Doctor Who S2

[meganlynn09]

I feel like I've been extremely critical of season 2 of Doctor Who, and of Rose and Ten in that season, and I have been.  I don't hate the show, I still love it, it's not Gilmore Girls to me, I'm excitedly looking forward the the Christmas special and the new season next spring.

I just felt such a distinct lack of quality in season 2 from season 1, IMHO, and I was disappointed.  But I still liked it.

So, here I list 10 moments/scenes/misc. that I loved about season two of Doctor Who and 5 4 extra.  Spoilers for pretty much all of season 2.

1.)  The goodbye at the end of "School Reunion".  I absolutely loved Sarah Jane forcing the Doctor to say goodbye because she needed it.  (Extra points because she said no to traveling with him again)

2.)  The scene between Reinette and Rose in "The Girl in the Fireplace".  As much as I thought Rose was a little out of character, in terms of how she was in SR and "The Rise of the Cybermen", I still loved her maturity in this scene and how she just wanted to make sure Reinette was okay by the end.  Even though Reinette kept asking why the Doctor wasn't there, Rose still kept focusing on Reinette.  (Again, extra points because I think it was Sophia Myles' best scene)

3.)  Mickey's last scene in "The Age of Steel", where he's so proud that he traveled with the Doctor in the TARDIS and is going off to save the world.  I was so proud of him, and I actually just loved his whole entire arc in season 2.  I'll miss Mickey.

4.)  The Doctor getting punched mid-sentence in "The Idiot's Lantern".  And not because it was something I'd like to do.  Just because it was funny.

5.)  I have to admit that I did kinda love the mortgage scene in "The Impossible Planet".  Because it was awkward, as it should be, and because it was the Doctor at his best, fucking terrified of settling down.  

6.)  Ida and Captain Zack in "The Impossible Planet"/"The Satan Pit".  I loved them, they were awesome and I'd love to see them again.  Also, I think Ida would have been even more rocking if she had met Nine instead of Ten.  Aw, someone should write that fic!  Ida and Nine.  Ahem...moving on.

7.)  Jackie's speech in "Love & Monsters".  About it being hard to be left behind, but she'll protect her daughter and the Doctor for the rest of her life.  It's awesome.

8.)  I do have a secret love for the "I was a dad once" scene in "Fear Her".  I think it was because Rose was being extremely naive to think that in over 900 hundred years the Doctor never procreated.  Especially after finding out before that he has indeed "danced" before, as he told her in "The Doctor Dances".

9.)  Jackie planting a big one on the Doctor in "Army of Ghosts".  I loved it, I'm not afraid to admit it.  Although, I hold a secret thought that Jackie's been wanting to do that since she first flirted with Nine back in "Rose".

10.)  The Doctor kissing Mickey in "Doomsday".  I'm not even going to say where because it doesn't matter.  The Doctor kissed Mickey.  Which if I take into account what everyone says about kissing the Doctor, it all means that the Doctor loves Mickey.  *nods*  DON'T ARGUE.

5 Extras:
1 - Billie Piper as Cassandra in "New Earth" was love, especially in her scenes right after it happens.  'It's like living in a bouncy castle", one of the best lines ever.

2 - How many pretty pretty shots we got of the TARDIS in season 2!  So many and the TARDIS never looked better.

3 - That we got proof of our favorite OTP, Doctor/TARDIS?  Seriously, it's the only thing he has left, he said it in "The Impossible Planet".  "It's all I got.  Literally the only thing."

4 - Jackie.  Okay, that's both seasons, I was probably one of the few that loved her in season one because she's such a mother.  The arguments that she was being unreasonable about letting her daughter go really bothered me.  Because there is a difference between letting your daughter out into the world, Jackie letting her daughter out into her own place maybe, and letting her travel across the fucking UNIVERSE.  Jackie at least could know if something was wrong with Rose still in London or whatever, but with Rose traveling God knows where, Jackie wouldn't know if she was safe.  She was just such a mother, and so awesome in season 2, that I just loved her more for it.

5 - Um...

Okay that's it.  It was a lot harder to come up with this list than I thought it would be because I kept thinking of a scene after or before the ones I listed that I had problems with...But really, this was really positive, yeah for me!

Comments

[nostalgia-lj.livejournal.com]

9.) Jackie planting a big one on the Doctor in "Army of Ghosts". I loved it, I'm not afraid to admit it. Although, I hold a secret thought that Jackie's been wanting to do that since she first flirted with Nine back in "Rose".

I JUST ABOUT DIED. It was like a GIFT from the gods! And yeah, she totally wanted Nine. Rawr!

