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SECOND THEORY: Recurring Themes/Repeated Memes By
David Ronayne 28
January 2006 (Note: In re-editing this article for online
publication I have incorporated elements of the 2005 Christmas Special The Christmas Invasion. While I appreciate that, technically, this is
probably viewed as part of the 2006 production block, I feel its authorship,
content and air date still make it relevant at the time of writing. Thank you for your indulgence.) In 2005, for the first time since the early
years of Doctor Who, one individual
has held an executive amount of creative influence, potentially unencumbered by
cannon and other editorial limitations, with individual control of scripts and production
for an entire season. And what do we get
- The Bad Wolf? In these days of shows
with season spanning arcs of varying complexity, and the capability of Russell T.
Davis (“RTD”) as writer, there must be more to it than this contrived, plot-resolving
shaggy-dog-tale. Right from the start of the new series we
have been presented with “Repeated Memes.”
Simply put, a meme is a concept or an idea, a piece of information that
can be transferred from one mind to another (or as William H. Burrows described
it, “language as a virus”). Repeated
memes can be described as themes, recurring ideas or imagery, repeated
statements or dialogue, catchphrases or even moods. Perhaps it can be no co-incidence that a
series with characters actually called “The Adherents of the Repeated Meme” (a
pun on the philosophical argument about the ability of memes to establish
themselves and recur) would rely on a plot device that threads the same words
repeating throughout Time and Space, growing to the point where they
effectively create themselves (i.e. The Bad Wolf). It’s a predestination paradox – like the
Doctor’s favourite Dickens story, The
Signalman, about a man haunted by the ghost of his own impending death (in
itself a idea that would to see fruition before the end of the first year of
the new series). But there is more to it
than that. While trying to avoid the
human failing of “seeing patterns that aren’t there,” closer examination of the
new Doctor Who shows many instances
of the same ideas, themes and images cropping up again and again. This article started life as an exploration
of the foreshadowing and threading of ideas through the new series. And they are there; like the gift of the
breath of life. It started as a bit of a
joke (“...air from my lungs...” - The End
of the World), becoming the method of transmission between Gwyneth and Gelth
(The Unquiet Dead). This would culminate in the resurrection of
Jack, the Doctor saving Rose from the Vortex energy with a kiss, and his exhalation
of that power back into the TARDIS (The
Parting of the Ways). Post
regeneration, it would be repeated with the Doctor still breathing out this
energy, and ultimately being saved by an inhalation of tannins and free
radicals (hot tea – The Christmas
Invasion). You could push this more
metaphorically in other episodes; Rose’s gift of life to her father, and his
returning of it (Father’s Day); the
“new life” given to Dickens (The Unquiet
Dead); and even more literally with Margaret Slitheen (Boomtown), and even the Slitheen’s own unique take on ‘breathing
free’ (World War III); the use of gasmasks
to filter air for respiration (Empty
Child); Margaret’s killer halitosis (Boomtown
again); the Dalek’s suffocation of its torturer (Dalek); and even the Anne-droid’s executions being delivered
orally (Bad Wolf). Similarly, there are smatterings of later imagery
in certain stories, foreshadowing that makes more sense when the series is
viewed as a whole, like the gasmask graffiti and child-sized, snout nosed
figure in the Albion Hospital (Aliens of
London) (OK it’s a pig, but when you consider it in terms of an innocent,
modified and augmented by alien technology, brought in dead from a spaceship
crash in Central London and guarded by soldiers, the parallels with The Empty Child become more
apparent). And there are others, like
the psychic paper and the Doctor’s conversation about the TARDIS getting inside
your head (The End of the World) hinting
more effectively at the true nature of the Bad Wolf than having it hammered
home at the end of Boomtown. And while this would still be fertile ground
for a decent article, it is just window dressing, and delve a little deeper, and
more significant themes for the series become apparent. Much has been made of the sexual references
in the new series (either obliquely or in regards to the relationships forged
by and between the Doctor and his companions).
