rosa_acicularis | The Little Things - a New Who companion picspam.

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The Little Things - a New Who companion picspam.

A recent conversation with

the_sandwalker got me thinking about some of my favorite character moments from the new series. Unfortunately, this picspam was the result.

Oddly enough, it is in one of my least favorite Who episodes that I find my absolute, hands down favorite Rose Tyler moment. Just before her encounter with the Scribble Creature in Fear Her, Rose stands in front of the garage door, and we hear crashing as something rather obviously larger and more powerful than an ionically-displaced tabby cat attempts to escape.

Rose's reaction? She stares at the door as if entranced - by curiosity, by the potential for danger, by the unknown - and mutters under her breath, "Not gonna open it, not gonna open it, not gonna open it..."

Her fingers actually twitch as she tries to resist the temptation to release whatever is inside. But ultimately she cannot help herself. She knows it could be dangerous, that the wise thing, the reasonable thing to do would be to call for the Doctor, but Rose is the sort of person who is directed by instinct, not by reason. Sometimes it serves her well and sometimes not so much, but certainly the same can be said of those who rely on rational thought. And thus this is the moment that perfectly defines Rose's character in my mind - reckless, curious, at once remarkably intuitive and a little unwise. She knows she's making the wrong choice ("Not gonna open it, not gonna open it...") but it is her choice to make.

Jumping back to series one and my ever-beloved Mickey Smith. I adore the scene at the end of World War Three when the Doctor admits that the Idiot who saved the world isn't quite so thick after all. What I love even more is when the Doctor invites him along, and Mickey turns him down:

He says: "This life of yours...it's just too much. I couldn't do it." Glancing at Rose's approaching figure: "Don't tell her I said that."

We know, of course, that he can do it - or, perhaps, that he will be able to do it, which is not quite the same thing. Mickey at this point is just an adorable bundle of unrealized potential burdened by self-doubt and this entrenched need to cling to Rose as tightly as he can. Abandoned by his mother and blaming himself for his grandmother's death, Mickey is always left behind. And he thinks that maybe that's where he belongs, that he deserves to be left. That he isn't enough for a life with the Doctor. He thinks himself less than what he is, that the dangers and adventure and responsibilities of a life like that are too much for him.

He's wrong, of course.

We haven't seen much of Donna yet, but I got my Definitive Donna Noble Moment in the first few minutes of The Runaway Bride. It's not even from a scene she's in, but rather from the aftermath of her disappearance. As her mother hustles through the chaos of the church, she offers this explanation for her daughter's sudden, glowy abduction: "Showing off, that's what she is. First day at school, she was sent home for biting."

My first thought was, "Oh, Donna." My second was:

I have absolutely no trouble believing that.

The obvious Martha moment is her fantastic bones-in-the-hand bit, and that is of undeniable significance, but what stands out in my mind is her reaction to those idiot, racist schoolboys at the beginning of Human Nature. She puts up with it because she must, because of crazy fog aliens and the Doctor and the fate of the universe, but she does it with such a fascinating combination of elegance and indignation.

In the almost serene anger behind her response, "That's very funny, sir," we hear that she's grown used to this sort of ignorant bullshit. Grown to expect it, to hear it and to stay quiet regardless, because keeping the Family from their goal is more important to her than giving these morons the bucket over the head that they deserve. And even though these boys are cruel and stupid and young, Martha feels for them when she thinks of the war to come.

She may be the one on her knees scrubbing floors, but she knows what they do not - that their futures are mud and shells and darkness. And though they are, quite frankly, snotty little shits, she takes absolutely no satisfaction from this knowledge. What the Doctor has asked of Martha in these episodes is not action but patience, and that requires a very different sort of courage. Two months of silence in a society in which people of her profession and her race are considered all but invisible, a year living as a ghost on a world in ruins. Martha Jones and her moments - her eras - of grace.

And now a character moment that is not a character moment at all, but rather an incident that perfectly embodies the friendship between Rose and the Doctor:

The woman is spitting gum into his hand, and I swear it's the most romantic thing I've ever seen. The casual intimacy of this (admittedly slightly gross) gesture speaks volumes about how easy and comfortable they are with each other. In a relationship rife with complications and misunderstandings--

("All right. So perhaps the 'dogs with no noses' bit wasn't the most efficient explanation of regeneration I've ever given..."

