Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The Life of a Companion - One Year In

Today (June 8) is a rather special day - and I only know this because a year ago I updated my Facebook status to this effect (and I was geeky enough to search back far enough to find that update).  One year ago today, I sat down and watched "Doctor Who" for the very first time.  I had heard a lot about this show from friends online and people had referenced it.  The most I knew was that the actor who'd played Barty Crouch Jr. in the fourth Harry Potter movie was in it.

Last summer was pretty boring - "24" and "Heroes" had been canceled and "CSI" was going down the tubes (I'm surprised it's still on) and I wanted to find something new to watch.  Plus, I was looking for a job and that was a fruitless endeavor - I honestly just needed something to lift my spirits and get my mind off how miserable my life was at that point.  I arbitrarily chose "Doctor Who" based on the internet chatter I'd seen, thinking that it wouldn't hurt to see one episode - I was by no means obligated to continue if I didn't like it (this was even before I knew all the many decades of history the show had).

I found out what the first episode of the new series was and looked it up online.  I had a number of initial thoughts - not the least of which was "This isn't David Tennant - who the heck is this guy?" (no, I did not recognize Christopher Eccleston from his one part in "Heroes" and I'm pretty sure that was by design).  But the premise intrigued me and I could tell that the writers were making an effort to interest new viewers.

"Rose" ended and I thought "Well, that was cool" just as the "Next Time" trailer came up.  And the Doctor has this line:

"Welcome to the end of the world."

I don't remember much beyond that except "HOLY CRAP - THE END OF THE WORLD?? HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK??" (oh, how naive was I?)

From there on out, I pounced on this show like a housecat on a wounded mouse.  I zipped through the new series, DVR'd everything "Doctor Who" on BBC America, ate up all the Classic Who I could get my hands on, started into Big Finish, joined online groups, sought out podcasts, made crafts and costumes and music videos and heaven knows what else -

So today, I have a treat - mostly for myself, but others may enjoy it as well.  I love all kinds of music and since last year, I've found a number of songs that I associate with Doctor Who.  I've put them together in a playlist along with some quotes from the new series showing the Doctor through the eyes of his companions (more or less) because I've felt like one of the Doctor's companions on this wild ride I've been on in the past year.

For your listening pleasure, I present:

The Life of a Companion: One Year In
(A Fanmix)

(Each song title is a link to a video with that song)


The Doctor: I'm the Doctor, by the way, what's your name?
Rose: Rose.
The Doctor: Nice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!
 - from "Rose"

I wonder what it's like to be a super hero
I wonder where I'd go if I could fly around downtown
From some other planet, I get this funky high from a yellow sun
Boy I bet my friends will all be...stunned, they're stunned

Martha: What, people call you "the Doctor"?
The Doctor: Yeah.
Martha: Well, I'm not. As far as I'm concerned, you've got to earn that title.
The Doctor: Well, I'd better make a start, then.
  - from "Smith and Jones"

With all his Wizard wisdom
By my looks, he won't be blinded
D'you think the Wizard is dumb
Or, like Munchkins, so small-minded
NO!
He'll say to me "I see who you truly are
A girl on whom I can rely"
And that's how we'll begin
The Wizard and I
***
Oh, what a pair we'll be -
The Wizard and I!

Donna: I packed ages ago, just in case. 'Cause I thought, hot weather, cold weather, no weather... he goes anywhere, I've gotta be prepared! (puts a hatbox on top of the pile of luggage in the Doctor's arms.)
The Doctor: You've got a... a... hatbox.
Donna: Planet of the Hats, I'm ready!
 - from "Partners of Crime"

You get your Ph.D
How happy you will be
When you get a job at Wendy's
And are honored with employee of the month

I think never is enough (yeah never is enough)
I never want to do that stuff
I think never is enough (yeah never is enough)
You never have to do that stuff

The Doctor: What do you think? You could stay here and fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go, uh... anywhere.
 - from "Rose"

We'll live happily forever
So the story goes...
We’ll try best we can
To carry on!
***
A gathering of angels
Appeared above my head
And sang to me their song of hope
And this is what they said -
Come sail away!
***
We climbed aboard their starship
And headed for the skies!

