The Doctor is - basically - the universe's biggest adrenaline junkie. He's been imprisoned in a room for seven months, so despite the stakes here, he's still going to get a little bit of a rush from the chase. Don't judge. We love him for it.
I desperately wanted to take the Doctor into home territory for a little while - it's the side of him I've not had a chance to write yet and I've been looking forward to it. We've explored a fair bit of the Master's many many (many... many) sides so far, and it's only fair we represent the Doctor's, too. This was always going to be about their whole relationship - from the fighting to the strange half-friendship to the romance - so just roll with it for a bit. We're heading into epic territory in this section, as you may have gathered.
The Joneses are there for a reason. The Doctor and Francine have issues that need resolving before launch day, which will be happening in this section... sort of. I couldn't have the Doctor running silently around the Valiant for a few chapters, that would have gotten boring. Tish needed more time (we need a bit more female presence in this story. I have a tendency to identify more with male characters for some reason, so most of my writing is male-centered. Time to break out of that), and the Doctor always needs a companion. He's been alone for too long, and he needs a conversation - preferably one where he doesn't have to watch what he says in fear or being blasted with a screwdriver.
Tish is going to walk in her sister's shoes very shortly - albeit for a brief amount of time. I just thought it would be nice to see them interact, since she has already seen the Doctor in action against Professor Lazarus, and there's some level of trust already established there.
The Master is not stupid. Of course he would keep the Paradox Machine out of bounds (at least until launch day, when he's too busy being manic and trying to kill Martha). It would have been an insult to both of them to have had the Doctor simply tippy-toe down the stairs. Besides, what fun is Doctor Who without a bit of life-or-death?
The Doctor and Jack moment needed to be there somewhere. Let's not forget that the Doctor is also a person, and as selfless as he can be he's not entirely emotionless. In fact, the tenth Doctor's emotions are part of the reason why I personally think he's one of the most loved by the fans. Of course one of his motivations would be to save the Master, and of course he doesn't want to say it out loud. The Master isn't the only mentally and emotionally damaged Timelord around here. He's almost ashamed of it, but also ashamed of the fact that this attempt to help him ultimately failed, and was far too late (not for the Master's mental state, but because of what happened in The End of Time). He's also afraid that admitting it out loud means that it's real and... I dunno. Complex. Ultimately you guys are going to have to make of it what you will.
I made a promise to a friend that I would give the Doctor some heroic moments on board the Valiant (not that that was ever in doubt), but we're about to do your regular, everyday Doctor Who action sequence. Even I admit that my strengths seem to be in dialogue and personal moments (not just personal but personal), so I may fail miserably in this attempt. If I do, just bear with me: this section is going to end dramatically, if I can write it well...
Link to the chapter is HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment