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watch_is_meThe beginnings of a character analysis data-dump, for Watch!Ten (and Ten and the Doctor in general), as I work out aspects and issues that need to be addressed, for characterization and plot development.
LAST UPDATED 19 OCT 2008
- Age. He's a very old man. Not in the sense that human beings think of age--as a physical thing, always expressed, debilitating, inescapable, an illness or disease--but in terms of time and experience. Despite his physical apparent youth, he is, in many ways, very set--he continues to travel partially in order to counteract this. He's seen a lot, done a lot, and formed very strong views, reinforced over and over and over throughout his lifetime, by his own actions and those of others. He *loves* being surprised, because it means he's not dead yet--he's not petrified, fossilized and stagnant in himself, he's capable of seeing and doing new things. He plays a constant game of reminding himself of that, making sure it's still true. Occasionally, it's not--he'll find himself rejecting something, stubborn or priggish, the old man in the rocking chair disapproving of Young People These Days and waving his cane. Sometimes this horrifies him; sometimes he'll stick by it. It depends on who calls him out and what the circumstances are, really.
The youthfulness of his persona, his Tenth (and even his Ninth, really--his Fourth wasn't bad at it, either), *isn't* the youthfulness of a truly young man. It's that "I've earned it," devil-may-care whimsy and exuberance and selfishness that comes from having *tried* taking it seriously—he put in his time in his youth, cultivating a holier-than-thou, cratchety, whitebeard outlook on life, holding himself apart and above things and others, too good, too intent on doing it *right* to fully participate—and realizing there's really no *point.* The universe isn't running to his agenda, and he's got no schedule to hold to. There's no man in the sky with a clipboard, checking to make sure he gets his lines right. He can play, he can be. Just be himself and frustrate everyone around him, poke holes in *their* oh-so-serious personas. He's the Doctor, he's *been* the Doctor for hundreds of years now, and whatever he does, well, it's what the Doctor would do, because it's what *he* does. If the Doctor wants to go three galaxies over for ice cream or wear a funny paper hat, the Doctor does.
He came of age when he left Gallifrey, as an exile. He truly became an adult during the Time War. In the first instance, he finally had to pay for his iconoclastic, rebellious views and behavior; in the second, he had to return and fight, stand up for beliefs and values that went above and beyond that rebellion. In the first, he left home; in the second, he lost it. Return was no longer an option, and there was nothing left to rebel against, except the past. Before, he was always the Boy Who Ran; now, he's still running, but not so much *from* anywhere--only from memories. He's living, not just running. He's lost a lot and continues to lose even more, and he continues to hurt. But he's fought *for,* now, not just *against*; and he's been there as his culture died and as the universe survived. The same with Earth and the Daleks, and his second set of genocides. It's just possible he's running *to* something, now, even if he doesn't know what it is.
- Life is a journey. It's not about where you end up, so much as it is about seeing and enjoying and being present for everything as you live by and through it. That's the only way to keep aware and alive and awake and not let time and errors and age build up on you. Only during the Time War did he abandon this journey for process, for something that had a goal, that *must* end. Nowadays, he has to fight, from time to time, to maintain his presence in the "journey," and not go all goal-oriented on things--with the loss of Gallifrey and Earth, that pressure is always there, at the back of his mind, to fix those errors, to restore what was lost. But he fights it. Those times, those civilizations, are gone, but time is forgiving. Keep journeying, and maybe he'll find a way to correct those mistakes. Or maybe not. Maybe the Gallifreyans and the human beings will find their own way, without him, and he'll stumble across them somewhere, somewhen, beautiful and whole and recovering, and everything will be alright again.
- Daleks. His major distraction from the journey and the goodness of it is the Daleks. He's burned two worlds just to make absolutely certain that race *died.* When he gets too tied up in the past and hurt and loneliness and the drums, he drops everything he's doing and goes off through time and space to hunt down the remnants of the Dalek race. They're sturdy and persistent, the Daleks, and a few individuals have survived, spread out across reality. He's gotten very good at finding them. These, he kills completely and without mercy. He has a small arsenal in the back of the TARDIS, full of carefully-maintained weapons, most altered to have isomorphic firing mechanisms (wouldn't want to let anyone *else* shoot things, would we?), hand-picked for maximum Dalek-extermination efficiency.
