One of the reasons I liked Nyssa so much was that she was a match for the Doctor in terms of sheer brains, which set her apart from most of those who came before.
This is true--and yet, as Janet Fielding points out in one of the commentaries (I think it was Earthshock), Nyssa was "too smart" for the writers to use in the traditional companion role--being the audience stand-in so that the Doctor could explain things. She already understood everything. It didn't matter much since Tegan was there and could fulfil that role (although not just that role--I liked that she snarked back at the Doctor and wasn't just there to ask questions and twist her ankle [even in those shoes!]).
There's a definite Catch-22 as far as companions go--it's hard to be knowledgable/useful and still be the one to get things explained to them--and it's only exacerbated when the companion's a female, because that brings up sexism issues that aren't there when it's a male.
"Fear Her" was probably the best Rose episode we've had all season, if not all series. She was great in this ep.
I suppose the best explanation is that part of it is the nature of the role, and part of it is just that writers are human and can't always make it work out another way.
Probably so. *sigh*
Holy shit, yer not kidding! OMG! Why? I mean...why?
Pretty much my thought process at the time. ;) I was thinking, "And you're writing Doctor Who fic why, exactly? Why not just write an original series with a human girl named Sarah and an alien named Tom where they go around and have time-travel adventures? It'll be derivative, but at least it won't be so very cracked-out."
(And, alas, I did read the Legolas thing--got there before I realized it--and my head is still spinning. I'm sure you can hear it whirring around, all the way down there in Tennessee! I just...why??)
*makes little Beaker noises of distress*
I really love "if they can introduce regeneration for ratings/money, then I can remove it for love." Well, okay then!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2006-06-28 02:03 am (UTC)This is true--and yet, as Janet Fielding points out in one of the commentaries (I think it was Earthshock), Nyssa was "too smart" for the writers to use in the traditional companion role--being the audience stand-in so that the Doctor could explain things. She already understood everything. It didn't matter much since Tegan was there and could fulfil that role (although not just that role--I liked that she snarked back at the Doctor and wasn't just there to ask questions and twist her ankle [even in those shoes!]).
There's a definite Catch-22 as far as companions go--it's hard to be knowledgable/useful and still be the one to get things explained to them--and it's only exacerbated when the companion's a female, because that brings up sexism issues that aren't there when it's a male.
"Fear Her" was probably the best Rose episode we've had all season, if not all series. She was great in this ep.
I suppose the best explanation is that part of it is the nature of the role, and part of it is just that writers are human and can't always make it work out another way.
Probably so. *sigh*
Holy shit, yer not kidding! OMG! Why? I mean...why?
Pretty much my thought process at the time. ;) I was thinking, "And you're writing Doctor Who fic why, exactly? Why not just write an original series with a human girl named Sarah and an alien named Tom where they go around and have time-travel adventures? It'll be derivative, but at least it won't be so very cracked-out."
(And, alas, I did read the Legolas thing--got there before I realized it--and my head is still spinning. I'm sure you can hear it whirring around, all the way down there in Tennessee! I just...why??)
*makes little Beaker noises of distress*
I really love "if they can introduce regeneration for ratings/money, then I can remove it for love." Well, okay then!
Yeah, I got a really good laugh out of that. Ha!