"Yeah, and 'hey, I've traveled with a lot of people in 900 years' isn't quite the same thing as 'oh, and you should know that I have a compulsive habit of serial monogamy and a taste for intellectually curious, attractive female assistants."

"Well, maybe you should rethink your use of the word 'forever', given your apparently sketchy understanding of human mortality."

"And maybe you need to get out a dictionary and look up the word 'hyberbole', you condescending alien twit.")

Right. Complications. Misunderstandings. Drama and such. But it's the small moments that give the big (the walls and the beaches and the goodbyes) their poignancy.

And in conclusion, we have Captain Jack Harkness:

I do not feel that this requires an explanation.

Screencaps from time-and-space.co.uk and www.demon-cry.net.

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This was great fun to read, and you definitely hit the nail on the head for these characters. Biting!Donna made me laugh long and loudly, and whatver!Jack never ceases to amuse me. Mickey's refusal to come along at that point showed that he has a lot of wisdom for an idiot. Martha and Rose's moments are well-chosen as well.

The only one I beg to differ on is the gum-spitting. It's cute, but not the definitive Doctor/Rose moment. The Doctor is still the Doctor across regenerations, and I just can't picture this happening with Nine. It's not that Nine didn't have casual intimacy with Rose; he just had more belief in boundaries between mouths and the rest of the world.

If I were choosing the perfect moment between the Doctor and Rose, I would be tempted to pick the storage room scene from The Doctor Dances (we're in mortal danger, but we're going to forget about that and instead bicker adorably and create sexual tension you could cut with a knife!) However, you mention embodying their friendship, and the storage room is a bit too intense to be purely about friendship. For friendship, I might pick the beginning of The Long Game, when the Doctor takes Rose out ahead of Adam and explains to her the basics of where they are so that she can look knowledgeable. While she's convincingly BS'ing for Adam, the Doctor gives Rose this look like she's the best thing he's ever seen. The picking out stars scene from The Christmas Invasion is a good one for showing the adventuring yet cutesy aspect of them, and I can imagine it happening with either Doctor.

It's cute, but not the definitive Doctor/Rose moment.

Hee. I totally didn't intend for it to be taken as such, but now you've tempted me to argue on its behalf. ;)

We are all different people at different times in our lives. The overwhelmed Rose of The End of the World probably would not have opened that garage door. School Reunion Mickey accepted the invitation that World War Three Mickey refused. Nor are Donna, Martha, and Jack quite the same people now that they were in the scenes described above.

Everyone changes. As you point out, the Doctor is not ten men but one, and therefore in that moment of sticky, gum-spewing intimacy we see every moment that came before it. The moment in World War Three when she shoves her bag into his arms, the easy reach into his inside pocket in Father's Day, the scenes you mention above - all those small intimacies are present in their simplest interactions, just as Mickey is still the man left behind even as he stands before a Void Ship which a great big ol' gun in his hands.

Which is sort of a way of saying that all Doctor/Rose moments are the definitive Doctor/Rose moment, which is to say that none of them are. Perhaps we'll simply have to conclude that the gum bit is my definitive moment and leave it at that, yes?

;)

Hee. I totally didn't intend for it to be taken as such, but now you've tempted me to argue on its behalf. ;)

Gotta love argument for argument's sake.

The overwhelmed Rose of The End of the World probably would not have opened that garage door.

Very true, although one might argue that she had just opened the big ol' garage door of travel with the Doctor. (Not gonna go with him, gotta stay here and take care of Mickey and Mum, not gonna go with him...wait, it travels in time? Oh, to hell with it.) During End of the World she was already battling the dangerous scribble creature of the unknown. And this metaphor must stop now.

As you point out, the Doctor is not ten men but one, and therefore in that moment of sticky, gum-spewing intimacy we see every moment that came before it.

Unexpected fallout of the Time War #219: the Doctor gets so close to his human companion that he becomes the sort of man who encourages her to spit gum into his hand. Somewhere in Time Lord Heaven, the former inhabitants of Gallifrey throw their silly headdresses to the ground in disgust. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Which is sort of a way of saying that all Doctor/Rose moments are the definitive Doctor/Rose moment, which is to say that none of them are. Perhaps we'll simply have to conclude that the gum bit is my definitive moment and leave it at that, yes?

Sounds good to me!

Somewhere in Time Lord Heaven, the former inhabitants of Gallifrey throw their silly headdresses to the ground in disgust. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Hee! "Hey, fellas - just because you're dead, don't think that means I'm going to stop trying to piss you off."

