Donna Squee

[neadods]

I'm reccing mtgat's latest essay on Firefox Your Friends Are Not Watching The Same Show You Are (and that's OK) because it's worthy and readable as all her essays. But one line has really stood out for me:

While no one yet seems to be watching the "Donna Noble Show"

I am. I really am.

Each of the companions has had something for me to identify with: Rose's impetuousness and love of exploration. Martha's education and science fiction geek background. (If I wasn't bombing out to work shortly, I'd look up the link for the "Martha is me" post.)

But Donna is rocketing rapidly to the top of my "favorite new companion" list, and not just because she's the flavor of the month. I've recced Runaway Bride more than once as a good gateway show to New Who, and I know it captured at least one person into the fandom. Donna is also me - she's older, she's done a bunch of different things and (this is the part that seals the deal for me) she is bringing her variety of experiences into the adventures.

Off the top of my head, I only remember Rose using her specialized knowledge once - when she used gymnastics to save the Doctor in "Rose." Equally off the top of my head, I can't remember a time when Martha's specialized medical knowledge made a major plot difference. (ETA: I've been corrected: Martha's done CPR on the Doctor and restarted one heart, so she has directly saved the Doctor's life with her skills.) And the addition of the underlying love story made both women - both young, both to some degree remaking their lives - malleable to the Doctor's blandishments. (This isn't meant as character bashing, but to point out unused potential and the differences in the relationship all three had with the Doctor.)

Donna, however, has a rock-solid sense of who she is, what she wants, and what she has to bring to the table, and has no problem overwhelming anyone who tries to change any of that. (In a way, she reminds me of another much-loved pair of literary figures: Granny Weatherwax and her protegee Tiffany Aching.) When she wanted stability, she hunted down a husband (a bit literally). When she wanted adventure, she went looking for it, and when that wasn't enough, she promptly and calmly widened her research field and went hunting again in a successful plan that brought her back in contact with her self-chosen mentor.

Her family may not like her methods, but she certainly gets results!

And now that they're together, she continues to rise to the occasion. Faced with a decision more difficult than any new school companion and many old-school ones had to face, she not only did the right thing for history in Pompeii, despite having fought as hard against it as she could, she also comforted the Doctor. I've squeed before about her in Oood, having the compassion and curiosity to want to hear the song, but also the unashamed self-awareness to admit it was too much. And now in Sontaran Strategem, she didn't ask "Doctor, what do I do?" or sit around waiting (common companion occupations) - she demanded her own salute and then marched off to do what she knew would be useful from her own experience - and indeed, it was the key to the plot.

How cool is that? Seriously, how cool is that? Here is someone who makes no apologies for her life as it has been lived, and how many characters in any fandom can say THAT?

to be x-posted to marriedonmars when I'm not late for work.

Comments

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Er, that's not my essay, though I think I have either read it or linked it at some point.

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

< stage whisper > Is mtgat. < /sw >

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, this whole essay is full of facepalm, isn't it? Well, I knew I knew her!

*corrects it for the third time*

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

You need a weekend. And there's still much of the cool in this post. :-)

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

I confess that Donna rocks my socks too. I love Martha first and foremost, but Donna's right up there with Sarah Jane and Ace as second favourite. And the more I see of Donna, the more I wish she'd been companion last season and been there to slap snap the Doctor out his emo!angst that much sooner, and not just because Martha would have got a better arc but because the Doctor would have got a better arc too, which I want, because as much as RTD's characterisation of the Doctor annoys me on occasion, *the Doctor* is the reason I loved the show from the moment I first started watching it back in the year Dot...

Actually, seeing Martha and Donna immediately hitting it off, I wish we could have Donna AND Martha in season 3 - Donna's snarking and "you're not mating with me sunshine" would have contrasted nicely with Martha's incipient crush - and Team Cardiff could have realistically moved Martha on from that crush without hurting either her or the Doctor (Martha could/would still have loved the Doctor, I'm sure - just as I'm sure Donna loves him in a best-mates way - but Martha would have kept her self-respect and dignity - and she still could have gone off walking around the world to save everyone from the Master...)

Whoa - didn't mean to write quite so much (guess my mind just latched onto that idea and my fingers ran away with it !)

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

In a way, she reminds me of another much-loved pair of literary figures: Granny Weatherwax and her protegee Tiffany Aching.

*nods A LOT* And yes, I love that they're actually using her background. There was much more that could have been done in that regard with both Rose and Martha.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

There was much more that could have been done in that regard with both Rose and Martha.

YES, there was! I suppose I might be having premature squee - I've been reminded that yes, Martha did too... but not as a regular thing, and for all I know, this is Donna's one chance to strut her non-Doctor stuff.

But y'know? Every person on the TARDIS brings their own skills, and maybe it's time that the show picked up on that more than once or twice per companion's run.

