The Long Game/In defence of Adam Mitchell
One of the only Doctor Who episodes I actually dislike…
See, I was reading the original script in the 2005 script book, and in that Adam’s motivation is totally different, he’s trying to send a cure for arthritis back to his parents to help his father. In other words, he’s doing exactly what Rose plans to do- help save a loved one- and he gets punished for it. I’m really glad that didn’t make it into the final episode, because that would have been downright infuriating.
Also, even with Adam as he actually turned out- kind of a greedy git- I don’t actually dislike him all that much. I think he was punished a bit out of proportion to his crime- dude, the Doctor pretty much threatened him with death! (“Lead a quiet life or they’ll come and dissect you.”) And I think it’s unfair that his mother, a total innocent, was punished too. It sort of unsettles me that the last shot of the episode is her horrified face…
Anyway, it’s always been my headcanon that Adam went to work for UNIT and redeemed himself. This happened and no-one can say it didn’t!
September 13, 2011 @ 11:36 pm
Me solution is that The Long Game never happened. Otherwise I would have to find some explaination for why anyone would decide to make their leads look like utterly cruel horrible wankers.
September 14, 2011 @ 6:13 pm
And RTD must have known he was doing that, right? Right…?
September 14, 2011 @ 4:48 am
[here from who_daily] Adam’s plotline is one that has always left me a bit uneasy. I mean, yes, he’s a bit greedy, but most of what he did didn’t seem so bad to me for someone on their first trip into the future. Plus, the Doctor did sort of tell him to be all ‘when in Rome’ and do things as the people there were doing. It made sense that he’d get the tech in his head, especially as Rose and Nine had separated from him and weren’t really there to give him some guidance and perspective. And sending info back to the past? I could easily see the temptation (even Martha, whom I adore, joked about recording ‘Love’s Labour’s Won’ to bring it to the future). I’m not saying it’s right, but without the Doctor’s guidance, I could see many people just being blinded by such opportunities without immediately thinking through the ramifications. It’s all very ‘human’. It’s odd, it all sort of reads to me in the end that Nine was just angry that Adam had gotten he and Rose taken prisoner (which was obviously not intended, no matter how misdirected he might have acted). And perhaps a bit of jealousy about Adam potentially coming between his budding friendship with Rose. The worst part is how damned irresponsible Nine is in the resolution. Here is a ‘man’ who is generally all about technology not being in the wrong time, yet he leaves Adam with the tech in his head. I always wondered if Torchwood came to get him and always thought it would be beautiful schadenfreude if said tech brought about some technology being in the hands of humans much too early (thus screwing up the future). I really wanted that whole thing to come back and bite Nine in the arse, but sadly it was never touched on again. I guess for me it is a hard episode to watch, especially when — one episode later — Rose nearly destroys the multiverse trying to save her father and that is forgiven much more easily. I personally think, comparatively speaking, that the scale of such an action is a bigger ‘crime’. Only ‘taking the best’ gets a bit muddied with that interpretation, IMO. But, YMMV. *shrug*
September 14, 2011 @ 6:19 pm
And perhaps a bit of jealousy about Adam potentially coming between his budding friendship with Rose. I suspect this might have been his main motivation. Oh, Nine… I always wondered if Torchwood came to get him and always thought it would be beautiful schadenfreude if said tech brought about some technology being in the hands of humans much too early (thus screwing up the future). I really wanted that whole thing to come back and bite Nine in the arse, but sadly it was never touched on again. Man, it would have served him bloody well right! You know, before I watched Torchwood, I really hoped the episode called ‘Adam’ was referring to our Adam…