Which if I take into account what everyone says about kissing the Doctor

That one or both participants dies afterwards? (MICKEY WILL BE SAFE cos it wasn't onna lips. I hope Mickey is safe. HE'D BETTER BE.)

[meganlynn09.livejournal.com]

It was awesome! And Jackie just plain wanted the Doctor.

That one or both participants dies afterwards?

*thinks* I forgot about that. But yes. Except, the Doctor, Rose, Jack, Jackie and Mickey all lived. In the end at least. Um...did I just implied the Doctor kissed himself?

[nostalgia-lj.livejournal.com]

And Jackie just plain wanted the Doctor.

So true!

Except, the Doctor, Rose, Jack, Jackie and Mickey all lived. In the end at least. Um...did I just implied the Doctor kissed himself?

The death doesn't always stick, BUT:

Nine/Jack - Jack dies
Nine/Rose - Nine dies
Ten/Cassandra - Cassandra dies
Ten/Reinette - Reinette dies

Evidence suggests that it has to be on the lips, so Rose was indeed protected by his spacehelmet that one time, and Mickey is probably safe.

...the Ten/Jackie kiss has DOOMED her or him?

[meganlynn09.livejournal.com]

But...Jack came back to life and Cassandra was in another body! Yeah, that sentence comes across so well.

...the Ten/Jackie kiss has DOOMED her or him?

Um...Ten? Because he's alone now?

[nostalgia-lj.livejournal.com]

Jack did "die" though! Also, Cassandra's why Rose survived, cos it goes on the mind. I think.

Um...Ten? Because he's alone now?

But he's not dead, omg! Maybe because he wiped his mouth afterwards it reduced the effect?

Oh! Jackie's "dead" on real!Earth, isn't she? Like Rose is. And alt!Jackie was dead as well so... maybe that saved her?

[meganlynn09.livejournal.com]

Oh! Jackie's "dead" on real!Earth

Mickey would be too, yeah? So, in those terms everyone he's kissed has "died"! OMG, you're a sick fuck RTD.

[nostalgia-lj.livejournal.com]

ITS SO WRONG

[arefadedaway.livejournal.com]

Kinda creeping out of the woodwork here to comment, and hopefully it won't be creepy to do so...

I just kinda have to say thank you and worship you for all the posts that you've made regarding S2. Cause, dude. I'm totally the same way. First two paragraphs of this post? Completely sum up how I feel. It just didn't work for me the way S1 did. Did I hate it? No. I did enjoy it. I just unfortunately had a lot of issues, and topping my list would be Rose's characterization and Ten/Rose. They had so much potential, and they basically ruined it. Sadly.

Having said that...dude, GET OUT OF MY HEAD. Hee. Your list is my list, even the top three!

Mickey's last scene in "The Age of Steel", where he's so proud that he traveled with the Doctor in the TARDIS and is going off to save the world. I was so proud of him, and I actually just loved his whole entire arc in season 2. I'll miss Mickey.

I know it makes me sappy and pathetic, but that almost made me cry. Hell, IT DID. Now THAT was a character progression. Unlike Rose, which was a a terrible digression. Damn you, RTD.

Jackie planting a big one on the Doctor in "Army of Ghosts". I loved it, I'm not afraid to admit it. Although, I hold a secret thought that Jackie's been wanting to do that since she first flirted with Nine back in "Rose".

Dude, Nos said it best. GIFT FROM THE GODS, YO. Jackie's totally always wanted the Doctor. Ten/Jackie FTW.

*backs away as this comment has probably frightened you*

[meganlynn09.livejournal.com]

No problem at all, I love hearing from others.

Now THAT was a character progression. Unlike Rose, which was a a terrible digression. Damn you, RTD.

And that would be where my problems with RTD came in. He did this wonderful arc with Mickey, made us all so proud of him, quite a feat if you were to watch "Rose" again. And he completely regressed with Rose. Makes me think it was on purposeful, and if that's the case, I hope he never owns up to it. I hope it was just a really bad mistake.

Ten/Jackie FTW.

Hee, I'm torn between Ten/Jackie and Nine/Jackie. *tries not to let her Nine-bias show* *is kinda weirded-out that she's thinking about it*

*backs away as this comment has probably frightened you*

Not at all!

