When I thought Clara was going to be properly introduced in the Snowmen, I was really excited because it wasn't going to be at 21st century girl that was going to the TARDIS, and she seemed to be more of a duplicitous character. Plus, she wasn't afraid to go off on her own and look for her own answers... at least to me on the surface. That's kind of what sucked me out of The Bells of Saint John, at that point she became Kenny from South Park. Plus, Moffat turned The Doctor into a stalker.
same, I immediately thought "yes! finally, something different! maybe she's gonna be sorta like charley pollard!" but yeah, lol, really should've noticed the kenny from south park comparison, its rather fitting
***** Kind of a waste of a fake out if you think about it. Have the 2nd encounter with Clara be from present day Earth but then she dies again, only to have the real Clara come from the past.
That's why I'm kinda interested in checking out the new Titan comics, because the companions don't seem to be your average generic marketing eye candy. Then again, the expanded universe does allow more creative freedom.
Kris cause New Who is complete shit and they don't take risks anymore. I mean look at Classic Who, while not fleshed out much the companions were widely varied. But with New Who...
Give me a medieval German knight, he joined after a story with a holy order ruled by Cybermen after "Acceptable material". He's a brutal an violent man but he holds to a honour system an religious views based in 1400 ad logic an would views there that's some one that can A) change an adapt B) give us a different world view an a history.
I love how at the end of this you're like "Give her an episode or some screentime to show what her Character actually is and stuff" and then in series 8 they obsess over that throughout the series... *AND THEY STILL FUCK IT UP*
Funny that after you said all this about Clara, they went on and made The Clara Oswald Show in series 8 and I realized that I'd rather have her as the background eye candy rather than the main character of the show. Actually I'd rather have her as a normal, flawed, interesting but not forced to be the most important person in the universe companion, but it seems Moffat can't do that.
Following your logic about relatable characters: I recommend Rose's mother for consideration. She was definitely flawed but came back to fight for her daughter bravely. But, I'm old what do I know.
My issue with Clara is that she was originally created for one purpose, the whole "Impossible Girl" thing, but then after it was done she still stuck around. Any character who is created for one purpose then have them stick around after they then serve no purpose. Another issue the new series has is shifting the focus of the show from the Doctor to the Companion then they feel like they have to make the Companions special in some way. That ruins the whole thing. The best Companions in the new series were Martha and Donna because they were not special. They grew and BECAME more than they were (even if Donna ended up forgetting) but there were just humans.
What I'd love is a companion from the future Earth where advanced technology is commonplace, and the Doctor has lost his memory (ala Eighth) and the Doctor is now our entry point into the show and the companion is who we're trying to keep up with. I don't know, _anything_ different.
Even for romantic novels, that's something mostly done for fiction targeted at teens. While 50 Shades has taught me otherwise, I still dare to believe that even romance novels (if they are good) have actual characters.
You know what? i totally agree. I believed i thought Donna was the best companion because i can relate to her, and that maybe i dont like Clara coz she is so young and cute and i am a jealous old cow, but THIS makes more sense.
I think Rory was a better companion than Amy for some of the reasons you touched on. Amy was totally enamoured with the Doctor and her plots revolved around him. Rory was this guy who probably shouldn't have been in the TARDIS but tried his best and was heroic when he had to be, and wasn't a genius but also wasn't stupid.
My biggest issue with Clara is that Moffat fell in love with his own creation and tried to force the rest of us love her as much as he did without doing anything to make her actually likable. I only started to actually like her during series 9 when she started to become too much like the Doctor (yay, she has flaws!) leading up to her incredible death in Face the Raven, but even that was shittily retconned in Hellbent so that Moffat could say "look how special Clara is, the Doctor is willing to break all his rules just for her because she's the best and most important companion ever!!!"
I totally agree that Clara has no flaws or personality. I find characters interesting because of contrast. Rose was selfish, so her greatest moments were when she was selfless. Martha was loyal to the doctor, so her greatest moments were when she stood up to him. Donna could sometimes be insensitive, so her greatest moments were emotional relevations. And then there's Clara. Tbh, I really liked her character in the snowmen and asylum of the daleks, but after that her personality was shit.
But I DO understand how the TARDIS is bigger on the inside. The interior exist on a different dimensional plane than the exterior. Hence, "trans-dimensional engineering."
Her impossible girl plot was boring. She has no depth like every Moffat companion. However I like her acting, she was likeable. It's such a shame that she was under Moffats who. She would be great with some depth. Complain all you want about Rose and Martha but they were developed and deep characters. They were real people. They had families, with their own problems, their own ideals and goals. Rose's was just love for the doctor but it was more than that in how it was told. It was about letting go of your family to live your life, from a mother who can't let her go. It really was quite great. Martha also had a great story with wanting to be a doctor, being in love with the doctor but getting over him and realising she doesn't need him. Amy is nothing. She hasn't got a family, she hasn't got ideals she hasn't even got goals. She is just there. Clara is even worse.
kbg12ila Amy has flaws that require her to grow throughout the series, like needing to grow up. This is shown through how her relationship with the doctor changes. He's her imaginary friend and symbolic of her immaturity. At first she's very obsessed with him but then grows to reject him and focus on Rory. This is good for the new who doctor, particularly Matt Smiths who's portrayed as basically an old man who never grew up and continues to run away from his demons instead of facing them.
Just Watch It That's something I hadn't thought about that much with her. But then again it's really quite simple, that is literally her and the show doesn't discuss the character flaws that much and it never really correlates with the other aspects of the show. She has this to her character but really that's all she is, her entire life is that story and it's really obvious when you only have her Rory and the Doctor as the main characters of the show. It also isn't told very well and takes quote a stretch to get that out of her time with the doctor.
kbg12ila Eh, to each his own, I personally find the relationship between all three of them to be really endearing and find Rory very relatable and for that to be mostly enough for me to find them fun to watch.
Just Watch It Well I guess it foes come down to what we personally want from our characters. Although we can't deny that Amy still has far less than the previous three companions.
I'd like to see the Doctor take on a Dalek or Cyberman as a companion and try to teach them to not be terrifying alien monstrosities. Like I could see plenty of funny, but also suspenseful situations where his Dalek/Cyberman companion tries to resolve problems the way their archetype generally would, and the Doctor needing to work things through with them.
03:17 - 03:53 Even though I haven't watched the Classic Who series, just the New Who, that was the coolest and the most bad-ass scene I've ever seen in Doctor Who. Fascinating.
It's funny because Moffat tries SO hard to appease the feminists, and they're still his greatest enemy. 'Okay, the feminists are REALLY on my case this season, so were going to be making some BIG changes!' 'Go on ...' 'First off, the companion is going to be the PERFECT woman. Absolutely NO flaws: smart, independent, pretty, fiesty.' 'Another one? Uh ... good luck this time.' 'We're also putting in some lesbian characters, making the Master a woman, throwing in some minorities ...' 'Sounds good.' --- Later, on Tumblr. 'Steven Moffat - is he the most bigoted woman hating anti-equality disgusting rapist pig the Earth has ever seen?' Moffat, 'Oh shit ... uhhhh ... could we make the Doctor a woman this time?' (To be continued ...)
Ironically, the flawlessness and the lack of accountability for her own negative traits make up half of the reason why the Third-Wave Feminists hate Moffat. I'm not a Third-Wave Feminist, and I have to say, they have a point this time...
I see you made this video before S8 centered so heavily on her that the Doctor had come to accompany her rather than the other way around--and she still didn't have jack shit going on.
The deal with Clara as I see it, is that she's an old fashioned female assistant exposition wall, but without the excuse of being written forty years ago. Which means that the people written forty years ago oddly comes across as having more of a personality than her, because those who wrote *them* still had an idea about a character. Whereas Clara written in this day and age just comes across as a kind of infantile fantasy. You know, much like Irene Adler. Or River Song (does River have any lines, at all, ever, which does not revolve around the Doctor?). I feel most sorry for Jenna Coleman. She tries her damnedest, and she deserved better material.
Having a bland female exposition wall was such a relief after the "Amy and Rory" Show, especially as Amy was so unbearable to be around and Rory was such a doormat. Clara, at this point in the show, was actually my favourite in NuWho for this reason. It allowed the focus to be where it should have been, which was the Doctor. I think the 50th anniversary was easily NuWho's finest hour BECAUSE it was actually all about the Doctor for a change. But screw that, let's make it the frigging "Clara Show" everybody! Personally, I find the idea that the companions have to be the centre of the show is just the audience being massively narcissistic.
