DanteC wrote: ↑Mon Feb 25, 2019 6:29 pm
Harriet Jones for the win.
I won't reiterate what others have said so much better, and to be frank, the Doctor cannot be relied on to save the day. Prevention is better than cure. But I'll make one point. In a later two-parter, the ones with the cybermen in a parallel dimension, 10 has a go at Harriet Jones's double, saying you can't trust her, while later on trying to get Rose's mum shacked up with the double of her deceased husband.
He has made assumptions on the parallel universe double of someone he's had a hissy fit with. Who I'm sure he even acknowledged earlier on that they would likely be very different from the people they'd knew. (Could be bad writing, it was the cybermen two-parter which was terrible, but does sum up 10's hypocrisy).
Let's skip forward to the Family of Blood two-parter. Because he doesn't want to fight, he runs away, hiding as a human. We're all meant to feel sad that he's missed out on a human life. Boo hoo. Screw him. Because of him, four innocent (well, one little shit and three innocent) people are abducted, murdered, and turned into flesh puppets, who he then condemns to immortal life imprisonment. And lets not forget the people that the Family kill also. He's quite rightly called out on it later on. It's something that 10 really, really needs. Probably the reason why I find Donna the best companion. She doesn't have luvvy-duvvy eyes for 10 and is perfectly willing to call him out on his shit.
Harriet Jones was forced into a terrible position, and she made the call that she thought was needed. Forget the fact she'd just saw colleagues murdered and a significant chunk of the population controlled. She doesn't have the Doctor's experience and knowledge, and as far as she was concerned, she had to put faith in a man who turned up in his pajamas, in regards to a race that had already reneged on their deal once. And in Turn Left, we see what happens when the Doctor doesn't turn up. Humanity needs to stand up for itself, and the best way is probably to kill anything that threatens outsiders. Not as if the show has had good examples of benevolent aliens visiting Earth since, well, the Doctor really (not familiar with anything pre-9 and I stopped watching after they killed off Amy and Rory). Was it the best approach? Probably not. Was it the one that needed to happen? Probably yes.
The problem is:
1. Humanity doesn't stand for itself and needs the Doctor to bail itself out. It's not like they don't try to defend themselves--it's that they can't. It's the brave and heroic defense of Jacksonville, Florida against the Nazis. He's needed whether humans like it or not.
2. Harriet Jones making a decision without any information makes her a crap leader. She knows the Doctor is far more knowledgable about these things but decides to make a call to make herself feel better.
3. The Family of Blood's meat puppets were brain dead by all appearances.
CharlesPhipps wrote: ↑Mon Feb 25, 2019 7:29 pm
The problem is:
1. Humanity doesn't stand for itself and needs the Doctor to bail itself out. It's not like they don't try to defend themselves--it's that they can't. It's the brave and heroic defense of Jacksonville, Florida against the Nazis. He's needed whether humans like it or not.
I'm sorry if the Doctor is going to take the stance of "My rules, my way" then he needs to stop flying off for every random corner of the every time zone and plant himself on earth and patrol it's timeline. Otherwise, he has absolutely 0 grounds to play the 'I'll handle the big stuff' card.
CharlesPhipps wrote: ↑Mon Feb 25, 2019 7:29 pm
2. Harriet Jones making a decision without any information makes her a crap leader. She knows the Doctor is far more knowledgable about these things but decides to make a call to make herself feel better.
You make a choice with the information you have at hand. That's doesn't make someone a crap leader, that makes them a real leader. The Doctor was not there to provide additional information, and she acted based on the information she had. Once again, if it's going to come back to the Doctor being responsible for protecting earth, then he needs to plant that Tardis right at 10 Downing Street and find an apartment.
CharlesPhipps wrote: ↑Mon Feb 25, 2019 7:29 pm
3. The Family of Blood's meat puppets were brain dead by all appearances.
Yes, the Family of Blood abducted, murdered and mutilated 4 people to create their meat puppets.
User 2632 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:38 pm
It was The Doctor's treatment of Harriet Jones that cemented the Doctor as My Favourite Villain.
His treatment of her always felt like it was out of proportion. I think the show treated her fairly in the end, even if the Doctor never did. Maybe there was a case of him punishing her for having the audacity to be too much like him, that is to say, an element of self-loathing for the things he's done comparable to her actions?
CharlesPhipps wrote: ↑Mon Feb 25, 2019 7:29 pm
The problem is:
1. Humanity doesn't stand for itself and needs the Doctor to bail itself out. It's not like they don't try to defend themselves--it's that they can't. It's the brave and heroic defense of Jacksonville, Florida against the Nazis. He's needed whether humans like it or not.
I'm sorry if the Doctor is going to take the stance of "My rules, my way" then he needs to stop flying off for every random corner of the every time zone and plant himself on earth and patrol it's timeline. Otherwise, he has absolutely 0 grounds to play the 'I'll handle the big stuff' card.
CharlesPhipps wrote: ↑Mon Feb 25, 2019 7:29 pm
2. Harriet Jones making a decision without any information makes her a crap leader. She knows the Doctor is far more knowledgable about these things but decides to make a call to make herself feel better.
You make a choice with the information you have at hand. That's doesn't make someone a crap leader, that makes them a real leader. The Doctor was not there to provide additional information, and she acted based on the information she had. Once again, if it's going to come back to the Doctor being responsible for protecting earth, then he needs to plant that Tardis right at 10 Downing Street and find an apartment.
CharlesPhipps wrote: ↑Mon Feb 25, 2019 7:29 pm
3. The Family of Blood's meat puppets were brain dead by all appearances.
Yes, the Family of Blood abducted, murdered and mutilated 4 people to create their meat puppets.
So Tennant made them immortal and put them in prisons. They can't possibly excape from those prisons. The only way they could excape would involve the 'C' word.
Self sealing stem bolts don't just seal themselves, you know.
CharlesPhipps wrote: ↑Mon Feb 25, 2019 7:29 pm
3. The Family of Blood's meat puppets were brain dead by all appearances.
Yes, the Family of Blood abducted, murdered and mutilated 4 people to create their meat puppets.
So Tennant made them immortal and put them in prisons. They can't possibly excape from those prisons. The only way they could excape would involve the 'C' word.
CharlesPhipps wrote: ↑Mon Feb 25, 2019 7:29 pm
3. The Family of Blood's meat puppets were brain dead by all appearances.
Yes, the Family of Blood abducted, murdered and mutilated 4 people to create their meat puppets.
So Tennant made them immortal and put them in prisons. They can't possibly excape from those prisons. The only way they could excape would involve the 'C' word.