[tempestsarekind.livejournal.com]

for all I know, this is Donna's one chance to strut her non-Doctor stuff

And I think that's what's keeping me from watching the Donna Noble Show. Because I did watch the Martha Jones Show last season, and was really excited about her from the moment she stopped to read the manual, and couldn't wait to see how they were going to bring her medical/critical thinking skills into play--and then they kept it mostly to the fringes rather than incorporating it into the episodes. And that's a problem with the later writing and not with the initial conception of the character--which is why I'm still worried.

But! My *favorite* Donna moment so far (I have yet to see "Planet of the Ood") was the whole SuperTemp thing, for exactly those reasons you mention. She's not apologetic in the *slightest* for having been a temp, and she makes use of that knowledge really well. Yay Donna!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

She's not apologetic in the *slightest* for having been a temp, and she makes use of that knowledge really well.

I know! (And between thee and me, I think it makes a refreshing change from ... oh, this isn't easy to phrase without sounding like bashing... previous attitudes towards filling service roles.)

[spiralsheep.livejournal.com]

I can't remember a time when Martha's specialized medical knowledge made a major plot difference

So all that cpr on the Doctor, among other things, was in vain? o_O

[neadods.livejournal.com]

That's what I get for posting on my way out to work - I'd forgotten that scene. But the restarting the heart in Shakespeare ... bugger, I just typed "Shakespeare Strategem"... again off the top of my head, that's the only time she saved him with medical knowledge? The "talk to the hand and all the bones in it" scene showed knowledge but wasn't a plot point; for the freezing machine in 42 and the scanner in Smith & Jones, she stopped to read the manual.

I have, however, edited the essay, because no, that certainly wasn't in vain!

[spiralsheep.livejournal.com]

Well, unless he was holding his breath or something in Smith and Jones (I can't remember), she saved him with cpr in that too and there might well be further occasions I've forgotten cos I don't bother to remember details like that. :-)

I'm fairly sure she used medical knowledge in The Lazarus Experiment too but I don't remember if that actually saved the day or not. And she tried to revive a redshirt in The Shakespeare Code and Jack in Utopia and... and... she did use her medical knowledge a lot and it's not the character's fault if the writers didn't let it count as a plot resolution. ::shrugs::

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Restarted his heart in Shakespeare Code (although arguably this wasn't her training as he was giving her orders on what to do), CPR in Smith and Jones (noted in essay now), collected DNA (via allowing her hand to be kissed; this does assume Gatiss/Lazarus is a sloppy kisser, ew!) in Lazarus which did advance the plot, although it was gathering more data about what they already knew rather than sending the plot in a whole new direction.

This really isn't meant as Martha bashing. She is well away in the lead in Saving The Doctor's Bacon - she saved him far more often than he saved her (especially if you count The Year That Wasn't). And as a tech writer, I'm thrilled beyond belief that she read the manual in Smith and Jones and 42. Plus she is so far the only companion in ever who came on to the TARDIS with some knowledge of time travel fiction and was asking specific questions about the rules, and I've aways been a bit pissed that the Doctor was a dick about it.

Martha is fabulous. I still see a lot of myself in her. But I also see a whole heck of a lot of myself in Donna.

[spiralsheep.livejournal.com]

I didn't take it as Martha "bashing". I've always tended to like the current characters best, although season 1 Rose has a special place in my affections. The only reason I'm not attached more to Donna is because I'm not interested in new Who in general at the moment. ::shrugs::

I wasn't trying to correct you. My memory isn't detailed enough to rival the knowledge of most fannish people, especially fic writers who obsess about canon, heh. I was trying to be helpful but maybe that sounded like Donna-squee harshing or companion competitiveness, in which case I'm sorry cos I wouldn't want to harsh your obvious fan-happy. :-)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

De nada on the squee; mine is too bubbly to flatten right now, but I don't want it to come across like I'm lauding Donna at the expense of the other two companions. Not always easy to phrase on the Internet.

But I do want to be sure that I credit Martha where due!

[wendymr.livejournal.com]

Oh, I adore Donna. It took one episode to confirm that for me, and the episodes since have only made me love her more (while TSS has also confirmed that Martha still does nothing at all for me). This season is so refreshing after last year, where I was almost ready to give up on DW. There's only one episode from last year that I'll willingly rewatch, and that's only for Jack.

I still love Rose, and still ship her like crazy, but in some ways I like Donna better, and for most of the same reasons you do. I love the Rose/Nine and Rose/Nine/Jack dynamic, and I also love Ten/Rose (and really, really hope we get at least one scene with just Ten, Rose and Jack, so I can compare). Donna, though... pure brilliance and so much to love.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

I confess Runaway Bride would not have served as a gateway ep for me, had I been among the unconvinced -- Donna there was, to me, rather irritating and the stereotype of a marriage-obsessed single woman of a certain age. Donna now, on the other hand, shines more and more every episode, with her humanity, her practical intelligence, and her sense of humor. Her relationship with the Doctor is amazing because she treats him as an equal, not a superior, and she's right to do so. And, yes, it is wonderful to see a woman who's closer to my age than to my students' aboard the TARDIS!

