frelling_tralk | (no subject)

Regarding the accusations of racism in Doctor Who

It's not DW's fault that Martha had to disguise herself as a maid in HN/FOB. DW's a show about time travel, of course the racism in history will come up occasionally, when a black actor or actress is cast as companion! It was a two-parter set in 1913 England, why blame DW for accurately portraying history? The episodes even showed John Smith and Joan being the ones to look like fools for underestimating Martha (who resolved the cliffhanger of HN, and had the knowledge of the bones in the hand moment).

And Rose was complaining in series two about the Doctor always sticking her in the serving position. Rose was dinner lady in SR, she was the waitress in the Cyberman episode. Martha's experiences in HN/FOB were not out of the norm for a companion, and I'm sure that Rose would have been the maid as well, if she was around for that episode. And Martha having to work in a shop in Blink to support the Doctor, only reflected badly on him! She was hardly the happy and "faithful servant" seeing as she suddenly burst out with how she has to support him now, and seemed pretty pissed off at his uselessness

And it's seen as humiliating for Martha to be loyal to the Doctor, but Rose was just as clingy in her time. The companions are supposed to be swept away by the Doctor. I mean what about Jack throwing dignity to the wind, and quite literally throwing himself on top of the Tardis? Freaking out over losing the Doctor's hand in the jar. Not to mention Jack emphasizing with Martha over being overlooked romantically by the Doctor in favour of Rose. Even Rose had to watch him flirting with the upper-class Madame De Pompadour in GITF. Martha wasn't supposed to come across as a loyal servant at all. What about her ordering the Doctor to tell her about Gallifrey in Gridlock. Saying "I'll do what I like" in TSOD. Slapping him in HN.

And there's upset over the Doctor not loving Martha romantically. But then wouldn't it have made the Doctor look incredibly shallow to love the next companion that crosses his path in the exact same way that he had loved Rose? So it seems the solution is either to have cast a white female for the role of next companion, or to have just completely messed up the Doctor's emotional arc. Plenty of people did fall for Martha. Martha got a snog in 42. Tom got killed by the Master in trying to protect Martha. Shakespeare flirted with Martha. The Doctor overlooked Martha because of his own issues, because of still being hung up on Rose. Are the casual audience really going to be sat at home thinking that the difference is that Rose was white, and Martha black? The Doctor would have been the same with any companion that wasn't Rose, which is backed up by the emphasis the word Rose is given throughout the season.

Yes the Master did make Martha's family his servants in TLOTT. And I was uncomfortable with that. We were supposed to be! There's also Jack in chains. There's the Doctor with a dog bowl, and being trained to respond to a bell. There's the massaging women (what would they be called?), Lucy rushing to get the Master's coat. Martha was actually the one character who escaped being humiliated by the Master, and returns to laugh in his face. I believe her brother would also have been involved in that, except the actor got double-booked by mistake?

And the Doctor did say that he would never ask Martha not to carry a gun. (He definitely said "ask" not "tell"). And again that's Martha being treated like everyone else. In Bad Wolf, the Doctor throws the gun aside, "like I was ever gonna use it". Last season he makes the comment that Torchwood can shoot him, but the moral high ground is his. And, in Utopia, the Doctor tells Jack "don't you dare" when Jack had a gun. It so wasn't a comment on "I can't believe you ever thought that Martha would do something I hadn't ordered her to do", it was a comment along the lines of, "as if I would promote the use of guns and killing".

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Yes, to everything. I think people are just pissed off that The Doctor didn't fall in love with Martha. But I think that maybe her crush was set up so later when she comes back and The Doctor is not over but has accepted Rose being gone. Then he regenerates and Martha/Doctor ship. Or at least that's how I would do it since people are already invested in Martha.

But I would have liked Martha not being in love with The Doctor. It would have been an interesting dynamic, that they are probably going to play with Donna. Although I think I'm the only one that saw ust between them. lol.

I think, if people are being honest with themselves, that's a part of the disappointment for some, that they were expecting similar dynamics with Ten/Martha to Ten/Rose. Instead RTD decides to do something different, and so it's seen as insulting and racist for Martha to not be as loved as Rose (even though she was loved, just not by the Doctor). People didn't get as angry over the treatment of Mickey (which was more insulting IMO), but Martha was set up as the new female companion, and people had a lot of shippy expectations before she even made her first appearance. And now they're feeling let down I gues

But I would have liked Martha not being in love with The Doctor.

I found her crush unnecessary too. She was set up to be much cooler in S&J when she comments about not gong for aliens. Some of the mopey comments became a bit much, but then I really liked how she played off Jack when he returned, and they're both kind of snarking at the Doctor and his thing for blondes. It's funnier when it's light quips, instead of Martha coming across as all emo.

Although I think I'm the only one that saw ust between them. lol.

Hee, not the only one.

marriedonmars has some Ten/Donna shippers :)

so it's seen as insulting and racist for Martha to not be as loved as Rose (even though she was loved, just not by the Doctor).

I have to disagree with you here, if you don't mind. I think that she was as loved, just in a different way. The Doctor is the kind of being who loves someone he knows is a friend and a Companion with both his hearts. With Rose it became romantic, with Martha it was platonic. I think the reason a lot of people who ship Doctor/Martha were so disappointed was because it was fairly obvious that the Doctor (9) fell for Rose early on. He seemed to have a thing for her right off the bat. That didn't happen with Martha, so some people may have jumped to the conclusion it has something to with racism.

I think its absurd to ever accuse the Doctor of racism. It was in TSC when Martha voiced concerns about being carted away as a slave, and the Doctor said she looked "human" to him. That's how the Doctor views people--as people. I believe the Doctor really has no concept of discriminating against anyone for genetics (except perhaps the Daleks, but that's totally understandable, wouldn't you agree?). To him, discrimination because of one's skin color would make about as much sense as discriminating against someone because of the color of their eyes, or their hair, or something else that doesn't mean a damned thing.

So, to get back to my point-the Doctor loves Martha. He really, really does. He just wasn't in love with her, and there's a difference. It was obvious, though, that he took her for granted a few times during the course of series three, and sometimes he was harsh with her when he shouldn't have been, but that doesn't mean he didn't love her.

I'm hoping that in the beginning of series four, the Doctor will appreciate what he had with Martha when she's not there. Absence, they say, makes the heart grow fonder. It would be good for him to miss her, and realize that Rose is really gone from him, and he can move on, that's it's okay to move on. Then, when Martha came back, having a complete reversal where he's getting feelings for her, and she's acting aloof, like she doesn't care for him anymore. I wouldn't mind that at all. It's a kids show, so of course they couldn't go too far and make it soap opera-ish, and I wouldn't want them to drag it out, but I would like to see some mutual romantic feeling happen before Martha and the Doctor's tenure is over.

I put it badly there, I meant in terms of Martha not having the Doctor's romantic love, because that's what fandom seem obsessed with with now *rollseyes* So it sometimes feels like people are taking the attitude that it doesn't matter whether or not Martha left the series kicking ass, all that really matters is that the Doctor didn't fall in love with her, and that therefore proves that she was never allowed to measure up to Rose. The arguments on casual viewers watching through the Doctor's eyes, and so if he saw Martha as less than Rose, we would be encouraged to do the same, and it was only through the Doctor falling in love that would validate Martha as a companion *blinks*

And totally on how Martha should return. I could see the Doctor being flustered if she waltzes in to the Tardis being really self-possessed, having become a Doctor, and being a couple with Tom or something. Hee