I always liked that the Doctor loved his Companions without falling into the boring trap of being "romantic" with them. And that he formed so many different kinds of "family" bonds with his friends, without falling into the same old styles of family relationships that most other shows did.
There was always plenty of love, stability, dedication, and unity in the relationships between the Doctor and his Companions. They formed the family. The "family" aspect of the show was not something that happened on the side for the Companions and basically, by their very nature, excluded the Doctor.
For all that Rose had Jackie and Mickey, and included the Doctor in their lives. They were still "her" family. They weren't there for him, they were there for her. (And the same goes for Amy and Rory, and even Donna and her family, Wilf possibly excluded.) Contrast that to the Classic example where each Companion had a direct and individual relationship with the Doctor and with each other (if there was more than one).
In a way, New Who has made the Doctor the stepchild in the "families" that they keep creating. He's still the outsider, rather than being the focus that everyone else revolves around. Instead of being the "father" or "uncle" or "older brother" type, he's become someone who is the person in the picture who isn't in the middle, but is sort of standing off to one side, smiling uncomfortably.
That is one of the reasons I dislike the inclusion of the Companions families so much in the show. It seems to be doing exactly the opposite of what it's trying to do. It's supposedly showing the Doctor being included in the human families. But all it's really showing is that they are the family, and he, while welcome, always remains the outsider, the outcast.
That in itself is not a bad thing. There's lots of dramatic potential in that. But it sort of rips the heart out of what the Doctor/Companion dynamic was all about. It becomes a war between the Companion choosing the Doctor or their family.
Instead of it being a matter of the Doctor becoming a sort of magical family himself, as the travel the universe in their "trip of a lifetime."
As for the whole "can women have it all, a family and the world out there." When it comes to Doctor Who, I tend to view the Companion's time with the Doctor as a sort of "rite of passage" or "journey to adulthood."
I don't really see it as the Companion choosing between her family and the Doctor. Rather, just that there is a point in every person's life, usually while they are young adults, where they "leave the nest" and learn to fly on their own.
It's not a matter of rejecting their family, or going off and getting married and forming a new one, but it's that time in between, when people go out on their own, and see what they are really capable of. When they learn who they are. And learn what their capabilities are and what difference they want to make in life.
Then, as stronger wiser adults they go back home, reconnect with their families (who, often, probably don't even know they've been gone) and go on to build their own lives, and their own new families.
That is sort of short-circuited though, when the show keeps insisting that the Companions have to keep up their family life, while they are traveling with the Doctor. They aren't allowed any time to just be themselves, by themselves. And suddenly the option of simply returning a few hours after they left and just picking up their life again, is gone.
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timeasmymeasure
Part 2 of my reply (it was too long)
Date: 2012-07-25 04:13 pm (UTC)There was always plenty of love, stability, dedication, and unity in the relationships between the Doctor and his Companions. They formed the family. The "family" aspect of the show was not something that happened on the side for the Companions and basically, by their very nature, excluded the Doctor.
For all that Rose had Jackie and Mickey, and included the Doctor in their lives. They were still "her" family. They weren't there for him, they were there for her. (And the same goes for Amy and Rory, and even Donna and her family, Wilf possibly excluded.) Contrast that to the Classic example where each Companion had a direct and individual relationship with the Doctor and with each other (if there was more than one).
In a way, New Who has made the Doctor the stepchild in the "families" that they keep creating. He's still the outsider, rather than being the focus that everyone else revolves around. Instead of being the "father" or "uncle" or "older brother" type, he's become someone who is the person in the picture who isn't in the middle, but is sort of standing off to one side, smiling uncomfortably.
That is one of the reasons I dislike the inclusion of the Companions families so much in the show. It seems to be doing exactly the opposite of what it's trying to do. It's supposedly showing the Doctor being included in the human families. But all it's really showing is that they are the family, and he, while welcome, always remains the outsider, the outcast.
That in itself is not a bad thing. There's lots of dramatic potential in that. But it sort of rips the heart out of what the Doctor/Companion dynamic was all about. It becomes a war between the Companion choosing the Doctor or their family.
Instead of it being a matter of the Doctor becoming a sort of magical family himself, as the travel the universe in their "trip of a lifetime."
As for the whole "can women have it all, a family and the world out there." When it comes to Doctor Who, I tend to view the Companion's time with the Doctor as a sort of "rite of passage" or "journey to adulthood."
I don't really see it as the Companion choosing between her family and the Doctor. Rather, just that there is a point in every person's life, usually while they are young adults, where they "leave the nest" and learn to fly on their own.
It's not a matter of rejecting their family, or going off and getting married and forming a new one, but it's that time in between, when people go out on their own, and see what they are really capable of. When they learn who they are. And learn what their capabilities are and what difference they want to make in life.
Then, as stronger wiser adults they go back home, reconnect with their families (who, often, probably don't even know they've been gone) and go on to build their own lives, and their own new families.
That is sort of short-circuited though, when the show keeps insisting that the Companions have to keep up their family life, while they are traveling with the Doctor. They aren't allowed any time to just be themselves, by themselves. And suddenly the option of simply returning a few hours after they left and just picking up their life again, is gone.