As the 1960s wore on, the "history lesson" episodes got fewer and fewer, and the "monster of the week" episodes began to dominate. The Second Doctor's companions included Jamie, a Scottish piper fresh from the Battle of Culloden in 1746, and Zoe Heriot, an adventurous woman from the mysterious fuuuuture of the 21st century (whose tight catsuits were an obvious attempt to draw in the Emma Peel fans in the audience). I've got to admit that I've only seen brief snippets of this Doctor and no full episodes.
Quotations:
"I'd like to see a butterfly fit into a chrysalis case after it spreads its wings."
"I hate computers and refuse to be bullied by them!"
The Second Doctor is a VIRGO. Since I haven't seen much of this Doctor, I have to trust that Dawn Ellis' assessment of his characteristic fussiness is a good fit, and that his "...frustration at things not going the way they're supposed to (mainly when people do the opposite of what he's told them) is palpable, but he goes along and cleans up the mess anyway, usually finding some kind of insanely amazing treasure along the way." I wasn't quite sure how well the go-with-the-flow style of a so-called cosmic hobo really meshes with a Virgo's supposed meticulous and perfectionist nature. But other descriptions of the Second Doctor talk about his ability to deceive and manipulate his enemies when necessary, so apparently more wheels were turning below the surface than he sometimes let on....
A good New Year's Resolution for the hard-working Virgo is to take more time outs and replenish yourself between constant bouts of being of service to others. Maybe learn to play the recorder, or jot down some musings in your 500-year diary? :-)
[See the introduction for more about sources and motivations for this series of posts.]
Oh... love this little series you've got going! I don't know anyone pre-Eccleston very well at all so this will be an education for me. I like that you fit in an Emma Peel reference, too.
ReplyDeleteHey, Squid, thanks. I loved Tom Baker back in the day, and caught a little bit of McCoy later on, but the others have been a learning experience for me, too.
ReplyDeleteAbout Zoe's Emma Peel look, I've seen some denials, but they knew what they were doing. :-)
Can I just say I love the idea of a childlike, cosmic hobo so profoundly?
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to direct my Virgo friend to this post. I think she would rather appreciate it.
The wide-eyed hobo thing is pretty much a constant with all of the most recent (21st century) Doctors... maybe the newest one -- who's is 55 -- will be more grounded, but we'll see. :-)
Delete500 year diary, lol. I so want to see these.
ReplyDeleteI haven't looked, but the BBC would be silly not to sell one! :-)
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