#with Doctor Who

[katefathers]

dissecting companion exits: a doctor who rant in the year 2024

So it's been over a month since I did that Doctor Who podcast, which has miraculously got me back on my Doctor Who bullshit, and after "The Giggle", I've been thinking a lot about companion exits, and how they worked for me and how they worked both inside and out of the narrative. And because what else is social media for than ranting about fiction, here I am.

I find it really interesting how in both Moffat and RTD Who, many of the exits work more successfully outside of the narrative than inside of it, yet for completely different reasons.

Like, "The Giggle" really emphasised how ridiculously tragic the Moffat companion exits were. And while I can't speak for Bill as I haven't watched her series, for both Amy and Clara, those exits didn't make much sense inside the narrative. Amy and Clara could have had non-tragic exits. Amy's run in particular seemed to be working towards her and Rory choosing to stop travelling with the Doctor. They weren't doing it full time, they were getting older (it was highlighted how Amy needed reading glasses now), and it would have made solid character and thematic sense to have them choose to end this chapter in their lives. To focus on their careers, and maybe have kids, and find the joy in the slow path. A slow wind down--a bittersweet yet poignant departure--would not have been untoward.

Clara could have left that way too. She could have either walked off into the sunset with Danny Pink (if he hadn't been killed off. Because he was killed off, right?) or found some other calling. Embracing teaching at Coal Hill. Teaching on another planet. Anything! But I think in both cases, Moffat wanted his "Doomsday", and so what made logical narrative sense took a backseat. These exits worked more outside of the story--"because the showrunner wanted tragedy"--than inside.

Donna, I think, could have also had a non-tragic exit. I know her tragic ending has been reversed, but if Donna had two series instead of one, I think an ending where she chose to leave the Doctor would have been possible. I mean, she loved travelling, but it's clear that she also wanted to do things like get married and have a family, and I think if she had one more series (or was in all four specials), she could have had a Jo Grant exit. But they couldn't get Catherine Tate for another series/all four specials, and RTD was set on leaving before Series 5, so Donna doesn't.

And the constraints of TV filmmaking are what I believe hampered the RTD companion exits. And there are two major ones: actor availability and the time the BBC allowed him to tell his stories.

Granted, while having two tragic exits that weigh on the Tenth Doctor and contribute to him going all "Time Lord Victorious" could have been the plan all along, assuming it wasn't, both Donna and Rose's exits make the most sense when read from an outside perspective: neither Catherine Tate or Billie Piper had signed on for more full episodes.

Rose's second exit, in particular, is the poster child for "outside the narrative" storytelling. I mean, when the Doctor says "But you've got to [stay in the parallel universe]", you nearly expect him to end that with "because your actress didn't sign on for more episodes". Outside the narrative, leaving Rose with TenToo wraps up the Doctor/Rose romance, keeps them mostly safe from the whims of future showrunners, and yet leaves Rose's story a little open-ended for the audience so they imagine whatever they want to happen in Rose's--and future Doctor's--future. Inside the narrative, however, I didn't find it particularly satisfying. The Doctor has been pining for Rose for two series. Rose has worked incredibly had to get back to him. As a character, she's crafted as someone who would stay with the Doctor forever. They have this sweeping, incredibly romantic reunion! Inside the narrative, her staying makes the most sense. It's the most satisfying ending. Especially if you don't have the space to make an ending with Rose's permanent exit gratifying.

Because like Donna and the bigeneration in "The Giggle", Rose ending up back in the parallel world could have been more satisfying if RTD had more time to build up to that exit. In general, much of "Journey's End" feels rushed, and the end of the episode is particularly bad, leaving a number of holes that never get filled. Mickey gives a very brief reason why he's staying in his home universe, but we don't see him say goodbye to Rose and Jackie. We never get a proper reunion between Rose and Jack, or resolution to Rose making Jack immortal, which she is clearly unaware of, nor do we get a goodbye between them. I remember wondering when "Journey's End" first aired, do Mickey and Jack even know that they won't see Rose again? Do they walk off with a quick "see ya later", thinking they'll meet up occasionally? Because Rose sure as hell didn't think she was leaving her home universe. And while we got TenToo on his own to establish that he is (mostly) the Doctor, we don't get much between him and Rose prior to being left on Bad Wolf Bay to build any kind of connection between them. We don't see Ten come to the decision to leave the two of them; we never really know how he feels about it. Yeah, Doctor Who is a very plot-forward show, but "Journey's End" was juggling a lot of plot and a lot of characters, and it should have been longer--or the Series 4 finale should have been a three-parter--to give both the story and characters time to breathe. The audience is left to infer A LOT, and for me it was unsatisfying at the time, and now with over a decade of distance, it's actually even more unsatisfying.

While it might seem like I have more of a problem with RTD's companion exits, I think they're more successful from a technical and audience standpoint than Moffat's. RTD has the incredible ability to write backwards, making you feel like an ending was always something that he was working towards, even when he wasn't. Although both Donna and Rose's stories could have been different given more time, and if they played out in a different medium like a novel, they still, mostly, work. Donna forgets, but gets a family and a mother who values her a little more. Rose gets both the Doctor and her parents--she doesn't have to sacrifice one for the other anymore. Moffat's, on the other hand, feel very slapdash, and I don't recall feeling like we'd been working towards them. Because, as I said, it always seemed like he was working towards a totally different ending.

I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this, but I find the difference between Moffat and RTD's approach to companion exits really fascinating. One wanted a specific style of ending, but didn't seem to know how to foreshadow it--how to make it work as part of a cohesive narrative. The other had a strong handle on narrative and character arcs, but their ability to craft something satisfying--to give his audience all the information--was hindered by episode length. Going forward, I hope RTD can manage his time better so that the companion exit is more satisfying, like Martha's. But I also hope he takes a leaf out of Moffat's book and plans a non-tragic ending. Because Moffat did set up two fairly sold, amicable partings, and Doctor Who needs more of those again.

#my writing #writeblr #Doctor Who #Russell T Davies #Steven Moffat #criticism #analysis #companions #companion exits #a giant Doctor Who rant? #in 2024? #quel suprise! #this is long and rambly but i needed to get it out of my brain #to add: i honestly think the constraints of the medium are part of why i bounced from Doctor Who years ago #while it's true that Moffat's writing wore me down #the fact that the story i was most invested in--the Doctor and Rose--didn't get an ending i found satisfying was part of it #and that was due to the TV format #and how Doctor Who is a show that continues with the same protagonist #with Doctor Who #you can get satisfying arcs but not really a satisfying story #and that wears on you #i think it says something that the stories i gravitate towards more recently aren't part of franchises #sure i do love Doctor Who and Star Trek #but i think my brain likes concrete endings to stories #i like a completed whole that i can imagine around #and while you can get that with companions on Doctor Who #you can't get that for the show itself #for the Doctor #the fact that even Doctor Who has got so backward looking doesn't help #it's leaving very little for me to imagine

[miametropolis]

and what if I told you nine was less afraid of love than ten. what then.

#WHAT THEN! #doctor who #ninerose #tenrose #ninth doctor #tenth doctor #rose tyler

[unifiedintelligencetaskwhores]

"what does a TARDIS malfunction sound like?"

"idk just dump the entire goofy sound effects library in the span of 10 seconds. That should do it"

#doctor who #classic doctor who #classic who #fourth doctor #tom baker

[doomed-jester]

"I don't like old sci-fi shows, the special effects look too cheesy" you are incapable of joy. Go to the dungeon.

#sci fi #scifi #vintage scifi #star trek #doctor who #Ultraman

[darthsarcom]

And this is useful to me, I didn't know the "n" was silent. But otherwise his name is very intuitive to say. People don't really have an excuse

#doctor who

[fanonical]

genuinely, i think watching live theatre can improve your media literacy so much

like people who look at doctor who and are like 'lol the effects are so rubbish'

maybe watch a stage play where there's no backdrops and half the characters are played by the same three guys in different hats and maybe you will calm down

#Doctor Who #Classic Who

[henryticart]

The Doctor and The Master implies a third, less prestigious renegade timelord named The Bachelor

#doctor who

[paintdoktahwho]

#15 is drinking an espresso martini btw #dw #doctor who #ncuti gatwa #david tennant #christopher eccleston #jodie whittaker #matt smith #peter capaldi #timeless child #so much fucking lore #9th doctor #10th doctor #11th doctor #war doctor #12th doctor #13th doctor #14th doctor #15th doctor #fanart #this was my first time drawing 13 and i really like how i decided to draw her

[nat-20s]

#dw spoilers #doctor who #tennant doctor #fourteenth doctor #donna noble #fucked up that this is just applicable to them now as it was in 2008. I feel so so so much about Them

[buildoblivionthenwewilltalk]

#through happy coincidence this could also be a torchwood briefing #David Tennant #the giggle #doctor who #spoilers #10th Doctor #14th doctor #tentoo #ik the math ain’t mathing but it made me giggle

[ninthdoctorr]

david tennant's acting choices in utopia haunt me

#best conversation in nuwho tbh #jack harkness #tenth doctor #david tennant #doctor who #utopia #tenjack

[thelvadams]

The Fifteenth Doctor's new Sonic! ⚡️

#dw spoilers #doctor who #dwedit #dwgifs #timelordgifs #ncuti gatwa #fifteenth doctor #sonic screwdriver #thelvadams.gifs #the new design will take some getting used to #but this is SUCH a good detail #aside from the connection to ncuti it's just such a good doctor line

[ayo-edebiri]

DOCTOR WHO (2005) - The Star Beast

#byaurore #dw spoilers #doctor who #dwedit #dwgifs #timelordgifs #userbbelcher #usersugar #userallisyn #noalook #nessa007 #tuserrachel #userzo #tuserpris #userveronika #usereena #userelio #userrlaura #david tennant #yasmin finney #i'm so back i have 4k and a transcript

[miametropolis]

9th doctor you have to stop. your doc martens too classic. your leather jacket too cunt. your buzzcut too perfect. your swag is too lesbian...9th doctor they'll kill you.

#and they did #russel t davies lesbophbia confirmed #the ninth doctor is a dyke and I will die on this hill #ninth dctor #9th doctor #doctor who #timepetals #rose tyler #ninerose

[willgrahamscock]

You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me

#it was an era #superwholock #is that even a tag #taylor swift #supernatural #doctor who #bbc sherlock

[hansoeii]

The Doctor!

#casting ncuti gatwa as the doctor gotta be one of the greatest casting decisions ever #can't wait to deeply fall in love with him #also yes I did add my cat to yet another doctor who fanart #minka deserves to be the doctor's companion #I think we can all agree on that #this is a different kind of self insert #doctor who #15th doctor #doctor who fanart #15th doctor fanart #doctor who christmas special #ncuti gatwa #my art