Ten: You know... I loved being you. Back when I first started, at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important, like you do when you're young. And then I was you. And it was all dashing about and playing cricket and my voice going all squeaky when I shouted -- I still do that! The voice thing, I got that from you. Oh! (puts his foot on the console) And the trainers. And... (puts on his glasses) ... snap. 'Cause you know what, Doctor? You were *my* Doctor.
Five: (tips his hat) To days to come.
Ten: All my love to long ago.
 - from "Time Crash"

(Link is one of my favorite DW fanvids - JSYK)

Never, never try to gauge temperature
When you travel at such speed
It's our velocity
Is it cold where you are this time of year?
***
Are you willing to resist the people you've never met?
The devil's wheel revolves
But it needs to be reset

Reinette: But you and I both know, don't we, Rose? The Doctor is worth the monsters.
 - from "The Girl in the Fireplace"

Martha: (re the Doctor) ...'Cause you've got no idea of what he's like. I've only just met him. It wasn't even that long ago, but he is everything... he's just everything to me and he doesn't even look at me, but I don't care... 'cause I love him to bits.
 - from "The Family of Blood"

(Link is a DW fanvid that was a contributing factor in me starting to watch the show - yes, I knew was happened in Series 2 before I even watched it - SPOILERS!)

My life
You electrify my life
Let's conspire to ignite
All the souls that would die just to feel alive.

Jenny: So what do you do?
The Doctor: I travel. Through time and space.
Donna: He saves planets, rescues civilizations, defeats terrible creatures. And runs a lot. Seriously, there is an outrageous amount of running involved.
 - from "The Doctor's Daughter"

Tonight I'll dream while I'm in bed
When silly thoughts go through my head
About the bugs and alphabet
And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet
That you and I will walk together again
'Cause I can tell that we're gonna be friends

Donna:  I could think of ideas that you two couldn't dream of in a million years! Ah, the universe has been waiting for me! Now... let's send that trip-stitch all over the ship. Did I ever tell you... (gestures to herself) Best temp in Chiswick? (wiggles her fingers in typing motion) A hundred words per minute!
 - from "Journey's End"

Oh, love don't let me go
Won't you take me where the streetlights glow?
I could hear it comin'
Like a seranade of sound
Now my feet won't touch the ground
***
Gravity release me
And don't ever hold me down
Now my feet won't touch the ground

Donna: He's amazing, Gramps. He's just... dazzling. And never tell him I said that.
Wilf: No.
Donna: But I'd trust him with my life.
 - from "The Sontaran Stratagem"

Now I got friends that ride into the storm
And ride out of the storm with nothing
They rode into the storm with

When you're up between the new sky line
The city lights and the warm sunshine
It's a long way down
When you can count on one hand what you love
And can count on who you love to help you on your long way down

The Doctor: I'm a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor. I'm left travelling on my own because there's no one else.
Rose: There's me.
The Doctor: You've seen how dangerous it is. Do you want to go home?
Rose: I don't know. I want... (Suddenly she sniffs the air.) Oh! Can you smell chips?
The Doctor: (laughs, caught off-guard) Yeah. Yeah!
 - from "The End of the World"

Look out new world here we come
Brave, intrepid and then some
Pioneers of maximum
Audacity whose resumes
Show that we are just the team
To live where others merely dream
Building up a head of steam
On the trail we blaze

Changing legend into fact
We shall ride into history
Turning myth into truth
We shall surely gaze
On the sweet unfolding
Of an antique mystery
All will be revealed
On the trail we blaze

The Doctor: You don't need to own the universe. Just see it. To have the privilege of seeing all of time and space... that's ownership enough.
 - from "The End of Time, Part 2"

(Link is a Donna fanvid I made soon after I finished Series 4)

Anyone perfect must be lying
Anything easy has its cost
Anyone plain can be lovely
Anyone loved can be lost
What if I lost my direction?
What if I lost my sense of time?
What if I nurse this infection?
Maybe the worst is behind.

Rose: Is it always this dangerous?
The Doctor: (nods) Yeah.
 - from "Rose"

(Link is to a Fifth Doctor fanvid - so Classic Who gets some love here too ^_^)
You know that I was hoping,
That I could leave this star-crossed world behind
But when they cut me open,
I guess I changed my mind.

