![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I've been thoroughly enjoying my foray through Nine's single season for the first time in what must be several years. I hoped to post more, but found I didn't actually have much to say, except how much I'm enjoying it. For the record, though, if anyone's interested, my original S1 reviews can be found here.
But Boom Town, tonight, made me really want to squee a little on how amazing it is, even after all this time.
I have watched this episode sooooo many times, both in series rewatches and for research because, as someone pointed out many many moons ago, this is the one single episode where we get to see Rose, Nine and Jack as they presumably would have been for a hell of a lot more adventures between the Empty Child and the Game Station if only season 1 had been longer!
But I watched it tonight for the first time in several years (with my son, who is 18 and was still growing inside me when this first aired, that's how long ago it was!!!) and we both found so much in it to enjoy. And not just to enjoy, but to notice. There's such a lot of stuff packed into this episode. Character stuff, the stuff I'm interested in and the stuff Jack (my son, not Captain Jack, although to be fair he was in part named after Captain Jack) is interested in – well, he's going to be an actor, and I'm a writer, so characters and their relationships are what we're there for!
And this episode gives so much, about Nine, Jack, Rose, Mickey, and their interactions with each other. The tensions between Rose and Mickey, with the two of them remembering how they used to be together and trying to work out what they are to each other now. Jack looking after Rose, like the way he grabs her when Blon lets her go. Blon's not-very-subtle attempts to play all of them but especially the Doctor, and the insights we get into the Doctor as a result (oh, how expressive Christopher Eccleston's eyes are)!
But best of all, the Doctor and Jack. I came into Nine/Jack largely through![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
becky_writing / fandom_me's awesome fic with Nine and Jack in an established BDSM relationship, and so that's inevitably where I followed. Rewatching this now with an open mind, I'm not necessarily getting an established sexual or D/s relationship there, or even necessarily the promise of one – I mean, there *could* be, but there equally could not be – but there is so much interaction, little looks and glances – Jack glances at the Doctor a lot, checking in with him for approval or orders, a LOT. There might not be a sexual relationship, there might not be an overt D/s relationship, but there is very definitely a pecking order there, and Jack is very definitely watching the Doctor for direction. It's fascinating. If I had the time, I'd go and watch the episode AGAIN!
But I won't, because we're trying to get in as much rewatching as possible before my son goes off to uni in September. And I need to actually show him Torchwood this time around, because our last rewatch of these early seasons was years ago and he definitely wasn't old enough then!
But Boom Town, tonight, made me really want to squee a little on how amazing it is, even after all this time.
I have watched this episode sooooo many times, both in series rewatches and for research because, as someone pointed out many many moons ago, this is the one single episode where we get to see Rose, Nine and Jack as they presumably would have been for a hell of a lot more adventures between the Empty Child and the Game Station if only season 1 had been longer!
But I watched it tonight for the first time in several years (with my son, who is 18 and was still growing inside me when this first aired, that's how long ago it was!!!) and we both found so much in it to enjoy. And not just to enjoy, but to notice. There's such a lot of stuff packed into this episode. Character stuff, the stuff I'm interested in and the stuff Jack (my son, not Captain Jack, although to be fair he was in part named after Captain Jack) is interested in – well, he's going to be an actor, and I'm a writer, so characters and their relationships are what we're there for!
And this episode gives so much, about Nine, Jack, Rose, Mickey, and their interactions with each other. The tensions between Rose and Mickey, with the two of them remembering how they used to be together and trying to work out what they are to each other now. Jack looking after Rose, like the way he grabs her when Blon lets her go. Blon's not-very-subtle attempts to play all of them but especially the Doctor, and the insights we get into the Doctor as a result (oh, how expressive Christopher Eccleston's eyes are)!
But best of all, the Doctor and Jack. I came into Nine/Jack largely through
becky_writing / fandom_me's awesome fic with Nine and Jack in an established BDSM relationship, and so that's inevitably where I followed. Rewatching this now with an open mind, I'm not necessarily getting an established sexual or D/s relationship there, or even necessarily the promise of one – I mean, there *could* be, but there equally could not be – but there is so much interaction, little looks and glances – Jack glances at the Doctor a lot, checking in with him for approval or orders, a LOT. There might not be a sexual relationship, there might not be an overt D/s relationship, but there is very definitely a pecking order there, and Jack is very definitely watching the Doctor for direction. It's fascinating. If I had the time, I'd go and watch the episode AGAIN!But I won't, because we're trying to get in as much rewatching as possible before my son goes off to uni in September. And I need to actually show him Torchwood this time around, because our last rewatch of these early seasons was years ago and he definitely wasn't old enough then!
Tags:
no subject
I skimmed through your meta and I enjoyed it - both well-written and well-researched. I'm not a shipper in any sense of the word and don't care about the romantic aspects of anything I watch, but I've always said, if I had to choose the best romantic partner for the Doctor, it would be Jack. They can relate to each other as equals, and they both understand aspects of each others better than anyone else can. I really can't get behind almost any other companion in a romantic relationship with the Doctor because they all put him on a high pedestal and because he relates to all of them like a father teaching his children - the concept is really squicky. The only other companion that relates to the Doctor on an actual mature level is Donna. (Don't get me started on River...)
Anyway, I really loved how you analyzed every scene, and also how you allowed for writer intention and other theories to counter your thoughts. And I really like that your image of their relationship is very mature, for example, that they both know when to defer to the other, that there isn't fighting for dominance.
One bit... You mentioned how Jack originally came on hard to Rose, then when he found out she wasn't a Time Agent, he switched to avuncular, and turned all his attention on the Doctor. While I don't disagree with you at all, there's another force at work here. For all the fans' criticism of Jack flirting with and sleeping with anything that moves, the one thing they don't recognize is that Jack is actually respectful. He talks a lot about the sex he has, but it's always consentual, and he flirts with everyone, but shuts it down if the target says no. Jack came on hard with Rose because he thought she was a Time Agent, but as soon as it was clear that she wasn't, he saw that she was underage (or at least acted underage) and stopped it cold, and turned into that favorite uncle.