The Doctor and Rose (Doctor Who)

I want to start out by saying that I've never watched any other Who than the 2005 version originally starring Christopher Eccleston (sniff, sniff) as the Doctor, followed by David Tennant taking over the role in the following three series. I can not, and won't even try to, compare these versions of the Doctor, the companions, the stories, production values, etc. to any other because I haven't seen them and probably won't ever. So these comments are based solely on the current Doctor Who. Period.

Oh, and to be safe ... spoilers for all four series up to 4x07 (but the reference to 4x07 is only in the random comments section). If you've watched series 1-3 and at least a few episodes of series four, you're fine (again, with the exception of the random comments at the end).

Alrighty then, I'm going to start with the Doctors. I admit I haven't re-watched series one in two years (but I'm working on getting it), and if you've been reading my journal for any length of time and have read my Who posts, you know it isn't because I didn't like S1. In fact, I loved it. I was completely hooked by the third episode and fell head over heels for Christopher Eccleston's Doctor. He created such a mixture of joy and sorrow, goofiness and seriousness in such a beautifully nuanced package. This is the awesomeness of Eccleston.

And, of course, because I'm a silly, silly shipper at heart, I rather fell head over heels for the relationship between the Doctor and Rose as well. I loved Eccleston's Doctor and the Rose/Nine relationship so much that when the reveal of David Tennant as Doctor #10 appeared at the end of the series, I was upset, angry, annoyed, frustrated, saddened, you name it. And it was a little over two full years before I actually watched another episode because the Doctor was ... Christopher Eccleston. Period.

I've now seen all of series two and three, and what's aired thus far of series four. I don't LOOOOOOOOOVE Tennant's Doctor like I did Eccleston's, but I do like him very much and I love his relationship with Rose as well. It's different, but the same. Which makes sense considering the Doctor is different, but the same. I do think Tennant tends to get a tad, erm, okay, a LOT, yelly at points, but I think he does the fun of it quite well and I like the introspective, bad-ass moments also.

He's not my Doctor -- that will always be Eccleston -- but he's a fine, fine Doctor none-the-less and I enjoy watching him very much indeed. And because the second series was the Doctor and Rose already knowing each other and having been through such an emotional experience (the end of series one), there was a richer, yet lighter feel to their relationship in series two. Needless to say, if you're familiar with my leanings, it won't surprise anyone to know that by the end of series two, I was pretty much a die-hard Rose/Doctor (Nine or Ten) shipper ... yes, this was even knowing that Billie Piper was gone after series two before I even sat down to watch it. But more on the whole Doctor/Rose relationship later.

First, let's take a look at the Companions. This show is so oddly set-up in terms of creating actor/character/shipping fandoms because the Doctor CAN easily be replaced at any time should something change with the current actor due to the whole regenerating thing when he "dies." As well, the companions can just be set along their merry way for any number of reasons and it's all so logical and makes sense that the almost transient nature of the actors on the show makes it an interesting one for me to glom onto because I'm SO entrenched in loving my favorites and any replacement BE DAMNED!!! Yet, this show makes it work ... likely, in my opinion, due to the already-set-in-place structure of the show, as well as the almost routinely excellent casting and writing.

My first companion was, of course, Rose. I didn't love love her by even the end of the first series, but some time throughout the second series, I did grow to love love her and her departure at the end of that series left me a literal bawling mess. I loved her fiestiness, her ignorance, yet willingness to explore anything and everything. I loved her dedication and loyalty to the Doctor. Hah, I actually just figured it out when I realized I love loved Rose because of typing that last statement: It was in the two-parter ending with "Satan's Pit." She was so awesome on her own, fighting and doing everything that had to be done while still remaining steadfastly loyal and devoted to the Doctor. Loved it, and loved her.

Anyhoo, back to my Rose love. I even loved her selfishness because it just made her more real. When viewers (and I'm talking mostly TWoP commentary here as I've yet to find another Doctor Who community where I can just dig in and read good, meaty thoughts on the show -- but I'm looking) complain about "Saint Rose" or "Mary Sue Rose" rearing her head in series three and thus far in series four, I seriously wonder if they've watched series one and two recently. Seriously. Because not only was Rose NOT a saint OR a Mary Sue; she was never written as one (nor was she portrayed as such in series three, or series four thus far). She was ignorant, and selfish, and jealous, and stupid, stupid, stupid sometimes. However, she was also capable of greatness. Great acts of sacrifice, great thoughts, great love, great compassion. Many of the kick-ass awesome qualities we see in Martha and Donna were in Rose: a bit of the humor, the action, the smarts, the compassion, the heart and soul. Rose was fricking awesome. I love her.

I don't, however, love Martha. I like her. I think Freema Agyeman is lovely, but I just never connected to Martha the way I did Rose. That very well may have been because the Doctor kept her at arm's length, something he never did with Rose, and so she felt like she was at arm's length from me as well. There were moments with Martha where I loved her (and I do have Torchwood on my Netflix so I can get caught up on that, I might like her better when she shows up there -- I quite liked her and Jack), but overall, I just kinda, you know, liked her.

I'll be honest, it didn't help that I kept waiting for the show to screw up (in my opinion) and make Martha into another Rose in terms of how the Doctor felt about her. To me, what was between the Doctor and Rose was special (more on that later, I promise) and it would have just infuriated me to see Martha just take over Rose's spot. All of the moments of jealousy that Martha had, the continued bringing up of Rose, the continued crush that lasted the whole series really had me believing that the final episode of series three would basically feature the Doctor showing that Martha was just another Rose to him, ie, just another companion, one he valued and felt great fondness, but just another companion ... thus Rose wasn't special at all. That didn't happen and I may actually be able to go back and rewatch series three with a different eye that is more appreciative for that fact.

It's not something I'll be doing all that soon though, because, overall, series three was subpar to series one and two in my book, and that's not because Rose wasn't there. I did like Martha, I really did, she just didn't connect to me and thus make me connect to the show the same way I had in series one and two. In fact, my favorite episode was the incredibly awesome "Blink" which barely featured Martha and the Doctor at all. However, I DID really like her spark with Tom Milligan in the series finale and was really, really happy to see his return (or at least mention of him) as her fiance in Martha's first appearance back on the show in series four. A Martha not mooning over the Doctor may make me like her all that much more. Still, I'm not sure. I kinda think if she was gonna grab me like Rose did, it woulda happened. I mean, I may not have love loved Rose by the end of series one, but I loved her and it was before the last episodes that I was there already. So, who knows?

Well, I do know that my opinion about Donna came pretty quickly, faster than even with Rose. See, I hadn't watched the show in two years, but I would see posts on ONTD about it and I would note them simply because it WAS a show I had loved. And lately I'd been seeing this (I'm being honest here) mean, bitchy, scarecrow-looking, kinda unattractive red head in all the promo shots with David Tennant and I thought, 'What the hell?!?! They went from Billie Piper to Freema Agyeman to, uhm, that?!?!?! Oy. I don't know.' Flashforward to series two, I watched "School Reunion" (with Anthony Stewart Head!!!) and there was an older redhead woman, Sarah Jane, and I thought ... "Oh, I bet THAT'S the redhead chick. Oh, she looks much better onscreen. Just not photogenic." Did a teeny bit of research and found out, nope, totally different actress. So I was back to thinking 'Oy vey! Crap. This is gonna suck. I don't like the way she looks. I'm not gonna like her.'

Then came the series finale of series two. As mentioned above, I'm a bawling mess and the Doctor is crying himself and then all-of-a-sudden familiar scary, mean-looking redhead woman pops into the Tardis wearing a wedding dress and I was like, "That's her!!!" I was leery, but "The Runaway Bride" was the next episode to watch. So I watched it. And in about, oh, fifteen minutes ... maybe even ten, I fell completely, totally, absolutely, mind-boggled IN LOVE WITH DONNA NOBLE!!!! OH. MY. GOD! Is she like the COOLEST character ever!?!?? Why, yes, I do believe she is. She isn't just the awesome. She isn't just made of the awesome. She isn't just the very definition of the awesome. No, Donna Noble is everything in the universe put together that is good and right and cool, creating a brand-new definition of awesome that has never before been witnessed.

I love Donna. I love Donna so much. Donna? is, well, there is no other word to accur

I've been working on this video on and off for about a week now (way too many hours to count) and I'm finally done. Thanks to and my sister -- who had an decidedly unbiased opinion as she doesn't watch the show -- for helping me out.

This is all Nine/Rose. I didn't cheat and even grab experiences from series two. Everything is from series one, all Nine (okay, okay, one teeny clip from series 3). Anyhoo, first vid in this fandom, first video in a long time. I chose Billie Piper's song "Walk of Life" because it just called to me. I NEVER do (make or watch) videos where the gender doesn't match the point of view, but yet this song -- sung by a female -- is from the Doctor's perspective. So I broke my own rule. Again, the song just called to me and would not let go, and I figured, hey, it can be narration and, and ... it's Billie Piper, for goodness sake, that has to count for something!