And you know I might
Have just flown too far from the floor this time
Cause they're calling me by my name
And the zipping white light beams
Disregard the bombs and satellites
***
The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down
It's all in your mind"

Well now I'm back at home, and
I'm looking forward to this life I live
You know its gonna haunt me
So hesitation to this life I give.
You think you might cross over,
You're caught between the devil and the deep blue sea
You better look it over,
Before you make that leap

Martha: Oh, no, no. (looking at the exterior in amazement) But it's just a box. But it's huge. How does it do that? It's wood. (She knocks on it, then goes back inside.) It's like a box with that room just rammed in. It's bigger on the inside!
The Doctor: (after mouthing the last sentence with her) Is it? I hadn't noticed.
 - from "Smith and Jones"

One day I'll construct a satellite
and I'll name it after you
'Cause you were the greatest friend of all
except for when you split my lip in two
To see the look upon your face
as I launch you into space

There's a lot I will never do
Some fantastic, I know it's true
But none as much as my want to be with you

The Doctor: Rose... before I go, I just wanna tell you, you were fantastic. (He smiles at her.) Absolutely fantastic. And d'you know what? ...So was I!
  - from "The Parting of the Ways"

(Link to another video I made - this one a tribute to "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances")
Do you think I'm special?
Do you think I'm nice?
Am I bright enough to shine in your spaces?
Between the noise you hear, and the sounds you like
Are we just sinking the ocean of faces?
It can't be possible... the rain can fall
Only when it's over our heads.
The sun is shining everyday, but it's far away.
Over the world that's dead.

The Doctor: I only take the best.
 - from "The Long Game"

Have you ever danced in the rain
Or thanked the sun
Just for shining- just for shining
Or the sea?
Oh no- take it all in
The world's a show
And yeah, you look much better,
Look much better when you glow

Rose: But it was... it was a better life. And I -- I don't mean all the travelling and... seeing 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. That 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 else just runs away.
 - from "The Parting of the Ways"

Martha: (She tosses her mobile to him) Keep that. 'Cause I'm not having you disappear. If that rings, *when* that rings, you better come running. Got it?
The Doctor: Got it.
Martha: (smiles) I'll see you again, mister. (She leaves.)
 - from "The Last of the Time Lords


Donna: I don't suppose you've seen a little blue box?
Wilfred: Is that slang for something?
Donna: No, I mean it. If you ever see a little blue box flying up there in the sky, you shout for me, Gramps. Oh, you just shout.
 - from "Partners in Crime"

The Doctor: Swear to me. Swear to me on something that matters.
Amy: (long pause) Fish fingers and custard.
The Doctor: ...My life in your hands, Amelia Pond.
  - from "The Impossible Astronaut

And in the burst of light that blinded every angel
As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars
You felt the gravity of temper grace falling into empty space
No one there to catch you in their arms

Donna: You can't just leave them!
The Doctor: Don't you think I've done enough? History's back in place and everyone dies.
Donna: You've got to go back! Doctor, I am telling you, take this thing back! (The Doctor pulls the handbrake and the TARDIS takes off. Donna is crying.) It's not fair.
The Doctor: (quietly) No, it's not.
 - from "The Fires of Pompeii"

Give me a word
Give me a sign
Show me where to look
Tell me what will I find
Lay me on the ground
Fly me in the sky
Show me where to look
Tell me what will I find
Oh, heaven let your light shine down

Vincent: Hold my hand, Doctor. (they all link hands) Try to see what I see. We're so lucky we're still alive to see this beautiful world. Look at the sky. It's not dark and black and without character. The black is in fact deep blue. And over there! Lighter blue. (the starscape slowly transforms into The Starry Night) And blowing through the blueness and the blackness, the winds swirling through the air. And there, shining, burning, bursting through, the stars! Can you see how they roll their light? Everywhere we look, complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes.
The Doctor: I’ve seen many things, my friend, but you’re right. Nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see.
 - from "Vincent and the Doctor"

