thessalian | Fear

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Fear

First of all, happy birthday,

courtcat79! Hope it is a good one!

Every so often, it occurs to me to sit down and think about how really depressing my job is, a lot of the time. Mostly it's because I seem to keep finding myself in areas where I see a lot of oncology work. Breast surgery? In the NHS, most of what you see is mastectomies. Radiotherapy? Generally, that's adjuvant treatment for some kind of cancer or other. Neurosciences? Brain tumours. Medical oncology? Does what it says on the tin, and of course my consultants specialised in gastrointestinal cancer, for which the only treatment is palliative.

And I sit and type the letters. I type the letters explaining to the general practitioner that the patient has been diagnosed with cancer, and that this news has been broken to the patient and that they were devastated and blah. I type the referral letters to the therapists when the patient needs help coping with the whole thing. I type the letters that say that the patient's treatment hasn't been helping, or that they've taken a turn for the worse. Sure, sometimes I get "They're getting better" or "it wasn't what we thought it was", but that's really not what sticks in the head.

And the worst part is that I can't do anything about it. Doctors have a stressful job and I really get that, but they see human suffering every day and if it all goes horribly wrong, at the very least they can say "I did my best; I tried to help". Doctors and nurses get hands-on, and actually try to fix people, and I admire that quite a lot. All I can do is type letters and nag people into making sure the patients have the treatment they need. It doesn't feel like enough, somehow.

Dear gods, I'm such a Hufflepuff.

The weekend cometh and ye gads, I'm glad of that. I haven't got much planned over the weekend bar sleep - lots and lots of sleep. That and watching Doctor Who, I suppose. Yeah, I know what I keep saying (and saying, and saying, and saying) about what I think about Doctor Who, but this one's a little bit different. Why? Steven Moffat.

Yeah, there's a debt of gratitude to Davies. He brought Who back. He brought it back via Eccleston, no less (though I understand that Tennant was supposed to be Who from the beginning). The problem was that when he did so, he took it too far. Davies basically seems to have some kind of agenda (with Torchwood, it seems to be all about the gay; with Who, I have no damn idea) and it somewhat takes precedent over ... you know, story. I mean, sure, he tries, but Who's supposed to be a scare-fest for the kids (and for the adults, if you can manage it) and some of this stuff? Not. That. Scary.

When the Daleks first came back to the screen, I was delighted as much as I was terrified. And they were good. And then came the Cybermen, and that was equally terrifying and good, while the Daleks were ... just getting less scary. Because, of course, they kept coming back. In dumber and dumber ways. (Pig people? COME ON.) The franchise was bringing back the best Who villains of the lot and turning them into something to be played for laughs. It didn't seem fair. (Though at least as far as the Cybermen are concerned, they lost the silver booties. That's something. And frankly, the most terrifying of all the Cybermen came out in the Torchwood episode "Cyberwoman". Brr. Also, side note: it also rather terrifies me that the same man who wrote "Dalek", "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways" also wrote "Evolution of the Daleks" and "Daleks in Manhattan". What happened, Mr Terry Nation? But then, he's apparently been writing about Daleks for a long time so maybe his brain short-circuited.)

[Edit: I am reliably informed that I read IMDB wrong about who wrote those particular episodes. Also that Terry Nation died ten years ago. Also, there's the theory going 'round that zombiefication is a valid excuse for bad writing. Carry on.]

And then there's some of the new ones. Adipose? Oh gods. That godsawful spider thing in "The Runaway Bride"? Looked impressive, sounded like a bog-standard panto villain on crack. And the stupid killer mechanical santas. Ye flippin' gods. It doesn't have to look big and kerboomly to be frightening, pity's sake.

But in all that, you get Steven Moffat's episodes. You get "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances"; one little boy in a gas mask and it's incredibly freaky. You get "The Girl in the Fireplace". You get "Blink" (which I now have to find and watch because I have seen clips and eeeeeeek). You get "Silence in the Library", which I watched bits of and now intend to watch the rest of on iPlayer sometime tonight.