[arefadedaway.livejournal.com]

Dear God, I have so many issues with RTD it's rather ridiculous. And it aggravates me that I do, because damnit, I WANT to be happy with S2. And I KNOW the man can write. I adored almost all of S1 more than life, and POTW makes me weep like a pathetic baby. It wasn't ever perfect, but I enjoyed it wildly all the same. But the themes and characterizations concerning the Doctor and Rose frustrate me beyond belief. There is a huge difference between having faith in someone and blind devotion. She never questions him. Never contradicts him and barely shows a personality of her own. It's All About Him - what are Rose's wants and aspirations? Her dreams? Just to Be With The Doctor? Rose's life should not have "ended" because the Doctor left. She should have grown even further and been BETTER after her experiences with him. Instead, they pretty much destroyed her character and our last image of her is weeping on a beach. I'm sorry, I can't go with it. A transition in Rose's character could have been excellent and even necessary, but it went down the tubes. And Ten/Rose is supposed to be this Big Epic Romantic Love, and if this is some Big Epic Romantic Love? I don't want it. And I don't see it. And if I'm honest...it kind of creeps me out a bit.

Hee, I'm torn between Ten/Jackie and Nine/Jackie. *tries not to let her Nine-bias show* *is kinda weirded-out that she's thinking about it*

Oh, girl, LET YOUR NINE-BIAS SHOW. Hee. God knows I adore David Tennant more than life itself and want to have his nerdy geeky Scottish-accented babies, and 10 is a fantastic Doctor (and I desperately hope he gets the chance to flourish with Martha and be as good a Doctor as I know he can and deserves to be), but my heart belongs to Nine. There are not enough words in any language to express the love I have for Christopher Eccleston. It is a wee bit scary. And since I'm unfortunately not that huge on Ten/Rose, IT'S TEN/JACKIE FTW.

I think I'm just a bit too obsessed with this show. Just a bit. I could go on for hours. I think it frightens my family.

[meganlynn09.livejournal.com]

If you were to look at my other Doctor Who posts, mostly my rants about season 2, you would notice that I'VE ALREADY WRITTEN YOUR FIRST PARAGRAPH HERE. Heh. Those are pretty much my sentiments exactly. Nothing will tarnish my love and adoration of S1, but season two, yeah, I wanted so much to like it. I'm very much envious of the people who did.

I know what you mean about David Tennant, he's so adorable and I love him, but I never really warmed up to his Doctor. I'm so looking forward to next season though, still hoping that maybe Rose was the problem with his characterization? But Nine? LOVE. And I worship CE. Seriously.

[arefadedaway.livejournal.com]

That's what I get for being unoriginal. *laughs*

I'm so looking forward to next season though, still hoping that maybe Rose was the problem with his characterization? But Nine? LOVE. And I worship CE. Seriously.

Same here. I enjoyed 10 much more when he was apart from Rose, and vice versa. I hope he grows into the Doctor he deserves to be with a companion that works with him (although knowing RTD, I'm not holding my breath).

CE owns every little bit of my soul. Seriously. If I could, I would worship the ground he walks on.

And I forgot to mention (for I lose), your layout is gorgeous! That header makes me very nostalgic.

[meganlynn09.livejournal.com]

*huggles CE* I miss him as the Doctor.

My layout was made by mercscilla, who was taking requests but stopped for a little while. I had a previous one made by her, instead of "Father's Day", it was "The Unquiet Dead", for which I have a very unnatural love for. I love them both.

[mscam.livejournal.com]

Nothing will tarnish my love and adoration of S1, but season two, yeah, I wanted so much to like it. I'm very much envious of the people who did.

My thoughts exactly. I *so* wanted to like season two, I tried, I did. But, it was just missing that extra special something, (*coughs* C.E.*coughs*) I loved David Tennant in Casanova, he was awesome, but as Ten, I just couldn't take to him at all! :(

Like you, I'm hoping it was the Ten/Rose "pairing," ( I'm not even mentioning RTD's annihilation of Rose!) that was the problem. Hopefully season three will be fab.

[meganlynn09.livejournal.com]

I missed Nine/CE so much. Not at first, because I was watching S2 while S1 was still running on the Sci Fi channel, so even though I'd finished Nine's run, I still had him on every week. But after he was finished and S2 kept going, I finally knew what it was like to miss him. *sniffles*

Being extremely hopeful for the new season!

[nina-ds.livejournal.com]

So very much with you on the Jackie love. That scene in Love & Monsters is my favourite scene in the entirety of S2. I wish S2 had lived up to the weight of that moment, but it simply didn't.

Also, as much character undoing as went on, Billie Piper continued to be brilliant as Rose, particularly at the beginning - as Cassandra (she was soooooo much better at that than Tennant, who got more attention), and with Reinette. Even when she was asked to do stupid things, she committed to it - she's more like Eccleston that way. The only time I thought she was holding back was in the Cybermen two-parter. Maybe she realized that staying on had been a huge mistake!