Old habits die hard.

Eee. :D Please let Donna's biting skills become a world-saving plot point at some point in the new season. Or just let her make that face again.

There's a children's series about a girl called May Bird who when she was young used to dress up in a sparkly black bathing suit and go stalk things with her cat as a princess warrior. I get that sense about Donna.

1) I totally need to read those books.

2) I have decided that is precisely how Donna spent her childhood. It is now official personal canon.

1) May Bird and the Ever After is the first (of a trilogy). Jodi Lynn Anderson. Enjoy. :P
2) Heee. I am actually kind of excited to see Donna again.

I love this picspam. Sometimes I think I get to caught up in my Rose-love and this is just a reminder of all the rest of the awesomeness that's out there.

So much awesomeness. So little time.
;)

*GIGGLE* Lovely picspam to wake up to.

Oh, Jack. I do so love his "Whatever!" moment. Can you imagine if he did that to his team on Torchwood? *snicker*

Can you imagine if he did that to his team on Torchwood?

I think I would become faint with joy...

The gum spitting moment was also one of my favorites and I REALLY have to wonder what it was like on set to film that.

Martha is amazing. All of RD's women are incredibly strong, be they evil villains or companions. I love that.

This was excellent, thanks!

I loved this. Jack's 'whatever' sign is hilarious and reminds me of the carefree flipancy he used to have that I adored, that vanished, oh, around the time he became immortal I suppose. Martha truly does shine in HN/FoB and I've also always loved the dry, deadpan "That's very funny, sir." And oh Mickey. Was just rewatching AoG/DD yesterday, and was struck by how, as soon as he met up with Rose again, Mickey, who has so obviously become a big badass in the other world, immediately starts with the "I'm stupid" "What do the Daleks want with me, I'm nothing" comments. I know he and Rose do care about each other so much, but man, what a poisonous relationship.

I know he and Rose do care about each other so much, but man, what a poisonous relationship.

Seriously. I love them both dearly, but I do sometimes want to knock their heads together.

Okay, that entire italicized conversation up there? Made of win.

Oh, Mr. Mickey. You really nailed his character there, and I love it.

But...but...no Jackie? (Even if she isn't really a companion...)

Okay, that entire italicized conversation up there? Made of win.

Seconded. I like that we got to see the Doctor and Rose dealing with some of that stuff. I wish the writers had spent more time on it, but still—the little we did get made the relationship feel more real.

I was going to do Jackie, I really was, but I found it absolutely impossible to choose between her "I'll show you where my ankle's going" from AoG, and when she seduces Elton with Il Divo in Love and Monsters.

JACKIE TYLER I LOVE YOU TOO MUCH.

Maybe the Tylers (+ Mickey and Jake) should have a picspam all their own?

Who ever said a person only gets one divinitive moment? Jackie is awesome enough for two surely?

Oooooh very nice! I totally didn't notice half those moments... and you've now got me wanting to do this. But the Rose and Mickey moments you chose? And the awesomeness that is Martha Jones in HN? And that icalicized convo? Made of ultimate WIN.

And since Jackie was mentioned, I've always been fond of her "left behind" speech to Elton. Shows her story as a whole, her 'tragedy,' as it were, and her unwavering dedication to Rose and the Doctor. I get all teary-eyed every time I watch that scene.

In a relationship rife with complications and misunderstandings--

^Ooooh, don't forget the whole, "I'm going to take you on a completely innocent trip to the future where your planet just happens to get roasted by the sun and you'll be the last of your kind. Won't even mention that there are other humans out there, not necessary really. And this has nothing to do with my unresolved issues and survivor's guilt and genocide guilt. Won't that be fun?"

These two aren't always the healthiest themselves, really.

I get all teary-eyed every time I watch that scene.

Oh, me too. She is so entirely brilliant in that episode. And it really explains so much about some of her more frustrating/obnoxious behavior in Rose - having lost Pete when she was so young, she's become so cynical, so "hard" as she puts it, that she really doesn't want Rose to pursue anything more than what she has ("Working in that shop was giving you airs and graces..."), thinking that she was protecting her from inevitable disappointment and pain.

Oh, Jackie. *sighs*

These two aren't always the healthiest themselves, really.

They really aren't.

*loves them*

Martha Jones and her moments - her eras - of grace.

That's an absolutely gorgeous line, and an insightful, uplifting post altogether.

Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

There were many little bits in Fear Her that I loved. I mean, as an episode, it's a bit crap, but it's like they knew they had very little to build the episode around and threw in all this sweet little character stuff. I love the gum-spitting. There isn't the slightest surprise or hesitation on her part. It speaks volumes.

(If only it didn't have my least favorite version of the TARDIS lighting. Yellow. Ew.)

...but it's like they knew they had very little to build the episode around and threw in all this sweet little character stuff.

Exactly. It took me a while to get past the dreaded Olympics-related anvils ("The torch! Suddenly it is a magical symbol of love! Rather than, you know, international cooperation and shiny, well-muscled people.") but once I did I realized that the episode contained some truly delightful bits of dialogue and and lot of lovely moments they usually don't have time for.

And now I love the Doctor's "snakes and ladders" ramble so much that all is forgiven.

(If only it didn't have my least favorite version of the TARDIS lighting. Yellow. Ew.)

(The yellow doesn't bother me, really, but there were a few scenes in series three where the light was just too harsh for me. It took all the eerie loveliness out of that beautiful set.)

Oooh. Companion love! Awesome. :D

I totally approve of all your choices and give you the Shiny Gold Star of Win! (Although, it is the type of game that has me going: "And this moment, too! And this one! And omg, what about THIS one?" This is somewhat out of your control, however.)

She may be the one on her knees scrubbing floors, but she knows what they do not - that their futures are mud and shells and darkness. And though they are, quite frankly, snotty little shits, she takes absolutely no satisfaction from this knowledge.

Big WORD to this. It's a nice mix of Martha's logic (connecting 1913 to WWI) and her compassion.

Also: GUM SPITTING. XD

Although, it is the type of game that has me going: "And this moment, too! And this one! And omg, what about THIS one?"

All part of my evil plot to encourage internet-wide companion-love!

Ooh, but I am a dastardly fellow.

Agreed on all points. Just curious, but why'd you leave out the doc? That being said, what are your favorite Doctor moments (9 and 10)? Besides his little exclamation of "Everything's coming up Doctor!" which I've decided to use as often as is possible. :)

Also, the real reason for the comment, Happy Birthday!!! Hope you had/have a great day!

Just curious, but why'd you leave out the doc?

Because if I hadn't, I'd probably still be obsessing over my choices even now! I don't even know where'd I begin with Nine and Ten. And if I hadn't limited this to the companions, I'd have wanted to include Jackie and Pete and Jake and Joan Redfern and the Master and the Daleks and the TARDIS...

Ooh. A Dalek picspam. I like the sound of that.

Also, the real reason for the comment, Happy Birthday!!!

Thank you so much!
;)

I really enjoyed this. Especially the Doctor/Rose moment. Mainly because I actually couldn't agree with you more. It's quite subtle, because there isn't any dialogue that draws attention to it, and neither of them miss a beat to continue their original conversation. But its just so tiny and gorgeous and un-pretentious. Its one of those private moments that we rarely get to see in the show and normally have to create ourselves. I thank RTD for this little blessing.
Also, can I just say that I would LOVELOVELOVE to see those four lines from "Complications and Misunderstandings" put into fic. Seriously. I see incredible potential there. I'll love you forever and ever if you do.
Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
xoxo
P.S. Jack rocks my little socks.

You just got me to completely re-watch "Fear Her" and subsequent episodes. I had almost forgotten how fluid and natural their relationship had gotten. I only wish Rose had stayed on another season to see where the writers were going to go with their relationship and how much more would've been said between them.

For example:
Doctor: "Oh, I was a dad once."
Rose: *Damn near flips the fuck out*
Doctor: *Realizes how much he just let slip and goes on to change the subject*

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who liked Martha as a companion. Her patience, elegance and grace were my favorite qualities about her.

However, I didn't like that he just started spilling about his life on Gallifrey to her when he didn't even mention the planet's NAME to Rose. But that's just a personal pet peeve. ;)

Pity the writers knew that no matter how great Martha was, many people were NOT going to like her. Even bigger pity that most of her lines were crap. She's pretty great on Torchwood, however, so that's satisfying.

I cannot WAIT to see Donna in the new season. It should be fantastic.

Edited 2008-02-27 17:31 (UTC)

Here via a link from

lizbee

This is a lovely picspam of Companion love (which I would encourage you to share on

loves_them_all). I cannot tell you how much I love this:

In the almost serene anger behind [Martha's] response, "That's very funny, sir," we hear that she's grown used to this sort of ignorant bullshit. Grown to expect it, to hear it and to stay quiet regardless, because keeping the Family from their goal is more important to her than giving these morons the bucket over the head that they deserve. And even though these boys are cruel and stupid and young, Martha feels for them when she thinks of the war to come.