Fear of the dark. Fear of what might be happening while you're not looking. Fear of what's behind the masks people wear, figuratively and literally. Fear of the unseen, the unknown. That's the greatest fear of all to play on, because everybody shares it - absolutely everybody is trepidatious about what's around that next corner, to whatever degree. Everyone's a bit afraid of that noise the house makes at night. It's the very basic horror movie principle - it does not need to be seen to be scary. Actually, it's scarier if you don't.

And he's taking over the lead writer role.

No more of this "We want to move away from episodes like 'Blink' and 'Family of Blood'" shit. I hear rumours that Davies is quitting before they can fire him, and if that's true, my theory is that it's to do with the various awards that "Blink" (and "The Girl in the Fireplace") won immediately after that came out of Davies' mouth. He says they want to move away from that sort of thing and it's apparently what everybody likes. Six episodes in under four seasons; that's all it's taken for Moffat to make his mark. And now he gets to be the lead writer for Who. And if his six episodes - just six, ye gads, and the sixth isn't even aired yet - are any indication of what he wants from the series, I may have to start watching again. Even if the season finale (written by Davies, of course) is going to be shite, I may end up being able to stick it out for the hopes of something better in Season 5.

See, I can be optimistic. I just need proof that it's justified. And there's my proof right there. Please, Mr Moffat. I'm putting a great deal of faith in you, after having been burned on Who so many times. Please don't let me down. I don't think you will, but after that 'decimation' scene, the Master-gurning, the Daleks being turned into a sick joke instead of a slow-advancing terror, that 'We Are Not Amused' shit in "Tooth and Claw", and various other bits of "why am I watching this crap" moments over the past few years, I have to ask.

Also, Mr Moffat? Thank you very much indeed for Captain Jack.

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Terry Nation didn't write those eps... just created the Daleks. Someone else takes the blame for "Daleks in Manhattan", thankfully.

You still haven't seen "Blink"?

Oh, I must have misread IMDB, then. I looked up the writers for those eps, and that was the name that came up, as far as I saw...

And no, I still have not seen Blink.

I'm getting a little annoyed that Torchwood, which used to be about sex=YAY! is becoming more about gay=yay! Everyone should be sleeping with everyone, as is the time-honoured 31st Century fashion.

I really liked the spider-critter in The Runaway Bride, if only for the line "Lance is funny!"

Moffat is awesome. I love that he can do the super-creepy and the dry British wit in the same episode. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he has developed Tintin.

*nod* Much as people complained about Owen, I think the best part of the pilot on that score was when Owen was about to get beaten to a pulp by that woman's boyfriend after using his Love Potion Number Nine on her and he basically decided, "Hell with it" and used it on him as well. Also, maybe Jack, Gwen and Rhys should just have a nice threesome sort of deal and get it over with - they all have something different to offer a relationship and it could actually work. *g*

Eh. Could have been done better. Could actually have been so damn creepy with better dialogue for the spider-critter. As it was ... not so much.

And yeah, the theme of this entry was pretty much "Moffat YAY!" As for Tintin ... well, I'll wait for trailers before I make a judgement call there. I didn't even like the comics all that much.

After seeing that part in the pilot, I started keeping a Rape Count in Torchwood, to go along with the Body Count in Doctor Who. As for Jack/Gwen/Rhys, I just feel sorry for Ianto. I don't like Jack/Gwen that much, simply because they have other partners they should be with. But threesomes yay!

I just though the line was great because Lance IS funny. And then there were the callbacks were the spider-critter kept trying to make jokes and failing horribly. So clearly she kept Lance around to try and learn humour from him. It was so endearingly pathetic.

I've been re-reading the Tintin comics during breaks at work, and they're surprisingly racist, although they manage some tongue-in-cheek moments for it too. I'm cutting Herge slack for that because he was tried making up for it a few times, and it was the 30's, so it's unlikely the audience would have read it otherwise. The movie has Spielberg attached as director, and with Moffat writing... even if it's bad, it's gonna be HUGE.