I liked her character in The Snowmen because of the whole double life thing with her pretending to be posh and how she stalked the Doctor, suggesting that her curiosity will cause her to end up in danger/troubled. Plus her being from Victorian times was a nice shake-up compared to having a companion from nowadays. Also when they reintroduced her she got part of the internet downloaded into her head but that plot point was either forgotten or removed which wasted a lot of possibilities to do stuff with a character who now is really smart but doesn't know where that knowledge came from.
I feel like there's a couple of ways that writers will go about making a relatable character. Often the way that...makes a more relatable character is if you base their...I generally say their 'deal' off of something that's almost universally relatable in someway rather than having actions that are meant to be universally relatable. Take Donna for example. Even though she has a pretty unusual life for New Who companion standards - her debut episode is all about her disastrous wedding with weird circumstances and as you said, she lives with her parents. She's easily the most bombastic of the New Who companions (so far) and out of all of them, she's the one you might consider to be loud, un-relatable, even unlikeable. But the core of her character which informs her whole arc, her 'deal' comes from a deeply, deeply relatable place for a lot of people - the fear that you're never going to amount to anything. Then you have someone like Clara Oswald. She has a...pretty normal life, actually. She's a babysitter, she's a teacher, her parents have a kind of cute love story that got them together, and she's from the modern day - which, might I add, was a last minute change. But the core of her character in series 7 is that...she's impossible. The impossible girl. She is completely unrelatable by design, strange at her very core, and yet she's being played off as though she fits into the same category as Donna. In series 8 they did what was (in my opinion) the best thing they could've done to save her at that point and leaned into the idea that this wasn't your typical breed of New-Who companion. She was instead deeply flawed, had an ego, considered herself to be above everyone else the more she travelled with the Doctor. Clara even had an arguably toxic friendship with him, coming in and out of the TARDIS in the same way that you leave a friend who you hurt and hurt you back, only to realise there's a huge hole in your life that they filled. It's a pretty good sci-fi representation of a real-life thing that people do, on paper. That's how you do relatability. (Then again - that wasn't planned.) But the formula of the show meant that she still had to retain elements of the old companion template; and so they couldn't lean all the way in with her and it really shows. Still, that doesn't excuse the fact that Moffat couldn't really decide on whether they wanted her desire to be the Doctor to be a good, or a bad thing. Honestly, I think the Donna approach is a bit better for sci-fi (only in general of course) because it does mean you can go anywhere with the rest of the character, link these new weird concepts into your companion's 'deal' - and of course, if you link them back to a pretty relatable core conflict like insecurity or loneliness or anger, it's really easy for viewers to understand.
Clara for me only became interesting once Peter Capaldi was fully introduced in Deep Breath. Her change from a nanny to a teacher and her dynamic to having a crush on the Doctor like Rose and Martha to having a strained father/ daughter relationship with him was waayyy more entertaining and led the way to her getting far better writing a plotlines.
ITM 31 not sure I tried jumping back in but I have a hatred of references I don't understand and I've missed a few seasons so I kept wondering I'm missing something so I'm just to distracted and I'm just going to wait till Peter is gone
The trouble with Clara was that her origins were muddled right from the start. Just like Amy Pond and Rory. Can anyone say with any assurance that any of them were actually real? RTD gave his companions solid believable backgrounds which is one of the reasons his era was so successful. And the lack of that is why Moffat is steadily pissing Doctor Who away.
I mean I like Clara, Jenna Louise Coleman played her competently and she had good chemistry with Matt Smith, but she didn't stand out at all. Clara does rank higher than Martha for me though, she was the one who probably the most bland to me.
I'll confess that I do like Clara... but I'm sort of ashamed to say that it's primarily because I found her to be very attractive eye-candy. I know... I know... Her characterization was all over the map, and was never really consistent, but looking at her (yes, please - STOP THAT. Sorry) as less of a "companion" and more of a means to motivate the Doctor (which, is what she ultimately became), then THAT becomes her character. Not quite a damsel in distress (because she could kind of hold herself in whatever transpired), but she became an impetus, a catalyst for the Doctor to get his ass in gear. I dunno. Like I said, her character was a mess (btw, Bar Maid / Governess Clara was probably the best choice of the 3 for companion), but she sure was nice to look at.
problem with Clara is that she is main character not the Doctor and that pisses me off I watch Doctor who not Clara Oswald featuring the Doctor Doctor Clara that is the issue however Donna also became the Doctor but she payed dearly for it while Clara not only gets away with it but becomes immortal
I think Deep Breath did quite a bit of what you're talking about, character development for Clara. You're right that in series 7 and the specials she was rather bland. But if that first episode is any indication, we might be seeing more development for her. There were many scenes in that episode with her having to deal with the Doctor's regeneration and reflecting on something from her past. She's not a real person yet. But she's getting there.
Old video I know but the idea that rtd made every companion the most important person in the world bugs me. I can see where people are coming from, but it’s I think a misguided criticism. Let’s look at Rose, specifically series one Rose. She becomes the “most important character in the world” when she looks into the heart of the tardis and yes through that she becomes important but it’s also a strong character moment. She does that because she can’t stand the idea of not helping, and so she finds a solution. It’s not like rtd just gave her god powers for no reason Martha is similar. She becomes really important in her last story by spreading the word of the doctor. Again, a character moment. We see that she’s the type of person who would walk the world for a year to save it. Important to the plot, but also comes from an established character with established drives and motivation Donna is the exception. She does kinda end up saving the day in her finale by accident. She creates the meta crisis doctor and he ends up saving the world. There’s no character reason, but shes such a great companion in every other episode that I think it’s ok So yeah, each rtd companion has a moment where they save the day in the finale, but in my opinion it’s mostly earned
I agree with this. Personally speaking, there's also one key difference between Moffat's* and RTD's companions that made them all a lot more interesting to me - namely, that they're just ordinary, everyday people that the Doctor ran into. Rose was a retail worker, Martha was a medical student, and Donna was a secretary. There was an underlying theme about how regular people were capable of being amazing - yes, I'll admit it's a bit soppy, but I think it's a large part of why RTD Who was so compelling to me. On the other hand, in Moffat's Who... Amy was the girl with the crack in her wall, and the Doctor comments on how "special" that makes her. Clara, on the other hand... while she was ostensibly an ordinary person, the only reason the Doctor took any interest in her was because she was the "Impossible Girl". I suppose you could argue that once that arc was over and done with, she became another "ordinary person" companion, but I don't think that counts - she still only became the Doctor's companion because of the fact she was special in the first place. * The exception, of course, being Bill - and I don't think it's a coincidence that she's far and away my favourite Moffat-penned companion.
Okay, I know it totally isn't the point of the video, but that moment around 2:27 cracks me up every time. "Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow" might be my favorite sentence in all of Doctor Who. Why? Because every bit about it is absolutely WRONG. I hope I don't have to enlighten anyone by pointing this out - but I'll explain it anyway: Neutrons don't have a polarity (that's why it's called "neutron" as in "NEUTRAL"). Without a polarity there can't be a flow (electrons are the flowing ones) and therefore there isn't anything to reverse. I can see why the Doctor failed his exams at the academy the first time around. He would have failed physics class (circa 10th grade) at an ordinary school on earth for stupid apes as well. By the way: The Third Doctor is one of my favorites ;-)
did you seriously say that Sara Jane's flaw was that she's a journalist? in what world is that a flaw? I mean, she has flaws, but her profession definitely isnt one of them
Its an interesting one with Clara. I agree with you that her character has been under developed. However, given the mystery surrounding her was central to series seven I wonder how much they could develop her without spoiling the arc? Up until Name Of The Doctor I actually quite enjoyed her enigmatic presence. She was certainly a blank canvas but I found that to be a bit of a hook to a season that was not my favourite. The opportunity to further develop her has not really manifested in the Anniversary and Christmas episode where the show and regeneration respectively were the priority. However, I agree they need to give her some time in season 8. I have a feeling that she could yet be revealed to be something unearthly. Great vid as always.
cheers. Yeah I did get that feeling myself when watching season 7 asking what's the whole deal with Clara and I did see the merit in it and agree to an extent. Thing that bothers me retrospectively though is Moffat treats characterisation like its the whole plot when they're kinda two different things, if the character doesn't feel like they're all there backing that up with "but that's the plot" just feels offputting to me. Clara's been in almost as many episodes as Donna has now and she's barely a twenty eighth of the character that Donna was by the end of her third episode. I guess maybe doing this arc just before the whole 50th celebration and smith leaving didn't really leave much time for it
You're right. Clara and other companions do seem three dimensional and hallow. Is Clara's family really brought into the picture such as Rose was? And I did find Rose annoying at times in personality but then, she was flawed. But she did have background. I do need to write a social criticism paper on one episode namely that occurred somewhat recently to highlight some of the issues regarding the companions and sexism as of late. Though you said it wasn't your thing and aren't able to argue it well, I don't think I need it argued. I just need thoughts of an episode in particular where Clara and other applicable characters seemed more diminished around the Doctor just as you stated in this video. Or if anyone else who is watching, looks at this comment, thinks of a good episode, I would like to hear it. Sometimes it's difficult to narrow down on just one episode in a media artifact (the iconic teleivison show). I was watching this to see if I could better narrow my scope and focus.