From Cassandra’s gender changing (The
End of the World), Jack’s omnisexuality and the subtext of “dancing” (The Doctor Dances/Bad Wolf), to some
other, more sinister references (“...there was a man...” - The Empty Child, and the
Sycorax demand for Earth’s women, cut from the televised dialogue, but still
visible on the onscreen translation – The
Christmas Invasion). While some have
argued this is just part of the general sprucing up of the series for a modern
audience, others have asked if this is part of some other, bigger “gay” or “PC”
agenda, but in doing so they have missed more significant themes and concepts
that tie in with more than just mere sexuality. A
Question of Family “I never read you bedtime stories, I never took you on those picnics. I was never
there for you.’ … ‘But I can do this for you. I can be a proper Dad to you
now!” Pete Tyler (Fathers Day) There are regular references to parenthood
and family right through the new series; from the Jackie, Mickey and Rose
dynamic, to the Doctor having lost all his (first noted expressly in The End of the World, but recurring
throughout the series, and mirrored by Doctor Constantine later - The Empty Child); and more overtly
between Rose and Pete (Father’s Day),
and Nancy and Jamie (The Empty Child/The
Doctor Dances). Not that there
haven’t been families mentioned in the show before. For plot reasons there were a lot of orphans
taken in loco parentis under the
Doctor’s wing, but never as expressly as he did with Rose, and later Lynda,
assuring them of their safety. But in the 2005 series almost every reference is
about family loss, often parental. Consider; ·
Clive’s family losing their jocular father (Rose); ·
Cassandra remembering her parents and their burial (End of the World); ·
Gwyneth feeling guided by the spirits of dead
parents (The Unquiet Dead); ·
The Slitheen were a family unit who could feel each
others loss (Aliens of London/World War III); ·
Margaret’s comments about how her family formed her (particularly
her authoritarian father - Boomtown); ·
Adam’s separation from his family and Rose noting
how this has left him all alone (Dalek)
and (one hopes) his mother’s acceptance of his modified form (The Long Game); ·
Harriet Jones’ motivation that her mother is in
hospital (Aliens of London, and
reiterated in The Christmas Invasion); ·
Suki working for her sister’s educational expenses (The Long Game); ·
Pete (Father’s
Day); ·
Stuart and Sarah’s wedding and their formation of a
new family (and the Doctor’s fascination by it) and the loss of Stuart’s
disapproving father (Father’s Day); ·
Nancy and Constantine’s family losses. ·
The orphaned/parentless evacuees, particularly ·
The Controller installed as a child (Bad Wolf); ·
The effects of Blood Control splitting families and
family lines (The Christmas Invasion); ·
And perhaps even the Emperor Dalek and his
“children” could be considered here. (The
Parting of the Ways). But what does this mean, if anything? Is it simply a dramatic
device that has become slightly overused or can we see this as a hint of
something deeper? Given RTD’s previous
work in Queer as Folk, and the Doctor’s gay icon status
amongst some elements of fandom could it be seen as somehow being linked to
separation or reconciliation with one’s family?
Personally I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess, but it may also tie in
with something else, another pattern in the tapestry of the new series… A
Monstrous Idea “All dead. If the Dalek
gets out it will murder every living creature. That’s all it needs... Because
it honestly believes they should die.