- Love and need. In his old age, he's started to want the things he never had when he was young. Above all else--love. It's not really a conscious want, but he's watched so many human beings live and die and the peace and support that love brings them, that he's begun to feel as though perhaps he's missed something very important. He's always had *friends,* very good friends, but never equals (well, maybe one or two equals, but they're long gone now, along with the rest of Gallifrey, and, besides, they were misguided and crazy, right?); and love might offer him an equal and a kind of emotional home. It might, in fact, offer him a River Song--someone he can share his name with and "trust completely." On the other hand, love might tie him down, and so he's never going to actively acknowledge or pursue his desire for it. On the other other hand, he's "young," again, this regeneration, and that opens so many doors. If he were feeling sentimental, he might even consider it a kind of second chance. On the other other other other hand, he might just be frustrated as hell that he even has to *think* about this anymore, wouldn't it be easier if he looked older and new acquaintances weren't always doing that "oh, he's cute" smile thing? Really. He's 900-ish. HE CAN SEE YOU FLIRTING, THAR.
- Rose. Rose gave canon!Ten *permission* to fall in love. He had already been growing to care for her in his Ninth, and when she stepped in and reaffirmed his choice not to wipe out another planet to destroy the Daleks (by godmoding the Daleks away with the Time Vortex, but allowing the human race to survive) and then let him die saving her—it let him become a new man and put something of his Ninth and the Time War behind him. His regeneration wasn't just physical, it was emotional. He put aside the violent "hero" of the Time War and became the "coward" who "never would"—became a young man, an enthusiastic, vibrant, running man, the right man for Rose. Watch!Ten just...regenerated. Into a younger man, yes, with the same personality tendencies as any other Ten—but it didn't *mean* anything the way canon!Ten's regeneration did. It was just another body to get used to.
- Sexuality. Which is difficult, because I have yet to read Lungbarrow, and I'm really thinking this Doctor will come from a Gallifrey with the Looms and full-physical-maturity juveniles. Which means sexuality and views on family and children will be *very* different from the human, for him. Further research is required.
- Lying. He does it. Particularly about his age and his "child"hood. He also lies about anything he thinks he needs to in order to keep people safe, companions and crowds being at the top of that list. Keep people quiet, keep them with you, keep them calm, keep them thinking. He'll lie to achieve any of those effects. However, he prefers to evade and distract instead of outright lie. Both of which he will do shamelessly. And damned transparently, half the time.
- Morality. He's made mistakes. He still makes them. Hell, he knows he's making them, *as he makes them.* But he feels entitled, by experience, age, species superiority, and just being the Doctor, to insist that *no one else* make the mistakes he makes/made. He may be violent, evasive, hypocritical, vengeful, distant, cruel, and any number of things any number of times, but he will disapprove of those in his "care" (and if you've been in his TARDIS, you are automatically in his care, sir and/or madam) behaving in any of those ways. No guns for you, no iffy moral decisions. Do as I say, not as I do, is his motto.
- Names and his name.
- Mysticism and religion. Pythia.
- The prophecies.
- Companions, need for and relationships therewith.
- Arrogance.
- Authority.
- Speciesism.
- Playing tourist.
- Danger.
- Self-sacrifice.
- Condescension.
- Technology and invention.
- Maths.
- Dancing.
- The drums.
- Confinement. Loom, pre-weaving, being re-woven.
- The Master (watch the Traken eps, but his hijacking another body [albeit a human body, not a Gallifreyan] brings him closer to the Master again, doesn't it?).
- “Child”hood.
- The Rani.
- Exile.
- Susan Foreman/claims to have been a dad, once.
- Why he’s always dressed/nudity.
- Food/sleep/chores the TARDIS takes care of.
- Relationship with the TARDIS/what would he be without it?
- Death.
- Earth and the human race.
- Telepathy and psychic powers.
- Gallifrey and rebellion.
- The Time War (Gallifrey in a time loop, when did he regenerate into Nine, what did he do during the War).