Anyhoo, enjoy, I hope anyone who watches it does. Download

So, I've been convinced for a while now that the Doctor and Rose were definitely having sex in S2. (I even wrote a post up that referenced a few of my points, but I was asking other opinions, I wasn't convinced myself. Now I am.) I know, I know ... it's Doctor Who, that doesn't happen on Who, or I know, I know ... the way they kissed in "Journey's End" proved that it hadn't happened before. Well, as for the latter, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation to that kiss that still makes the theory that they were going at it like bunnies work. As for it being Who, that's why it's kinda there in between the lines, because it's technically a "kid's show" and there are purists who don't want to go there. But there are definitely signs that point to that kind of relationship between them.

I think their relationship changed and became physically intimate after (big shock here!) "The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit." What they went through in that episode, before and after the separation, brought them to a new level, I think. First the "stuck with you" conversation. Yes, they were a little awkward and not quite saying what they meant, but it was obvious what was at the heart of their dialogue, and both were clearly thinking in the same direction. For Rose, it's not that big a leap that she could deal with them being stuck in one place, but the fact that the Doctor wasn't freaking out, but came across as in almost the same place as she? That was a huge sign, that as much as he loves the TARDIS and his life as a Time Traveler, being with Rose is enough that he's willing to even contemplate it.

After the separation, we had the first time the Doctor said "I love you," without saying it and then claimed belief in her over any and everything in the entire universe. For Rose, we had her insistence in not leaving, even if he was gone. She didn't care; she wanted to be wherever he was, even if it was just the memory of the last place he'd been. Emotionally, they both took giant leaps here, so a sexual relationship coming off the heels of that two-parter makes perfect sense. And after that episode, these are the little moments we got that led me to believe that, yes, they DID take that step.

- In "Fear Her," a small (if disgusting) thing, true, but the fact that (a) the Doctor casually, calmly holds out his hand, casually and calmly *expecting* Rose to spit chewed up gum into his hand, and (b) that Rose casually and calmly spits said chewed up gum into his hand. I mean, come on? Yes, they are very close. They are, but I couldn't imagine Donna doing that unless she really, really, really, REALLY had to ... and in this case, Rose didn't even have to one "really" have to do it. Yet, it was just a casual intimate moment between them that bespoke of her saliva being on his body not an uncommon occurrence.

- Cheating a bit, I know as it was a deleted scene, but in "Army of Ghosts," as the Doctor and Rose head towards Powell Estate (I assume), they simply hold hands. No rush, no emergency, no danger, no running from or towards danger. They're just two people in love walking along ... holding hands. I know that doesn't say "THEY ARE HAVING SEX!!!OMG!!!!," but tied in with everything else and the fact that it's such a casual, comfortable thing adds to the whole theory.

- One of the biggies ... "Doomsday." Anyone reading this knows exactly where I'm going here.

Doctor: You've still got Mr. Mickey, then?
Rose: There's five of us now. Mum, dad, Mickey ... and the baby.
Doctor: (Slightly stunned) You're not ...?
Rose: No. (Laughing) It's mum.

I mean, come on ... It was totally leading there. The Doctor's reaction, his expression, tone of voice to "you're not ..." and Rose's long look back at him with the slight smile before the laughing "no." I'm certainly not one for the whole idea of a bunch of Timetots running around, and pretty much avoid babyfic!, but the idea that the Doctor would think ...

Of course, there's another interpretation as the comment came on the heels of "Well, you've still got Mr. Mickey then," but I can't imagine that a few weeks after he and Rose are cruelly separated that he would (a) automatically assume that she got it on with Mickey (or any other guy), (b) not be more than stunned, but rather peeved, annoyed, jealous, etc. This *IS* the Doctor about ROSE!.

So, no, I don't buy that he thought it was Mickey's. That would have garnered a different reaction from the Doctor, indeed. Instead, we got one of slightly being stunned and vaguely wistful response to Rose then giving him that look, before laughing. The dialogue and reactions from both the Doctor and Rose are too telling, in my opinion. And the fact that quite a few people did wonder if it was implying what they thought they possibly couldn't be implying ... which tells me it's quite likely that Rusty was cackling his evil laugh somewhere in glee knowing that people were thinking it. AND being the total Doctor/Rose OTP-shipper that he is, I can't help but think that he *did* intend for people to think that, knowing that they'd dismiss it because it's Who.

- Rose's top in the TARDIS console room in "The Runaway Bride." Yes, the point was that it was supposed to show Donna that there had been another female there giving rise to her kidnapping women fear, and keep the Dotor's angst alive and kicking. But ... her top? Why not a hoodie, or a brush, or some other female accoutrement that didn't scream, 'Hi! I undress in the TARDIS console room where the Doctor and I shag like bunnies!' Okay, okay, fine it doesn't scream that ... BUT, her top?!?! You don't leave your top casually slung about (other than in your bedroom) when you live with someone you don't have an intimate relationship with. So why would Rose's TOP be casually laying about the console room like that unless either she or the Doctor had pulled it off before shagging like bunnies?!?!?! See, just another small piece that fits.

- The choice of phrase the Doctor describes his relationship with Rose as to Martha in "Smith and Jones" when she asks him about who he travels with. It starts out described in a removed fashion as "guests" before rambling into a much more intimate comment about Rose specifically.

Martha: Is there a crew, like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?
Doctor: Just me.
Martha: All on your own?
Doctor: Well, sometimes I have guests. I mean, some friends traveling alongside me. I had ... it was recently ... a friend of mine. Rose, her name was. Rose ... and ... we were together.

So we go from "guests" to "friends traveling alongside me," to "a friend of mine," to specifically naming her "Rose." Before we finally get to "and ... we were together." Be honest ... if this were not Doctor Who, just a normal, non-sci-fi, non-cracky, non-"children's show" kind of program, or a book, or someone in real life and they described a relationship with someone as "we were together," the assumption that everyone and their dog would take from that phrase would be that they were together ... in the biblical sense. They were a couple, an item, shagging like bunnies.

- Which brings us to "Turn Left" ... we have Rose's reaction to Donna's: "Were you and him ...?" which while wasn't a ringing cry of 'hell yeah!,' neither was it a denial. At all. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it actually leaned more in the direction of 'yes, we were' as opposed to 'no, it wasn't like that.' If they WEREN'T together (hah! I wasn't even thinking of the above paragraph, but merely trying to come up with another way of saying 'weren't shagging like bunnies,' and my brain automatically filled in "weren't together" -- see!?!?!?), why didn't Rose just do the slight head shake, laugh, look-down in slight wistful, 'no' sigh that would have easily, no ambiguity there, answer that question? You know why? BECAUSE THEY WERE! Uh huh.

It should be noted that of all of the episodes I referenced above to "prove" my theory, all but "Fear Her" was written by Russell T. Davies. Uh huh.

Finally, back to the kiss in "Journey's End," that kiss coming like it did didn't necessarily mean that they hadn't been, well, you know, and thus the surprise and shock of her pulling him to her like that. Simply it implied that the Doctor had never said the words before -- which really wouldn't come as a surprise from Mr. Euphemism-boy ("Does it need saying?" *Oh, Doctor*). After all, they went right into each other's arms, kissing away like they'd had practice -- and it'd been a really long time since Cassandra, and it was, well, Cassandra! so I'm not counting it.

So, unless we are somehow proven elsewise through canon -- though, how that would ever come up now?? -- all of the above signs, along with their general air about each other, says to me that they were indeed "together," shagging like bunnies, pick your euphemism and nothing in canon disputes that belief if you're not inclined against it. Which I'm not.

My first write-up of a Doctor Who episode just after it aired. Cool.

Honestly, I think this episode could have been just one, and not a two-parter. It didn't have enough to sustain two parts. I was kinda, get on with the story at certain points of both episodes. And beyond the weak storytelling (coming from Moffat, a surprise, I know ... oy, I hope he gets creative juices rejuvenated for when the takes over the show), I really found that I only liked three things ...

1. Donna. As always, Donna rocks. I do love her so. Her alternate universe world broke my heart. When she said "mummy won't close her eyes," I teared up, and that's all thanks to Catherine Tate's acting skills. And, also, she managed to deliver the one tart moment in the entire episode ("I've been dieting!"). Finally, I sniffed when her "perfect man" saw her too late, and, of course, couldn't get her name out. Awwwww.

2. Anita was a good character.

3. Alex Kingston's acting. I really think Alex Kingston is wonderful ...

which brings us to things I didn't like ...