Human beings are different and anything different is wrong. It’s the ultimate in racial cleansing...” The Doctor (Dalek) There is also a definite trend with the new
series monsters. They are no longer
content to just kill you because they want to and they can (like the Doctor’s
paraphrasing of Terry Nation’s classic rationale to Van Statten). Now, they don’t simply want too destroy you,
but take over your body, get into your skin, empty you out and subvert you to
their own ends (The exception to this is Cassandra, who is a hollow skin herself,
where other monsters destroy your humanity, Cassandra has had hers surgically
removed). This isn’t a new idea, and had
been used in many Doctor Who stories
since The Tenth Planet, but when it
reoccurs in almost every story of the season something is up. Consider; ·
Mickey’s Auton Replicas (Rose); ·
The Gelth and the dead (The Unquiet Dead); ·
The Slitheen and their skinsuits (Aliens of ·
The pig (Aliens
of ·
The Dead controlled by chips (The Long Game); ·
Adam’s chipping, letting the Jagrafess inside his
head (The Long Game); ·
The Infected (The
Empty Child, Doctor Dances); ·
The Daleks processing humans in (Bad Wolf, Parting of the Ways); ·
Blood Control (The
Christmas Invasion); ·
And ironically, the Dalek being changed by its
contact with Rose (Dalek, the first
story where the humans are the monsters). But it’s more than just becoming soulless
alien meatpuppets. Sure, it adds a
creepy zombie element to an episode, but when you consider it as a
representation of losing control of ourselves, our actions and our own
destinies, the same message about manipulation of social and political
independence can also be seen on a more mundane (perhaps more real) level,
hints at loss of autonomy, loss of determination, loss of identity and self. ·
Clive’s conspiracy theories (Rose), later confirmed by the “official denials” in World War III, and The Christmas Invasion; ·
The Great and the Good (i.e. the rich) and
Cassandra’s motivation’s (End of the
World); ·
The master/servant relationship between Sneed and
Gwyneth, (The Unquiet Dead); ·
The Slitheen subverting local, national and global
political power, (Aliens of ·
Van Statten’s monopoly of global technology and his
manipulation of politics (Dalek); ·
The control of society through the manipulation of
money and the media (“...this has always been your boss...” The Long Game, “...your lords and
masters...” Bad Wolf); ·
·
The inability to escape history and destiny (Father’s Day); ·
The Sycorax wanting half of humanity as slaves (The Christmas Invasion). But is this a theme of its own, or is it just
a counterpoint to highlight possibly the real meaning behind Davies’ creation? Doctor
Who has always been anti-authority, but this is the first time the
authority has been consistently subverted, alien and out to “get” you, suck out
your individuality, the distinctive elements that make you “you” and turn you
into another one of them. Being
the Doctor “What do I do? Get up, catch the bus, go to work, come back
home, eat chips, and go to bed – Is that it?... It was
a better life. I don’t mean all the
travelling and seeing the aliens and spaceships and things. That don’t
matter. The Doctor showed me a better
way of living your life. You know, he
showed you too. You don’t just give up, you don’t just let things happen. You make a stand! You say ‘No!’ You have the guts to do what’s
right when everyone just runs away! And I tried and can’t!” Rose Tyler (The
Parting of the Ways) Right from the start the new series has been
about making decisions. Even before then the Doctor appeared in trailers posing
the question “Do you want to come with me?” and in the But it’s more than that, because not only do
you have to make the RIGHT decisions but also live with both the consequences
and yourself (“...coz if you do then I should warn you...” - The Doctor in the
pre series promo). Again, I’m not saying
that the original series was devoid of decision making, it too was often a
morality tale, but never before have core decisions been an integral part of
the plot over so many successive episodes.
Most of the stories are dramatically reliant on individual characters
making a choice, acting (invariably contrary to their own safety), making
sacrifices, and living (or in some cases dying) with the outcomes. People have complained the Doctor always
seems to take the back seat in the new series, leaving it up to others to save
the day, but that’s not the point. Right
from the start the Doctor has been challenging those around him to make
decisions and act, and from his first meeting with Rose the Doctor has shown
his contempt for leading a life of inactivity and letting things pass you by
(“baked beans on toast” (Rose)and
chips (The Parting of the Ways). While this is probably most explicitly said
in his conversations with Dickens (The
Unquiet Dead), and Cathica (The Long
Game), every story has characters who are
challenged to make decisions outside of their normal scope of the world, take a
stand out of their comfort zone and risk their own lives to save the world. This usually involves if not redemption, at
