Tuesday, December 4, 2007

WHO Knew? Doomsday wasn’t the end

With the news of Rose’s return there has been a lot of talk about the Doomsday episode where Rose was (supposedly) lost in a parallel world and never able to be reunited with the Doctor. One of things I have heard often is that the Doomsday episode is somehow ruined and tarnished itself because Rose is coming back.
While I am skeptical of Rose’s return being a good idea, even though I love her character, I would have to disagree that her return would “ruin” the Doomsday episode itself. Yes, her return could ruin Rose’s chance to have the perfect departure from the show because I think the departure of Rose in Doomsday is going to be hard to top. But I don’t think that Doomsday itself looses any of its dramatic effect as a good story itself. Yes, some of the emotional sting is taken away if you’re watching it now and you know Rose will return, but of course if you know what will happed later on in a story or series it will ruin some of the emotional impact. Also the characters during the Doomsday episode don’t know that this isn’t the end and Tennant’s and Piper’s performances are very convincing.

Another complaint I am hearing is that somehow Rose’s return undermines the integrity of the Doomsday story because in that story we were told that it was “impossible” to travel back and forth from parallel worlds. What I find interesting is that in the Doomsday story the term “impossible” certainly had lots of qualifications. The Doctor told Mickey that traveling between parallel worlds used to “be easy” and you could “just drop in for a cup of tea whenever you wanted.” So, I don’t think Rose’s return jeopardizes the integrity of the Doomsday story because in that same story we are told that traveling between parallel worlds ranges from “impossible” to “easy” depending on other factors and circumstances. The other factor we are told is the existence of the Time Lords, so if they return in what I hope will be part of the over all story arc of season 4 then Rose’s return becomes easily accepted as having continuity with what we learned from Doomsday.

It was very clear to me even when I first saw Doomsday way back that the writers left themselves an out to escape the “impossibility” they created in the Doomsday storyline just in case they wanted to bring Rose back. My only hope is that the story they come up with for her return is as epic as her departure. I think having good stories are more important than just having Rose back, and regardless of what happens next (I am hoping for the best) Doomsday was a good story.


I love this youtube video set to Pink’s song Who Knew because it captures the storyline of season 2 extremely well including the emotional impact of Doomsday. My wife can’t watch it because it makes her too sad, but there is a line of hope in the song that get sprinkled in; “until we meet again”. I think that may be one of the reasons why so many of us loved the story line to begin with even though it was extremely sad, because even if we did not pick up on it or really think Rose would actually return the story always had seeds of hope.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fantom_luv here again. Looks like I'm becoming a regular reader of your blog! I agree with your point of view on the Doomsday thing entirely! I just watched it again, recently, and I cried as hard as before! Not because I thought she wasn't going to return, but because of the emotion expressed! I think this whole Return thing, at least for the Doctor/Rose people and people who just plain liked Rose, is going to make Doomsday even more poignant, what with the feeling of hope you gain while watching it, now. At least, that's what I think.

Oh, and since you mentioned that video, I might as well post a link to my own Who Knew Doctor-and-Rose video.

(Can you posting links on here?)

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_e9uaX1vSqk

? said...

Hey,

I disagree with your blog. I do think it ruins the finale of Doomsday. We had half a season of build-up, tension and emotion, and now to learn she's just gunna pop round for a brew in 3 episodes or so.

I personally believe Rose is returning for one reason and one reason alone. Ratings.

Yeah, Martha was a great character and everyone loved her, but for most Nu-Who fans, Rose was THE companion. Also, with Donna and the not-too-happy fans, I think this is a small stunt. Especially if she returns in the finale. I think Rose should come back mid-season, not at the end. If she returns in the finale, I think it's purely for the ratings and popularity.

However, as much as I think that, I hope it's not true.

I do agree with you when you said "I think having good stories are more important than just having Rose back". I don't doubt Rose's stories; I think they'll be good, but a part of me says they won't.

Confused by my opinions? That's because I'm confused about it all. I don't want to judge the situation, yet I am doing. I think Rose was used to the full, soppy love story added on top.

Hmmm. Dunno.

Oh, and one final point, I hope she returns alongside just one other companion, or alongside both seperately. Three's a little too much and it'll end up being loads of banter and companion-ness.

Enough of my rambling :)

James Diggs said...

Fantom_luv,
I love it that your becoming a regular reader of my blog, I’ll try not to disappoint you. I agree with you that if done right that the return thing could make Doomsday even more poignant. I also watched your Who Knew video and loved it- you did a fantastic job!!!

Lewis,
Its ok with me if you disagree with my post on this, half the fun in blogging is getting different takes on things. I can’t deny your point though about ratings being a factor in why they are brining Rose back. We should know by now that you can never say never when it comes to sci-fi, star power, and ratings. That’s just television for you, and it seems like a game you have to play in order to stay on television. My hope is that they can still make great stories while playing that game; so far so good, so we will just have to see what they do with this too.

Peace,

James

Andrew Glazebrook said...

What if it's Rose but not the Rose we know,she could even turn out to be a baddie yet !!

? said...

Andrew, I quite doubt that. A brilliant twist yeah, but seems a little unheard of in the world of Who. Everyone has some sort of love for Rose, so I doubt fans would take nicely to be being a villain. After her adventures with the Doc, I'm sure she'll be helping Mickey DEFEND THE EARTH

James Diggs said...

That would indeed be an interesting twist Andrew.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for visiting my blog. I am curious to see how they bring Rose back into the show. It definitely creates a love triangle between the doctor, Rose and Martha. It will interesting to see if Rose's character has changed, she was going to join TorchWood in that parallel world. Hopefully, if they bring her back, she won’t be killed off or something. I was surprised Billy Piper was coming back. It seemed like she was moving on with other acting projects.
Sharon

Andrew said...

Great video there. Loved it. And I'm on the "I'll put my faith in the writers, 'cause I just want to see Rose again" bandwagon. I can see how her return could diminish the impact of "Doomsday" a bit but it's still a fantastic episode.

I haven't actually watched Torchwood yet, but does knowing what happens to Captain Jack in the far far future diminish his current adventures on that show at all?

Also, I'm a huge fan of the current Dr. Who series, but I'll admit, I know next to nothing about the old series. Did the doctor ever have a sidekick who left and then returned as a sidekick again in the future?

? said...

Andrew; "Did the doctor ever have a sidekick who left and then returned as a sidekick again in the future?"

Well Sarah-Jane is a brilliant example. I'm not too sure if any left and returned soon after. I dislike the idea of Rose returning, but I can deal with it. My main problem is the timing; yeah, it's been two years since she left, but it's only been a series and a bit for us. It seems a little quick.

But if she were to come back, it would HAVE to be Tennant's doctor, so does this indicate Tennant possibly leaving after the specials?

Matt M said...

I think that if RTD brings back Rose and the Timelords the series will suffer - mainly because we'll know that anyone killed or lost can come back.

Just look at the Daleks: first they're dead... then they're all back... then they're dead again... then they come back...

You know that nothing is final so events have less of an impact.

? said...

The daleks will remain as long as the series remains.

But then again, like others, I want Gallifrey and Time Lords back! Im fact, I'd rather have Gallifrey and Time Lords than Cpt Jack, Rose, Martha, Donna, Davros & Kylie!

Seriously.