- Living fast and dying young.
- Who he might become/final death.
- What the clothes mean (mourning weeds).
- The children of John Smith/Smith’s legacy/novel/colonialism/the Other.
- Gender and importance/lack of importance thereof.
- Memories of his earlier regenerations.
- Alcohol.
- The amount of female attention (and male, hullo, Jack) this current regeneration gets.
- Personal boundaries.
- Science and belief therein.
- The Academy/Academy days.
- Relationship to the body/each body.
- Swearing.
- His own name (even on Gallifrey, no one uses it).
- Racelessness and homelessness, following the Time War (and the Second Genocide).
- Inspiring of confidence and speed with which he does it.
- Relationship to money (Gallifrey must have some currency, mustn't it?).
- Always asking questions.
- Authority figures/law enforcement institutions.
- Goes straight for center of things, never asks permission.
- Always getting involved (everything is his business).
- Race (all Gallifreyans can't be white, come on).
- Disapproves of genetic/evolutionary manipulation (yet isn't his entire race's reproduction based around that?).
- Rassilon.
- Immortality/mortality.
- Carelessness (with belongings, etc.)
- Relationship to material possessions (does seem to be a packrat).
- Loyalty, reliability, and lack thereof (always running off on companions, Tegan).
- Science/physics/technology/mechanics/engineering.
- Fascination with new forms of life, new races.
- Three: Uses devices, but not the screwdriver? Very serious, compared to other incarnations. Scientific jargon to the minimum. Cares for companions and willing to show that care, compliments them on occasion. Bessie, "Super Drive." Plaid overcoat, red/pink coat, ruffled shirt (skinny legs/tight pants). Exiled on Earth, as UNIT science advisor. Willing to sacrifice self to save others (or at least bluff). Telepathic link with TARDIS, calls her "she." Afraid of fire. Never gives up appearance of control. Unwilling to destroy devices that authority forbids him to ("Mind of Evil").
- Five: Ah. A bit of luck. Cricket. Runs from the police, actually seems to think they might get in his way/present a problem. Leaves Tegan. Rather calm, resigned in some cases. No screwdriver or devices. Repairs to TARDIS, but doesn't seem to be a mechanical man.
- Six: Very eclectic clothing. Very cocksure, but upbeat. Few/no explanations. Loves genius. Forbidden to change history. Seems to keep companion around just to show off to, shut down. Uses devices that he carries on him/invents, but not the screwdriver? Fond of quotes (Shakespeare).
- Nine:
- Ten: Fast talking, much tech/science technobabble. Brilliants, allons-y, avanti, molto bene, other foreign phrases. Occasional quotes. Tongue to top of mouth, hands through hair, hands grabbing back of neck, leaning against walls with feet crossed, hands in trouser pockets, devices (the more lights and beeps the better), always the screwdriver, stethoscope, fingers to sides of face, rubbing at eyes. Enthusiasm for anything new. Hugger, and huggee. Goes down stairs with the help of the bannisters, fast. Always running. Converse. Often forgets to explain (though not always). Young. Quick to proclaim own genius, cleverness, brilliance. Considers self the highest authority, always necessary. Caring hypocrite.
- Hugging.
- Relationship to the body--do Time Lords consider themselves "body," really? Or does the training make them into something different, a body-anchored but also body-independent entity? The Master's possession of another Gallifreyan, the watch containing the Time Lord essence, regeneration, etc. Does being a Time Lord make one more an energy entity--a "soul"--with the body as clothing/temporary home?
- Take on violence.
- Defensiveness (distraction from the personal).
- What does it mean that he didn't significantly change his dress following his Ninth?
- Ninth--angry Rebel Without a Cause Time Lord phase, pre-Season 1.
- Always runs towards screams/trouble.
- Always goes straight for the source--right in a window, a door, to a control panel--most direct method, no permission asked or hesitation.
- Respects help/goes to help/no class-gender divisions.
- Parties (always goes, always ends up the odd one out, always blamed for murder, seems like).
- Scapegoat/outsider/one blamed.
- Love of genius.
- Admiration for art/creativity/emotion.