least reconciling themselves with some fundamental things about who they are,
what they have done, and the events that made them. ·
Rose (throughout the series, but most overtly in Rose, Dalek, Father’s Day, Parting of the
Ways, The Christmas Invasion); ·
Jabe’s sacrifice (The End of the World); ·
Gwyneth choosing to be the bridge, and Dickens
returning to the house (The Unquiet Dead)
Harriet Jones making a stand and ordering the Doctor to act (World War Three); ·
Mickey becoming more heroic and living with Rose’s decision
(Throughout but most notably World War
Three, Boomtown, The Parting of the Ways, and The Christmas Invasion); ·
The Dalek’s suicide (Dalek); ·
Cathica’s rebellion, and possibly Suki’s final bit of
humanity grabbing the Editor’s leg (The
Long Game); ·
Pete’s sacrifice and Stuart taking responsibility
for his wife and child, despite his father’s protests, (Father’s Day); ·
Jack (The
Doctor Dances, The Parting of the Ways); ·
·
Lynda choosing to go with the Doctor, and those who
choose to fight (Parting of the Ways); ·
Daniel Llewellyn accepting
responsibility for giving the Sycorax the blood sample and standing up to the
aliens (The Christmas Invasion). To counterpoint this there are also
characters who usually through greed, bigotry and poor judgement, choose wrong,
and perhaps more importantly these people often don’t take responsibility for,
or try to excuse what they have done. ·
Adam’s betrayal - “You know, it’s not actually my
fault, because you were in charge,” (The
Long Game); ·
Van Staten – “I wanted to touch the stars...” (Dalek); ·
The Editor – “Simply being human doesn’t pay very
well.” (The Long Game); ·
Jack initially – “It’s not my fault!” (The Doctor Dances); ·
Rose (Father’s
Day); ·
Cassandra - purity fixated, “it’s all about the
money”, and ultimately unable to accept herself as she is (The End of the World); ·
Rodrick and those who stay of floor zero (The Parting of the Ways); ·
Harriet Jones – Britain Golden Age has a price (The Christmas Invasion); ·
And even the Doctor (Dalek). In many ways it seems fitting that both Van
Statten and Adam’s (and possibly Harriet’s) punishment is never to stand out
again, being forced to live lives of mundane obscurity after being such high
achievers. This
‘stepping up to the mark’ is exemplified by the main characters, Jack most
obviously (from coward to hero in five easy episodes). Similarly Rose starts out not knowing there
is “a war going on” around her (Rose),
chooses to go with the Doctor, doubts her actions and is given the choice again,
where ironically she chooses “chips” (The
End of the World) – a term she would later associate with complacency (The Parting of the Ways). Ultimately she becomes a better person, growing
and learning through the events of Father’s
Day, to the point where she tells US (the line that “he showed you too” is
not solely directed at Mickey) what it is all about to BE the Doctor. Her Bad Wolf self would even paraphrase his comment
that “everything changes and everything dies” from The End of the World (when he watched Cassandra die, an action she
opposed at the time). In light of her “better
life” speech rewatching the earlier episodes gives them a whole new dimension,
particularly lines like “ And even the Doctor is not above this. The whole series is about his reconciliation
with the past and the decisions he (or his prior self) has made. In many ways it is Rose, and his feelings for
her, that are a catalyst for him to face up to, and deal with things. When you
think about it, the Doctor taking her to watch the destruction of her planet on
their first trip together, so soon after the devastation of his own, or off-handedly
taking her to watch her father die after recently loosing his entire family and
race are both very dodgy actions on his part. Perhaps it’s even a very cheap
form of Time Lord therapy, allowing him to ultimately pick between being
“coward or a killer” (or should that have been ‘lover, not a fighter’ - even if
this decision is basically repeated from Dalek),
before sacrificing himself as he has inspired others to do before him, and
emerging as a new man, different but the same, one who knows exactly what kind
of man he is (The Christmas Invasion). Ultimately on some level, we as viewers are
being asked to make that decision; do we want to go with the Doctor, to stand
with this outsider against the injustices and evils of the world? Powers that would crush us down,
subvert our very selves and make us drones to their own ends. Can we reconcile ourselves with our pasts,
our families, the events that make us, and accept ourselves for who we are? Would we be brave enough to join him, or
would we decline like Mickey? Would we
be strong enough to strand by our decision, or would we let temptation get the
better of us like Adam? Or make a
misguided choice like Harriet? Or fall
fighting injustice like Lynda and Captain Jack?
If we can do all this, can we be like the Doctor and Rose and find a way
to a better life? Or is this what Russell T. This
article originally appeared in: Reverse
The Polarity! Issue 21 (January 2006) www.reversethepolarity.50megs.com |
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