Ah, but don't forget that there are an infinite number of copies of Clara that helped him win every single one of his victories, past and future. From the moment of his birth to the moment of his death, Clara has been watching over him making sure he doesn't die. So you see, Clara will never...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever be gone. She will always be there. She has always been there. And just to think that the entire situation could have been avoided if Jamie had simply not interfered with the Doctor's plans in episode 6 of the Web of Fear. No...you can't do this to me! No. No. No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No... The Second Doctor's reaction when the Time Lords taped all of Clara's episodes over the last surviving copies of The Power of the Daleks and Fury from the Deep, causing him to regenerate.
Well, there is the common theory if you (like me) hate the impossible girl stuff. The Doctor doesn't die on Trensalore, therefor the TARDIS never ends up there with the Toyota desktop theme and therefor Name of the Doctor doesn't happen in this universe. This means the timeline in Name of the Doctor is another Doctor's, one sideways in time from the one the show focuses on. So our Doctor's timeline doesn't have Clara in it. The splinters can be explained away by Gallifrey or something.
i just found your channel and love it! i thought it was only just me that was being a moany old bastard for caring about character arc's and story lore! i'm so glad i'm not alone!!! wheyyy heyyyy!!! and tbh i find proper and logical criticism like this much more entertaining so lets hope they continue making crap new who!!! lol!
Both Clara and Lucie Miller have the same hometown. The problem is one was well written and fleshed out, the other not so much. As it stands Ace and Sarah Kingdom are the most interesting female companions, imo. If you like her cool but I don't feel it myself.
i'm not sure if it makes it better this video talks about Clara praising the doctor when from the start of season 8 she goes too far the other way. Clara spends a lot of time acting like she knows better than the doctor and by her final episode even that she can do a better job of being him
I feel Clara's/Jenna Coleman's fans are generally less interested by what comes out of her face, than her face itself and what resides a few inches below it. In some ways the character allowed Matt Smith's to get far beyond what is reasonable, as she could reign him in a little.
12:30 apparently thats what they were trying to do in Kill the Moon. If thats true, then it kinda failed, since the only opinion i got was she's suicidal/ignores other people's opinions and REALLY can't do much without the doctor. It really made me hate her with the whole 'lets ask the earth what they want and we'll do that. Wait, they don't want to die. Oh well, i'll just do what I want, since the dangerous space dragon about to destroy my home planet, is just a baby' Thank God she's leaving at Christmas. BTW, love your vids, they're really funny and well reasoned, and sometimes get me to change my opinion (not easy)! Well done :-)
I'm not going to lie and say that Clara was a good or interesting character... she wasn't. But to someone like myself who admitedly has only seen a very limited few of the classic companions, I actually... didn't mind her so much. I found her to be nice at the beggining and in later seasons, Moffat actually tried to make her a bossy control freak just to give her a flaw midway into her run. But what actually made me like her when I was watching season 7B was actually her crush/girlfriend dynamic with the 11th doctor. It was cute, very nuanced and generally well done, in my opinion, and again, I admit it came at a time in my life when I had my first girlfriend, and I felt more like 11 with Clara than 10 with Rose or something like that.
Seems to me Clara's biggest problem is that she replaced Amy Pond, which was always going to be hard to do. Some of the Doctor's companions have been so compelling (Sarah Jane, Jamie, Romana II, Amy Pond, and yes, Rose Tyler) that the next companion was always going to have a tough go at it. My problem has never been that Clara isn't well drawn (I had a good idea of who she is from the start) but rather that I didn't see what this woman was doing trailing around with the Doctor. Oh, and the resolution of "The Impossible Girl" plot line was typical Moffatt - the only trick he knows is to double down. Well that and "(s)he's not really dead!" I see the issues with Clara more a problem of Moffatt's inconsistent and dubious plotting than anything else. What He Who Moans sees as a lack of character development I see as inconsistent development. We know from the start that Clara is a governess/teacher who is unusually good-looking and improbably single but also keen for adventure. Honestly I find it hard to focus on Clara's flaws because they are so overwhelmed by the flaws of Moffat's plot arcs, which were bad enough in the Matt Smith years but became unbearable in the Capaldi years. But that's a topic for another day.
I loved Leelo. She might have been my favourite. I never liked Amy. I’m just going to admit it. And the funny thing is, Oswin in the Asylum Of The Daleks had a better character than later on.
Around 4:18 Clara is different from ALL the other companions *ever*, so that makes her "bad". I seriously don't understand all the Clara hate. She is without a doubt one of the best companions he's ever had. And I've seen comments (too many, really) saying she bland (??? I guess I watched a completely different origin and life-story of this character compared to everyone else). It's OK if you think she's a little bland, but don't say she's "horrible" or "worthless" blah blah blah. I don't NEED a freaking biographical miniseries about her. We learn about her parents, we learn she's a teacher. She likes making souffles (inspired by her tragically *dead mother*!!). I LOVE her destiny and life's purpose - to save the Doctor! I LOVE that she jumped into the Doctor's timeline-rift! I LOVE that she was the one to point out which TARDIS to take. I LOVE her origin (the whole Leaf of Destiny- thing). I LOVE her sitting on the steps *eagerly* waiting for the Doctor to show up in his blue box and take her through mysteries of time and space. I LOVE her gentle challenging attitude towards the Doctor. I LOVE that her entire existence was a *temporal anomaly* that the Doctor didn't understand. I can understand people appreciating her death in Face the Raven, but why her of all companions?? I also found her being saved by the Doctor to be less-than-satisfying. Her heart doesn't beat because it's "frozen in time"?? Yeah, no. Crazy idea: why not have the Doctor "unfreeze" her heart, and she gets to live a long, happy life, with or without the flying American diner TARDIS (??)? What an idea! To sum up: Clara's the *best* companion, not the worst. It's ok to think she's "bland" (she's not, but whatever) , but all the hate is simply stupid. Also: I am so tired of Clara hate, I don't think I'm gonna finish the video. I don't need to hear it. I don't need to hear how some minor flaws (which may or may not be true) somehow make her "terrible" or the "worst".
"Im not going to finish the video" aka you can't be arsed hearing an explanation of why people dislike Clara despite claiming you "seriously dont understand all the Clara hate." The main reason people dislike Clara is because she's forgettable and more a part of the scenery than an actual character. Souffles, family and occupation do not make a character interesting and she achieved her "life's purpose" in her first season of three.
louisalectube Her personality is likeable but she is nothing. I'm sorry. She has no goals, she has no ideals, no moral code. She just exists. The same goes for Amy.
***** I agree with everything you said. When I say likeable I don't mean as Clara, I mean in the actress, the feel she brings with how she talks and acts could have been used so much better. Bill may just be for one season so Chibnall could still do something great. People complain about RTDs characters but they are really great. You may not like there decisions but they have actual layers and depth and goals and agendas of their own. All of them do. Moffats characters are literal nothings. They aren't characters. They just exist. I don't know how this is being allowed by anyone. I wish I could write for the show it would be so much better lol. Heck anybody could write a better character than Moffat.
***** Again I agree 100%. Moffat is like a dictator for the show and it's really obvious. In RTDs era you can tell it went for something strange here and there with different writers who gave different feels to the show. Moffat seems like he still has full control over everything in a bad way. Also the way he writes 11 as always being the best doctor that there ever was is so obvious and frankly disgusting. The writers room could make for the best Doctor Who we have had since 2005. We may just get the most cohesive well written and well rounded series yet. However my expectations are low because of Moffat. I feel he has changed the actual continuity of the show for the worse and I kinda want Chibnalls who to ignore what Moffat did. Firstly as a slap in Moffats face and secondly giving Chibnall as much freedom as possible. (Maybe I should swap that order.) I truly hope Bill is only for one season and sad as it is Capaldi should leave to make it a fresh start for Chibnall.
headbite alien She is amazing to me. She was am average woman told she was nothing and dissapointing and she believed it. She started to prove her worth with the doctor and is the reasons millions of people are alive. But the tragedy is that she'll never remember it. It's beautifully terrible and it really gets to me.