1. Alex Kingston's character. Yes, yes, I understand that Doctor Who DOES NOT revolve around Rose. But when you have episodes bringing her up, the Doctor still affected, a whole long trailer that aired BEFORE these two episodes featuring Rose's story, throwing in some chick who knows the Doctor well enough to know his name, well ... honestly, it pissed me off. I wanted her to die. I wanted her to screw up whatever future she had with the Doctor, because damnit, at this point in the show (because of how they've dragged out the Rose thing), I'm not ready to find out he's that emotionally close with someone else. When we found out that River told him his name, thus he had to tell her, my first thought was: He never told Rose his name, and then I got unreasonably pissed (unreasonable, I admit, but still there none-the-less).

With Moffat taking over, obviously the 'Rose' era that's been prevalent with Russel T. Davies hard-on for the character will be gone ... but couldn't Moffat had waited until AFTER time where Rose WAS so much still a fabric in the tenor and emotion of the Doctor had passed. Like, you know, when HE takes over ... a year and a half from now?!?!?

So, yes, call me a silly shipper, but it bugged me because while I'm fine with the Doctor having his little dalliances, at this stage in the game, it's been set up throroughly that Rose is special. Don't bring this woman out of nowhere and make her the be-all and end-all for the Doctor in two episodes when I had two years to fall in love with the Doctor and Rose.

2. As I stated above there wasn't enough plot to sustain two episodes. And that really is the biggie. It was a good idea, but could (and should) have been condensed into one episode, and should have cut out all of the Doctor/River special stuff. She could have just been a future companion who was special like Martha or Donna or Sarah Jane and the story would have worked just as well.

ETA: Upon further thought after reading other's thoughts, It DID make sense that all of what happened, including the Doctor telling her his name was for THIS situation that happens in the library, because the Doctor would know he needed to be convinced. So I can pretty much believe now that, yes, River was another companion of the Doctor's who was special and who meant something to him (as do all his companions ... he really does love them all in his own way, in different ways), but that doesn't make her as much as or more than Rose. Yes, yes, I know I'm harping on this but I just finished rewatching season one and am rewatching season two, and then I'm probably going to rewatch them both again (ahh!!! the joys of summer reruns!), so I'm on a Rose/Doctor high.

Back to this current episode ... with my issues with River Song resolved, unfortunately, I still think it was a weak two-parter. As one episode, I believe it would have been much stronger.

Doctor Who thoughts, wonderful, awesome, my favoritest show on TV right now, Doctor Who thoughts. Literally, I was skipping with glee today knowing a new episode was on its way. Woohoo!! (Oh, and ignore my last post about wondering about the airdates of the next episodes, they're airing one after the other like normal. The guide I go to just didn't have them up for some reason. Phew!)

Okay, obligatory Rose squealing out of the way ... two mentions!!! (Reference, and by name!!), and a shot of her on the little screen too -- of course when the Doctor wasn't looking. Of course!!! And the preview!!!! Yes, I'm shipper-girl enough that my favorite part was her running towards the dead (!!) Doctor on a gurney. And, oi, I'm going to be wrecked by what's going to happen to Donna. I don't know the spoilers, but all signs are not pointing to something good. I swear at the end of the day, Donna better be alright. I'm already bracing myself for inevitable, soul-crushing, gut-wrenching heartbreak on the Doctor/Rose front; I don't need to weep copious tears over Donna too. So, Rose, you better be wrong.

Now, onto the episode itself. WOW! That was an incredibly tense, freaky, awesomely done episode. I expected to miss Donna knowing it was Donna-lite, but I didn't even realize she wasn't in the episode all that much until the end because I was so riveted by what was on-screen. Russell T. Davies is sure going out in a bang. The acting was excellent all-around, but David Tennant outdid himself. He was absolutely amazing; just amazing. I was tearing up when it was so clear that his voice was being stolen by the thing, and then how he played the final scene with Donna; man, it broke my heart. The writing was funny, light-hearted and then building to this awesome tension that was just so well-executed.

We've seen so many episodes about the Doctor extolling the virtues of humanity. Then every once in a while, we see the darker side play out and this one just kicked to the gut when one of those virtues the Doctor so loves (the desperate need for survival) came rising to the fore in a horrible way. Ah, and then redemption was found when the first voice that spoke up for survival by killing Sky, gave her own voice to ensure the survival of everyone else (ironically, by killing Sky -- who, in all honestly, was probably already dead). Amazing. So beautifully done.

In a way, RTD managed to capture the scary tenseness that I thought we'd get from the previous Moffat two-parter, but which petered away before the first episode even ended. This one kept it going all the way through. Just fabulous. And me thinking I'd love such a Donna-lite episode shocks me, but damn, did I love this one.

A few specific things I want to mention that I especially liked:

- The Doctor subtly making all of the "entertainment" disappear. Hee. (Also, there was a small part of me that wanted to see the music be some footage of Billie Piper in her pop-star days. That would have been hysterical, but yeah too noticeable for the Doctor to ignore, but still, would have been HI-larious!)

- The Doctor's: "Roast beef. Bananas. The Medusa Cascade. BANG! RoseTylerMarthaJonesDonnaNobleTardis. Shamble-bobble-dibble-dooble. Oh, Doctor, you're so handsome. Why, yes I am. Thank you." LOVED IT! I rewound that part about ten times. It was awesome.

- The fact that the Doctor asked what the stewardess' name was. Nice callback to "The Poison Sky" when the Doctor was so adamant about naming the soldier (Ross) who died.

- Finally, the ending bit was so wonderfully, wonderfully done. When Donna repeated the Doctor's Italian phrase and said "don't do that," I immediately thought of how the Doctor had used that exact phrase on Rose, Martha and Donna at one time or another when they attempted an accent and I laughed; and then his haunted eyes hit me anew as he repeated "don't do that," and I realized: Oh. Ohhhhh. The repeating. Maybe we were supposed to get the repeating fact of it right away, but how I came to it in a secondary way made it hit harder I think.

Overall, excellent, excellent episode ... so good, it almost makes up for the lackluster two-parter preceding it and the so-so "Doctor's Daughter" before that.

Wow. Man, that was so, so, so, soooooooooooooo freaking good! God, I love this show so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You know, I was bummed about Russell T. Davies leaving before "Midnight," but after that EXCELLENT episode, and now this ... I'm just dying inside at the thought of his departure (especially when taking into account Moffat's last two-parter). But, again, like I said last week, at least he's going out with a bang!!!!!!!!

Okay, Doctor/Rose stuff first -- MUST cover that stuff, alas not much, but still!!!

- Rose's reaction to the Doctor's death. Clearly, she was on a mission and it wasn't until a few moments had passed before she allowed herself to realize the wrongness of it in regards to her mission. Those first seconds, it was all about her shock and grief. Oh, Rose and her love for the Doctor.

- "Man in a suit. Tall, thin man. Great hair." Pause, looks away recalling that great hair in an entirely inappropriate manner considering the situation and then adds: "Some really great hair." Continues looking off to the side, still clearly lost in the remembrance of said great hair until Donna pulls her out of her recollection.

Cracked. My. Shit. Up. So not the time, but HI-larious!!!! She's telling Donna about Serious with a capital "S" stuff and, yet, takes the time to comment on one of the Doctor's (admittedly awesome) physical attributes. I loved it.

- "Were you and him ..." Talk about a loaded question. And I'm so glad that it was brought up, and perfectly so. Because Rose's voice did change -- kudos to Billie Piper, whom I'm loving more and more -- after this bit ...

Donna: If he was so special, what was he doing with me?
Rose: He thought you were brilliant.
Donna: Don't be stupid.
Rose: But you are. Just took the Doctor to show you that. Simply by being with him.

Then she looked down and said:

Rose: He did the same to me. To everyone he touches.

And as mentioned above, her voice changed. Slightly, subtly, but it did. Enough to perfectly explain Donna's "Were you and him ..." And Rose didn't even have to answer really. Of course, technically, they weren't, but as David Tennant was fond of saying in variation, they were a couple in every way, except the shagging. And the look on her face, in her eyes (again, Billie Piper ROCKS!) was all the answer Donna clearly needed, as evidenced by the understanding -- both sad and a little bit in awe at the obvious depth of whatever Rose and the Doctor had (it must be said, Catherine Tate ROCKS! as well) -- on her face in response.

Sob.

- Finally, the end, when the Doctor began to think, to hope, to fear -- yup, David Tennant too was ROCKING the facial expressions -- that it was Rose. Oh my. You could just hear, feel the wealth of OHMYGOD! Is it?!?! What?!?! How?!?!? And then when Donna said "Bad Wolf" -- which I am soooooooo embarrassed to admit that I did not see coming!!! -- it was like BLAM!! Perhaps, it's the shipper in me, but I think the first, absolute initial reaction was one of horrified joy -- the joy due to ... hello! ROSE!!! and the horror to the badness that he knew just had to accompany her appearance, followed immediately by the realization of just the HORROR! of HOLYCRAP! something really, really, REALLY bad is coming.

