Sarah Jane, Jonathan Strange, and very strange fanfic indeed

[icepixie]

I watched "The Hand of Fear." I was very sad and sniffly at the end, because it's Sarah Jane, and she's leaving, and she doesn't want to, and the Doctor doesn't want her to, and even though he says he'll come back for her, he DOESN'T, and it's REALLY SAD. *sniffle* But there was also this conversation, which was very nice:

DOCTOR: Right, you stay here. I'll go on; it shouldn't take long, one way or another.
SARAH: Good. Let's go.
D: Not you. You stay with Professor Watson.

[The Doctor walks on; Sarah tries to follow, but Watson grabs her and pulls her back.]

WATSON: I think you'd better do as he says this time.
S: Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I should. [pause] But I'm not going to!

[She ducks away from Watson and catches up with the Doctor.]

S: [off the Doctor's look] I worry about you. Anyway, who found that thing?
D: You did.
S: Right. So I'm involved. It could've been me, not Driscoll, and besides, I'm from Earth and you're not.
D: That's true.
S: Exactly.
D: Yes, but--
S: Oh, but what?
D: I worry about you.
S: So be careful.
D: We'll both be careful.

Awwww. *melts*

I actually don't ship Sarah with the Doctor (well, Four; haven't seen Three, but when I do, I imagine I won't ship her with him either), but I absolutely believe the Doctor when he calls her his best friend. I like that there's flirting, and gestures or lines that can be read in a number of ways onscreen, but I don't think they ever crossed the line from being the best of friends into A Relationship, nor do I think they should've in canon. Shipfic (and shipicons, shipwallpapers, etc.), of course, is great fun and I heartily encourage it. *g* The actors have fantastic chemistry, and they just act like best friends knocking about in a time machine and occasionally saving the universe.

But one other thing about that episode sticks in my mind, and it's Sarah's hideous pink-striked overalls done up with lace or something at the legs and waist, combined with a red shirt and red-and-white sneakers. *raises eyebrow* I know it was the seventies, but even in 1976, no grown woman should be wearing something like this. There's hideousness, and then there's a point where I think the PTB are trying make, well, a point, and I'm pretty sure this is it. Because Sarah wore much more professional--or at least more grown up--clothes earlier in her tenure, and then she turns up looking like a friggin' Raggedy Ann doll, and no. There must be a purpose behind that. "Traveling with the Doctor will make you regress to childhood" seems a strange statement to make, though. *shrug*

*

Somewhat concomitant with that last bit, this entry from nostalgia_lj and the comments on it are really quite fascinating. I don't agree with everything said there, but it's interesting to think about. (Obviously, I am missing academia today.)

Speaking of academia, a link in the comments to that post led to whileaway, which led to this "seminar" on Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. The articles are not always the most well-written, but Susanna Clarke's response to them is really interesting.

*

Can someone explain this to me? (Scroll down on the page a bit and click on "Background Explanation.") I...okay, I've run into weird fic before, but this is just utterly bizarre. Doesn't taking away the whole idea of regeneration and having each incarnation of the Doctor be split up into separate people, called by the names of the actors, some of whom are evil and some of whom work for Gallifrey, contravene essentially everything about the show? And then an extended plotline with a romance between Peri and Legolas (yes, that one)? I...WTF?

I mean, AUs are all well and good, but even the AU-est AU is generally not as...different...as these. In this case, I think fiction is very much stranger than truth could ever dream of being.

*wanders off, boggling at the bizarreness of it all*

Comments

[alto2.livejournal.com]

he says he'll come back for her

He really doesn't, unless you take "till we meet again" to mean something far more definite than I ever would--especially since it comes along with "Goodbye" and "Don't forget me." That whole notion that he never said goodbye, or that he was going to come back for her, just baffled me in SR. Really baffled.

The nostalgia_lj post is interesting, and not without merit (though I disagree about the "women are childish and jealous" message of SR. A lot. It's no worse than Nine and Jack discussing sonic gadgets in TDD, but nobody mentions that). It's interesting to me that I originally liked Rose a lot beause she did save the day in her first appearance, but now, my problem isn't so much that she's useless, but that she's become smug and amazingly irritating, especially as S2 has gone on (haven't watched "Fear Her" yet, so I can't comment on whether or not she annoyed me there).

(Scroll down on the page a bit.)

I'm confused...are you referring to a specific fic? I see the odd pairing, and the strange way of delineating which Doctor you're referring to, but I'm not sure where the rest of the ideas you're discussing are coming from. (And I'm not sure I want to know how Legolas gets into the mix?!?)

[icepixie]

He really doesn't, unless you take "till we meet again" to mean something far more definite than I ever would

Hmmm, you're right about him saying that. I forgot to go back and get the quote right before I posted. I do think, from her expression, that Sarah thinks he'll eventually come back to see her, if not to whisk her off on more adventures around the universe. After all, he has to go back to Gallifrey now, but what's to stop him finishing up his business there and coming back to see her someday? This is only how I interpreted Lis Sladen's reaction to the line, though.

I disagreed with the comments about SR in Nos's post, too. But the part of me that's been through feminist criticism of many things (thank you, English major) can see how Rose and these past two seasons could be read as vaguely anti-girl. Then again, some of that is that Rose is the companion/assistant, and of course the Doctor is going to know what to do on more occasions than she will because he's got about 900 years of experience on her...then again, why must Rose be kind of useless; she could have some skills, or her gymnastics from Rose could return; is it because she's female and TPTB think she needs a man to save her?...then again... And so it goes, in my brain. I guess both readings are there, and we can pick up on them as we please/as our own personalities dictate.