She may be the one on her knees scrubbing floors, but she knows what they do not - that their futures are mud and shells and darkness. And though they are, quite frankly, snotty little shits, she takes absolutely no satisfaction from this knowledge. What the Doctor has asked of Martha in these episodes is not action but patience, and that requires a very different sort of courage. Two months of silence in a society in which people of her profession and her race are considered all but invisible, a year living as a ghost on a world in ruins. Martha Jones and her moments - her eras - of grace.

For me this totally sums up Martha Jones - that she's being treated like she's no better than the dirt she's scrubbing, yet she still has compassion for those arrogant little shits for what she knows they're going to face the following year. THIS is why I completely adore her (aside from the fact that she's gorgeous, clever, geeky and totally kick-ass even in high heels!)

And I adore your last line: Martha Jones and her moments - her eras - of grace.

Thanks! I'm so glad you liked it.

...totally kick-ass even in high heels!

Especially when she's in high heels. Because, damn, that woman can dress. ;)

*nods* She can. Until Martha hit our screens I didn't take the blindest bit of notice of clothes (I'm a jeans+t-shirt/shirt girl myself and always have been) - but suddenly I find myself noticing everything Martha (or Freema) wears !

Do you know what's so bad about skimming? You miss out on awesome posts like this! Didn't know how I could have missed this. Basically agree with everything. It's just oh, Rose/Mickey/Donna/Martha/Jack goodness. Also love the accompanying descriptions, particularly Rose I do love her curiousity and how she owns her choices.

"And maybe you need to get out a dictionary and look up the word 'hyberbole', you condescending alien twit.")

Hah. This, I can so see, also I would love to pay for Rose to call him a condescending alien twit. You, madam, write Rose like no one's business.

This is gorgeous. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Very interesting comments on Mickey's character growth, I've always been fascinated by how he went from clingy doof (or, really, reacting as one would expect any real person to react to suddenly having their entire world view shaken) to butt kicking hero.

Okay, so "eras of grace" is a beautiful phrase and needs to be used all the time now.

My definitive Donna moment was when she was telling the Doctor how surprised she was that her fiance brought her coffee, because "nobody does that for the secretaries." There were leagues of depth in there, I thought.

Heee! I didn't even remember the gum in the hand thing. That is really cute. But it still kind of makes me wonder how they could be so comfortable with each other while not really knowing each other at all.

There were leagues of depth in there, I thought.

Oh, I agree. Donna reminds me a little of Mickey in those moments, of someone who thinks that being 'normal' makes them somehow smaller and less deserving than others. I can't wait to see more of her.

But it still kind of makes me wonder how they could be so comfortable with each other while not really knowing each other at all.

I think this is an interesting point, particularly because the gum in the hand gag is shortly followed by the "I was a dad once" and Rose's WTF moment. There is so much about him that she doesn't know (and that he doesn't know about her, I'm sure). However, I can't help but think that if understanding someone were a prerequisite for caring about them, then the world would be an even lonelier place than it already is.

Thanks for reading! I'm glad you liked it.

I don't really mean "caring." I mean "ease." *shrug*

There is so much about him that she doesn't know (and that he doesn't know about her, I'm sure).

Oh, absolutely.

What do you suspect the Doctor would have done to Jimmy Stones, otherwise?

I always liked Mickey, but what you've said about him suddenly made everything snap into focus. Now the clinging seems less annoyingly random and more of a believable result of the character's back story. Hats off to you!

Just found this. I totally agree with you, by the way, particularly with the spitting gum moment- it's the Doctor/Rose relationship condensed into one scene. Their familiarity and complete ease with eachother is a sign of how close they became over the two series.

Also, I second the opinion that Martha's time in 1913 showed us her real strength as a character. Personally, I think her reaction to the Doctor afterwards also contributes to this. Although some argue that her acceptance of the Doctor's decision to subject her to this era and it's predjudices is a moment of weak writing, I disagree- as a woman who's dealt with a lot, I think her quiet forgiveness shows an incredible strength of character. Besides, she's in love. We'll put up with a lot for love.

This is wonderful, thank you :)

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The Little Things - a New Who companion picspam.

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