Good characters

[shivver]

I just came across this article on io9, "Good Character Development Includes the All-Important 'F*@% Yeah' Moment," and I read it immediately, because I'm always looking for good advice on writing. The takeaway from it is that having the character have a moment of courage, sacrifice, or triumph really helps the audience get invested.


Now, the concept is limited, and the article author admits it - it's something that really applies mostly to the science fiction and action genres - but the idea is that we're not watching a show to see the characters live a normal life: we want to see the characters step up to an extraordinary situation and deal with it. The characters become interesting when we see why we're watching them in the first place. And I'd say this applies to less action-y genres, though you might not actually say "Fuck yeah!" during such a moment. Even in a romance, the main character needs to come to realization of what he/she wants and make his/her decision, or action, or sacrifice that brings the story to completion.

The article is making me rethink parts of the long fic that I've been working on for a while now. The main character doesn't need to make the reader go "Fuck yeah!" - that's not the type of story I'm going for - but she does need more moments of revelation, more moments of take-charge.

The article lists the five types of "Fuck yeah!" moments and gives examples of each of them. As I was reading them, I started to try to think of great "Fuck yeah!" moments in Doctor Who, and the first one that came to mind, one of the best ever, was the moment the Doctor forcibly suspended his regeneration and commandeered the spaceship in order to return to Androzani Minor to save Peri. And look, the author cites that moment in type 4, "the moment of amazing altruism or saving others." It's great to see other people remembering that wonderful episode.

Comments

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

"Clara just very often seemed to get what had to be done, or even more often what had to be said, really out of the blue, and that’s a thing that bothered me. The leaf in Akhaten, the singing in Cold War, the way they brought her talking to the Doctor in DotD, the fact that the Time Lords listened to her, just a human girl… It felt wrong."

This. This! THIS! Exactly!! And those examples, YES! I couldn't believe that the Doctor suddenly came up with how to save Gallifrey just because Clara started crying. And the Time Lords listening to her! (I'll also go on a tangent and point out here that she appealed to their "love" for the Doctor. The Time Lords never loved the Doctor, which is very evident in every instance in which they appeared in the show, even in DotD. She should have said, "if you ever want to get out of the pocket universe, you have to help him." *urgh* That scene made me so angry.) Not only was Clara saving the day by things happening through her, as you put it, but it robbed the Doctor of the heroism: that gorgeous speech in Akhaten and coming up with and implementing the salvation of Gallifrey (which he'd apparently been thinking about for four hundred years, but needed Clara to remind him to do it?). And if written well, having the Doctor beg the Time Lords for help, since he's sworn to never give up *and* the Time Lords have everything to gain by help him, could have been a very heroic moment as well.

But you're right, as you listed, Clara isn't as perfect as I made her out to be, but she still just doesn't sit right with me as a character. I am very much hoping that she develops a lot more with Twelve. They've done the Doctor/companion antagonism before, with Five/Adric, as well as other tension in the TARDIS (Tegan/Turlough), and it really added a layer of complexity to the show; hopefully they will do it as well. Only time will tell. Sadly, I don't have any faith in Moffat's stuff (he seems to go for the timey-wimey and the cheap feels, rather than good characters and meaningful personal storylines), but I'm going into Series 8 hoping for the best. (And honestly, as long as the individual adventures are fun, I'll be good with that. I'm just a little pessimistic because I didn't like most of Series 7's episodes.)

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly. Both of those sudden resolution movements just felt sudden and out of the blue, unrealistic. And youʼre also exactly right about the Time Lord. Sentimentalism about the Doctor was the last thing they were likely to respond to. Gratefulness for saving them, maybe, and even then… thatʼs really stretching it. I agree, the likeliest option was their knowing they had to help the Doctor in their own interest. Like you said, even in DotD it was clear the Doctor was an outsider.

Yeah, it should have been the Doctor talking to the Time Lords. All right, it ruined the heroic walking-to-my-death moment, and his surprise at being granted new regenerations. So what? Heʼs walked to his death before. That could be sacrifized for the sake of realistic development. (Also, it would have removed the freaking crack opening at the middle of the sky and spitting out regenerations at him. I was hysterical with laughter.) That would have explored the Doctor vs. the Time Lords, which would have been interesting, given a good dramatic moment/an occasion for vibrant acting… and it just shouldnʼt have been Clara. The Time Lords wouldnʼt just listen to a human companion :( All right, Clara had to play her part and be relevant somehow… but she could have encouraged the Doctor to talk to his people or something, I donʼt know… been relevant to the Doctor, found the words to get through to him. That she could do. This, no.

Thatʼs understandable, given the issues in the writing. I really hope her character is well developed in s8, too. With Capaldi, if Clara had an occasion to shine too and Danny Pinkʼs addition worked well… it could be really great :D Fingers crossed.

Now youʼre making me want to see those tension-in-the-TARDIS parts. XD My classic watching is so slow.

On Moffat: I so get you. The timey-wimey and lack of solid emotional insight really bother me about him too—trying to remain positive and hopeful, though ;) I agree about the individual episodes, too. Personally I mostly had a problem with s7-a, s7-b worked better for me but that was mostly because Clara kept me hooked, I think. The episodes themselves I found good, but the resolutions often lacked something—we discussed that already. Ironical, since s7 didnʼt have two-parters and was supposed to focus more on individual eps—but at the same time, it probably contributed to making endings seem very rushed. (The Power of Three was ridiculous because the episode itself was pretty fun, with good build-up and insight in the right places, and then you had that closure and I just went wtf?!) S6 remains my favourite season and thatʼs partly because the individual episodes were really good—the other part being River Song, though her story went a bit all over the place because timey-wimey mess =P

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

I like your comment about the Time Lords wouldn't listen to the human companion; it's so very true. I think that what Clara should have done is to either say that if the Doctor didn't appeal to the Time Lords, both Trenzalore and the Time Lords are doomed, or that he needs to swallow his pride and beg his people for help. Probably the first, because I don't think they want to make the second point during his farewell episode.

Of course, talking about this with my husband only made us want to watch the episode again today, so we did. :D

Oh, the Power of Three. It needed so little to make it a great episode - just remove a little bit of the "Doctor is bored" stuff to allow time for a proper resolution. For me, s5 is my favorite, but yes, the individual stories in s6 are very good. I am starting to get really excited for s8, though, as it gets closer and closer. :)

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Yes, I completely agree. Lol, the first point sounds more fitting for episode climax indeed, but both are quite accurate :)

Rewatches ftw! And sharing fandom discussions with family ♥

So true. And s5 was very nice, but I'm a bit iffy about Amy at her beginnings, so that didn't help me. Episodes like Amy's choice are just brilliant, though.

Yes, let s8 come already! :D