Yay, Donna. (And Martha, and Rose, and Sarah Jane, and etc.)

[violetisblue.livejournal.com]

I'm watching the Donna Noble Show, thank you! I love her and am most regretful she's leaving so soon.

[biichan.livejournal.com]

Put me down as another watching the Donna Noble show. And I am perfectly willing to imagine YEARS of extra adventures in between episodes, just so she can get her due of traveling.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

The tie-ins always assume that there are plenty of adventures between the ones we see, and canon/extended canon has referred to them.

[jigglykat.livejournal.com]

I'm most definitely watching the Donna Noble Show, as is every person who comes over to my house every Saturday night (that's seven other people). We adore her to bits!

Icon!Donna gives two thumbs up of approval!

[stoplookingup.livejournal.com]

The only reason I'm not quite watching the Donna Noble show is that the Doctor is still carrying around way too much baggage from the last three seasons, and I can't just blank my brain and start over.

But if I could...I think I'd be watching the Donna Noble Show.

[mtgat]

*snicker* I stand corrected. :D I love Donna, but I am squarely watching the "Ten and Donna Show" because I am all about the dynamic between the two.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I am SO sorry about the misattribution! (Now corrected.) Something of a lesson to not try to pull essays together in three minutes.

The Ten/Donna dynamic is excellent - certainly Ten has been in desperate need of someone to smack him around regularly.

[mtgat]

Don't worry about it. I still find typos in things I posted months ago. :P

[twistedchick]

I hated Runaway Bride with a passion; but then, I have been to way too many weddings that featured hysterical screaming brides, and she ticked off some pretty nasty memories.

I've come to like her since then quite a bit, but I think it's too bad that they chose such a ridiculous and (I believe) demeaning way to introduce her. It made her look like a really bad version of a 50s dumb blonde bride (attitude and behavior, not hair) too much of the time, and she's smarter than that. Now that she's stopped shrieking and flustering, she's a lot more interesting.

[maypanic.livejournal.com]

I adore Donna. Didn’t like her in Runaway Bride, groaned when I heard she was going to be the new companion- but patiently waited with faith that they’d make her lovable. And oh, did they ever!
I love that it’s ok for her to change her mind, and it doesn’t make her “weak” or “womanly”- she didn’t want to travel with the Doctor, but reconsidered , set the goal of finding him and accomplishing some good in the process, and succeeded. She wanted to experience the song, but it was ok that she didn’t want to keep hearing it.
Life is all about making decisions, trying new things- there’s no rule that you have to like and continue with everything you’re willing to try.
She doesn’t have money or social status or the many things so many people need t define themselves- but she’s completely confident in who she is, bold, brave and full of heart. And that, I think, makes her an excellent role model.

Doesn't mean I love anybody else any less. Just means she formed a new room in my heart.

[meddow.livejournal.com]

Here via who_daily

I'm watching the Donna Noble show as well. She's just wonderful. It's like somebody read my mind to discover what my idea of the perfect companion would be like - and then made her even better.

But then also series four is turning out to actually be the Donna Noble show not just in perception of Donna fans, but in the way it's being written. I does seem to be about her journey and her growth more than it is about the Doctor's, or (dare I say it for fear of it happening) Rose's.

I'm just so happy with my show right now. They've given us a wonderful character portrayed by a brilliant actress and a fascinating and so far rewarding plotline. Not that I don't adore it, but I, for one, am going to be sad when it returns to being Doctor Who, and I really hope it doesn't turn into the Rose Tyler show.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I really don't think it's going to be the Rose Tyler show. Sooner or later, everything and everyone changes, except the TARDIS!

[hailpoetry.livejournal.com]

(Here via who_daily.) I am so with this post. The thing that's continually knocked my socks off about Donna is that not only is she assertive, but she's being allowed to benefit from her assertiveness. TV of all stripes has perpetuated the thought that assertive women are villainous or mean or flawed or just plain *wrong*, and it's so incredibly refreshing to see the opposite.

Naturally, I'm trying not to get too comfortable, but while it lasts, it's pretty fantastic.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

TV of all stripes has perpetuated the thought that assertive women are villainous or mean or flawed or just plain *wrong*

Including, to a major degree, Donna herself in Runaway Bride. That she has become the heroine without a personality transplant is a wonderful thing.

[nina-ds.livejournal.com]

Here via who_daily, and I am definitely watching "The Donna Noble Show". To be honest, I probably wouldn't be watching DW at all anymore, at least until there's a regeneration, without Donna. She is an amazing character being embodied in a fantastic performance, and she may well be one of my favourite fictional women ever. And we've only seen her in five episodes! I think every post I've made on DW in the past month has been some variation on "Donna rocks!"