The problem with Moffat's episodes is that they Doctor has to go back and pick up his companions after he leaves them off and the real doctor would leave them and went on to the next companion but going back to pick them up-until they end up killed or stranded in time-Clara made no real sense.
I've been watching some of your videos for the past couple days, and this right here is precisely why I've grown to hate Doctor Who. I want companions who ask questions, show fear, etc. Clara seems bored and unappreciative of having this opportunity to be taken on a transdimensional journey. I was so annoyed at her character in general, and her departure in particular, that I decided to stop watching the show. I've heard Bill is better in this regard, that she's a bit Donna-esque, which does intrigue me... but I'm not sure I can handle another season of Moffat, where there will surely be no consequences for any action. I noticed quite a bit of Big Finish is streaming on Spotify, might just start diving into that instead. All I want is interesting stories like Inferno, The Mind Robbers, Midnight, Turn Left, and Heaven Sent - where we get a highly interesting story for an hour, then it's DONE. No convoluted plot for the entire season, just using the plot device of the TARDIS to give us new genres and ideas week after week. Doctor Who is the perfect vehicle for episodic storytelling like this, even more than Black Mirror if the BBC would realize that fact.
Welp... We got the episodic storytelling back... Sadly Bill was even more bland than season 7 Clara :D ! The only thing we remember is that she was lesbian. (My best friend forgot she existed even though we watched season 10 only 3 months ago. And she remember Martha after 2 years, which should be pretty telling.)
Clara Clara bloody Clara!!! When she first appeared I was pulled in who is this girl who seems to die and pops up in different time streams and the story arc could - and I use that loosely - of been good. But it fizzled out like a weak fart leaving viewers like myself going WTF!!!! That doesn't make sense and the irritating thing is that no NuWho fans think it was because of Clara that the Dr got his TARDIS cos she recommended it to the first Dr - Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhggggghhhhh And breath Mark......deep breaths.......... Clara although very pleasing to the eye her character is how can I put it - bland? Plain? Uninteresting? The list could go on. This leads me in to those three other supporting characters the Silurian, the girl and the sontaran - they really irritate me and they are back in the new series - WHY?? Also I've noticed that in NuWho The Sontarans have become a cartoon joke race - stupid and full of NuWho retarded one liners with are so pathetic and makes you physically roll your eyes. It's a shame as the Sontarans were quite a sly and twisted race in Old Who - now they are the equivalent of an intergalactic travelling comedy act.
I agree with she's not a Silurian!!! As NuWho gas to humanise everything - why do NuWho Silurian have human faces - that means they mated with humans somewhere and therefore can't hate humans as they are hybrids? Unlike the original Silurians who were pure reptile not hybrid humans! It really irritates me lol
Mark Lyne Yeah they've kinda gone against what defined a silurian, they're not the original residents of Earth fighting to return to the surface world...now they're just sorta weird lizard people. Same with the Sontarans, you could easily do something more in depth with them, that series 4 two parter wasn't great but it was a start and made more sense than just shoving a sontaran in a tuxedo and having him be a silurian's butler. They're pretty much just there to go "look! there's a couple of things from classic who onscreen, will that pacify everyone who wants stuff from classic who?" I still say Clara's gonna turn out to be an auton and moffat'll claim her having no personality was intentional and it was all leading up to that
clara is my favorite character in doctor who (besides 11) because she was so interesting and important, she died 3 times and came back as different people, the first time we saw her in asylum of the daleks she was intelligent, quick witted and comedical, then in the snowmen she was caring, kind and compassionate but was also cheeky and had some kind of control over the doctor ( and she said smaller on the outside and if that's not a memorable line from doctor who I don't know what is) as she became an actual companion in series 7 we met her family and discovered that she was very passionate, she always trys to help (little alien girl in rings of aketan) in nightmare in silver shes a strong, brave and very independent character and even shows battle tactics against iron man no wait they were cybermen sorry I get confused (by the way I love the new cybermen) and in series 8 she becomes very controlling almost like the doctors guardian, we see her love life with danny and her struggles balancing the real world and the fake and almost becomes psychotic over the death of danny so I strongly believe clara has an abundance of character and even though it isn't obvious at first that she is, it just plays on her mysterious entry into doctor who and on a side note I think the impossible girl story arc was amazing
Flipflopping her entire character for every single episode to make it fit the story is, if anything, even more of an obvious clue that she lacks actual character of her own, so the writers can adapt her however it is convenient to the plot. Yes, real humans aren't just one stereotype and that's it, but a shy person will still be shy even if he ends up seeing the need to step into the focus and take things head-on, he doesn't just flipflop into suddenly loving to be the center of attention. Clara being quick-witted, stubborn and flirty in one episode and a needy I-give-up-immediately damsel in the next just proves that there is no constistency to her character, NOT that she has more than the show can contain. Note: based on time of this video, not based on looking back from 2017.
The real problem with what you just said is it's just a list of all of the positive attributes that clara has. Not a list of interesting (and especially meaningful) characterization elements. Perhaps a perfect, yet very much empty character appeals to some people as it does to you, but for most of us it's just boring and annoying to watch a person who has no flaws, no hobbies, no purpose, nothing.
> Praises "Reverse the Polarity" > Criticizes technobabble smh I agree technobabble is bad, and in NewWho it is definitely worse, but honestly "reversing the polarity" is one of the worst cliches of Pertwee's run. He only started to consistently use it in his last two seasons when the quality of the show dropped. When he explained things in say Season 7 or 8, it would actually logically make sense, and he would actually talk about real life scientific events like dark matter/antimatter. That is one thing that really amazed me coming from new who to classic. The idea that his explanations could actually have logical and scientific explanations added to the realism of that era of the show.
Also quite disappointed in the whole video, I kept getting lost in your pointless tangents and never really came to a conclusion that made any sense beyond yourself. You should remake the video and actually address the issues you see in Clara, and why that somehow takes away from any aspect of the show.
At least having Clara in the TARDIS was a slight improvement over having the same monster-of-the-week inhabit the TARDIS and terrify the Doctor and Rory every week - wait, that was a companion too? B-but I thought...
Apparently when the writers were asking Steven Moffat what traits to give to Clara, he responded with, "She's just an ordinary girl!"
When I thought Clara was going to be properly introduced in the Snowmen, I was really excited because it wasn't going to be at 21st century girl that was going to the TARDIS, and she seemed to be more of a duplicitous character. Plus, she wasn't afraid to go off on her own and look for her own answers... at least to me on the surface. That's kind of what sucked me out of The Bells of Saint John, at that point she became Kenny from South Park. Plus, Moffat turned The Doctor into a stalker.
same, I immediately thought "yes! finally, something different! maybe she's gonna be sorta like charley pollard!"
but yeah, lol, really should've noticed the kenny from south park comparison, its rather fitting
***** Kind of a waste of a fake out if you think about it. Have the 2nd encounter with Clara be from present day Earth but then she dies again, only to have the real Clara come from the past.
That's why I'm kinda interested in checking out the new Titan comics, because the companions don't seem to be your average generic marketing eye candy. Then again, the expanded universe does allow more creative freedom.
Yeah, I want a Jamie McCrimmon like companion again
Despite the fact that it's technically his fault that the Doctor ever met Clara at all. Come on Jamie!
I don't understand why they are can't have companions from different time periods anymore or perhaps ones that aren't actually human.
Kris cause New Who is complete shit and they don't take risks anymore. I mean look at Classic Who, while not fleshed out much the companions were widely varied. But with New Who...
Give me a medieval German knight, he joined after a story with a holy order ruled by Cybermen after "Acceptable material".
He's a brutal an violent man but he holds to a honour system an religious views based in 1400 ad logic an would views there that's some one that can A) change an adapt B) give us a different world view an a history.
FROBISHER!!!
What, Nardole doesn't count?
thatbeingsaid thing is, Nardole was the ONLY alien companion in New Who. He’s also quite easily overlooked anyways, no offence-
I love how at the end of this you're like "Give her an episode or some screentime to show what her Character actually is and stuff" and then in series 8 they obsess over that throughout the series...
*AND THEY STILL FUCK IT UP*
Funny that after you said all this about Clara, they went on and made The Clara Oswald Show in series 8 and I realized that I'd rather have her as the background eye candy rather than the main character of the show. Actually I'd rather have her as a normal, flawed, interesting but not forced to be the most important person in the universe companion, but it seems Moffat can't do that.
