Why the Tenth Doctor is Totally My Type

[rusty_halo]

I mentioned the other day that the Tenth Doctor is Totally My Type, and kita0610 thought I was insane.

So how do you go from "punk rock vampire who kills/loves Slayers" to "universe-saving geeky alien on a children's show"?

It makes perfect sense in my head, but apparently is not obvious to everyone else? ;)

Now, first, don't throw things at me. I'm not saying the Tenth Doctor and Spike are the same. I'm not even saying they're mostly similar. I'm saying that they have certain similar qualities that ping my fannish radar and make me squee.

There's a difference between characters I like and characters I'm fannish about. Plenty of characters out there are perfectly fine, written well and enjoyable to watch. But I don't think about them once I turn off the TV. There's something specific about characters that get inside my head, that take up so much of my mental space that I'm compelled to go online and babble about them with other people who love them.

An incomplete list of characters I've adored in this way:
Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Methos (Highlander: the Series)
Jaime Lannister (George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire)
Brian Kinney (Queer as Folk)
Logan Echolls (Veronica Mars)

And to a lesser extent:
Francis Crawford of Lymond (Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles)
Fox Mulder (The X-Files)
Richard Sharpe (Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series and the TV movies)

And why does the Tenth Doctor fit right in?

Well, the first thing to clarify is it isn't about morality. Because I know people are going "But OMG some of those characters are EVIL!" Which... I have a hard time even responding to, because to me it's a complete non sequitur. Of course the characters I like do bad things; it's part of what makes them interesting. White hat hero types are boring; I want characters where I can delve endlessly into their motivations and psychological complexities and dark sides. If I always know they'll Do The Right Thing in any given situation, what's the point?

These characters vary on the morality scale. Jaime Lannister managed in his second scene to commit incest, treason, and attempted murder. Methos must've raped, murdered, and enslaved tens of thousands of people. So when someone tries to tell me that Logan Echolls is the antichrist because he's spoiled, or that the Tenth Doctor is evil because he's rude... er, so?

It doesn't mean I think they're always right or that I'd justify their actions in real life, because, um, duh? But I don't want them fixed, or changed, or redeemed. I want them to revel in their fucked up glory, because that's why I like them.

I know the difference between fantasy and reality. And I've got my own ethics pretty much sorted out, thanks. Even if I didn't, I wouldn't look to television as a moral guide. (Besides, I'm never going to find a character that accurately reflects my own ethical views; how many atheist feminist vegan characters even exist? In sci-fi/fantasy? That also ping my fannish kinks? Yeah, didn't think so.)

Here's what I love about these characters. These traits don't apply exactly to everyone, but in general they're pretty close. I'm going to explain how these apply to the Tenth Doctor; if you want me to explain how something applies to one of the other characters, let me know.

* They're rogues. These characters don't have much investment in traditional authority or "traditional moral values."

The Doctor's a rebel from Time Lord society who totally breaks their whole non-interference rule. He pretty much does what he wants; he comes across a variety of other societies and breaks tons of social rules along the way.

* But each character has his own personal moral code. He tries to live by it and doesn't always succeed, which is where the interesting ethical struggles happen.

When it comes down to it, when the Doctor sees people being hurt, he tries to help them. That's his moral code. And he prefers to use his brain instead of reverting to violence, which I particularly love.

* These characters are often what I think of as the "disillusioned idealist"; they used to really believe in something, but they've had their beliefs shattered by the harshness of reality. The interesting part, the struggle, is that deep down inside they still believe or want to believe in that original idealism, even though they might be bitter about it.

The Doctor's a bit less disillusioned than most; he still pretty much explicitly sticks up for his ideals. He tries to give everyone a chance and solve problems without violence. But there's "I used to have so much mercy" and "No second chances" and the Racnoss and the Family of Blood and so yeah, it kinda fits.

* They've got to have a dark side. They can't always do the right thing, otherwise they'd be predictable and I'd be bored. And when they do do the right thing, it feels more earned, because it's not a 100% guarantee that they always will.

Which is why I love the Doctor killing the Racnoss and tormenting the Family of Blood. Why must fandom bitch incessantly about the character traits I love most?

* They've got some kind of angsty backstory that explains why they're so screwed up. Bonus points if they cry a lot and hurt really pretty.

Time War, obviously. And then the loss of Rose. And don't tell me David Tennant doesn't hurt pretty.

* They're emotionally intense. A lot of times they're kind of withdrawn and keep their feelings buried, but this just makes it even more powerful when the emotions finally come out.

OMG how much do I love the tears at the end of "Last of the Time Lords"? And the look on his face the end of "Doomsday"? And I love it particularly because so often you see him repress and not deal with his issues, so when he finally can't take it anymore he's a total mess.

* They can be very charming, but they're quite socially clueless when it comes to other people's feelings. Usually because they're too caught up in their Deep Inner Pain to notice.

Yeah, I get a vicarious thrill out of watching my favorite characters be rude. Because generally they do care, they just suck at expressing it or they use rudeness as a protective mechanism to avoid acknowledging their own feelings or having other people notice. Or they're just plain that clueless. Whatever. It is quite possible that I enjoy this because I am a rude bitch myself. ;)

* Despite the Deep Inner Pain, they've got to be fun. (I can't get into characters who just brood all the time, sorry!) This manifests as a sense of joie de vivre and/or a witty sense of humor, depending on the character. People often criticize it as hedonistic, but I like it because I like the idea of acknowledging that life usually sucks, and it's up to you to find joy where you can.