- Never gives up.
- UNIT.
- Tools - own inventions, stethoscope, sonic screwdriver.
LAST UPDATED 19 OCT 2008
- Age. He's a very old man. Not in the sense that human beings think of age--as a physical thing, always expressed, debilitating, inescapable, an illness or disease--but in terms of time and experience. Despite his physical apparent youth, he is, in many ways, very set--he continues to travel partially in order to counteract this. He's seen a lot, done a lot, and formed very strong views, reinforced over and over and over throughout his lifetime, by his own actions and those of others. He *loves* being surprised, because it means he's not dead yet--he's not petrified, fossilized and stagnant in himself, he's capable of seeing and doing new things. He plays a constant game of reminding himself of that, making sure it's still true. Occasionally, it's not--he'll find himself rejecting something, stubborn or priggish, the old man in the rocking chair disapproving of Young People These Days and waving his cane. Sometimes this horrifies him; sometimes he'll stick by it. It depends on who calls him out and what the circumstances are, really.
The youthfulness of his persona, his Tenth (and even his Ninth, really--his Fourth wasn't bad at it, either), *isn't* the youthfulness of a truly young man. It's that "I've earned it," devil-may-care whimsy and exuberance and selfishness that comes from having *tried* taking it seriously—he put in his time in his youth, cultivating a holier-than-thou, cratchety, whitebeard outlook on life, holding himself apart and above things and others, too good, too intent on doing it *right* to fully participate—and realizing there's really no *point.* The universe isn't running to his agenda, and he's got no schedule to hold to. There's no man in the sky with a clipboard, checking to make sure he gets his lines right. He can play, he can be. Just be himself and frustrate everyone around him, poke holes in *their* oh-so-serious personas. He's the Doctor, he's *been* the Doctor for hundreds of years now, and whatever he does, well, it's what the Doctor would do, because it's what *he* does. If the Doctor wants to go three galaxies over for ice cream or wear a funny paper hat, the Doctor does.
He came of age when he left Gallifrey, as an exile. He truly became an adult during the Time War. In the first instance, he finally had to pay for his iconoclastic, rebellious views and behavior; in the second, he had to return and fight, stand up for beliefs and values that went above and beyond that rebellion. In the first, he left home; in the second, he lost it. Return was no longer an option, and there was nothing left to rebel against, except the past. Before, he was always the Boy Who Ran; now, he's still running, but not so much *from* anywhere--only from memories. He's living, not just running. He's lost a lot and continues to lose even more, and he continues to hurt. But he's fought *for,* now, not just *against*; and he's been there as his culture died and as the universe survived. The same with Earth and the Daleks, and his second set of genocides. It's just possible he's running *to* something, now, even if he doesn't know what it is.
- Life is a journey. It's not about where you end up, so much as it is about seeing and enjoying and being present for everything as you live by and through it. That's the only way to keep aware and alive and awake and not let time and errors and age build up on you. Only during the Time War did he abandon this journey for process, for something that had a goal, that *must* end. Nowadays, he has to fight, from time to time, to maintain his presence in the "journey," and not go all goal-oriented on things--with the loss of Gallifrey and Earth, that pressure is always there, at the back of his mind, to fix those errors, to restore what was lost. But he fights it. Those times, those civilizations, are gone, but time is forgiving. Keep journeying, and maybe he'll find a way to correct those mistakes. Or maybe not. Maybe the Gallifreyans and the human beings will find their own way, without him, and he'll stumble across them somewhere, somewhen, beautiful and whole and recovering, and everything will be alright again.
- Daleks. His major distraction from the journey and the goodness of it is the Daleks. He's burned two worlds just to make absolutely certain that race *died.* When he gets too tied up in the past and hurt and loneliness and the drums, he drops everything he's doing and goes off through time and space to hunt down the remnants of the Dalek race. They're sturdy and persistent, the Daleks, and a few individuals have survived, spread out across reality. He's gotten very good at finding them. These, he kills completely and without mercy. He has a small arsenal in the back of the TARDIS, full of carefully-maintained weapons, most altered to have isomorphic firing mechanisms (wouldn't want to let anyone *else* shoot things, would we?), hand-picked for maximum Dalek-extermination efficiency.