Following your logic about relatable characters: I recommend Rose's mother for consideration. She was definitely flawed but came back to fight for her daughter bravely. But, I'm old what do I know.
It's odd that Clara feels more fake and less human than Lady Cassandra.
And she was a bitchy trampoline!
My issue with Clara is that she was originally created for one purpose, the whole "Impossible Girl" thing, but then after it was done she still stuck around. Any character who is created for one purpose then have them stick around after they then serve no purpose.
Another issue the new series has is shifting the focus of the show from the Doctor to the Companion then they feel like they have to make the Companions special in some way. That ruins the whole thing. The best Companions in the new series were Martha and Donna because they were not special. They grew and BECAME more than they were (even if Donna ended up forgetting) but there were just humans.
What I'd love is a companion from the future Earth where advanced technology is commonplace, and the Doctor has lost his memory (ala Eighth) and the Doctor is now our entry point into the show and the companion is who we're trying to keep up with.
I don't know, _anything_ different.
Clara gets 3 fucking seasons, and then there's Bill.
I think the idea is that Clara is a blank slate for viewers to project themselves onto. And...that doesn't work outside of romantic novels.
Even for romantic novels, that's something mostly done for fiction targeted at teens. While 50 Shades has taught me otherwise, I still dare to believe that even romance novels (if they are good) have actual characters.
Stefan Travis works in video games also , but yeah no fuck Clara
You know what? i totally agree. I believed i thought Donna was the best companion because i can relate to her, and that maybe i dont like Clara coz she is so young and cute and i am a jealous old cow, but THIS makes more sense.
I think Rory was a better companion than Amy for some of the reasons you touched on. Amy was totally enamoured with the Doctor and her plots revolved around him. Rory was this guy who probably shouldn't have been in the TARDIS but tried his best and was heroic when he had to be, and wasn't a genius but also wasn't stupid.
Rory was my favorite thing to come from the 11th Doctor's era. He made for a nice straight man in contrast to the Doctor's inflated whimsy.
My biggest issue with Clara is that Moffat fell in love with his own creation and tried to force the rest of us love her as much as he did without doing anything to make her actually likable. I only started to actually like her during series 9 when she started to become too much like the Doctor (yay, she has flaws!) leading up to her incredible death in Face the Raven, but even that was shittily retconned in Hellbent so that Moffat could say "look how special Clara is, the Doctor is willing to break all his rules just for her because she's the best and most important companion ever!!!"
I totally agree that Clara has no flaws or personality. I find characters interesting because of contrast. Rose was selfish, so her greatest moments were when she was selfless. Martha was loyal to the doctor, so her greatest moments were when she stood up to him. Donna could sometimes be insensitive, so her greatest moments were emotional relevations.
And then there's Clara.
Tbh, I really liked her character in the snowmen and asylum of the daleks, but after that her personality was shit.
Based on that logic, Clara's nothing special. So making her the most important person in the universe should have been interesting. It was not.
But I DO understand how the TARDIS is bigger on the inside. The interior exist on a different dimensional plane than the exterior. Hence, "trans-dimensional engineering."
@Tristan Harley Basically it exists outside of the universe as a pocket dimension.
@Tristan Harley it’s a different dimension, the outside is kinda in a different place to the inside,
Her impossible girl plot was boring. She has no depth like every Moffat companion. However I like her acting, she was likeable. It's such a shame that she was under Moffats who. She would be great with some depth.
Complain all you want about Rose and Martha but they were developed and deep characters. They were real people. They had families, with their own problems, their own ideals and goals. Rose's was just love for the doctor but it was more than that in how it was told. It was about letting go of your family to live your life, from a mother who can't let her go. It really was quite great. Martha also had a great story with wanting to be a doctor, being in love with the doctor but getting over him and realising she doesn't need him.
Amy is nothing. She hasn't got a family, she hasn't got ideals she hasn't even got goals. She is just there.
Clara is even worse.
kbg12ila Amy has flaws that require her to grow throughout the series, like needing to grow up. This is shown through how her relationship with the doctor changes. He's her imaginary friend and symbolic of her immaturity. At first she's very obsessed with him but then grows to reject him and focus on Rory. This is good for the new who doctor, particularly Matt Smiths who's portrayed as basically an old man who never grew up and continues to run away from his demons instead of facing them.
Just Watch It That's something I hadn't thought about that much with her. But then again it's really quite simple, that is literally her and the show doesn't discuss the character flaws that much and it never really correlates with the other aspects of the show. She has this to her character but really that's all she is, her entire life is that story and it's really obvious when you only have her Rory and the Doctor as the main characters of the show.
It also isn't told very well and takes quote a stretch to get that out of her time with the doctor.
kbg12ila Eh, to each his own, I personally find the relationship between all three of them to be really endearing and find Rory very relatable and for that to be mostly enough for me to find them fun to watch.
Just Watch It Well I guess it foes come down to what we personally want from our characters. Although we can't deny that Amy still has far less than the previous three companions.
I'd like to see the Doctor take on a Dalek or Cyberman as a companion and try to teach them to not be terrifying alien monstrosities. Like I could see plenty of funny, but also suspenseful situations where his Dalek/Cyberman companion tries to resolve problems the way their archetype generally would, and the Doctor needing to work things through with them.
Never liked Clara. Too smug.
03:17 - 03:53 Even though I haven't watched the Classic Who series, just the New Who, that was the coolest and the most bad-ass scene I've ever seen in Doctor Who. Fascinating.
An auton storyline that lead into an actual companion from the Victorian era would of been slightly fantastic for me personally.
It's funny because Moffat tries SO hard to appease the feminists, and they're still his greatest enemy.
'Okay, the feminists are REALLY on my case this season, so were going to be making some BIG changes!'
'Go on ...'
'First off, the companion is going to be the PERFECT woman. Absolutely NO flaws: smart, independent, pretty, fiesty.'
'Another one? Uh ... good luck this time.'
'We're also putting in some lesbian characters, making the Master a woman, throwing in some minorities ...'
'Sounds good.'
---
Later, on Tumblr. 'Steven Moffat - is he the most bigoted woman hating anti-equality disgusting rapist pig the Earth has ever seen?'
Moffat, 'Oh shit ... uhhhh ... could we make the Doctor a woman this time?'
(To be continued ...)
this is too true
lmao
Ironically, the flawlessness and the lack of accountability for her own negative traits make up half of the reason why the Third-Wave Feminists hate Moffat. I'm not a Third-Wave Feminist, and I have to say, they have a point this time...
well.... considering the doctor is a woman now. I'v decided you are an omnipotent being and i will begin to worship you as a god.
this will be long standing as the only thing third wave feminists we're right about
I see you made this video before S8 centered so heavily on her that the Doctor had come to accompany her rather than the other way around--and she still didn't have jack shit going on.
The deal with Clara as I see it, is that she's an old fashioned female assistant exposition wall, but without the excuse of being written forty years ago. Which means that the people written forty years ago oddly comes across as having more of a personality than her, because those who wrote *them* still had an idea about a character. Whereas Clara written in this day and age just comes across as a kind of infantile fantasy. You know, much like Irene Adler. Or River Song (does River have any lines, at all, ever, which does not revolve around the Doctor?).
I feel most sorry for Jenna Coleman. She tries her damnedest, and she deserved better material.
Having a bland female exposition wall was such a relief after the "Amy and Rory" Show, especially as Amy was so unbearable to be around and Rory was such a doormat. Clara, at this point in the show, was actually my favourite in NuWho for this reason. It allowed the focus to be where it should have been, which was the Doctor. I think the 50th anniversary was easily NuWho's finest hour BECAUSE it was actually all about the Doctor for a change. But screw that, let's make it the frigging "Clara Show" everybody! Personally, I find the idea that the companions have to be the centre of the show is just the audience being massively narcissistic.
basically instead of being a good companion Clara is just a pretty face who constantly cheers the doctor on
My problem with Clara:
Short answer: everything.
Long answer: EVERYTHIIIIIIIINNNNG!!
Magi V best comment
The most interesting versions of Clara were her first two appearances in the show. The version that went with the doctor is watered down.
7:50 I think you just predicted Hell Bent
I liked her character in The Snowmen because of the whole double life thing with her pretending to be posh and how she stalked the Doctor, suggesting that her curiosity will cause her to end up in danger/troubled. Plus her being from Victorian times was a nice shake-up compared to having a companion from nowadays.
Also when they reintroduced her she got part of the internet downloaded into her head but that plot point was either forgotten or removed which wasted a lot of possibilities to do stuff with a character who now is really smart but doesn't know where that knowledge came from.
Yes but Stuart, you seem to be forgetting that Clara is attractive. Therefore she is an engaging and interesting character.