Double sob.

Okay, that was the Doctor/Rose stuff ... on with the rest.

Honestly, like last week where I expected to be pretty disappointed at the Donna-lite episode -- since Donna Noble is, after all, a new definition of awesome, I wound up loving "Midnight" so much because it was so, so, so damn good, so I actually wasn't disappointed at all. This one, okay, I will admit to a wee bit of disappointment at the lack of Doctor/Rose interaction -- next week, right?!?! -- but, overall, I was okay with that because we got Rose and Donna. Donna and Rose. DONNA AND ROSE!!! ROSE AND DONNA!!! And the world is filled with squee!!! I thought while watching this: In a perfect Doctor Who world, the Doctor and Rose would be together traveling, alongside Donna, and it truly would be OT3 (without any squicky Doctor/Donna stuff, or Donna/Rose stuff) in every way possible and it would be the BEST. TELEVISION. WATCHING. EXPERIENCE. EVER!!!! So, yeah, Donna and Rose, even a bitter, never-traveled-with-the-Doctor, never-been-happy Donna, were THE awesome times two. hundred. thousand. million. billiontrillionquadrillionzillioninfinityandbeyond. Because they just are. Rose/Donna = BFF FTMFW!!!

The story was great, and I just don't get complaints about RTD's lack of ability to do "epic." Yes, "The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords" was so-so, but for a few brilliant moments, but this is the guy who gave us "Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways," "Army of Ghosts/Doomsday" and, again, yeah, TSOD/LOTTL didn't live up to it, but "Utopia." Russell T. Davies can do epic. And damn well. So much to love, so many great lines, so many great moments, so many great performances ...

- Billie Piper is wonderful. Just wonderful. She's not just a fine comedic and dramatic actress; she's also warm, and likable and so very real. I feel her every emotion and it never plays like "acting." There was so much nuance, so much subtlety in her performance. It was beautiful. And it honestly felt like Rose had never left, she fit so seamlessly back into this universe. I've no doubt it will all end in devastating pain, and my little shipper heart will be in a million shattered pieces on the floor at the end of this season, but I'm still grateful that RTD brought her back, always had planned to because seeing Rose again (and so thoroughly enjoying Billie's performance) will only make me appreciate the first two seasons all the more.

- Catherine Tate is, honestly, the best thing to happen to this new Who. I know, I know. Christopher Eccleston is marvelous and holds a tremendous amount of importance for making the Doctor right and real and perfect for the relaunch of the series. David Tennant is fabulous for managing to make the Tenth Doctor as beloved as Eccleston's, without overshadowing what Eccleston did in and for the role. Billie Piper gave life and depth and breadth to the companion in a wonderful way. Freema Aygeman is a very good actress, who unfortunately came after the immensely gifted and charismatic Piper, and had they not cast THE perfect actress, with the perfect comedic and dramatic tough, with the perfect type of chemistry with Tennant, we might have just seen downgrade after downgrade after Aygeman. Instead, they got Catherine Tate. Fabulous, wonderful, brilliant Catherine Tate. I honestly don't think I can sing her praises enough. I adore her. I adore Donna and I'm so thankful to the powers that be that Tate wanted to have a go at more than the Christmas special, because I don't know that the new Who universe would have continued to succeed this brilliantly without her. Some may think I'm overstating it, but it's truly how I feel.

- David Tennant. Oh, I adore Christopher Eccleston; I adored his Doctor, and I've felt guilty on occasion enjoying Tennant's Doctor as much as I have upon rewatch (especially due to his tendency to, erm, overact, just a tad now and then), but after "Midnight" and his few moments -- so wonderfully playing the happy Doctor in the opening scenes, and then the joy/horror in the final moments, I refuse to feel guilty. He's not Christopher Eccleston; I will always love Christopher Eccleston and his portrayal of the Doctor, but for whatever reason (different stories out there, I don't know which is true) Eccleston was the Doctor for only one season, the rest has been Tennant. And he's totally earned his place alongside Eccleston as a different variation of the perfect Doctor.

Almost done, I swear. A few more random comments ...

- First casting commentary: Bernard Cribbins as Wilfrid continues to just be awesome. I love him. I also loved the return of the doctor from "Smith and Jones" who was the only survivor of the Hospital disappearance. I really liked him in his appearance in that episode, so I was glad to see him be the survivor.

- Not so hot casting? The fortune teller lady was just not that good, cliched and over-the-top, especially the last scene. Just no. She played Chantho from "Utopia" too, I remember now. The over-the-top mannerisms worked much better in that role.

- It was a tiny kick to the gut at how Martha died (sniff, sniff), Sarah Jane died (sniff, sniff). The Torchwood characters I didn't care about as I haven't watched it yet, but the knowledge of them and how it was yet another thing the Doctor's death took out was a kick. And Jack. He didn't die; but he was gone. I loved how RTD tied in all of the Earth adventures that weren't stopped because the Doctor wasn't there.

- Another kick to the gut? The "labor camp" stuff. It was so heartbreaking, but yet so believable. Not just because of what happened in World War II, but also what happened in the United States with the Japanese Internment camps. Heartbreaking, so much loss and wrongness, and RTD illustrated just how terribly wrong the world had gone without the Doctor in that one scene.

- I loved how Doctor-like Rose had become; almost like without him, and working for Torchwood in her universe (which I assume she's been doing, and it's probably been closer to six years in her universe as time moves faster there), she used what she had learned being with him and it has become part of her personality. So cool. Such an unexpected, but perfect little touch from RTD. Love him.

- And I loved how Donna was the most important person in all of creation because although it's the Doctor who mainly stopped all of the terrible things from happening, it was Donna's heart and compassion that saved him -- thus allowing him to stop the t

So yeah, baby, Doctor Who finally aired. Phew!! The wait was torture. I so should not be this invested and care this much, but I do. Oh I do. Ahem, so where to start? I should at the beginning, right? Yeah, but, yeah no. Totally doing the Rose/Doctor stuff first!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I got one of the things on my wishlist (I'm not saying what any of them were/are until they happen!) ... The Doctor ran to Rose. (And boy, did he RUN!!). We've seen them separated and then find their way back to each other in so many episodes, but it's always been Rose who ran to him, while he just stands there smiling and waiting for her to launch herself in his arms ... which of course, she always does. This time, I really, REALLY wanted to see him run to her. And, again, BOY DID HE!! It was fabulous, awesome, glorious. The swelling music (has "Rose's Theme" ever sounded so romantic?), the smiles on their faces ... wait, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start from the moment when we knew indubitably what was coming ...

It was so obvious as soon as Donna saw Rose by the subtle change on Catherine Tate's face (Catherine Tate really rocks, have I mentioned that yet? If not, Catherine Tate REALLY rocks!) and then I mouthed the line before she did because I so knew what she was going to say, but it was the best kind of predictable. You know, the kind where you really want the character to say or do something because that is how it should be. And so she did. And the Doctor was confused and then Donna just got the most, well, let's just that she totally ships the Doctor and Rose. TOTALLY! which equals me=loves!!! And then, and then, he turned and the smile on Rose's face -- really, Billie Piper just shone, she looked so beautiful in that shot ... LOOK:



And they ran towards each other, him, smiling, running so fast, the swelling music, her smiling, her running, him, her, music swelling, romantic chords filling the air and then the stupid Dalek!!! Rose notices. Stupid Dalek! Then "EX-TER-MI-NATE." The Doctor notices. And then blast! goes the Doctor and THEN Jack shows up.

I've rewatched that scene about six times since I finished watching the episode about five minutes ago, and every time I rewatch I invariably do and say four specific things:

1. When they are running, I wave my hands in the air in excited joy like a stupid girly-girl.
2. I tell Rose to take the gun off.
3. I yell "Stupid DALEK!!"
4. I yell, "Too late, Jack!!!"

Seriously. Every time thus far, I've done all of the above. Sigh. Anyhoo, back to the reunion (such as it was). She finally takes the gun off, she holds him, they exchange pleasantries. She begs him not to die as he starts to die. STUPID DALEK!!! Then there's the whole bit in the TARDIS. And I have two thoughts on that ...

1. After what happened with Rose and his 10th regeneration, you'd think, just maybe, that the Doctor might realize it's a bloody good idea to tell his companions what could happen. But did he do that? Obviously not based on Donna's confusion.