- Love and need. In his old age, he's started to want the things he never had when he was young. Above all else--love. It's not really a conscious want, but he's watched so many human beings live and die and the peace and support that love brings them, that he's begun to feel as though perhaps he's missed something very important. He's always had *friends,* very good friends, but never equals (well, maybe one or two equals, but they're long gone now, along with the rest of Gallifrey, and, besides, they were misguided and crazy, right?); and love might offer him an equal and a kind of emotional home. It might, in fact, offer him a River Song--someone he can share his name with and "trust completely." On the other hand, love might tie him down, and so he's never going to actively acknowledge or pursue his desire for it. On the other other hand, he's "young," again, this regeneration, and that opens so many doors. If he were feeling sentimental, he might even consider it a kind of second chance. On the other other other other hand, he might just be frustrated as hell that he even has to *think* about this anymore, wouldn't it be easier if he looked older and new acquaintances weren't always doing that "oh, he's cute" smile thing? Really. He's 900-ish. HE CAN SEE YOU FLIRTING, THAR.
- Rose. Rose gave canon!Ten *permission* to fall in love. He had already been growing to care for her in his Ninth, and when she stepped in and reaffirmed his choice not to wipe out another planet to destroy the Daleks (by godmoding the Daleks away with the Time Vortex, but allowing the human race to survive) and then let him die saving her—it let him become a new man and put something of his Ninth and the Time War behind him. His regeneration wasn't just physical, it was emotional. He put aside the violent "hero" of the Time War and became the "coward" who "never would"—became a young man, an enthusiastic, vibrant, running man, the right man for Rose. Watch!Ten just...regenerated. Into a younger man, yes, with the same personality tendencies as any other Ten—but it didn't *mean* anything the way canon!Ten's regeneration did. It was just another body to get used to.
- Sexuality. Which is difficult, because I have yet to read Lungbarrow, and I'm really thinking this Doctor will come from a Gallifrey with the Looms and full-physical-maturity juveniles. Which means sexuality and views on family and children will be *very* different from the human, for him. Further research is required.
- Lying. He does it. Particularly about his age and his "child"hood. He also lies about anything he thinks he needs to in order to keep people safe, companions and crowds being at the top of that list. Keep people quiet, keep them with you, keep them calm, keep them thinking. He'll lie to achieve any of those effects. However, he prefers to evade and distract instead of outright lie. Both of which he will do shamelessly. And damned transparently, half the time.
- Morality. He's made mistakes. He still makes them. Hell, he knows he's making them, *as he makes them.* But he feels entitled, by experience, age, species superiority, and just being the Doctor, to insist that *no one else* make the mistakes he makes/made. He may be violent, evasive, hypocritical, vengeful, distant, cruel, and any number of things any number of times, but he will disapprove of those in his "care" (and if you've been in his TARDIS, you are automatically in his care, sir and/or madam) behaving in any of those ways. No guns for you, no iffy moral decisions. Do as I say, not as I do, is his motto.
- Names and his name.
- Mysticism and religion. Pythia.
- The prophecies.
- Companions, need for and relationships therewith.
- Arrogance.
- Authority.
- Speciesism.
- Playing tourist.
- Danger.
- Self-sacrifice.
- Condescension.
- Technology and invention.
- Maths.
- Dancing.
- The drums.
- Confinement. Loom, pre-weaving, being re-woven.
- The Master (watch the Traken eps, but his hijacking another body [albeit a human body, not a Gallifreyan] brings him closer to the Master again, doesn't it?).
- “Child”hood.
- The Rani.
- Exile.
- Susan Foreman/claims to have been a dad, once.
- Why he’s always dressed/nudity.
- Food/sleep/chores the TARDIS takes care of.
- Relationship with the TARDIS/what would he be without it?
- Death.
- Earth and the human race.
- Telepathy and psychic powers.
- Gallifrey and rebellion.
- The Time War (Gallifrey in a time loop, when did he regenerate into Nine, what did he do during the War).
- Living fast and dying young.
- Who he might become/final death.
