Women of Doctor Who celebration post
Feb. 3rd, 2009 02:21 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
doyle_sb4.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
halfamoon
I was intending for my
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif){kind=small}
halfamoon contribution to be a post about the women in Doctor Who – and very quickly realised that could get very long and unwieldy, because the Doctor Who universe is not only enormous (thirty seasons and counting if you stick to the TV stuff alone; there are many hundreds of novels, comics and full-cast audio dramas) but it’s also got a ton of female characters who I adore, from bit-part characters with a few lines in a single episode to companions who spent years on the TARDIS. The best way to go seemed to be a love thread/celebration thread, of a type I’ve done before for the companions. This time it’s a post about all the women of the Doctor Who universe, companions or not, from the classic series, new series, the ‘middle school’ books/audios/comics stuff, Torchwood, and The Sarah Jane Adventures. It’s going to work in the same way as the post linked above: leave a comment with a character in the subject line, and people can respond with what they love about that character, their best moments or quotes, fic recs, drabbles, picspam, relevant links, or anything else. Any female character’s fine, though if it’s a minor character you might want to add the relevant episode title to the subject, especially if they share a name (I’m happy to squee over both Jenny from The Doctor’s Daughter and Jenny from Human Nature but we need to know which is which).
I’ll add a list of links to threads as they appear. I don’t want to dictate a bunch of rules for this, but it should go without saying this is meant to be a fun, positive thing on a comm that’s about celebrating women, so keep that in mind (“I love Mel, I don’t know why so many people hate her!” is a rhetorical statement, not a request for more information) and try not to passive-aggressively slam other characters while loving on your own (the difference between “Donna’s brilliant, I loved having a slightly older companion” and “Donna’s brilliant; finally, a companion who’s not a simpering schoolgirl”).
And… go!
New Who
Astrid Peth
Donna Noble
Jackie Tyler
Martha Jones
Rose Tyler
Reinette/Madame de Pompadour
Classic Who
Ace McShane
Barbara Wright
Dodo Chaplet
Jo Grant
Leela
Liz Shaw
Mel Bush
Nyssa
Peri Brown
Polly Wright
Romana I
Romana II
Susan Foreman
Tegan Jovanka
Victoria Waterfield
Zoe Heriot
Professor Amelia Rumford
Torchwood
Gwen Cooper
Suzie Costello
Toshiko Sato
SJA
Sarah Jane Smith
Maria Jackson
Rani Chandra
Non-TV media
Alison Cheney
Anji Kapoor
Benny Summerfield
Charley Pollard
Erimem
Evelyn Smythe
Izzy Sinclair
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Re: Nyssa
Date: 2009-02-03 07:54 pm (UTC)And, er, yes, everything you said. She's brill. And especially about the exit: she gets the best ending of any companion, IMO, the combination of positive things (she's using her skills and what she's learned from companioning) and negative (it's heartbreaking and sad but it sort of should be) and yes.
Re: Romana II
Date: 2009-02-03 07:56 pm (UTC)Izzy Sinclair!
Date: 2009-02-03 07:58 pm (UTC)Re: Martha Jones
Date: 2009-02-03 07:58 pm (UTC)She pwns so hard, and I love her!
Re: Martha Jones
Date: 2009-02-03 07:59 pm (UTC)Re: Romana II
Date: 2009-02-03 08:00 pm (UTC)Re: Evelyn Smythe
Date: 2009-02-03 08:00 pm (UTC)Re: Rose Tyler
Date: 2009-02-03 08:02 pm (UTC)I love her strength and her compassion. I love how she is able to relate to and connect with people throughout space and time, no matter what their class, occupation, or species, as seen in her interactions with the blue plumber in "The End of the World" or with Gwyneth in "The Unquiet Dead." When the Doctor says that he knows it's not Rose with him in "New Earth" because, when people are getting hurt, Rose would *care*--that's Rose in a nutshell to me.
Even her flaws, like not always appreciating her mother, are not uncommon in a teenager and something she can (and probably will) outgrow.
Most of all, she was searching for an undefined *something* in her life, and, when she found it, she fought for it.
Re: Donna Noble
Date: 2009-02-03 08:05 pm (UTC)Totally OT, but seconded so very hard!! He really needs to do some proper comedy to show off his brilliant comedic timing and quick wit - and he and CT are a brilliant double act. (I keep listening to their "Chain Reaction" show because it makes me laugh so much!)
Re: Donna Noble
Date: 2009-02-03 08:08 pm (UTC)I love that she's not afraid to give the Doctor as good as he gets, and yet, at the same time, she can be tender with him (the hug in Midnight is so beautiful), and I will never forget the way she joined him in pushing down that level in "Fires of Pompeii".
I love the fact that she got really riled when Jenny referred to Martha as "collateral damage" & said she wasn't real, and then went on to persuade the Doctor to accept that Jenny WAS his daughter.
And of course I totally ship Martha/Donna because HAWTNESS and they would so pwn Ten!
Re: Melanie Bush
Date: 2009-02-03 08:09 pm (UTC)Re: Ace
Date: 2009-02-03 08:24 pm (UTC)Re: Donna Noble
Date: 2009-02-03 08:43 pm (UTC)I'm not ashamed to admit, even though I knew she would be leaving, that departure broke my heart. I want her back damn it!
Re: The Rani
Date: 2009-02-03 08:55 pm (UTC)Re: Barbara Wright
Date: 2009-02-03 09:12 pm (UTC)Also, I love how free she got to be in the show - she had romances or interests, and so much independence. And in the end, I love how fandom pretty much agrees that she and Ian are the one, the original, OTP - yet no one forgets how awesome Babs is in her own right, in that pairing.
Re: Jo Grant
Date: 2009-02-03 09:14 pm (UTC)Re: Leela
Date: 2009-02-03 09:19 pm (UTC)Re: Romana I
Date: 2009-02-03 09:21 pm (UTC)Re: Martha Jones
Date: 2009-02-03 09:21 pm (UTC)She's so fierce, it's kinda amazing.
Re: Martha Jones
Date: 2009-02-03 09:29 pm (UTC)Because she's smart, quick, resourceful, creative, and never even thinks of giving up; because Earth matters, humanity matters, to her; because she walked TYTNW and came out of it with a bigger heart, not a smaller one; because she gave Shakespeare the right word--from Harry Potter; because her hair is amazing; because she came out of everything the Doctor put her through not only intact, but better.
Because she's Doctor Martha Jones.
Re: The Rani
Date: 2009-02-03 09:32 pm (UTC)Re: Melanie Bush
Date: 2009-02-03 09:36 pm (UTC)Re: Ace
Date: 2009-02-03 09:39 pm (UTC)Re: Rose Tyler
Date: 2009-02-03 09:39 pm (UTC)There are so many reasons to love Rose. She's so stubbornly brave, and throws herself into the craziness of time travel and TARDIS life without regrets or looking back. And she's there for the Doctor when he needed someone most.
Most of all, I love her fierce determination and her will to never give up. Rose found what she wanted, and she refused to give it up, even when her mother, Mickey, and even the Doctor tried to get her to go home. She doesn't give in or let other people dictate her life.
Re: Romana I
Date: 2009-02-03 09:40 pm (UTC)Also, I love seeing her journey from inexperienced graduate to woman of the universe, and the way it culminates in "The Armageddon Factor" with her willingness to sacrifice herself AND tell the Doctor off when she feels he's too willing to use Astra in the Key.