The Doctor's got the joie de vivre in spades. I completely adore the concept of a character whose reason for being is to see the universe and have adventures. So much better than Righteous Chosen Hero who's only in it to Serve the Greater Good. (I was talking about this here with scarlettgirl; basically I think traditional heroes are either 100% unrealistic or they've got some kind of hypocritical superiority/martyr complex driving them.)

* They're smart. Not always book smart, but they've at least got to be competent/witty/good at figuring stuff out. Intelligence is hot.

I love how the Doctor's a genius and yet so socially clueless. Yay for the geek hero who solves problems with his brain. :)

I think every character on my list is obviously smart except Sharpe (but he's brilliant with military tactics, just not educated), Logan Echolls (but I don't think he was dumb; he just didn't care about school) and latter-day Spike. (And probably a big reason I lost interest in Spike was that they started writing him as a buffoon. From "Once he starts something he doesn't stop until everything in his path is dead" to Spike the incompetent comic relief in AtS S5?!)

* They're lonely. They long for connection, but they're afraid of being hurt or hurting those they care about, so they push people away.

Yeah, I keep seeing people saying "But if the Doctor's so lonely, why does he push people away? He's got all these awesome people surrounding him!" But... it doesn't work like that. You can't just magically open up again after you've been hurt; it takes a lot of time to build up trust and regain the ability to let other people in. And it's particularly difficult for the Doctor because he's an alien, so there's an extra distance between him and everyone around him. (Which is part of why he gets so fixated on the Master--finally someone who can understand that "alien" side of him that the humans will just never get.)

* But they tend to really connect with one person, who they'd do just about anything for. Which still doesn't prevent them from being clueless and screwed-up in how they relate to that person.

Rose, obviously. It's not a perfect relationship, but it's a really interesting one. She helps him re-experience the wonder of the universe and shows him that the human side matters as much as the "big picture." She obviously means the world to him and yet he can't open up and admit he loves her until it's too late. (*sob*)

And then once she's gone, he's fixated on the Master, in a totally different and even more screwed-up way.

So, there you go: the list of character traits that I get fannish about. It would be a whole other discussion to figure out why these particular traits ping my interest. (It'd also probably be really personal and boring to anyone who isn't me, so I'll skip that part. But um, I promise that it relates more to traits I recognize in myself, and less to being "one of those women who writes to serial killers in prison" or "a self-hating misogynist deep down inside" or whatever the trendy criticism is these days.)

[Cross-posted to InsaneJournal]

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/peasant_/]

Yep, I think I agree with pretty much everyone on the list that I've heard of. Except possibly Richard Sharpe, who is too conventionally a hero with attitude for my tastes. He is a bit too powerful as well, I like someone a bit more vulnerable. So I like the books for their action but I'm not obsessed with the character.

How do you feel about Sherlock Holmes? He has a lot of the traits you list but perhaps lacks the emotional angst underneath. As far as I know Holmes hasn't any secrets of his won in his past. So I guess my question is how far from your ideal can a character deviate before you lose interest?


Also, hi! Nice to see you around. I woke up to the fact a few days ago that I keep seeing your name in the same parts as me so I think we have gone around by different routes and ended up in the same fandom again :o)

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

It's good to hear from you again! I've been reading your recent Torchwood meta and found it interesting. Although you'll probably want to avoid mine as I'm not so fond of that show. ;)

Sharpe is an interesting case. He's definitely gotten to be a bit too much of a traditional hero in the later books, which are really formulaic. I prefer the earlier ones, which I think are darker and more raw.

I think Cornwell does an interesting job of keeping Sharpe as a rogue figure even as he rises through the military ranks. He's always getting ridiculed and excluded as an outsider because of his social background. And he's always ending up in these situations where he's either on his own with his team or he's under some corrupt superior officer that he has to defy; either way he ends up breaking rules and making his own decisions. And I like that he's doing all this not for the Greater Good or Patriotic Duty but because he's ambitious and it's literally the only way he can rise in the world.

I do think he's vulnerable, although maybe that's more in the movies with Sean Bean doing the big teary eyes. But he's definitely very insecure and clueless, especially when it comes to women or dealing with anyone of a higher class, which I think gives him an appealing vulnerability that counters his tough action hero role in battle. The big thing he's missing for me is the joy or sense of humor, although you get it sometimes with his interactions with Harper or his occasional snarky comments.

You know, I've never read a Sherlock Holmes book. (*feels woefully uneducated*) He's never been that appealing to me, I guess because I'm not a huge mystery fan and, yeah, I never got the sense that they were books that delved much into emotions or the hero's dark side.

So I guess my question is how far from your ideal can a character deviate before you lose interest?

Hmm. Well, I am fannish about some characters that don't fit into this criteria much (like Luke Skywalker, although that could've been because I was seven at the time, or "Stephen Colbert," which is a whole other thing related to politics and humor). When I already like a character like this, I tend to lose interest when their story becomes about something that counters one of the things I originally liked about them.

Like, I'd had it with Spike when he became Angel's comic relief in AtS S5. (In fact, I'd pretty much had it when he became Buffy's puppy in BtVS S7.) I lost interest in Brian Kinney when his story became all about whether or not he'd settle down and have babies with Justin. I lost interest in Logan Echolls when I began to feel that the show was exaggerating his flaws just to teach a lesson to Veronica. And so on... and I guess it particularly annoys me when I feel like the narrative is making moral judgments about my character and using him to teach a lesson to other characters.