Doctor Who never ceases to capture my attention, no matter the content of the episodes it is as captivating now as it was when I first discovered it and in some cases more so. Part of the reason it is so appealing to me is that (as of the 2005 series) the Doctor is alone in the universe, the Time Lords are forever trapped during the time of their demise. He is as lonely as I usually feel, though he takes in companions to keep his attention off of his people.
His heroic qualities aside, he is most likely the most brilliant man in the universe as well, always foiling the plots of those whose ultimate goals typically end up threatening Earth (for which the Doctor has a strange affinity). His passion for preserving life is so completely altruistic that it seems impossible that it could exist in any universe. He weeps for those that fall, even if they are the enemy and all of this came to a head for the 10th incarnation of the character in The End of Time.
Those who have not yet seen it and plan to please DO NOT CONTINUE READING, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
The mysterious Time War has always been the most fascinating enigma of the mythos created by Russell T. Davies and some of its contents were revealed throughout the past 4 seasons and some rather important information in these past 2 episodes. You learn in the 1st season from the 9th Doctor that the Time Lords, arguably the most powerful and passive race in the universe was destroyed in the Time War, a war of such unimaginable scale that spread across the stars and time itself. You later learn that the Doctor himself was responsible for the destruction of the Time Lords and their enemies, the Daleks as well as creating the Time Lock to keep it contained from the outside world. This reveals his deep loneliness and passion for all life including his Batman-like disdain for firearms. He had two choices, burn his own people with their enemy or let them raze the entire cosmos with nothing left but ash. The choice must have been the most difficult choice of his life because it was one that he could not interfere with later. The End of Time shows us that the Time Lords upon entering the War changed into a violent, aggressive race intent on ending time itself to become beings of pure consciousness. This change toward violence must be part of the reason why the Doctor makes the same sacrifice again for the sake of Life and again forsaking his own people to endless death and destruction. Even among his own people, he is still alone and continues on his travels through time and space, exploring with various companions, saving life when and where possible perhaps to attempt to make amends for his choices, and echoing the words of the 10th Doctor, I don't want it to end for him, but he has indeed collected his reward.
There shall be more to come on loneliness in Sci-Fi, any suggestions on a series or movie?
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Not a movie or televised series, but for books one really can't do better than Richard K. Morgan. For a first taste I'd suggest Altered Carbon. (winner of the Philip K. Dick award)
ReplyDeleteIt is the most successful cyberpunk novel I've ever read. Rather than trying to describe it, please read the first few pages. My guess is that, like me, you wont want to put it down.