2. Speaking of his 10th regeneration, I was a bit, well, I don't want to say peeved, let's just say edging towards there that Rose was so upset about him changing because it could be construed that she loves Ten more than Nine, and I don't like to think that. The Doctor is the Doctor, Nine or Ten. Then I thought, well, she was messed up after it happened the first time (for her), and she did grow closer to the Doctor in his 10th regeneration simply by the nature of all that happened, them knowing each other longer, etc. So I came back from the edge. (Okay, okay, I admit, we all know a small part of her was genuinely upset at losing this specific Doctor because of the "great hair. Some really great hair.")

Back to the reunion (such as it was). I have read no other thoughts yet, but I kinda expect to read some disappointment because we didn't actually get a full-on reunion, no hug, not even a hand-hold. However, I wasn't disappointed. At all. I got the Doctor running, the joy on both of their faces, the swelling, romantic music (can ya tell I REALLY loved that?), all of that making it neon-bright that the Doctor and Rose? LOVE EACH OTHER. That there was enough for me because as much as I love the Doctor and Rose, Doctor Who is not a romantic drama and so the focal point is not going to be a happy, happy, joy, joy reunion. It should be science-fiction, darkness, drama, conflict and danger. And that's what we got ... Rusty was just nice enough to give us a good dose of the happy, happy, joy, joy reunion as well. I mean, come on ...

-- Faces beaming - Check
-- Joyfully running toward one another at full speed - Check
-- Multiple shots of them joyfully running toward one another at full speed - Check
-- Swelling, romantic music filling the air - Check

I'm damn happy with what we got.

Hmm, other Doctor/Rose moments ...

- What we saw in the trailer, but still nice: His genuine smile and "Yeah," amidst all of the worry when Donna asked "But, Rose is coming back, isn't that good?"

- I loved how Rose held her phone up and said, "Find me, Doctor. Find me." And THEN it went to the Doctor finding the signal. Awwwww. Oh, RTD, you shipper, you!!!!

- Rose's face as she saw the Doctor on the screen. Ah, just was so, ahhh ... take a look yourself:





And then her face falling when he said "Everyone except Rose," because he couldn't see her. Sniff, sniff.

Okay, about the rest of the episode now. First of all, let me just say that I loved it, as much as I loved "Turn Left," which is a nice sign of things to come. I adored "Utopia" last season, but was disappointed with "The Sound of the Drums," so already -- adoring these two equally -- we're doing much better than season three in my book. Alrighty then, scattered thoughts presented in bullet form because it's easier that way (brain overload otherwise!!!) ...

- Hmm, we got a shot of the Doctor's hand in the jar in the opener. Why?

- I knew from spoilers (vague, vague ones ... I've actually been keeping myself fairly free of them, go me!) that Davros was the big bad, but I really didn't know who he was. I looked him up on Wiki and have a better idea now, but it does sorta suck that I haven't watched any earlier Who, because I'm sure it had a helluva lot more impact for long-time Who viewers. Still, it was cool. He was ooky and scary. And when he pulled his tunic aside to show his flesh removed to create his Dalek children. Ewwww.

- The opening bit was AWESOME!! I don't know Ianto, Gwen or Luke as I haven't watched Torchwood or The Sarah Jane Adventures yet, but I know Jack, and Sarah Jane and Martha and that enveloped the other characters enough for it to work. I gotta say when they were all looking up, I was thinking, 'okay, so the stars are out. So? We have pitch-black skies all the time.' And then we saw Rose appear with her big, bad-ass gun and then she looked up and we finally saw it and I admit it, my jaw dropped a tad. Coolness. Overload of planets. Damn. Seriously imagine if you stepped outside one night and looked up and saw a multitude of planets just hovering overhead. Would be freaky as all get-out!!

- I was right about the credits, the Doctor, his companions and Jack. I love that Billie Piper got the "and." They were fun credits!!! They actually didn't go by as quickly as I thought they would; I'm almost tempted to check if they were a bit longer than normal, but nah, I don't care that much.

- Speaking of (sorta) I laughed out loud, literally, at the over-the-top TO. BE. CONTINUED. presented in that hard tablet form. Cracked me up. Oh, Rusty!

- But, but, but ... no previews for next week!!! WAAAAHHHHH!!!!

- I thought they did a great job balancing all of the characters with the Doctor and Donna still being at the center of it all. Regardless of what happens after this season, and despite the return of Billie Piper, Catherine Tate is still the companion this season, so I love that all of those fears that many had that she would be overshadowed or backgrounded have been proven wrong.

- Speaking of Catherine Tate on a very shallow level. I think she's awesome, an AMAZING actress -- as stated elsewhere, I think she's the best thing that's happened to new Who, but looks-wise, I tend to not think the most flattering of thoughts when I do think of it. However, I thought she looked really, really good in this episode. Great make-up job, great hairstyle. She looked really lovely.

- Oh, and speaking of hairstyles ... sooooooooo glad that Rose's hair did not have that middle front part pulled back again. I HATE that style on anybody, and it really sucked having the return of Rose hampered the tiniest bit by an icky hairstyle (yes, her return was hampered a tiny bit by a hairstyle for me ... I'm very, very, very big on good hair. Hee, no wonder I like Ten so much now.). So, loved her hair this time, much nicer and I was quite happy that we got a much nicer hairstyle for the (interrupted! STUPID DALEK!!!) reunion.

- Cool that we went to the Shadow Proclamation, and a couple of notes on that:

a) So, we're still getting some vibe about how special Donna is. What the hell?! Tell us!!! Though, I must say that has some doozy-licious theories. And her Time-Lady theory of sorts could be born out by the sound of the heartbeats. Yeah, I said "beat(s)" because it sure sounded like two going a thunka-thunk there.

b) I LOVED Doctor's response to the Shadow Proclamation's leader (?) saying he was going to lead them in war: "Right. Yes. Course

Okay, so I don't know how coherent this will be, but I'll try. Sadly, I did not like this one as much as I did the last three. It was really good, and it was certainly better than the conclusion of season three, but it was no "The Parting of the Ways" or "Doomsday," and just not the strongest finish to the one-two punch of "Turn Left" and "The Stolen Earth." Anyhoo, on with the rambling. Lots and lots of rambling.

To be completely honest, the main reason I don't think that I'll ever look forward to Doctor Who again to this anxious, joyful degree isn't because, essentially, the Rose/Doctor story has been told, but because so has Donna Noble's. I love Donna. Unlike some, I actually loved her from about five minutes in from her first appearance in The RuMnaway Bride when she was rash, brash, rude and a tad dim. And my love for her just grew over this season. Partly how she was written, yes, but I think, mostly, because Catherine Tate is just brilliant. I've never seen her before, never even heard of her before, but my GOD! can this woman act. I don't think she's capable of a wrong note. I really don't.

Every moment with her on screen has been a joy to watch. And this episode was full, blinding truth of that. We got every kind of Donna tonight. We got the brash, rash, rude, dim Donna. We got glittering, gleaming, sparkling, bright Donna. We got a horny Donna; a possessive Donna; a happy one and a sad one. We got a brilliant Donna, and a vulnerable one. We got every layer and shading possible and Catherine Tate delivered every single note pitch-perfect. I believe that she and Christopher Eccleston are by FAR the best actors they have ever had on this show (new version, haven't watch old Who) ... so, of course, we only get them for one season. Sigh.

But concentrating on more of tonight, so many moments with Donna to love.

- While Rose hugged the Doctor, Donna turning to Jack and telling him that he can hug her and when he didn't, asserting that, no, he really could hug her. And, of course, later on when they were celebrating the return of the Earth, Donna seeing Jack hugging Sarah Jane and literally pulling her out of his arms to hug him herself that Sarah Jane was left stumbling for balance had me cracking up.

- Her second observation upon the regeneration of the second Doctor and how she said it, carefully looking up at his face: "You're naked."

- DonnaDoctor throwing the switches, talking like the Doctor, but in a Donna-esque way, mentioning her one hundred words a minute typing speed. Man, was she just awesomely delightful (or is it delightfully awesome?) or what?!?!? I was just grinning away the whole time. My goodness, doesn't Donna rock? Yes, indeedy. And so does Catherine Tate, who just blows me away.

- And again ... but in a totally different direction. The second Donna/Doctor scene where he's calling her out on her low self-esteem, oh my, how my heart broke for her. Her quiet "stop it, Doctor," the look on her face, in her eyes. Truly, Catherine Tate is just an astoundingly beautiful actress.

Moving on, my second favorite performance was Billie Piper's. She did a wonderful job as well, alas, she didn't really get much to do, but what she did was beautifully done. Little moments like the reunion with Sarah Jane, the constant looks towards the Doctor assessing his emotional state. Her pain and confusion on Bad Wolf Bay. She delivered beautifully and I will certainly miss seeing her on Who. (Although, I can't help but have a teeny, tiny bit of hope that if they ever need to do a companion-lite episode instead of doing something like "Midnight" where we see mostly the Doctor, instead we can see Rose and her Doctor in the parallel world. What? It could happen. Totally plausible. Seriously, it is.)