Well, that's sort of the point of the 31st Century lifestyle, isn't it? There's no one partner one's supposed to be with (Jack, as I recall it, found monogamy 'quaint') - there are different people that offer you different things in a relationship, and you can love all of them and enjoy all they have to offer without closing off the possibility of loving anyone else, is the theory, I think. So ... you know, we know Ianto's bi (Lisa, anyone?) - why not throw all four of them in? Maybe a bit of Rhys' well-meaning daffiness and Gwen's general mother-hen instinct will take some of the angst off that boy, while Jack starts learning how to share, godsdamnit. Character development ahoy. (Though it's probably no coincidence that it's the people Jack loves most that survived the end of S2. Hello, soap opera.)

I honestly don't remember very much about "Runaway Bride". I blotted most of it out of my memory in sheer horror, like I did with the bits of "Tooth and Claw" I watched. I'm looking forward to Moffat's takeover on the grounds that I not only won't have to listen to

dodgyhoodoo's anguished screams when his lifted hopes are dashed once again, but that I might actually be able to sit through an episode without going, "Fuck this; I'm going to go play stupid online flash games because they will at least be marginally entertaining and not insult my intelligence."

Huge, yes. But huge-but-awful movies always end up with me foaming at the mouth and looking for someone to beat with my plush lobster bludgeon. And no one really wants that. Except people whose sense of humour runs towards the absurd, profane and violent - like Spider Jerusalem in the Wonderful World of Nerf, or something.

Edited 2008-06-06 13:56 (UTC)

I can live with Jack/Ianto/Gwen which makes no sense given my dislike of Jack/Gwen. As much as I'd like to see that side being developed, of everyone bringing something to a group relationship, it's really going along the lines of Gwen loves Jack, but Rhys loves Gwen and Jack loves Gwen but Ianto loves Jack and Jack loves him back and previously on 'As the World Turns'... Gwen's bi too, certainly, so hopefully Replacement-Tosh (because there has to be one), will have some fem-slash-y vibes with her.

I tend to view the Christmas specials like a view most of the novelisations - possibly canon, but able to be ignored if necessary. It's a Christmas special designed to maintain interest during the off-season, so it can never be the awesome that is injected during the regular show. As long as it's not Star Wars Christmas Special bad, I'm content watching it.

I have faith in Moffat. He made Press Gang AND Coupling.

Well, we can hope. Davies would probably go that way with it, but if he's jumped ship on Who, maybe he'll do the same for Torchwood and let someone with less of an axe to grind have at it. Personally, if I was more given to fanfic these days, I think I'd probably have a bash at turning that particular 31st Century poly vibe into something workable for a 21st Century audience.

I'd view the Christmas specials like that more if they hadn't got the most recent Companion directly from the second-to-last one. Not that I have any problems with Donna now, you understand (in her way, she's the best of the three), but at the time, I thought she was a whiny co-dependent little pain in the arse. But then, I think I was supposed to think that, so that's okay. And I suppose I'm just a bit of a snob when it comes to that sort of thing - I personally don't care if it's just a ploy to keep interest between seasons; it ought to be the best it can possibly be, in my view. And if I consider it bad at all, I just won't watch it. I don't want to be one of those people (not saying you are, mind) that sits in front of the television with no care what they're watching and still complains that there's nothing good on.

I never saw Press Gang, but I liked what of Coupling I saw. Wasn't Jack Davenport in that? I liked him in Ultraviolet.

It'd be nice for a little less axe-grinding in Torchwood. The appeal of making it a more poly orientated show (which it would be if they brought Captain Spike back as a regular) means that the sex-monster-of-the-week can hook up with anyone, rather than just whoever happens to be single at that moment.

I'll agree that the Christmas specials should be something spectacular. Runaway Bride was probably the weakest of the three so far, and the lead in at the end of S2 was poor as well. Generally when I see something in a series that doesn't meet the standard my reaction is "Meh, they can't ALL be awesome." As long as there's a redeeming feature per episode, I'm happy.

Jack Davenport is in Coupling, along with Sarah Alexander who is yummy. Jack Davenport is simply made of win. I've been avoiding Ultraviolet, but if he's in it I might check it out.

