The Tenth Doctor: his reach is global, his tower secure; his cause is noble, his power is pure...

[kalichan]

Title: his reach is global, his tower secure; his cause is noble, his power is pure...
Author: kalichan
Character: The Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Doctor Who
Spoilers: Through… "Planet of the Dead"

TENI'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old, and I'm the man who's gonna save your

Comments

[selenak]

Very good essay (and thanks for reccing Patterns, btw!). I have a tiny, tiny nitpick, which is just me being anal:

but while Nine flirted right back at Jack, Ten is oddly more reserved with him. Callously deserting him on a spacestation in “Parting of the Ways”,

This makes it sound as if it was Ten who deserted Jack. He was in fact still Nine when he did that. Which isn't to say Ten is not responsible for said action - he is, being the Doctor, to state the obvious - but the Doctor was still Nine when getting the hell away from Jack; he only regenerated after the TARDIS was already in flight, and well after, given we get a transition cut from Rose being put on the floor unconscious to Rose waking up some time later. Which is why when I read people complaining that Nine would never have reacted to Jack the way Ten does initially in Utopia, I'm tempted to say "...err, except when he did?"

[kalichan]

No, you're totally right about Nine. He swanned off and left him. My sentence makes it sound like I think there's a link between Ten's reserve and the callous desertion of Jack, but that is sheer bad writing on my part. Nine was just as callous, and in fact, responsible, as you say.

I tend to excuse Nine a little more -- he was a bit busy at the time, what with saving Rose, and regenerating; I suppose I blame him less for leaving, than Ten for, you know, not going back, and then.. lying to Rose about it.

Patterns rocks; thanks for writing it. I really love fics that link New Who and Classic Who together; they are some of my favorites.

[selenak]

I suppose I blame him less for leaving, than Ten for, you know, not going back

Well, considering TARDIS!Rose had just wiped out the Daleks, there was no reason for leaving the station at all other then immediately responding to Jack's new status and wanting to keep same from Rose. Rose had just been saved (on the station); the Daleks are gone. He could have regenerated then and there if it had just been about finding a danger-free place to do that. Also, we have the Doctor saying in reply to Jack's "how long did you know?" "ever since I ran away from you". I.e. he knew immediately.

In conclusion: Nine made the conscious and deliberate decision to leave Jack behind and to keep the consequences of her action from Rose; Ten stuck with said decision.

*brought to you by the 'the Doctor so is a runner and occasional bastard in all his incarnations' brigade* *veg*

Icon: I can't tell you how much I squeed during that scene in The Next Doctor and how I hoped someone would make a good icon out of it. Several people did, and this one is

[kalichan]

In conclusion: Nine made the conscious and deliberate decision to leave Jack behind and to keep the consequences of her action from Rose; Ten stuck with said decision.

Q.E.D. You are completely correct. Man, that Doctor, what a cold bastard he can be sometimes. I think it's so funny that people bitch about How The Doctor Is Not Being An Arbiter Of All That Is Good And Right With The World, when I'm like, "er... have you watched the show? NOT A NICE GUY, much of the time." From Hartnell to present.

The Next Doctor: I think my squee went super sonic at that moment. I may have deafened some puppies nearby.

[bentley]

Fantastic, fantastic essay; I enjoyed every minute of it! I feel like I have been waning in my Wholove recently, and now I just want to go and watch the series all over again. Oh, Doctor, you zany, heartbreaking, hilarious man.

A rec, if you haven't encountered it: My personal fave Tenth Doctor video is the very popular Don't Hold Back by seduff (which might also be up there as my all-time favourite vid, so.)

Now I'm off to read some of those fics - thanks for this!

[kalichan]

Yay! Resurgence of Wholove! *squees* It was actually hard to write because when asked, "well, what do you love about Ten?" my answer, it turns out, is everything. Which makes for a short, uninteresting essay.

I will watch this vid forthwith.

[bentley]

Well, everything is certainly worth loving! Eeee.

[kalichan]

That vid is freaking awesome. Thank you.

[scarlettgirl]

You had me at the title. I never even bother answering those "who is your Ten" memes, instead pointing them to "Handlebars".