- What the clothes mean (mourning weeds).
- The children of John Smith/Smith’s legacy/novel/colonialism/the Other.
- Gender and importance/lack of importance thereof.
- Memories of his earlier regenerations.
- Alcohol.
- The amount of female attention (and male, hullo, Jack) this current regeneration gets.
- Personal boundaries.
- Science and belief therein.
- The Academy/Academy days.
- Relationship to the body/each body.
- Swearing.
- His own name (even on Gallifrey, no one uses it).
- Racelessness and homelessness, following the Time War (and the Second Genocide).
- Inspiring of confidence and speed with which he does it.
- Relationship to money (Gallifrey must have some currency, mustn't it?).
- Always asking questions.
- Authority figures/law enforcement institutions.
- Goes straight for center of things, never asks permission.
- Always getting involved (everything is his business).
- Race (all Gallifreyans can't be white, come on).
- Disapproves of genetic/evolutionary manipulation (yet isn't his entire race's reproduction based around that?).
- Rassilon.
- Immortality/mortality.
- Carelessness (with belongings, etc.)
- Relationship to material possessions (does seem to be a packrat).
- Loyalty, reliability, and lack thereof (always running off on companions, Tegan).
- Science/physics/technology/mechanics/engineering.
- Fascination with new forms of life, new races.
- Three: Uses devices, but not the screwdriver? Very serious, compared to other incarnations. Scientific jargon to the minimum. Cares for companions and willing to show that care, compliments them on occasion. Bessie, "Super Drive." Plaid overcoat, red/pink coat, ruffled shirt (skinny legs/tight pants). Exiled on Earth, as UNIT science advisor. Willing to sacrifice self to save others (or at least bluff). Telepathic link with TARDIS, calls her "she." Afraid of fire. Never gives up appearance of control. Unwilling to destroy devices that authority forbids him to ("Mind of Evil").
- Five: Ah. A bit of luck. Cricket. Runs from the police, actually seems to think they might get in his way/present a problem. Leaves Tegan. Rather calm, resigned in some cases. No screwdriver or devices. Repairs to TARDIS, but doesn't seem to be a mechanical man.
- Six: Very eclectic clothing. Very cocksure, but upbeat. Few/no explanations. Loves genius. Forbidden to change history. Seems to keep companion around just to show off to, shut down. Uses devices that he carries on him/invents, but not the screwdriver? Fond of quotes (Shakespeare).
- Nine:
- Ten: Fast talking, much tech/science technobabble. Brilliants, allons-y, avanti, molto bene, other foreign phrases. Occasional quotes. Tongue to top of mouth, hands through hair, hands grabbing back of neck, leaning against walls with feet crossed, hands in trouser pockets, devices (the more lights and beeps the better), always the screwdriver, stethoscope, fingers to sides of face, rubbing at eyes. Enthusiasm for anything new. Hugger, and huggee. Goes down stairs with the help of the bannisters, fast. Always running. Converse. Often forgets to explain (though not always). Young. Quick to proclaim own genius, cleverness, brilliance. Considers self the highest authority, always necessary. Caring hypocrite.
- Hugging.
- Relationship to the body--do Time Lords consider themselves "body," really? Or does the training make them into something different, a body-anchored but also body-independent entity? The Master's possession of another Gallifreyan, the watch containing the Time Lord essence, regeneration, etc. Does being a Time Lord make one more an energy entity--a "soul"--with the body as clothing/temporary home?
- Take on violence.
- Defensiveness (distraction from the personal).
- What does it mean that he didn't significantly change his dress following his Ninth?
- Ninth--angry Rebel Without a Cause Time Lord phase, pre-Season 1.
- Always runs towards screams/trouble.
- Always goes straight for the source--right in a window, a door, to a control panel--most direct method, no permission asked or hesitation.
- Respects help/goes to help/no class-gender divisions.
- Parties (always goes, always ends up the odd one out, always blamed for murder, seems like).
- Scapegoat/outsider/one blamed.
- Love of genius.
- Admiration for art/creativity/emotion.
- Never gives up.
- UNIT.
- Tools - own inventions, stethoscope, sonic screwdriver.