Well, in all fairness, the first sex monster didn't exactly just pick on the single people. But even if Captain Spike doesn't come back as a regular, it'll be nice to see him back every so often. He really does add something to the show, and makes that kind of axe-grinding a little harder to take seriously. ("I can see the appeal of this planet. She's lovely ... he's gorgeous ... that's fantastic!" "...That's a poodle." "Nice.")

You seem to be better at finding redeeming features than I am. About some things, anyway. Or maybe I have a different definition of 'redeeming feature'. I mean, I like Angel despite plot holes, bad dialogue, horrible Boreanaz acting and other things as pointed out by Television Without Pity, preferring to gloss over it in favour of focusing on the awesome that is Alexis Denisof.

Oh, I think you'd really like Ultraviolet. It's an interesting take on the whole vampire thing, and aside from wanting to beat the snot out of the so-called love interest, it's fantastically acted on the whole. Plus because it never got to be the long-running series it was supposed to be, it never jumps the shark at any point, though it is a shame that some of the plot threads they started in the mini-series never got better exploration. Kind of like Firefly, in a way.

The first sex-monster didn't but every encounter since then generally has. Granted, I missed most of the second half of S1 but I think the point is still valid.

See, in that case, Alexis Denisof counts as a redeeming feature. Torchwood is seeming more and more like Angel, especially since Captain Spike showed up. There's even the whole Jack/John-Liam/William thing, not to mention the brooding angst.

Utraviolet's a series? I thought it was a movie.

The second half of S1 ... well, you aren't missing much, but "Out of Time" was one of the best episodes ever, and "Combat" wasn't shabby either.

Hey, maybe if Ianto starts being all dark and dangerous and slightly sociopathic, things'll improve. It'd certainly put a bit of a scare into Jack...

Oooh, no. Two different things. There is a movie called Ultraviolet, which I haven't seen, but what I'm talking about is the Channel 4 miniseries with the same name, which came first, thank you very much. *g*

Torchwood just didn't grab me like Doctor Who did. Neither did Dark Angel, but I'm being made to watch that too.

Yeah, Ianto's a little messed up. He's kinda latched onto Jack as a replacement for Lisa, so he might go all obsessive lover on him.

That series looks shiny. I'll have to search around for some torrents and convince Hannah that she needs to see more Jack Davenport.

Jack Davenport FTW! *cheers from the sidelines* It has him! And vampires! And stuff! And Jack Davenport!

So it would seem.

Jack Davenport for the definite win ... though the romantic preferences of the character he played left something to be desired. I mean, who wants that self-absorbed drip Kirsty when you can actually have a strong, independent, intelligent woman like Frances?

...I'm never going to shut up about that one, I guess. *g*

Heh; it was the other way around for me. I fell in love with the first new season - Eccleston rules, in my view - but after that I just got frustrated with it. Whereas Torchwood was just these predominantly average people dealing with some really weird stuff. Plus it's redeeming features again - that one episode in S1 with the 'faerie folk' and "Fragments", for instance, just ruled. But your mileage may vary.

Hee, that'd be ... well, I don't know where happy-go-lucky freelance Jack went (he's nearly as codependent as the rest of them, in his own way) but I want him back now, please. Seriously, what happened to the guy who flirted like other people breathe? Okay, it's been a long time, but ... some things don't change. Or shouldn't. I think Torchwood would be a lot better without some of the angst. Which I suppose is why Captain Spike would be a good addition - Marsters can do angst without overdoing it, so you actually still feel bad for the character instead of wanting to jump up on a coffee table and bap them with a rolled-up newspaper shouting, "Pull! Yourself! Together!"

Glad to see I'm spreading the UV-love. *happydance*

I missed the episode with the faeries because Hannah didn't think it was very good. I heard parts of it while she was watching it, so I agreed. I got the impression that the faeries weren't aliens. Is that right? It seemed out of place to me.

I miss non-angst-y Jack. He barely even flirts with the aliens unless they're human-looking. Most disappointing.