Ahem ...

Other top-notch performances: Elisabeth Sladen continues to just be delightful as Sarah Jane. I know it's totally, *totally* a kid's show, but I'm almost tempted to check out The Sarah Jane Adventures. (Hmm, or maybe I should just try and track down her original episodes from old Who.) It seems such a small moment, but I LOVED how she threw her head back with such abandon that her hair went flying when they saved the Earth. It was just so unfettered and, well, awesome. Also, Noel Clarke was wonderful in his every moment on screen as Mickey. When I first began watching this show, if you'd told me that I would love, love, LOVE Mickey, I would have thought you bonkers. But I do! I love Mickey so much!!! And he was awesome here. Seriously. Every. moment. Kissing the gun goodbye before he stepped out to surrender, semi-flirting with Jack ("cheesecake") and then manfully commenting on the length of the hug. And the final scene with the Doctor, oh I do like the relationship that developed between Ten and Mickey. It was almost as if Mickey could accept and like this version of the Doctor because he wasn't the one who took Rose away from him. In a way. I dunno, I just know that Noel Clarke is awesome.

Finally, I may not be a John Barrowman fan, or do anything more than like Jack normally, but I have to say that I really loved him in this episode. So yay! And, of course, Bernard Cribbins (Wilf), just a few scenes, but I loved 'em all. He's wonderful. Especially loved him doing the head-bounce of something when the Earth was returned, and the final scene with the Doctor where he made it clear that he was looking out for him for Donna. ::sniff, sniff:: Not only are we losing Donna, we're losing Wilf too. Double sigh.

All other performances, limited screen time and all, were uniformly good ... except for two, in my opinion.

I like Martha, I really do. I think that Freema Agyeman is disgustingly beautiful and quite, quite likeable, but I just don't think she's a very good actress. She's not bad; she's just okay. It simply wasn't that noticeable in season three, but opposite Billie Piper, Elisabeth Sladen, and especially, Catherine Tate she just doesn't compare in acting caliber.

Which leaves one more. Ahem. Yeah, I'm going there. David Tennant as the Doctor(s). On one hand, there were scenes that were BRILLIANT! Utterly fabulous. The scene where he and Donna are discussing how she sorta created him was just wonderful. He captured Tate's Donna so, so very well. As well, his final scenes with Donna, and then Wilf and Sylvia, lovely. There were small moments here and there that were delightful with his charm and style holding sway. And from the moment that Rose called both Doctors to her to ask about his final words at Bad Wolf Bay until he walked away, he totally nailed every note as the brown-suit Doctor, saying so much with barely any dialogue.

On the other hand, the rest of his performance in those Bad Wolf Bay scenes? They were just ... off. The brown-suit Doctor just seemed cold, distant and completely withdrawn from what they were discussing. I tried to tell myself that was deliberate so that the Doctor could deal with losing Rose again ... even if it was to himself. But, but, but there were no layers, no shading. There was nothing to suggest that it was a deliberate suit of armor. There was just nothing there. It was like he didn't care. I don't know, maybe if he'd been allowed to have a mourning scene after that where we saw how it was ripping him apart, it would have worked, but we went straight from this scene to the Doctor all sad and depressed about Donna. And that look on his face was totally about Donna. At first, I thought the expression was because of leaving Rose (even with him, sorta), but he was looking at Donna and asking her the questions about her experience and it was clear that the pain on his face, in his voice was for losing Donna, not Rose. Because of that, I don't want to blame Tennant for all of my issues with the final Rose scene because I felt that it was a mistake on RTD's end to not have THIS Doctor mourn what he had just given us, what he had allowed himself to lose for all of time. Sigh, more on this later.

And as the blue-suit Doctor, well, he almost hit the right notes, tentative, but hopeful ... but again, there was just the slightest withdrawal. It was very odd. I just don't think that Tennant (yes, when I'm not 100% pleased with him he loses the "The" before his name) delivered even remotely as well overall as he could have in those scenes. And that effected the scene in its entirety because without him giving all that should have been given, Billie Piper didn't have much to bounce off from (as she did in "Doomsday"). She tried, she certainly did and I felt all the right key emotions from her, but that connection from his side wasn't quite there. Oh, I know it'll get better with countless rewatches. It already has begun, and given a few dozen more watches or so, I'm sure I'll adore it and have my heart convince my mind that there is no issue, but my first reaction is that Tennant simply didn't give enough. As either Doctor.

Unfortunately, this isn't just the Doctor/Rose shipper in me being a wee disappointed because it wasn't just that scene. He was too shouty, too broad in other scenes, not enough finesse or subtlety and it's so very frustrating because I know he's capable of it. I don't know what happened because he was so very good, so very on in "The Stolen Earth." And both episodes were directed by Graeme Harper, so it's not a matter of a different director getting a different performance out of him. I don't know; maybe he was just tired, having to do double-duty for some of this episode. I don't know. Ah well, moving on ...

Okay, the plot ... honestly, it didn't quite all makse sense to me. I was like 'huh? Oh, okay, I get it. Sorta. Yeah, right. Ooh, disappearing people. Ooh, two Doctors. Ooh, exploding Daleks. Ooh, crazy Caan. Ooh, crazy and pisse

Whenever I see moments with Ten and Rose that happened similarly with Nine and Rose, I get an internal squee (whether the moment is happy or not) ... so picspam!

THE FIRST HAND-HOLD



CRASH-LANDING TO THE FLOOR BUT WE DID IT TOGETHER SO IT'S FUN



FACING THE COSMOS EXPLODING TOGETHER



DRESS-UP!



GREETINGS AFTER BEING ATTACKED BY ZOMBIES/BODY-SWAPPED AND THEN BACK AGAIN



SNIFF, SNIFF ... SAYING GOODBYE TO ROSE WITHOUT WORDS UNBEKNOWNST TO ROSE

I've been meaning to write a post up about why I believe that Ten is happy now despite the devastating end to his arc in "Journey's End." I finally got around to doing so. (Note: I didn't touch on the events with Donna because I think that it simply boils down to the fact that while the Doctor misses her terribly, he's very happy that she's alive with that potential in her to be amazing still.)

I was quite happy with the conclusion of the Doctor/Rose arc in Journey's End as I wrote about right after it aired: I love Russell T. Davies, I really do. And I AM thrilled that he found a way in the Doctor Who universe without breaking any unwritten rules of giving The Doctor and Rose a happy ending. I really, really, REALLY love that and so I really, really, REALLY love him. It wasn't perfect, but it was the closest thing that one could get for the Doctor and a companion on this show. And almost five months later, I not only still feel that way, but I actually feel even more strongly about it.

I am genuinely confused by the ire and/or disappointment that some still feel towards RTD and how he brought the Doctor/Rose love story to its end. Based on the logistics of what he had to work with -- the Who universe itself, Billie Piper done -- I thought he did everything he could. He gave the Doctor/Rose shippers the ONLY possible outcome for a happy ending with Piper leaving the show by giving the Doctor and Rose the only possible non-death, happy outcome that he could possibly give them within the confines of the structure of the show and the logistics of the actors not staying beyond this series. Because a Rose who didn't die would NEVER have willingly left the Doctor ... unless, she had the Doctor (albeit, with a few changes, incidentally ones that will allow him to be with her fully in every way). THAT is what RTD gave us even within the logistics of actors' schedules and the structure of a long-running television show.

I know that much of that disappointment that is felt comes from the fact that while Rose and TenII have that happily-ever-after, what about Ten, traveling alone with no Rose, no Donna? Well, while I don't see him as happy as Rose and TenII, I still do see a much, much happier Doctor than we did in series three and four. I see this because I do believe that the Doctor loved Rose Tyler unconditionally and absolutely and of paramount importance to him was her happiness. He knew -- no matter how he tried to convince himself otherwise -- that without him, Rose would never be happy in the alternate universe. He knew that. And so whenever he thought of her, he knew that she was as miserable as he was, which then likely made him more miserable. Now, though, he can't not believe that she isn't happy. Despite how selfish he can be, he can also be incredibly selfless and he did mean that knowing that Rose is truly happy, he can now be content himself because he gave her an undreamed of happy ending with him. (And, yes, he would believe it fully because he's rather an arrogant one and I don't think he could possibly conceive of Rose NOT being happy with someone who looks like him, talks like him, basically is him.)

