wasn’t super-educated, but the show made a point of showing over and over again that she was a quick learner who asked the right questions. She was curious. She figured things out on her own. Until she became unbearably smug in season two, these characteristics made her really likeable and admirable. Donna, by contrast, doesn’t know and doesn’t care. Alien spaceships and cyber-armies (from previous episodes) completely went over her head (so to speak). The script hammers home the point that she’s a total moron, and then makes a point of telling us she’d be a good replacement for Rose. WTF?! But it’s supposed to be okay, because of the constant sentimental invoking of the Doctor’s bond with Rose, and how sad he is, and how much he wishes he was dirty dancing with Rose instead of fighting robot Santas. The show wants us to love Rose (even though she’s gone) but not respect her. Russell T. Davies always responds to straw man criticisms of his writing on Doctor Who: supposedly people don’t like it because they don’t want to see character development, or emotions, or subtext or whatever. Not me. I’m for those things. I’ve written tons of fanfic in my head where Nyssa decides to avenge the destruction of Traken instead of sweeping it under the rug, or where Adric’s death has a lasting impact on the Doctor. Yay for character development. I haven’t really seen much on Davies’ Doctor Who so far, to be honest. I’ve seen a lot of moments smushed together, but the Doctor can’t (or won’t) change, and Rose hardly did. (Random thought: what would have been really interesting is if we’d seen Rose getting sick of the Doctor and deciding to leave him, which after all is what 99 percent of his companions have done in the past. Or Rose’s feelings about the Doctor becoming more mixed and less luvvy duvvy. That would have constituted development instead of a single note held for two seasons.) Anyway, the end of season two saw the departure of the show’s entire supporting cast, which means we get a blank slate. Will we see an actual arc this time around? Or will it be like (shudder) Torchwood? [...]
I definitely think that the relationships between the Doctor and, first Rose and now Martha, have been fairly uninteresting, with the first season have a bit more nuance (primarily because I think that Eccleston was just more nuanced in general). It’s a real disappointment.
My vote for a female Doctor–although I hadn’t thought of Tilda Swinton and she would be incredible–is for Miranda Richardson. Or, at the very least, an older companion, one not interested in romance with the Doctor. I know you have to have someone the kids can identify with, but unwillingness to deviate from “the formula” is nothing more than a lack of imagination.
[...] And to wrap things up with this section, another post from Charlie Anders at othermag: So much for the feminist take on Doctor Who [Caution! Spoilers in link.], which discusses the relationship between the Doctor and his companion. [...]
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