I liked it. Mostly, I think, because it was something that couldn't be explained. It was something that, while Jack had encountered it before, he couldn't define - they weren't really sure if they were aliens or not, to be honest; they could have come out of the Rift or somewhere else millennia ago, for all anyone knew - couldn't fight, and it scared the almighty hell out of him. And he lost. A lot of times in these things, people don't remember what it's like to lose, unless it's big and dramatically appropriate. You know, a couple of main characters die in horrible ways and whatnot but good eventually triumphs despite it? In this case, it wasn't like that - it was actually "Oh. Well. Weird powerful things get what they want and we really can't do anything about it so let it happen and feel really shitty about it later, when there's time."

And yes, flirty!Jack wouldn't go amiss. Though after being buried alive for several centuries by his own long-lost brother, it's entirely possible that he'll go even further into angst. It's like the Young and the Restless, only with marginally better writers.

Normally I appreciate ambiguity and main characters getting defeated so maybe I would like it. It sounds a little more like Doctor Who than what I expected from Torchwood, but then so did the episode with the carny folk coming out of movies.

Now, did Gray call Jack 'Jack'? Because that's not his name, after all.

Actually, the faerie folk episode was written by the same guy as wrote the carny folk episode, so maybe you would like it after all. Worth a shot, anyway.

And I think he did, but there's an excuse for that - Captain Spike found him and nursed him back to health, and they would have worked out somehow that they were talking about the same person, I suppose.

Is it weird to automatically assume Gray and Captain Spike were in a dom/sub relationship? Given how in love Capt. Spike is with Gray's brother?

I type the letters explaining to the general practitioner that the patient has been diagnosed with cancer, and that this news has been broken to the patient and that they were devastated and blah. I type the referral letters to the therapists when the patient needs help coping with the whole thing. I type the letters that say that the patient's treatment hasn't been helping, or that they've taken a turn for the worse. Sure, sometimes I get "They're getting better" or "it wasn't what we thought it was", but that's really not what sticks in the head.

*hugs*

...my opinion, if it helps? You do your job well. Bloody well, if even half what you put on LJ is accurate (and incredibly bloody well if it's all accurate ;) ).

So... Your work means GPs actually know what their patients have wrong with them. It gets people to therapists, gets the news passed on that they really need their treatment sorted out right now because it's not working, to put it simply you keep things moving so the patients actually get the help they need.

You're not a doctor or a nurse. So, you -are- doing all you can to help. Go You! *waves flag merrily* *s*

Personally? I love Doctor Who. But some of Moffat eps are too dark and scary for me even, and I can't imagine how kids can watch them. Yes, they're good, but Blink scared the living crap out of me.... And I'm no stranger to horror shows. The rest I've been able to handle. I just hope there are still some funny episodes too. I like the playful side of them too. It makes the darker episodes even darker for having the light ones to balance them (Though I agree, the Daleks are getting a bit worn out at this point. You can't repeatedly destroy all the Daleks before it's like, Oh, just die already, you're worse than roaches!)

Dear gods, I'm such a Hufflepuff.

"Daaarling" let me try to be vaguely helpful here. If the US had someone that could reliably do the job you do, my very suicidal, often confused, prone to falling (happened again this week...twice), 80 yr old Grandpa would have much better regulation on his FLEET of meds, would have someone else (besides the family) to help him understand what was going on, and likely not literally jump hard enough to throw his drink anytime ANYone touches him. I know 80 is a ripe old age, but his 87 yr old older brother is still kicking and doing better than he is right now.

So Hufflepuff or not, you do a great thing and are a grand hero of the Monarchy! I believe that Harry at least would salute you. And even if not, I will!

Dear gods. And people say the NHS is shit. Your poor grandpa!

And I'm not exactly complaining about being a Hufflepuff. I don't subscribe to the "house of leftovers" feel that the Potter series leaves one with because they're too busy painting Gryffindor as the only heroes and tarring and feathering Slytherin before riding it out of town on a rail. Hufflepuffs are fair and loyal and hardworking sonsofguns and they get the job done, and they are a good bunch to be. So I say it with no rancour, just like I liken myself to a Boggan with no particular qualms. Just sometimes it's a pain because I want to do more to help than I'm actually capable of doing in my current position and it galls me.

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