miss_s_b: The Sweet, Sweet Pie of Smugness

miss_s_b (

miss_s_b) wrote,
@ 2012-03-21 11:25 am UTC

Current mood:	bored
Entry tags:	doctorwho

The Sweet, Sweet Pie of Smugness

Well, we can't pronounce on ALL the predictions yet, but young, white, cis-female, and conventionally attractive? I think we're there on those:

The Doctor's new companion is revealed

Who she's playing, how the Doctor meets her, and even where he finds her, are all part of one of the biggest mysteries the Time Lord ever encounters. Even by the Doctor's standards, this isn't your usual boy meets girl. - I suspect the biggest mystery the Doctor ever encounters might be overselling it a bit. And boy meets girl? REALLY? Eurgh.

I'm sure I'll be able to put up with her character, maybe even I'll like her, but it would have been nice if the opportunity had been taken to have someone a bit more different :(

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	no subject drunkwriter 2012-03-21 12:31 pm UTC (link)
	The fact that she may turn out to be an utterly extraordinary actress is completely irrelevant here then? (Reply to this) (Thread) (Hide 39 comments) (Show 39 comments)

no subject

miss_s_b
2012-03-21 12:38 pm UTC (link)

For the purposes of a general commentary on the lack of variety in the stream of faces we see parading across our TV screens? Yes. This is not a comment on her as an individual, it's a comment on television as an industry.

FWIW, I would have had the same reaction if it was an actress I like (or even was familiar with) who fit the same criteria. I'm just bored of my televisual life being filled with young, pretty faces. There's no room in telly these days for (to pick an example at random) the likes of Sheila Keith, or even Michael Ripper, and that makes me very sad.

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drunkwriter
2012-03-21 01:08 pm UTC (link)

Oh, I must have missed the part where this was a wider commentary on the television industry. That's a different conversation, though it doesn't invalidate the fact that what was needed was the best actress who turned up to the audition (and as I've never seen Coleman in anything to the best of my knowledge, I'll assume that's what she is until I'm shown otherwise).

If you look at the full range of companions we've had in Doctor Who since 2005, there have been two non-white characters, one non-het, and two aged 35+. Three if you count River as a companion. I don't even know what 'conventionally attractive' means in the context of a series which gave a lead role to the very unconventional-looking Matt Smith. And you may remember US fans being thrilled that they cast a 'fat chick' to play Rose (/eyeroll).

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	no subject almostwitty 2012-03-21 01:15 pm UTC (link)
	To be fair, Matt Smith may be unconventional-looking to you, but he's good enough to be modelling clothes for the likes of Shortlist and other magazines. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 18 comments) (Show 18 comments)

	no subject andrewducker 2012-03-21 01:20 pm UTC (link)
	Was he doing that before he got the role? (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 2 comments) (Show 2 comments)

	no subject drunkwriter 2012-03-21 01:24 pm UTC (link)
	Certainly not for Shortlist, as I remember that piece coming out last year. I think he did the odd shoot here and there. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject almostwitty 2012-03-21 01:29 pm UTC (link)
	I seem to recall he modelled jumpers, but I can't cite a reference for that. Or I could be confusing him for Roger Moore. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject drunkwriter 2012-03-21 01:23 pm UTC (link)
	I'm not being unfair, I'm not saying he's bad looking. But you couldn't call him either classically handsome or 'conventionally attractive'. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 14 comments) (Show 14 comments)

	no subject innerbrat 2012-03-21 01:49 pm UTC (link)
	This entire thread is lost on me. How on Earth is Matt Smith not conventionally attractive? (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 13 comments) (Show 13 comments)

	no subject ginasketch 2012-03-21 02:02 pm UTC (link)
	He doesn't do it for me- but that's because he IS conventionally attractive. I don't tend to go for that. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 12 comments) (Show 12 comments)

	no subject innerbrat 2012-03-21 02:03 pm UTC (link)
	That's where I'm coming from. I'm looking at him, and thinking "yep, that's what straight girls like, alright." I just don't get it. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 11 comments) (Show 11 comments)

	no subject ginasketch 2012-03-21 02:06 pm UTC (link)
	I don't get Benedict Cumberbatch either. And he's conventionally attractive, despite almost every girl I know coming up to me going "I know you think I'm weird for liking his looks but I fancy BC." It's not weird- He just doesn't do it for me! (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand) (Hide 10 comments) (Show 10 comments)

	no subject innerbrat 2012-03-21 02:10 pm UTC (link)
	Oh well, him I don't get at all. But I can't disassociate him from Sherlock, which I find frankly unwatchable. I could BUY an argument for him as unconventionally attractive, but... no. Then, my first male crushes included Dexter Fletcher and Craig Charles, so what do I know? (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand) (Hide 2 comments) (Show 2 comments)

	no subject magister 2012-03-21 08:53 pm UTC (link)
	He reminds me of a young Boris Karloff. Which is a good thing. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject drunkwriter 2012-03-21 02:02 pm UTC (link)
	Usually the decision to cast a specific ethinicity is made before the audition process starts. But was that the case here? I don't know, and I'm pretty sure you don't either. So please don't start associating me with racists and The Last Airbender fans (if indeed any still exist). (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 11 comments) (Show 11 comments)

	no subject innerbrat 2012-03-21 02:04 pm UTC (link)
	Ha, yeah. I'm done here. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject miss_s_b 2012-03-21 02:35 pm UTC (link)
	Fair enough then. And yeah, my knee did jerk a little. Thank you for being you. * hug * (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 7 comments) (Show 7 comments)

	no subject drunkwriter 2012-03-21 02:51 pm UTC (link)
	hug (I just got my first byline!!!!) (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand) (Hide 6 comments) (Show 6 comments)

	no subject drunkwriter 2012-03-21 04:48 pm UTC (link)
	I think we've all had more than enough of this conversation, so I'll just quote the one-legged Tarzan sketch: "I've nothing at all against your left leg... the problem is, neither have you." (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject gwenhwyfaer 2012-03-21 06:10 pm UTC (link)
	Who was it who said that an obsession with stereotypical beauty was the hallmark of a civilisation in decline? (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

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