Very nicely done. I think you captured all those mercurial elements that make Ten so very Ten. He is a goofy puppy wrapped in a bambi-eyed packaged but he is scary as fuck. Far, far more frightening, to me, than Nine ever was. As you said, Nine was a walking wound, Ten is processing and not always well. I think it colored ALL of his companion relationships, even Rose. Nine needed Rose but Ten wanted Rose. The difference is subtle but has all sorts of disturbing undertones that, if you squint and tilt your head just to the left, are there. And I do love to squint and tilt

[kalichan]

Yeah, Handlebars is just perfectly perfect Ten. I was utterly blown away the second I heard the song, and I play it for everyone I can get to sit down for it.

He is a goofy puppy wrapped in a bambi-eyed packaged but he is scary as fuck. Far, far more frightening, to me, than Nine ever was.

Yep, me too. There's something much less scary about the person who lets it all hang out, as it were.

Nine needed Rose but Ten wanted Rose.

Creepy! I'd never thought about it that way, but yeah. That's why I love D/R fic that shows their dark side -- it's not just fluffy bunnies, there are some serious crazy, fucked up moments there too.

[scarlettgirl]

I love the darker side and I love the D/R relationship as seen through that(my) filter. Anything else just seems too human and domestic and I simply can't wrap my head around the "teen dream Doctor and his best girl" trope. And don't even get me started on the infantilized Doctor trope!

Stopping now. ;)

I did want to add a comment on your observation that Tennant's fanboy love colors his performance. I wish I knew the filming order for S2 because the first time he fires up the TARDIS in "New Earth" I can't decide whether it's the Doctor thrilled to be traveling again or David Tennant nearly dying of squee because he's IN THE GODDAMN TARDIS! And you'll never convince me it's not DT coming over all fanboy when he sees Lis Sladen in "School Reunion". His obvious adoration for the universe gives his performance a nuance that is really lovely to see.

[neifile7]

Thanks for this lovely essay, and for the recs; I have not followed Ten in fic to the degree I've followed Nine, partly because there's just so much, so it's good to get a guided tour.

You really captured for me what made Ten such a "fantastic/brilliant" follow-up to Nine. I never watch the regeneration without my heart stopping, and can only hope that the finale this year does the same excellent service to the character. I'm also not really ready to lose him, but if he goes out in the right way, it will be profoundly satisfying, for all the reasons you suggest here.

[kalichan]

For as much as I love Ten, I have trouble reading him in fic a lot. Like, it's hard to really *get* him. For me, Nine's internal monologue is pretty simple: "I hate myself, I hate myself, I hate myself, ooh! Rose is shiny! I hate myself!" lather, rinse, repeat. Whereas Ten really re-embraces his doctorness/time lordness, and so I have trouble believing that his internal monologue is anything like what we would understand? That's probably why, though he is my, hands down, favorite character to write, I generally do him in third person removed, and don't go inside his head.

But he's probably my favorite character, ever. And... god, I'm so sad to see him leave, even as I recognize that in the arc, it's time for him to move on.

[neifile7]

Yes, well you are probably my all-time favorite writer of Ten, and that has made him a tough sell in other hands. ;) Although I very much enjoyed what Sam did with 10.5 in "In Another Life." But you're right, it's a virtually impossible POV to pull off.

[kalichan]

Yes, well you are probably my all-time favorite writer of Ten, and that has made him a tough sell in other hands.

*blushes furiously, scuffs ground with shoe* Er. Thank you, really. I'm.. wow. Yeah. Thank you.

You know, I haven't read "In Another Life" because I've got my own Pete's World story brewing, with 10.2, so I didn't want to get... unduly influenced. But I bet it's freaking awesome.

[melodylemming]

Sometimes I just want to listen to people talk about Ten all day. So, at those times I should obviously come back to this essay.

Also, definitely planning on working my way through your recs--I find Who fandom pretty daunting, mostly, so I rarely read fic without recommendations.

[kalichan]

Sometimes I just want to listen to people talk about Ten all day. So, at those times I should obviously come back to this essay.

*grin* Or ping me! I'm happy to natter on about him ALL DAY LONG.

It's funny because I write more in Torchwood fandom, but Who is the one that really has my heart. I find most of my fic off rec lists too -- there's a lot of crap to wade through to find the jewels. FYI, there's a great list that I and some of the folk at torchwood_house put together of Doctor Who fic, lots of which I stole to put on this list, as it included most of my favorites. But there are lots of other ones there too, that focus on other characters aside from Ten, if that's your poison. It's here.