Overly Devoted Archivist Uncategorized amy pond, doctor who 0 Comments

Anonymous: Sorry but you can’t actually argue that Amy got as much character development as say, Rose. We knew Rose’s mother, father, boyfriend, heck even Mickey’s grandmother. We knew Jackie was a hairdresser, Mickey was a mechanic. Rose got bronze in gymnastics, she didn’t do to well in school because of a boy called Jimmy. We see how Pete died, we see him & Jackie were in an unhealthy relationship but ultimately loved each other. It’s not hate, I wish Amy could have had that same background development.

lyricwritesprose:

moffathatedebunked:

I cannot help but notice that the majority of what you cite as character development for Rose is in fact development of characters other than Rose.

And Amy did get quite a lot of that stuff.  We met Amy’s mother, father, aunt, father-in-law, best friend, and husband.  We know she played hockey well, or at least with a fair amount of bloodthirsty enthusiasm, and that she had trouble in school due to general troublemaking and a long history of not fitting in, which included not only her belief in the Doctor but deciding that one of her earlier teachers wasn’t real and might possibly be a cartoon.  We know that she was fond of history, that she appreciated art, and that she drew quite a lot when she was younger.  We know that her aunt was irresponsible, that her parents were better but still pushed her into therapy, which she despised, and her father-in-law liked her a lot.

Looking at this, the main thing that Rose’s background has, and Amy’s doesn’t, is a list of what everyone’s job is.  That’s an interesting omission, but it isn’t a crucial one.  And I’m not sure we ever found out what Martha’s parents did for a living.

Of course, this is a diversion, because what’s listed here isn’t character development; it’s background.  You can have one without the other.  The average murder mystery victim, for example, has tons of background, because sorting through their tangled relationships may yield the solution to the entire mystery, but they have no development, because dead.  Meanwhile, in the very early Doctor Who serials, all we know about the Doctor is that he comes from somewhere else, knows more than anyone else, has a granddaughter, and has a time machine.  He nevertheless manages to develop from someone who has nothing against casual kidnapping or killing to a friendly, quixotic grandfather-figure who develops deep friendships with his traveling companions and risks his life for others.