As much as I'm liking Torchwood, to be honest, I'd rather have had a spin-off of the team from TIP/TSP. Not only Ida, who is so phenomenal, but I really loved Jefferson. All the characters were well-drawn and interesting - and all solid-to-brilliant actors. Also, so much agreement about Nine and Ida - absolutely; Claire Rushbrook and Christopher Eccleston were in Linda Green together, but they only had one scene together and never really interacted, because he was busy being a two-faced, double-crossing pair of twins to someone else. In the interests of full disclosure, Bruno Langley (Adam) was also in that episode, but nowhere near Tom or Neil (CEx2), so it's rather impressive that all those people could be in a half-hour show and not have scenes together.

[meganlynn09.livejournal.com]

I can't figure out if Billie was bored with the Cybermen episodes, or if the character was written so poorly that it looked like it. I hated Rose in those episodes to be honest. She wasn't even that...stupid would have to be the word for now, in the entirety of S1.

All the characters were well-drawn and interesting - and all solid-to-brilliant actors.

Yes, the actors were wonderful, and I applaud the writer of the two episodes for drawing out the characters, even if he let us(or me or whoever) down with "The Satan Pit", he still kept up with keeping the new characters interesting. So much so that I had more sympathy for Ida than the Doctor dropping into that pit. Although, that may be something else entirely.

I'd love to see a series that had a episode go through each character's life that we've met through the Doctor, starting with the ones we met in S1. I think it'd be fascinating to see what Jabe was up to before she came to Platform One, Cathica after "The Long Game", Nancy putting things back together with her son and so forth. Going into S2 as well. I think it'd be fun. I just have an unhealthy love for most of the one-episode(or two) characters we met. Like Suki and her insta-crush on Nine.

[nina-ds.livejournal.com]

[i]I can't figure out if Billie was bored with the Cybermen episodes, or if the character was written so poorly that it looked like it. [/i]

I'm not sure whether this was the point where she thought, "Bugger! I should have left!", but it looks like it. They were setting her up to leave, to detach from the Doctor, and then she decided to stay with him...for no reason that we see on screen, and everything got even more shrill and "aren't we cute!" from there on out.

I just rewatched a bit of Idiot's Lantern on Friday night (I'm just back from a long trip, and frankly, couldn't be bothered to get up to get the remote off the TV set!), and I had liked that episode fairly well the first time around, because it came after the 2-parter, but my goodness, I'd forgotten how just terrible the acting from certain quarters was. The shouting became just unbearable. Honestly, does he ever watch rushes? Has he no shame? Why isn't he embarrassed by that performance?

So much so that I had more sympathy for Ida than the Doctor dropping into that pit. Although, that may be something else entirely.

The image of that was breathtaking, definitely one of the top moments from S2. But if it were me, I might be cutting the rope... Selfish git, leaving Ida alone. One of the very many moments where I can't help but think What Might Have Been with Nine/CE.

I'd love to see a series that had a episode go through each character's life that we've met through the Doctor, starting with the ones we met in S1.

That would be terrific. Love & Monsters wasn't a bad episode - until the last 10-15 minutes. I know Jabe dies and all, but I'm really surprised at the dearth of Nine/Jabe fic, because seriously, that struck me as love far deeper than 10/Reinette did, which was supposed to be the big romance. Give me Nine/Jabe any day. Oh, yes, please. Failing that, someone needs to put CE and Yasmin Bannerman back together (unless they had a nasty breakup or something).

Cathica is one of the great "lost" characters. I liked her, even though she was an officious twit. She learned, which is more than Adam did. Many people don't like TLG, and I don't like the story all that much, but the character interaction is great. Suki was kind of like Nine, wasn't she? Acting clueless in order to get where she wanted to be. I like that idea... It may be a fic bunny. But it's going to have to wait for piles of job-related work to diminish.

[meganlynn09.livejournal.com]

I think the season would have been a lot better if Rose departed when she was supposed to. Drawn out as it was, and with "Doomsday", yeah it would have been loads better.

One of the things that bothers me about Ten/David is his voice on the show. It's so different from his actual voice and it's very grating, I love his actual voice and I really wish they'd let him use it. So, add the shouting and I...tune him out completely.

Selfish git, leaving Ida alone. One of the very many moments where I can't help but think What Might Have Been with Nine/CE.

Nine would have been the one saying, come with me, like with Lynda. I could imagine Ten and Lynda. "Stay here, I'll come back and get you." I'll stop there before it gets ugly. ;)

Give me Nine/Jabe any day.

Oh yes. Although, I bought into Suki/Nine more than Ten/Reinette. But Suki/Nine is one of my secrets, I just loved the little hint and that she was so very interested in him. From the go. I think that's where my love of TLG comes from, the characters.