I'm confused...are you referring to a specific fic? I see the odd pairing, and the strange way of delineating which Doctor you're referring to, but I'm not sure where the rest of the ideas you're discussing are coming from.

Oh, sorry: go to the "Background Explanation" link about a third of the way down the page (direct link). It's cracktastic.

(And I'm not sure I want to know how Legolas gets into the mix?!?)

I haven't read that far. I'm not going to read that far. Gaaaah.

[alto2.livejournal.com]

I guess both readings are there, and we can pick up on them as we please/as our own personalities dictate.

True. I do think it's a tricky thing, the whole companion role. 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. And now that I've finally seen "Fear Her," I have to say that I was quite pleased with Rose (and honestly, more pleased with an episode than I have been since SR, which is a nice change!). She was prodded in the right direction and put the pieces together, and effectively solved the mystery/problem this time. And without any of the smugness she's been displaying of late, too. But yes, if she can do that, then why make her so useless so much of the rest of the time? I don't know. 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.

It's cracktastic.

Holy shit, yer not kidding! OMG! Why? I mean...why? Why not just go invent your own universe if someone else's requires that much change? I mean, what's left of the original premise? (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??) I really love "if they can introduce regeneration for ratings/money, then I can remove it for love." Well, okay then!

[icepixie]

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!

Yeah, I got a really good laugh out of that. Ha!

[alto2.livejournal.com]

She already understood everything.

True. Though she could also be sent off to take care of more complex bits of plot, freeing the Doctor to go do other stuff. I'm also thinking that Romana worked pretty well, and she was essentially his equal. I guess it all depends on why the companion was chosen and what you want him or her to accomplish, and how well you can make that combination work.

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.

True--though maybe that should be the test. Would it seem sexist if the same events happened to a male companion? If not, then you really shouldn't be calling it sexist. (As if it's that easy to abide by such a rule! Sounds good in theory, though :) )

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?

Yes!! Exactly! It would at least make more sense.

*makes little Beaker noises of distress*

Hee! That was pretty much my brain, the whole time I was reading that thing. And really? If you have a "warnings" page for the specific purpose of "defending your actions," shouldn't that perhaps be a warning...to you??

[icepixie]

Though she could also be sent off to take care of more complex bits of plot, freeing the Doctor to go do other stuff.

Yeah--which sometimes meant she got shuffled off, not to be seen until the end of the episode. (Although we did see her building the sound machine in...The Visitation, I think. But until Adric stumbled back in, that was a tiny bit boring, watching her fiddle with it and mumble to herself.)

*headdesk* I think this a conundrum without any good answer.

I'm also thinking that Romana worked pretty well, and she was essentially his equal.

Oooh, yes. City of Death is the only one with Romana II I've seen, but I loved it. And yeah, they were equals, pretty much--moreso than in the first Romana I episode, where he was constantly throwing her inexperience in her face.

I guess it all depends on why the companion was chosen and what you want him or her to accomplish, and how well you can make that combination work.

Quite possibly.

True--though maybe that should be the test. Would it seem sexist if the same events happened to a male companion? If not, then you really shouldn't be calling it sexist. (As if it's that easy to abide by such a rule! Sounds good in theory, though :) )

Oh, you've been away from the ivory tower for too long, haven't you? *g* Yeah, that doesn't fly with some of the more strident feminist critics, in my experience--it's too easy to rebut with "but the fact that these events did happen to a female and not a male is inherently sexist."

Hee! That was pretty much my brain, the whole time I was reading that thing. And really? If you have a "warnings" page for the specific purpose of "defending your actions," shouldn't that perhaps be a warning...to you??

For SERIOUS.

[alto2.livejournal.com]

hey were equals, pretty much--moreso than in the first Romana I episode, where he was constantly throwing her inexperience in her face.

True--though it only took a few stories before she was throwing it right back at him, which was great (I think the scene I'm thinking of is in "The Pirate Planet," where she's reading the TARDIS manual and he's telling her she's going to blow up the ship. It's where my "pessimistic" mood icon is from, for whatever little that's worth).

you've been away from the ivory tower for too long, haven't you? *g*

Heh. Possibly--though not thinking that's a bad thing! :) I don't recall everyone being worked up to a lather over sexism when I was in college, though--some profs, but not all (we still had the Freudians making everything phallic, because you know, it's ALL about sex), so maybe I managed to avoid it? Hmm. Good question!

(Totally OT: Just noticed A Passage to India on your reading list. LOVE that book, though it's been ages since I read it!)

[icepixie]

My library theoretically has the entire Key to Time series, but the catalogue lies a bit. I need to poke and see if they have the second one so I can get through the rest of them...

Possibly--though not thinking that's a bad thing! :)

*g*

I don't recall everyone being worked up to a lather over sexism when I was in college, though--some profs, but not all (we still had the Freudians making everything phallic, because you know, it's ALL about sex), so maybe I managed to avoid it?

I didn't have a bunch of profs who were big on feminism (although we had them at my school; I just never took any of the Women's & Gender Studies classes), but the poet Eavan Boland played a large role in my English education. If you haven't read her, check her out--she's an amazing Irish poet, but very into issues particular to female Irish writers. She has great, great stuff, but there were points where I was like, "I know, you're a woman and a writer and women writers in Ireland have been oppressed and objectified in the past. I GET IT." And of course some of the criticism is *eyeroll*-worthy.

I'm looking forward to starting A Passage to India. It's one of the purchases I made at the used bookstore a few weeks ago, though, so it keeps getting pushed back for the library books which have to go back...