This Round Life

If you're in Canada (and are so inclined), Doctor Who series 4 begins airing tonight on CBC at 9:00PM (though you should check local listings).

If you've not seen Doctor Who but are interested in fat acceptance, the portrayal of fat in the media, or are vaguely frightened by the diet industry, this is an excellent episode to check out as it deals with *insert dramatic music* an evil diet company.

I just got a comment over at the Doctor Who community saying that the poster wished I'd stop using the community as my personal journal.

A mod removed the comment (no, I didn't complain) but I'm upset. This is the second complaint I've gotten.

I'm a fangirl, through and through. I'm not ashamed; there's no point in hiding it. Off and on, for the past few months, I've been posting anecdotal stories about my experiences with Doctor Who in my daily life over at doctorwho. I haven't been posting them here because, well, they're pretty off topic from my usual posts. Still, it's 1:42 AM, I can't sleep, and there are Doctor Who fans on my friends list who aren't members of the afore mentioned community. All of which seem like decent reasons for at least posting links to those stories/entries.

The Misadventures of Devi, Amateur Whovian and Semi-Professional Fangirl:

The Test - in which some of my nearest and dearest friends reveal that they don't actually like Donna.
Unlucky Number Twelve - in which the twelfth Doctor makes an unexpected appearance in my notebook.
A Reference Filled Trip and a Dubious Honor- in which our heroine finds Harkness Lane and tries to name a goat after her favourite companion.
A Different Sort of Fan Fiction... - in which I keep myself entertained while walking through one of the rougher parts of town.
Tell me, baby... What did you think of series 4? - In which I try to use my knowledge of who to get my way.
Even my exercise is geeky... - in which I train to outrun cybermen.
Everything I know, I learned from watching Doctor Who- in which I help a coworker in her quest to rent a bouncy castle.
I'm keeping up with the Commodore cause the Commodore is keeping up with me - in which I insist that I saw daleks on the screen of my C64.

I wonder if I could sleep if I headed back into bed...

I swear, this will be the one and only piece of fan fiction (who or otherwise) that I’ll ever post. Oh, alright, it’s probably the only one. I’m basing this on the fact that it’s the only bit of fic I’ve ever been tempted to jot down and it's taken me this long since Doomsday to post it.

Title: Second Glances
Author: Devi42
Characters: Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, Jake Simmonds, The Doctor (10)
Rating: G
Spoilers: Through Doomsday
Summary: He told her she could never see him, he didn’t say he could never see her
Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters, I don’t own Doctor Who, I do own over $700 in official BBC merchandise so please don’t kick my ass.

( Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin... )

When you see this line on your flist, quote something from Doctor Who.

Mickey: What's a horse doing on a spaceship?
The Doctor: Mickey, what's pre-revolutionary France doing on a spaceship? Get a litle perspective!

There is an interesting debate swirling over at the doctorwho community surrounding the show’s portrayal of ethnic characters over the past four seasons. I’ve been thinking about it and puzzling it over in my head and wondering if I’m just woefully ignorant.

Because I can’t see it.

Oh, sure, on paper I read the snippets of information and (depending on phrasing) it can sound quite bad. Put it in the episode, though, and I don’t pick up on anything wrong. Quite the opposite. I’ve often thought Doctor Who was refreshing in that people of different ethnicities kissing, dating, and just plain being friends, is still not something I’ve found to be common on North American television.

There are, of course, a few examples people have pointed to.

The Last of the Time Lords

On paper: The majority of black characters are reduced to servant roles and are abused.

Watching the episode: It doesn’t give me pause. The Master is angry at Martha. The Master wants to hurt and humiliate her. Capturing her family and abusing them seems logical. Wait, her family is black? No, still seems logical.

Mickey the Idiot

On paper: Doctor frequently calls series one token black man idiot.

Watching the show: Mickey the idiot started with the Doctor number nine. Nine was very jealous and possessive of Rose – even to the extent that he tries to separate her from Jackie. Mickey is one of the things tethering Rose to home. It makes sense in series one for Nine to belittle him (plus, you’ve got to admit he probably did seem like an idiot to the Doctor in the first episode). By the end of series two the dynamic quite shifts and the Doctor is really quite fond of him.

Human Nature/Family of Blood

On Paper: Martha ends up as second class citizen and servant, also plays role of “noble, self-sacrificing black woman”.

Watching the episode: Well, first off the episode is based on a novel which takes place during the Doctors seventh incarnation. There was no Martha. In order to fit her into the plot they had to give her a role. It’s 1913 and, sadly, the role they gave her is a realistic one. Some people have complained about the story adaptation and stated that it should not have been attempted while a black woman was playing the companion. But why not? It’s an uncomfortable situation and an uncomfortable time period. Surely it’s not bad to portray this on screen?

At work on Tuesday:

Developer: Do you hear that?
Business Analyst: Yeah. What is that?
Developer: It sounds like the theme song for Doctor Who. Where the hell is it coming from?
Graphic Designer: It’s just my phone! Hang on! Stupid purse.

I’ve created the perfect Doctor Who fanvid. Set to 1973 by James Blunt, it’s set from the Doctor’s perspective as he remembers Rose. And though time goes by I will always be in a club with you in 1973, singing here we go again. It features clips from series two and series three and it is perfect – a work of editing genius. There’s just one problem: it exists completely in my mind.

Before the internet – and long before I would heard the words fanvid and fanfic – I began editing music videos in my head and thinking up “what if” plotlines for my favourite books and television shows. I remember planning an elaborate music video for Mordant’s Need set to Hungry Eyes and reworking bits of books from the perspectives of supporting characters.

Despite this early flirtation, it was not until about a year ago that I started to read fanfics on a regular basis when I started going to the gym and needed something to occupy my mind while climbing endless flights of stairs.

Since June I’ve read good fanfics, bad fanfics, forgettable fanfics, and fanfics so lovely that I’ve gone back for second (and sometimes third) helpings. And, after all that reading and enjoyment, it seems wrong to not acknowledge some of the ones I’ve enjoyed the most.

( mostly Doctor Who fanfics with a slight dash of Anita Blake )

In a 2007, the Guardian ranked Russell T Davies as the 15th most powerful person in UK media. When I think of Russell T. Davies the first thing that springs to mind are his audio commentaries for Doctor Who, which almost always start off with “Hello, faithful viewer” (a greeting others have since adopted). On the surface it seems like such a small thing; after all, it’s only three little words. When I hear them, though, I feel appreciated.

He may keep me on tether hooks for the span of an entire episode (or two or three), there are times when I worry he’s taking too many cues from Joss Whedon (who, I’m convinced, lives to torture his characters), and there are even times when I worry that the show has jumped the shark (Evolution of the Daleks, anyone?). Despite all of that, I know that Doctor Who is a safe and welcoming place. It may be harsh, but it will never be cruel. I’m in on the jokes, never the target of them.

( This next bit contains spoilers, both major and minor, for both Voyage of the Damned and Partners in Crime )