I feel like there's a couple of ways that writers will go about making a relatable character. Often the way that...makes a more relatable character is if you base their...I generally say their 'deal' off of something that's almost universally relatable in someway rather than having actions that are meant to be universally relatable.
Take Donna for example. Even though she has a pretty unusual life for New Who companion standards - her debut episode is all about her disastrous wedding with weird circumstances and as you said, she lives with her parents. She's easily the most bombastic of the New Who companions (so far) and out of all of them, she's the one you might consider to be loud, un-relatable, even unlikeable. But the core of her character which informs her whole arc, her 'deal' comes from a deeply, deeply relatable place for a lot of people - the fear that you're never going to amount to anything.
Then you have someone like Clara Oswald. She has a...pretty normal life, actually. She's a babysitter, she's a teacher, her parents have a kind of cute love story that got them together, and she's from the modern day - which, might I add, was a last minute change. But the core of her character in series 7 is that...she's impossible. The impossible girl. She is completely unrelatable by design, strange at her very core, and yet she's being played off as though she fits into the same category as Donna.
In series 8 they did what was (in my opinion) the best thing they could've done to save her at that point and leaned into the idea that this wasn't your typical breed of New-Who companion. She was instead deeply flawed, had an ego, considered herself to be above everyone else the more she travelled with the Doctor. Clara even had an arguably toxic friendship with him, coming in and out of the TARDIS in the same way that you leave a friend who you hurt and hurt you back, only to realise there's a huge hole in your life that they filled. It's a pretty good sci-fi representation of a real-life thing that people do, on paper. That's how you do relatability. (Then again - that wasn't planned.)
But the formula of the show meant that she still had to retain elements of the old companion template; and so they couldn't lean all the way in with her and it really shows. Still, that doesn't excuse the fact that Moffat couldn't really decide on whether they wanted her desire to be the Doctor to be a good, or a bad thing.
Honestly, I think the Donna approach is a bit better for sci-fi (only in general of course) because it does mean you can go anywhere with the rest of the character, link these new weird concepts into your companion's 'deal' - and of course, if you link them back to a pretty relatable core conflict like insecurity or loneliness or anger, it's really easy for viewers to understand.
Clara for me only became interesting once Peter Capaldi was fully introduced in Deep Breath. Her change from a nanny to a teacher and her dynamic to having a crush on the Doctor like Rose and Martha to having a strained father/ daughter relationship with him was waayyy more entertaining and led the way to her getting far better writing a plotlines.
Clara is the reason I stopped watching doctor who after a tuning in every time it was on for my entire life.
How did you feel about Bill ?
ITM 31 not sure I tried jumping back in but I have a hatred of references I don't understand and I've missed a few seasons so I kept wondering I'm missing something so I'm just to distracted and I'm just going to wait till Peter is gone
The trouble with Clara was that her origins were muddled right from the start. Just like Amy Pond and Rory. Can anyone say with any assurance that any of them were actually real? RTD gave his companions solid believable backgrounds which is one of the reasons his era was so successful. And the lack of that is why Moffat is steadily pissing Doctor Who away.
I mean I like Clara, Jenna Louise Coleman played her competently and she had good chemistry with Matt Smith, but she didn't stand out at all. Clara does rank higher than Martha for me though, she was the one who probably the most bland to me.
I'll confess that I do like Clara... but I'm sort of ashamed to say that it's primarily because I found her to be very attractive eye-candy.
I know... I know...
Her characterization was all over the map, and was never really consistent, but looking at her (yes, please - STOP THAT. Sorry) as less of a "companion" and more of a means to motivate the Doctor (which, is what she ultimately became), then THAT becomes her character. Not quite a damsel in distress (because she could kind of hold herself in whatever transpired), but she became an impetus, a catalyst for the Doctor to get his ass in gear.
I dunno.
Like I said, her character was a mess (btw, Bar Maid / Governess Clara was probably the best choice of the 3 for companion), but she sure was nice to look at.
How do you feel about Ben and Polly as characters?
problem with Clara is that she is main character not the Doctor and that pisses me off I watch Doctor who not Clara Oswald featuring the Doctor
Doctor Clara that is the issue however Donna also became the Doctor but she payed dearly for it while Clara not only gets away with it but becomes immortal
Donna is definately the greatest nuwho companion, she manages to be entertaining/funny while also being a human being
*mentions needing to have believe able aspects of a companion* *zooms in on ace*
I think Deep Breath did quite a bit of what you're talking about, character development for Clara. You're right that in series 7 and the specials she was rather bland. But if that first episode is any indication, we might be seeing more development for her. There were many scenes in that episode with her having to deal with the Doctor's regeneration and reflecting on something from her past. She's not a real person yet. But she's getting there.
Old video I know but the idea that rtd made every companion the most important person in the world bugs me. I can see where people are coming from, but it’s I think a misguided criticism.
Let’s look at Rose, specifically series one Rose. She becomes the “most important character in the world” when she looks into the heart of the tardis and yes through that she becomes important but it’s also a strong character moment. She does that because she can’t stand the idea of not helping, and so she finds a solution. It’s not like rtd just gave her god powers for no reason
Martha is similar. She becomes really important in her last story by spreading the word of the doctor. Again, a character moment. We see that she’s the type of person who would walk the world for a year to save it. Important to the plot, but also comes from an established character with established drives and motivation
Donna is the exception. She does kinda end up saving the day in her finale by accident. She creates the meta crisis doctor and he ends up saving the world. There’s no character reason, but shes such a great companion in every other episode that I think it’s ok
So yeah, each rtd companion has a moment where they save the day in the finale, but in my opinion it’s mostly earned
I agree with this. Personally speaking, there's also one key difference between Moffat's* and RTD's companions that made them all a lot more interesting to me - namely, that they're just ordinary, everyday people that the Doctor ran into.
Rose was a retail worker, Martha was a medical student, and Donna was a secretary. There was an underlying theme about how regular people were capable of being amazing - yes, I'll admit it's a bit soppy, but I think it's a large part of why RTD Who was so compelling to me.
On the other hand, in Moffat's Who... Amy was the girl with the crack in her wall, and the Doctor comments on how "special" that makes her. Clara, on the other hand... while she was ostensibly an ordinary person, the only reason the Doctor took any interest in her was because she was the "Impossible Girl". I suppose you could argue that once that arc was over and done with, she became another "ordinary person" companion, but I don't think that counts - she still only became the Doctor's companion because of the fact she was special in the first place.
* The exception, of course, being Bill - and I don't think it's a coincidence that she's far and away my favourite Moffat-penned companion.
Okay, I know it totally isn't the point of the video, but that moment around 2:27 cracks me up every time.
"Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow" might be my favorite sentence in all of Doctor Who. Why? Because every bit about it is absolutely WRONG.
I hope I don't have to enlighten anyone by pointing this out - but I'll explain it anyway:
Neutrons don't have a polarity (that's why it's called "neutron" as in "NEUTRAL"). Without a polarity there can't be a flow (electrons are the flowing ones) and therefore there isn't anything to reverse.
I can see why the Doctor failed his exams at the academy the first time around. He would have failed physics class (circa 10th grade) at an ordinary school on earth for stupid apes as well.
By the way: The Third Doctor is one of my favorites ;-)
did you seriously say that Sara Jane's flaw was that she's a journalist? in what world is that a flaw? I mean, she has flaws, but her profession definitely isnt one of them
I suspect that was a joke.
well now I just feel dumb
thanks for clearing that up though
Slash West
Its ok not everyone always gets a joke. lol
Its an interesting one with Clara. I agree with you that her character has been under developed. However, given the mystery surrounding her was central to series seven I wonder how much they could develop her without spoiling the arc? Up until Name Of The Doctor I actually quite enjoyed her enigmatic presence. She was certainly a blank canvas but I found that to be a bit of a hook to a season that was not my favourite. The opportunity to further develop her has not really manifested in the Anniversary and Christmas episode where the show and regeneration respectively were the priority. However, I agree they need to give her some time in season 8. I have a feeling that she could yet be revealed to be something unearthly. Great vid as always.
cheers. Yeah I did get that feeling myself when watching season 7 asking what's the whole deal with Clara and I did see the merit in it and agree to an extent. Thing that bothers me retrospectively though is Moffat treats characterisation like its the whole plot when they're kinda two different things, if the character doesn't feel like they're all there backing that up with "but that's the plot" just feels offputting to me. Clara's been in almost as many episodes as Donna has now and she's barely a twenty eighth of the character that Donna was by the end of her third episode. I guess maybe doing this arc just before the whole 50th celebration and smith leaving didn't really leave much time for it
"But you've discovered television"
You're right. Clara and other companions do seem three dimensional and hallow. Is Clara's family really brought into the picture such as Rose was? And I did find Rose annoying at times in personality but then, she was flawed. But she did have background. I do need to write a social criticism paper on one episode namely that occurred somewhat recently to highlight some of the issues regarding the companions and sexism as of late. Though you said it wasn't your thing and aren't able to argue it well, I don't think I need it argued. I just need thoughts of an episode in particular where Clara and other applicable characters seemed more diminished around the Doctor just as you stated in this video. Or if anyone else who is watching, looks at this comment, thinks of a good episode, I would like to hear it. Sometimes it's difficult to narrow down on just one episode in a media artifact (the iconic teleivison show). I was watching this to see if I could better narrow my scope and focus.