In my opinion, this goes back to threads that Davies laid out throughout the series, going back to series one episode, "Father's Day," the Doctor said to the about-to-be-married pair:

I've traveled to all sorts of places. Done things you couldn't even imagine, but... you two... street corner. Two in the morning. Getting a taxi home. I've never had a life like that.

And then to Rose in "Doomsday" ...

Living a life day after day. The one adventure I can never have.

And this is clearly an adventure he does want -- at least with Rose, it's possible he's felt the pull before, but I do believe that the tangible wanting of it never hit him until he fell in love with Rose -- and yet, as a Time Lord, it's one that he can never have.

The Doctor: I don't age. I regenerate. But humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone who you --
Rose: What, Doctor?
The Doctor: You can spend the rest of your life with me. But I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords.

He said it right there without actually saying it: He wants to spend the rest of his life with her, but he can't. But now, in a way, he can ...

The Doctor: I look like him and I think like him ... same memories, same thoughts, same everything. Except, I've only got one heart.
Rose: Which means?
Doctor: I'm part human. Specifically the aging part. I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life... Rose Tyler. I could spend it with you. If you want.
Rose: You'll grow -- grow old at the same time as me?
The Doctor: Together.

You know, I tried to continue this sentence pointing out that technically it was a different man, or technically it's TenII saying this and not the Doctor who said those things to her in "School Reunion," but neither sentence works because that's the beauty of it all. It *isn't* a different man, and it IS the same Doctor from "School Reunion." There are just two of the same man, one with the added bonus of being able to have that adventure, have that life. And that is why I do believe Ten (and not just TenII and Rose) will be happy.

True, Ten doesn't have Rose and that adventure, but that's the key to why I believe that he'll have a sense of happiness now that wasn't possible without Rose (or even with a Rose who would wither and decay before his eyes): The Doctor NEVER thought he'd truly be able to have Rose and that adventure, but now, through the miracle of the metacrisis at the perfect time, a part of him DOES have that, and even more importantly, ROSE has him and a full, complete life with him. If he truly loves her unconditionally (as I believe he does), how can he NOT be happy about that after the initial, understandable, self-pitying grief has worn off?

How I see it is that it wasn't about the Doctor continuing his cycle of guilt-stricken grief. He wasn't thinking that he didn't deserve Rose and happiness because of all of the blood on his hands. No, he didn't give her up to be miserable, he didn't just say 'oh well, life sucks and so do I for all I've caused, you go and live happily ever after with my copy now so I can wallow in self-pity.' Ten looked at the situation and saw that here was another him, with the ability to live a full, complete life with the woman they both desperately love (because they *are* the same man), without having to hold back for any reason (legitimate or not). Rose could be happy *truly happy* and thus he would be happy *truly happy* that she could have that. They could have that. So now, Ten can carry on with what he feels is his Time Lord responsibility with a clear heart knowing that he gave the love of his life the greatest gift that he could possibly have ever imagined giving her ... one that he never thought *was* possible.

Or as Russell T Davies said it himself, speaking for Ten, in the Journey's End commentary (thanks to for the transcript):

"You're giving her the biggest present in the world. Because even if you did pop across from a different parallel universe, you're still nine hundred years old. So, it's never, ever, ever going to work. And you know that she would devote herself to you and leave her family and stay on the TARDIS and die of old age in front of you, so you did exactly the right thing here."

Now that he has that, there will be a contentedness, a quiet joy when he thinks of her with the perfect him (in his mind) for her. Yes, it will be paired with the inevitable sadness that that life is not his. However, he loves her so much that her happiness -- something he knew she did NOT have without any him there with her -- is paramount to his happiness. So now he'll always have that knowledge; he'll always know that there was a him who was able to love his Rose as fully and completely as possible.

Will he ever be as happy as he was with Rose? Possibly (likely) not, but he found some happiness with Donna, and a joy in exploring the universe again a bit ... and he did that while mourning Rose and thinking neither one of them would ever have that true happiness. Now, he knows that she and a version of him will, so he can now experience a level of joy that wasn't possible before.

The way I see it, Russell T Davies gave the Doctor/Rose shippers an absolutely amazing gift. He came up with a beautifully romantic and wonderfully crack-tastic way of making our OTP canon and giving them a happy ending in a way that did not destroy the premise of the show (and allowed for the actors' schedules). Yes, the execution could have been better, but it was still pretty damn good and with time and money constraints? I'm thrilled with what we got. The Doctor and Rose actually got a happily-ever-after. And so did Ten because he knows that a part of himself now will experience that one adventure that he thought he could never have ... and wonder of wonders, he (sort of) is experiencing it with the love of his life.

How is that *NOT* the most awesome thing ever?

On December 25, 2007, Murray Gold introduced "The Stowaway" during the Doctor Who Christmas special, "Voyage of the Damned," and many a Doctor/Rose shipper believed that the lyrics represented the Doctor's yearning for Rose. I was thinking on them tonight and came to the conclusion that if they were indeed intended to represent the Doctor's state of mind, well, he kept his promise.

"Beg, borrow or steal, I'll find a way to be with my lover next Christmas day ..."

"BEG ..."

"That's me. When we first met. And you made me better. And now you can do the same for him. He needs you. That's very me.""BORROW ..."



"OR STEAL ..."



"I'LL FIND A WAY ..."



"TO BE WITH MY LOVER ON CHRISTMAS DAY."



I think it's safe to assume that December 25, 2008, while the Doctor may have been fighting Cybermen and Miss Hartigan, the Doctor (in Pete's World) was with his lover on Christmas Day. :D

"The Stowaway"

Once I found a stowaway
Upon my ship on Christmas Day
I was fair so I gave him a chance
"You shouldn't be here,
What's your tale?
I ought to throw you to the whale."
He just smiled and said,
"Come here, let's dance."

He said, "Borrow or steal,
I'll find a way
To be with my lover upon Christmas Day
And I'll run and I'll roam
I'll cover the ground
This Christmas I'll see you
I'll be around."

He told me 'bout his girl back home
Waiting patient, all alone
While we danced I shed a little tear
He closed his eyes, all out at sea,
I think he danced with her not me
I'll just have to wait another year.

He said, "Borrow or steal,
I'll find a way
To be with my lover upon Christmas Day
And I'll run and I'll roam
I'll cover the ground
This Christmas I'll see you
I'll be around."

I think of him now and again
I wonder how his journey ends
As I sail by on my lonesome sea
That stranger with the haunting face
Here then gone without a trace
Lying with his love, that's where he'll be.

"Beg, borrow or steal
I'll find a way
To be with my lover next Christmas Day
And I'll run and I'll roam
I'll cover the ground
Next Christmas I'll see you
I'll be around."

"Beg, borrow or steal
I'll find a way
To be with my lover next Christmas Day
And I'll run and I'll roam
I'll cover the ground
Next Christmas I'll see you
I'll be around."

Or two ...

as in DOCTOR/Rose, not Nine/Rose, or Ten/Rose, but Doctor/Rose. I've never read Eight/Rose fic, etc., but I think I may now. Someone put up a lovely Eleven, Rose/TenII story, and of course, Rose while interested in Eleven, was all smooshy and devoted to TenII, and for Eleven, Rose was basically a beloved, but faded, memory. And it bothered me!!!! I wanted Rose to want to be with Eleven as much as TenII. BECAUSE THEY ARE BOTH THE DOCTOR, DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!

So, yeah, wow, I REALLY, REALLY am a Rose/Doctor girl. Doesn't matter the number, as long as it's Rose and it's the Doctor. I really thought that I was just for Nine/Rose and Ten/Rose because I'd seen Rose onscreen (as Rose) with Nine and Ten. But nope, I'm apparently for Rose and any Doctor, no matter the form.

If I could write the future of the show through the beginning of series eight .... I've decided that my perfect Rose/Doctor ending would never happen, but I know what it would be. Moffat is gone after series 5 (what? My fantasy!), Rusty comes back, and brings Billie with him for three Christmas specials (pre-series 6/between 6 and 7, post series 7) and two series (6/7). When Rose shows up, we find out that they were together for seven years, and then he was hit by a car, he didn't die immediately so there was time to talk. He tells her to go to the other him, somehow, find a way. He can only guess that Bad Wolf still has some power, because Rose as Bad Wolf saw all of this.

Rose gets through, meets up with the Doctor, that Xmas special, next series is them re-falling in love. Second xmas special, series seven, is much like series two in Doctor/Rose adventures. And since I'm sure Moffat will be introducing sex left and right, having the Doctor and Rose in a fully romantic relationship will seem chaste in comparison. And part of why TenII had to die as he did was so that he could give her his memories to give to Eleven and with Rose telling him so, the Doctor would finally get that while it was painful losing him to death, Rose wouldn't have given up those seven years because the love and happiness is worth the pain.

