⚠️Human, All Too Human ⚠️
Analysis of Doctor and 'The Water of Mars'
**Posted on Doctor Who Amino: http://aminoapps.com/p/r4gwy3**
Part 1/??
Oh by now, whether you're a newbie fan (like me!) or a well-seasoned DW veteran, the one thing we can all agree on is how human The Doctor is ;)
David Tennant superbly portrayed the pitfalls of being a lonesome, reckless Time Lord with no accountability in 'Water of Mars'. His performance was absolutely riveting and even quite terrifying. Agreed, this wondrous episode has been beaten to death with many online reviews and analysis. But there's more to be said, particularly for such a meaningful special.
In psychology, we have termed various social phenomenons that have been seemingly universal. And as human as the Time Lord Victorious is, he is not immune to these cognitive and behavioral fallacies.
Few interesting points:
The Doctor thrives on the anxiety performance phenomenon. Which is what you ask? Basically, people perform their best at a certain peak level of anxiety. Too little anxiety/little motivation means slow productivity. Too much anxiety means an overwhelming, counterproductive performance. Speaking physiologically, you need a viable level of working hormones (cortisol and epinephrine/adrenaline) to kick up your body in a sympathetic nervous system mode AKA fight-or-flight (I see a Dalek, I run. All my bodily functions help me run away).
Undoubtedly he is supremely intelligent and intellectual with his accumulated wisdom and experiences. But we truly see his innovative, creative best when the danger level is high-- like when he uses the robot to navigate the TARDIS to save him and the Mars survivors, seriously genius. For the Doctor, his threshold of handling life-threatening danger far exceeds his human companions. Because of this high tolerance to danger and inclination to thrill-seeking, his senses are more so sharpened, he's pushed to the cognitive limit, and his unorthodoxy solutions are breathtaking. With the amount of cortisol and adrenaline pumping through his two-heart circulatory system, you'd think he'd be susceptible to illness or breakdowns more often. But he isn't. He has one kickbutt immune system except when Donna kissed him for shock in Unicorn and Wasp. No one can escape that... Anywayyy.
The Doctor has dark periods of reclusiveness and recklessness (like in The Water of Mars), but when the end is nearing, he regenerates into an entirely new Doctor and his high-energy focus shifts to adjustment. Normally, there would be a companion to reign in The Doctor (as shown in 'Turn Left' with Donna Noble).
But what happens to the Doctor when he is alone for extended periods of time? Does he accelerate his demise due to his uncontrollable rage and irrational ego?
No, I have yet to watch the Classic Doctor Who, but I'd wish RTD and Moffat had given the 9th-12th Doctor more time in between. The timeline of the 9th-12th seems awfully hurried considering how prior to the 9th, he's supposed to be 900+ years old. And there's been some discrepancies in his aging as well. Is he 900? 903? 908? I'd be perfectly content if they let 10th travel for 100 years before he regenerated into 11th. All I'm saying is, take a step back and smell the fresh black holes and star explosions, Doc. To Be Continued...
Like more content theory? Or weird wibbly wobbly timey whimey thoughts? Like and Follow me!
((If you'd like to use my content (aka my thoughts/opinions), just message me. Credit is appreciated!))
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Holy cow you're still reading? Go home. You're drunk :D J/K Thanks for reading. Allons-y!