I still love what I know
I love to ride alone and sing a song and listen to the radio
You can ride along and if you change your mind, well
That's just fine, but there's somethin' that you got to know

Young Kazran: Aren't you gonna tell me it's dangerous?
The Doctor: Dangerous? C'mon, we're boys! And you know what boys say in the face of danger.
Young Kazran: What?
The Doctor: Mummy.
 - from "A Christmas Carol"

There's still time for you
Time to buy, Time to lose yourself
Within a morning star
Fifteen, I'm all right with you
Fifteen, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live

The Doctor: And if you want to remember me, then you can do one thing. That's all. One thing. Have a good life. Do that for me, Rose. Have a fantastic life.
 - from "The Parting of the Ways"

There’s a place I go
When I’m alone
Do anything I want
Be anyone I wanna be
But it is us I see
And I cannot believe I’m fallin'
That’s where I’m goin'
Where are you goin'
Hold it close won’t let this go
Dream catch me,
Dream catch me when I fall
Or else I won’t come back at all

River: When I first met the Doctor, a long, long time ago... he knew all about me. Think about that. Impressionable young girl, and suddenly this man just drops out of the sky, he's clever and mad and wonderful and knows every last thing about her. Imagine what that does to a girl.
 - from "The Impossible Astronaut"

On this half lit day
With your crown beneath your wing
Every word just echoes
And the empty world sings

Where have you gone my feather light heart?
I never imagined I could leave.

In the glistening
Of the lost and open sky
Tiny piece of you sits
Simple wish waits for reply

Where have you gone my feather light heart?
You mustn't forget what love can see.

The Doctor: Nobody important? Blimey, that's amazing. D'you know, in nine hundred years of time and space, I've never met anyone who wasn't important before.
 - from "A Christmas Carol"

The Doctor: So. Coming?
Amy: No.
The Doctor: You wanted to come fourteen years ago.
Amy: I grew up.
The Doctor: Don't worry. I'll soon fix that.
  - from "The Eleventh Hour"

People they come together
People they fall apart
No one can stop us now
'Cause we are all made of stars

The Doctor: You know, since we're talking with mouths, not really an opportunity that comes along very often, I just wanna say, you know, *you* have never been very reliable!
Idris: And you have?
The Doctor: You didn't always take me where I wanted to go.
Idris: No, but I always took you where you needed to go.
  - from "The Doctor's Wife"

What can you see
On the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea
A pale moon rises
The ships have come to carry you home

And all will turn
To silver glass
A light on the water
All souls pass

River: (v.o.) When you run with the Doctor, it feels like it will never end. But however hard you try, you can't run forever. Everybody knows that everybody dies, and nobody knows it like the Doctor. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark if he ever, for one moment, accepts it… Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all. Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair, and the Doctor comes to call... everybody lives.
 - from "The Forest of the Dead"

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend…
***
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

Amy: There's someone missing. Someone important, someone so, *so* important.
Rory: Amy, what's wrong?
Amy: Sorry. (clears throat) Sorry, everyone. (pause) When I was a kid, I had an imaginary friend.
***
Amy: The Raggedy Doctor. My Raggedy Doctor. But he wasn't imaginary. He was real.
***
Amy: I remember you. I REMEMBER! I brought the others back, I can bring you home too! Raggedy Man, I remember you, and YOU ARE LATE FOR MY WEDDING! (A pause. Various objects in the room start to tremble.) I found you. I found you with words, like you knew I would. That's why you told me the story, the brand new, ancient blue box. Oh, clever, very clever! (The trembling gets stronger, a wind starts to blow, and the guests look around and exclaim in fear.)
Rory: Amy? What is it?
Amy: Something old. Something new. Something borrowed. (The TARDIS materialisation sound is heard.) Something blue. (The TARDIS appears and solidifies.)
 - from "The Big Bang"

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
***
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning.
We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
It will still burn on, and on, and on, and on...


Donna: Am I ever gonna see you again?
The Doctor: If I'm lucky.
- from "The Runaway Bride"


River: The Doctor... in the TARDIS... next stop, everywhere.
- from "The Forest of the Dead"

(I am indebted to Sue_Denimme from LiveJournal for all the quotes.)

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