Finally, the Xmas special comes, and it ends with the two about to face some danger, the Doctor takes her hand, says "Run" and they run off into the distance. The End.

Series eight returns and it's revealed early on that it's been about fifty-sixty years, Rose was with the Doctor until she died and now he's alone, but at least he had a full life with her. And from that point on, because of his relationship with Rose, he can be content without the romance, bringing the Doctor back to the "asexual" way of pre-new-"Who" to make the fanboys, as well as the psycho Doctor/Rose shippers like myself who don't want to see him romantically with anyone else again, happy.

Yup, that's what I want to happen. Won't, but oh, 'twould be lovely. *Sigh*

Title: My Doctor
Author: arabian (JenniferH)
Summary: What happened after the TARDIS disappeared on that beach in Norway?
Rating: PG
Word Length: 1,803
Characters: Rose, TenII %u2026
Spoilers: Specifically: Rose, The End of the World, Tooth & Claw, The Impossible Planet, Journey's End
Disclaimer: I don't own them; BBC, Rusty, you know, the usual gang
Archive: Anywhere, but do let me know, please
Notes: Eek! My first Doctor Who fic. Thanks so much to and %u2026 my awesome betas. Any mistakes are mine.

The first thing she noticed was that while his hand was still cool, it was warmer than the hand she'd held only a few hours ago aboard the Crucible. And that was it; she knew that everything was different. He was different. This wasn't her Doctor. This wasn't the man who'd told her to run, who took her to the end of the world, Victorian England and an impossible planet. This wasn't -

"Hello," he said. His voice was bright and cheery and yet soft, vulnerable at the same time. And so familiar. It brought her back from her thoughts and Rose focused on his face, his eyes, and felt her chest tighten. Like his voice, they were bright, slightly manic and yet there was vulnerability there, and her certainty of only moments ago began to crumble. She reached out with her free hand and placed it on his chest again where his one heart beat, all the while her eyes locked onto his, seeing not only the recognisable shape and shade, but the centuries of living, of pain and laughter, of knowledge and weariness shaded in their depths. And she just did not know. She didn't know anything. The tightening in her chest ballooned and she let out a gasping breath. With it came a heavy sob, her eyes filled with tears and she found herself in his arms without thought. Whether she came into them or he pulled her to him, she didn't know.

She was just there, her face pressed against his one heartbeat, his too cool/too warm body pressed against her, his arms wrapped about her. His scent was the same, the feel of his body holding her close a beloved memory brought back to life. And the tears just came. She tried to speak but couldn't find the words, didn't have the breath to say them even if she could. The world shrunk down to just the two of them on that stretch of beach in Norway. All she could hear was his beating heart, all she could feel was his body holding her and then %u2026

And then she felt his lips against her hair, his hands were on her back, his fingers drawing loops, and then he was shifting, the angle of his head moving, nudging against her until hers was raised and his lips were on her face, soothing the tracks of tears with soft kisses, murmuring sounds of hush. Suddenly, his lips were pressed against hers. He was drawing in her breaths and gasps, it was a new kind of familiar. Familiarity created only moments ago when there were still two of them in her life, and then she just stopped thinking because his lips were so soft, suckling at her top and then bottom lip, his tongue slipping between to taste her, tangle with her and Rose was swept up in the dance, in the taste of him. Her arms slipped around his neck, her fingers grabbing onto the ends of his hair and then roaming in the dark strands. All she could hear was the single beats of their hearts, and then came words, at first unintelligible, and then the meaning began to filter and a joy began to mingle with the passion.

"Rose," a press of lips. "How could I have %u2026" a pause to lick her lower lip, a sensuous slide of his tongue. "What was I thinking? This. You. "A muffled groan as he captured her lips again, kissing her with all of the passion previously reserved for hand-holds and hugs and saving a world. "How you taste. So good. I," a soft, slow searing brush of his lips against the line of her jaw. "Insane to have waited. I just want to kiss, and lick and nibble and savour every single inch of you. Rose." And once more he dove in for another thorough snog. After, she pulled away, her tears gone now. Her eyes were wide, a quiet joy filling her as she found herself laughing through her gasping breaths. He leaned in for another quick kiss before pulling back slightly to rest his forehead against hers and whisper quietly, "What?"

Shaking her head, Rose drew back completely to look at him; her eyes were dry and everything was clear once more. "It really is you?" And then she had to laugh again because he looked genuinely perplexed, his brow furrowed.

"Well, of course, it's me," he finally said, the confusion evident in his voice. "I thought we'd established that already what with all of the snogging. Nice, that." And putting action to words, he swiftly captured her lips in another nice kiss. He pulled back with a merry grin, his eyes beaming down at her. And then a look of concern crossed his face. "Why? You didn't think it was me?" Before she could answer, he continued, "Well, I suppose it's understandable to have another moment of doubt or two. After all, this is a highly unusual situation, even for us. Still, I would have thought the first kiss did the trick, but you do think it now. Yes? Of course, yes, but why the need for the verbal confirmation? Again, I would suppose that the fact that you were quite consensually engaging in the snogging with me %u2026" he trailed off at her look. "What?"

Shaking her head, she couldn't help the smile that was breaking so wide across her face, she could feel the stretch, and it was a wonderful burn. "You're you %u2026 so you. You're just %u2026" He was silent, his eyes prompting her to continue. "You're talking and talking and just babbling away and your eyes, and your scent and your arms and %u2026 your babbling and babbling," she broke off, laughter bubbling.

"And the snogging." He winked. "That makes me even better than the other me. Oh, mustn't forget the snogging, Rose Tyler." Making it all that easier to remember, once again he pulled her close to him, and leaned down to deliver a softly devastating kiss, parting her lips with his tongue, dipping in and slowly, deeply suckling, exploring, tasting her until her knees felt weak, her toes curled and her stomach began doing flip-flops. And then he stopped, pulling away, slightly out of breath.

"I'm going to have to get used to the lack of a double respiratory system now, aren't I?" He grinned down at her, and then his eyes lit up, clearly struck by something that filled him with surprise. "Rose Tyler, I think, no, no, I know. Yes, I absolutely know that I do want to shag you senseless right now." He cocked his head slightly to the side, considering. "Which is really quite odd, the sensation. Not to say that I've never had sexual relations before, but they were few and far between because you understand that in humans the sexual urge is driven by the biological need to perpetuate the species and Time Lords have a completely different form of procreation. Looming, it was. Quite fascinating, really. Well, I don't know that you would particularly find it fascinating, especially not now, at this very moment."

He smiled brightly down at her. "Perhaps we can discuss it later. Must be the Donna in me; I want to share. Blimey! Anyway, as a full Time Lord, I never really felt an overwhelming desire to have sexual intercourse, not that I didn't think of doing so with you, because I did. But it wasn't about finding my own pleasured release. No, it was more about what kind of sounds would Rose make if I licked her here or there? Would she scream, or quietly moan? And then of course, your orgasmic pleasure would be from whence I derived my pleasure. But since it wasn't an urge, per se, with me being a Time Lord, I never really thought about it much beyond the abstract. But now, yes, I really do have the urge. I want to shag you senseless, right here, right now, on this beach, in Dårlig Ulv Stranden, Norway. Which isn't a good idea, I'm sure, but I can't quite find any logical reasonable for that to be so. Why are you laughing?"

The pained certainty she had felt when she had held his not-too-cool hand had completely dissipated and was replaced with a fantastic faith in him, in them. The smile stretched across her face once more and it filled her entire body. "It really is you." Reaching up, she pressed a quick, exuberant kiss upon his mouth.

He grinned in response, and then frowned in exasperation. "Yes, it really is me. How many times are we going to establish that?" But he was smiling again and she was smiling and all was good in the universe and then %u2026

"What about him? What happens to him?"

His smile dimmed slightly, a touch of melancholy flitted through his eyes and his voice grew tender, emotional and reassuring. "He saves the universe, he rights wrongs, helps the little guys out all the while knowing that he gave the love of his life," His smile brightened and he threw her another wink, "Consequently, the love of my life," and again, he snatched a swift kiss, " the love of her life -- in a couldn't-have-been-scripted-better made for Rose Tyler -- Doctor Ten, version 2.0 %u2026" Breaking off, he looked into the distance, a considering look on his face before he met her gaze again. "I say that because you know I, well, that is to say, we were the tenth regeneration and since it wasn't a full regeneration, I wouldn't be the eleventh because I'm still technically him, the tenth. Same tastes, same whims. Same likes, dislikes." He paused, giving his next statement the proper amount of importance, she thought. "Same hair. So, I think that's a perfectly appropriate sobriquet, don't you?" That glorious smile lit his face again as he waited for her response.

"Oh, lord, does he ever shut it?" Jackie spoke instead, irritation, albeit laced with a trace