Doctor Who Blatherings: The Doctor's Companions (New Series).
I've been thinking about how Russell T. Davies writes the Doctor's companions. I see an obvious agenda. He chooses characters that current mainstream society looks down upon or are in some other way marginalized.
Rose Tyler was a chav. Through her styling, accent, and lifestyle pre-Doctor she represented a girl-woman from the lower socio-economic strata of England. She started the series dressed in hoodies, other athletic-influenced clothing, and big pants. Looking at the older pictures of the character, she looks like an overgrown teenager. I am not a good judge of an English accent, but based on all the fan-bashing of the actress's inability to resume the proper accent, I now know how she wasn't supposed to sound. She came from a single-parent home (via death and not divorce or abandonment); she worked a dead-end retail job; and she was likely to have ended up with Mickey less out of love for him than the familiarity of him and his insistence of pursuit, which would have resulted in little chav babies--until the Doctor entered her life and aided her transformation. The character then became a fan favorite as she shed her old clothes, donned more sophisticated duds, and expanded her horizons literally and mentally.
Captain Jack Harkness was the 51st century bisexual. Bisexuals still get a lot of heat from both sides, and not the good kind of heat. They're often described as confused, experimenting, or partially hiding in the closet. Conservatives deride them as sex fiends that bust up families. In reaction a lot of bisexuals underplay their sexual activity while emphasizing romantic love. Captain Jack is unapologetically sexual. He's very vocal about and very active in his sexuality. He's not restrained by political correctness. He lives his life as he sees fit. He is reluctant to engage in full romantic love, but his character has an excuse. He'll outlive all of his paramours. Fan reaction to this character has been intense. He's been embraced and lusted over by gays, bisexuals, straight women, and their mums (or moms depending on geographic location). Davies knew what he was doing in casting someone as charismatic, attractive, and likable as John Barrowman.
Martha Jones was the brown face of new England. The English have stated their fears over immigration and losing their national identity and jobs. Martha was not from the first wave of immigrants. She's part of the generation that was born there and grew up thoroughly British. She and her generation have assimilated so well that they have entered the professional classes, so they are doing better economically than most of England. Out of the new series companions, she is the only one to have a real career. Her options before the Doctor were much better than Rose's or Donna's. She was already upwardly mobile. Traveling with the Doctor advances her already advanced gifts and further expands her horizons.
Donna Noble was the middle-aged woman. Has there ever been a new series casting more disparaged by the Who fan boys? I doubt all of the negative griping about Catherine Tate's casting as Donna was simply over a dislike of her sketch show. Unlike the actresses that played Rose and Martha, Catherine Tate is not a trim, young babe. She's a plump forty-year-old, yet I wouldn't say she's unattractive. She was still made-up all pretty like the Doctor's companions before her. Donna's plight was worse than that of the actress who portrayed her. Stifled in a semi-middleclass existence with little idea of her true potential, she temped by day, and she devoured celebrity culture and hung out with the girls at the pub at night. Her dreams weren't deferred; she had few dreams. Donna's initial goal pre-Doctor was to hook a professional man. Post-Doctor she wanted to learn all about the stars and everything else she had been missing. She realized she had real-world intelligence that made her an asset to the Doctor in their travels. They became friends and near equals. Out of all the new series companions, she transformed the most, which made her ultimate loss the most painful.
Rose Tyler was a chav. Through her styling, accent, and lifestyle pre-Doctor she represented a girl-woman from the lower socio-economic strata of England. She started the series dressed in hoodies, other athletic-influenced clothing, and big pants. Looking at the older pictures of the character, she looks like an overgrown teenager. I am not a good judge of an English accent, but based on all the fan-bashing of the actress's inability to resume the proper accent, I now know how she wasn't supposed to sound. She came from a single-parent home (via death and not divorce or abandonment); she worked a dead-end retail job; and she was likely to have ended up with Mickey less out of love for him than the familiarity of him and his insistence of pursuit, which would have resulted in little chav babies--until the Doctor entered her life and aided her transformation. The character then became a fan favorite as she shed her old clothes, donned more sophisticated duds, and expanded her horizons literally and mentally.
Captain Jack Harkness was the 51st century bisexual. Bisexuals still get a lot of heat from both sides, and not the good kind of heat. They're often described as confused, experimenting, or partially hiding in the closet. Conservatives deride them as sex fiends that bust up families. In reaction a lot of bisexuals underplay their sexual activity while emphasizing romantic love. Captain Jack is unapologetically sexual. He's very vocal about and very active in his sexuality. He's not restrained by political correctness. He lives his life as he sees fit. He is reluctant to engage in full romantic love, but his character has an excuse. He'll outlive all of his paramours. Fan reaction to this character has been intense. He's been embraced and lusted over by gays, bisexuals, straight women, and their mums (or moms depending on geographic location). Davies knew what he was doing in casting someone as charismatic, attractive, and likable as John Barrowman.
Martha Jones was the brown face of new England. The English have stated their fears over immigration and losing their national identity and jobs. Martha was not from the first wave of immigrants. She's part of the generation that was born there and grew up thoroughly British. She and her generation have assimilated so well that they have entered the professional classes, so they are doing better economically than most of England. Out of the new series companions, she is the only one to have a real career. Her options before the Doctor were much better than Rose's or Donna's. She was already upwardly mobile. Traveling with the Doctor advances her already advanced gifts and further expands her horizons.
Donna Noble was the middle-aged woman. Has there ever been a new series casting more disparaged by the Who fan boys? I doubt all of the negative griping about Catherine Tate's casting as Donna was simply over a dislike of her sketch show. Unlike the actresses that played Rose and Martha, Catherine Tate is not a trim, young babe. She's a plump forty-year-old, yet I wouldn't say she's unattractive. She was still made-up all pretty like the Doctor's companions before her. Donna's plight was worse than that of the actress who portrayed her. Stifled in a semi-middleclass existence with little idea of her true potential, she temped by day, and she devoured celebrity culture and hung out with the girls at the pub at night. Her dreams weren't deferred; she had few dreams. Donna's initial goal pre-Doctor was to hook a professional man. Post-Doctor she wanted to learn all about the stars and everything else she had been missing. She realized she had real-world intelligence that made her an asset to the Doctor in their travels. They became friends and near equals. Out of all the new series companions, she transformed the most, which made her ultimate loss the most painful.