Clara is what put me off watching doctor who. Ill pick it back off when she's killed off.
Ah, but don't forget that there are an infinite number of copies of Clara that helped him win every single one of his victories, past and future. From the moment of his birth to the moment of his death, Clara has been watching over him making sure he doesn't die. So you see, Clara will never...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever... ever...ever...ever...ever...ever...ever be gone. She will always be there. She has always been there. And just to think that the entire situation could have been avoided if Jamie had simply not interfered with the Doctor's plans in episode 6 of the Web of Fear.
No...you can't do this to me! No. No. No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No...
The Second Doctor's reaction when the Time Lords taped all of Clara's episodes over the last surviving copies of The Power of the Daleks and Fury from the Deep, causing him to regenerate.
Well, there is the common theory if you (like me) hate the impossible girl stuff. The Doctor doesn't die on Trensalore, therefor the TARDIS never ends up there with the Toyota desktop theme and therefor Name of the Doctor doesn't happen in this universe. This means the timeline in Name of the Doctor is another Doctor's, one sideways in time from the one the show focuses on. So our Doctor's timeline doesn't have Clara in it. The splinters can be explained away by Gallifrey or something.
i just found your channel and love it! i thought it was only just me that was being a moany old bastard for caring about character arc's and story lore! i'm so glad i'm not alone!!! wheyyy heyyyy!!!
and tbh i find proper and logical criticism like this much more entertaining so lets hope they continue making crap new who!!! lol!
acutaly donna is my fav.
Both Clara and Lucie Miller have the same hometown.
The problem is one was well written and fleshed out, the other not so much.
As it stands Ace and Sarah Kingdom are the most interesting female companions, imo.
If you like her cool but I don't feel it myself.
i'm not sure if it makes it better this video talks about Clara praising the doctor when from the start of season 8 she goes too far the other way. Clara spends a lot of time acting like she knows better than the doctor and by her final episode even that she can do a better job of being him
I feel Clara's/Jenna Coleman's fans are generally less interested by what comes out of her face, than her face itself and what resides a few inches below it. In some ways the character allowed Matt Smith's to get far beyond what is reasonable, as she could reign him in a little.
12:30 apparently thats what they were trying to do in Kill the Moon. If thats true, then it kinda failed, since the only opinion i got was she's suicidal/ignores other people's opinions and REALLY can't do much without the doctor. It really made me hate her with the whole 'lets ask the earth what they want and we'll do that. Wait, they don't want to die. Oh well, i'll just do what I want, since the dangerous space dragon about to destroy my home planet, is just a baby' Thank God she's leaving at Christmas. BTW, love your vids, they're really funny and well reasoned, and sometimes get me to change my opinion (not easy)! Well done :-)
I agree i disagree with moffat that doctor who is about the who referring to the companion
#ClaraTurnedIntoAMarySue
and mary sues suck!
ROSE WHO became CLARA WHO
I'm not going to lie and say that Clara was a good or interesting character... she wasn't. But to someone like myself who admitedly has only seen a very limited few of the classic companions, I actually... didn't mind her so much. I found her to be nice at the beggining and in later seasons, Moffat actually tried to make her a bossy control freak just to give her a flaw midway into her run. But what actually made me like her when I was watching season 7B was actually her crush/girlfriend dynamic with the 11th doctor. It was cute, very nuanced and generally well done, in my opinion, and again, I admit it came at a time in my life when I had my first girlfriend, and I felt more like 11 with Clara than 10 with Rose or something like that.
I want to like Clara, it's like I feel there's something great about her; but I just can't find it
Lol “why didn’t you kick her out in time of the doctor?” Haha poor 2014 fan, you have 2 more series of her
Give a reason why every doctor who fan i meet love clara (outside series 8). Please do this without critical analysis.
A) They want to fuck her.
B) They have had a full frontal lobotomy and want to be her because she's so STRONG AND FEISTY XD!
Seems to me Clara's biggest problem is that she replaced Amy Pond, which was always going to be hard to do. Some of the Doctor's companions have been so compelling (Sarah Jane, Jamie, Romana II, Amy Pond, and yes, Rose Tyler) that the next companion was always going to have a tough go at it. My problem has never been that Clara isn't well drawn (I had a good idea of who she is from the start) but rather that I didn't see what this woman was doing trailing around with the Doctor. Oh, and the resolution of "The Impossible Girl" plot line was typical Moffatt - the only trick he knows is to double down. Well that and "(s)he's not really dead!"
I see the issues with Clara more a problem of Moffatt's inconsistent and dubious plotting than anything else. What He Who Moans sees as a lack of character development I see as inconsistent development. We know from the start that Clara is a governess/teacher who is unusually good-looking and improbably single but also keen for adventure.
Honestly I find it hard to focus on Clara's flaws because they are so overwhelmed by the flaws of Moffat's plot arcs, which were bad enough in the Matt Smith years but became unbearable in the Capaldi years. But that's a topic for another day.
clara is pretty, there, the only positive i could find about her character.
5:09
I loved Leelo. She might have been my favourite.
I never liked Amy. I’m just going to admit it.
And the funny thing is, Oswin in the Asylum Of The Daleks had a better character than later on.
I liked leela to she was my top 3
Around 4:18 Clara is different from ALL the other companions *ever*, so that makes her "bad". I seriously don't understand all the Clara hate. She is without a doubt one of the best companions he's ever had. And I've seen comments (too many, really) saying she bland (??? I guess I watched a completely different origin and life-story of this character compared to everyone else). It's OK if you think she's a little bland, but don't say she's "horrible" or "worthless" blah blah blah. I don't NEED a freaking biographical miniseries about her. We learn about her parents, we learn she's a teacher. She likes making souffles (inspired by her tragically *dead mother*!!). I LOVE her destiny and life's purpose - to save the Doctor! I LOVE that she jumped into the Doctor's timeline-rift! I LOVE that she was the one to point out which TARDIS to take. I LOVE her origin (the whole Leaf of Destiny- thing). I LOVE her sitting on the steps *eagerly* waiting for the Doctor to show up in his blue box and take her through mysteries of time and space. I LOVE her gentle challenging attitude towards the Doctor. I LOVE that her entire existence was a *temporal anomaly* that the Doctor didn't understand. I can understand people appreciating her death in Face the Raven, but why her of all companions?? I also found her being saved by the Doctor to be less-than-satisfying. Her heart doesn't beat because it's "frozen in time"?? Yeah, no. Crazy idea: why not have the Doctor "unfreeze" her heart, and she gets to live a long, happy life, with or without the flying American diner TARDIS (??)? What an idea! To sum up: Clara's the *best* companion, not the worst. It's ok to think she's "bland" (she's not, but whatever) , but all the hate is simply stupid. Also: I am so tired of Clara hate, I don't think I'm gonna finish the video. I don't need to hear it. I don't need to hear how some minor flaws (which may or may not be true) somehow make her "terrible" or the "worst".
"Im not going to finish the video" aka you can't be arsed hearing an explanation of why people dislike Clara despite claiming you "seriously dont understand all the Clara hate." The main reason people dislike Clara is because she's forgettable and more a part of the scenery than an actual character. Souffles, family and occupation do not make a character interesting and she achieved her "life's purpose" in her first season of three.
louisalectube Her personality is likeable but she is nothing. I'm sorry. She has no goals, she has no ideals, no moral code. She just exists. The same goes for Amy.
***** I agree with everything you said. When I say likeable I don't mean as Clara, I mean in the actress, the feel she brings with how she talks and acts could have been used so much better.
Bill may just be for one season so Chibnall could still do something great.
People complain about RTDs characters but they are really great. You may not like there decisions but they have actual layers and depth and goals and agendas of their own. All of them do. Moffats characters are literal nothings. They aren't characters. They just exist. I don't know how this is being allowed by anyone.
I wish I could write for the show it would be so much better lol. Heck anybody could write a better character than Moffat.
***** Again I agree 100%. Moffat is like a dictator for the show and it's really obvious. In RTDs era you can tell it went for something strange here and there with different writers who gave different feels to the show. Moffat seems like he still has full control over everything in a bad way. Also the way he writes 11 as always being the best doctor that there ever was is so obvious and frankly disgusting.
The writers room could make for the best Doctor Who we have had since 2005. We may just get the most cohesive well written and well rounded series yet. However my expectations are low because of Moffat. I feel he has changed the actual continuity of the show for the worse and I kinda want Chibnalls who to ignore what Moffat did. Firstly as a slap in Moffats face and secondly giving Chibnall as much freedom as possible. (Maybe I should swap that order.)
I truly hope Bill is only for one season and sad as it is Capaldi should leave to make it a fresh start for Chibnall.
*Copy/Paste*
ctrl+c ctrl+v :)
Indeed.
IMA Clara fan becuz of Jenna's ability
Omg Stuart you are liked the Doctor cous he can't remember Clara either
I liked clara when she was a dalek. it's all been down hill since that.
She has ore character in series 8
Aaaaaaaannd - THUMBS UP! I hope that helps any!
BUT!: Since at least "Kill the moon", things changed a little. At least to me it did.
I have a reason to like clara! Her theme song is good. That's it.
is dodo the dimwitted 60s hipster Clara's grandma?
and... subscribed
Weird. I just found Donna annoying as hell. She has some good scene though and definitely serves a purpose. But she just grated on me
headbite alien
She is amazing to me. She was am average woman told she was nothing and dissapointing and she believed it. She started to prove her worth with the doctor and is the reasons millions of people are alive. But the tragedy is that she'll never remember it.
It's beautifully terrible and it really gets to me.
The problem with Moffat's episodes is that they Doctor has to go back and pick up his companions after he leaves them off and the real doctor would leave them and went on to the next companion but going back to pick them up-until they end up killed or stranded in time-Clara made no real sense.
I've been watching some of your videos for the past couple days, and this right here is precisely why I've grown to hate Doctor Who. I want companions who ask questions, show fear, etc. Clara seems bored and unappreciative of having this opportunity to be taken on a transdimensional journey. I was so annoyed at her character in general, and her departure in particular, that I decided to stop watching the show. I've heard Bill is better in this regard, that she's a bit Donna-esque, which does intrigue me... but I'm not sure I can handle another season of Moffat, where there will surely be no consequences for any action.
I noticed quite a bit of Big Finish is streaming on Spotify, might just start diving into that instead. All I want is interesting stories like Inferno, The Mind Robbers, Midnight, Turn Left, and Heaven Sent - where we get a highly interesting story for an hour, then it's DONE. No convoluted plot for the entire season, just using the plot device of the TARDIS to give us new genres and ideas week after week. Doctor Who is the perfect vehicle for episodic storytelling like this, even more than Black Mirror if the BBC would realize that fact.
Welp... We got the episodic storytelling back... Sadly Bill was even more bland than season 7 Clara :D ! The only thing we remember is that she was lesbian. (My best friend forgot she existed even though we watched season 10 only 3 months ago. And she remember Martha after 2 years, which should be pretty telling.)
Clara Clara bloody Clara!!! When she first appeared I was pulled in who is this girl who seems to die and pops up in different time streams and the story arc could - and I use that loosely - of been good. But it fizzled out like a weak fart leaving viewers like myself going WTF!!!! That doesn't make sense and the irritating thing is that no NuWho fans think it was because of Clara that the Dr got his TARDIS cos she recommended it to the first Dr - Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhggggghhhhh
And breath Mark......deep breaths..........
Clara although very pleasing to the eye her character is how can I put it - bland? Plain? Uninteresting? The list could go on. This leads me in to those three other supporting characters the Silurian, the girl and the sontaran - they really irritate me and they are back in the new series - WHY?? Also I've noticed that in NuWho The Sontarans have become a cartoon joke race - stupid and full of NuWho retarded one liners with are so pathetic and makes you physically roll your eyes. It's a shame as the Sontarans were quite a sly and twisted race in Old Who - now they are the equivalent of an intergalactic travelling comedy act.
I agree with she's not a Silurian!!! As NuWho gas to humanise everything - why do NuWho Silurian have human faces - that means they mated with humans somewhere and therefore can't hate humans as they are hybrids? Unlike the original Silurians who were pure reptile not hybrid humans! It really irritates me lol
Humm RUclips has cut the rest if my rant? Hahaha
Sontarans are now nothing but a bunch of space traveling comedy act
Mark Lyne
Yeah they've kinda gone against what defined a silurian, they're not the original residents of Earth fighting to return to the surface world...now they're just sorta weird lizard people. Same with the Sontarans, you could easily do something more in depth with them, that series 4 two parter wasn't great but it was a start and made more sense than just shoving a sontaran in a tuxedo and having him be a silurian's butler. They're pretty much just there to go "look! there's a couple of things from classic who onscreen, will that pacify everyone who wants stuff from classic who?"
I still say Clara's gonna turn out to be an auton and moffat'll claim her having no personality was intentional and it was all leading up to that
***** I feel like the relationship between Vastra and Jenny would have been a lot more interesting if they made her look like a classic Silurian.
They needed to go back and look at the old Sontarons not these these clown buffoons :-S as for the three ass clowns they need to do one lol
THANK YOU! I AGREE SO MUCH! *subscribe*
clara is my favorite character in doctor who (besides 11) because she was so interesting and important, she died 3 times and came back as different people, the first time we saw her in asylum of the daleks she was intelligent, quick witted and comedical, then in the snowmen she was caring, kind and compassionate but was also cheeky and had some kind of control over the doctor ( and she said smaller on the outside and if that's not a memorable line from doctor who I don't know what is) as she became an actual companion in series 7 we met her family and discovered that she was very passionate, she always trys to help (little alien girl in rings of aketan) in nightmare in silver shes a strong, brave and very independent character and even shows battle tactics against iron man no wait they were cybermen sorry I get confused (by the way I love the new cybermen) and in series 8 she becomes very controlling almost like the doctors guardian, we see her love life with danny and her struggles balancing the real world and the fake and almost becomes psychotic over the death of danny so I strongly believe clara has an abundance of character and even though it isn't obvious at first that she is, it just plays on her mysterious entry into doctor who and on a side note I think the impossible girl story arc was amazing
Flipflopping her entire character for every single episode to make it fit the story is, if anything, even more of an obvious clue that she lacks actual character of her own, so the writers can adapt her however it is convenient to the plot. Yes, real humans aren't just one stereotype and that's it, but a shy person will still be shy even if he ends up seeing the need to step into the focus and take things head-on, he doesn't just flipflop into suddenly loving to be the center of attention. Clara being quick-witted, stubborn and flirty in one episode and a needy I-give-up-immediately damsel in the next just proves that there is no constistency to her character, NOT that she has more than the show can contain.
Note: based on time of this video, not based on looking back from 2017.
The real problem with what you just said is it's just a list of all of the positive attributes that clara has. Not a list of interesting (and especially meaningful) characterization elements.
Perhaps a perfect, yet very much empty character appeals to some people as it does to you, but for most of us it's just boring and annoying to watch a person who has no flaws, no hobbies, no purpose, nothing.
> Praises "Reverse the Polarity"
> Criticizes technobabble
smh I agree technobabble is bad, and in NewWho it is definitely worse, but honestly "reversing the polarity" is one of the worst cliches of Pertwee's run. He only started to consistently use it in his last two seasons when the quality of the show dropped. When he explained things in say Season 7 or 8, it would actually logically make sense, and he would actually talk about real life scientific events like dark matter/antimatter. That is one thing that really amazed me coming from new who to classic. The idea that his explanations could actually have logical and scientific explanations added to the realism of that era of the show.
"I can't remember Clara being in any of the Stories..." Rewatch them dude, and pay attention, you'll see her.
Also quite disappointed in the whole video, I kept getting lost in your pointless tangents and never really came to a conclusion that made any sense beyond yourself. You should remake the video and actually address the issues you see in Clara, and why that somehow takes away from any aspect of the show.
This was more of a video on past companions rather than Clara.
Seriously, "Clara isn't interesting" just doesn't seem like the problem.
she's hot tho
At least having Clara in the TARDIS was a slight improvement over having the same monster-of-the-week inhabit the TARDIS and terrify the Doctor and Rory every week - wait, that was a companion too? B-but I thought...