Everyone died except Jack and Gwen (and I think Gwen's fiancee/husband?) Ooh, right, yes they did. I do remember Torchwood fandom being very angry with canon, but I never quite got into Torchwood fandom, anyway. I was a big fan of the Children of Earth serial and also really enjoyed Miracle Day, so I can't have been that upset about them dying, either.
I've tried very hard to like Rose, and I can see the attraction of that character--she's capable, young, unapologetically female, lower class, and gets to have her forever after with her crush, and I'm all for role model characters like that existing. But I could never quite get emotionally attached, or super invested in Ten's and Rose's relationship. (I actually liked her better with Eccleston.)
Martha was great, I really loved her, but she got put in such an unfortunate position by the plot--the rebound companion, and the companion who finds her fulfillment in separating from him. It's not a very thankful role, and I can't help but criticize the choice to give this particular role to the first PoC companion.
And you're right, making it all about romantic infatuation introduced this unfortunate imbalance. I liked her brief reappearances in season 4; she was on more equal footing with the Doctor at that point. And I have to admit that I liked her ending up with Mickey--they both got sidelined by the Doctor, so I liked them managing to find excitement and companionship independently of him.
Donna's ending was extremely sad. I thought it was very in character for Ten to do what he did, but it was definitely heartbreaking. Seeing it getting subverted with Clara was great, especially since they made it more-than-obvious that it was a reference to the ending that Ten and Donna had.
You should give it a try! Season 8 is still quite rocky, but season 9 is honestly great. As a stand-alone episode that's quite enjoyable, I can recommend the season 8 Robin of Sherwood one--it's quite funny, you get to experience Capaldi!Doctor, you can get an impression of Clara, and it's hands-down the best episode of that season. (Season 9 sucks for stand-alone episodes, because there's only one that's not a double episode, and that one is the single bad one.)
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Ooh, right, yes they did. I do remember Torchwood fandom being very angry with canon, but I never quite got into Torchwood fandom, anyway. I was a big fan of the Children of Earth serial and also really enjoyed Miracle Day, so I can't have been that upset about them dying, either.
I've tried very hard to like Rose, and I can see the attraction of that character--she's capable, young, unapologetically female, lower class, and gets to have her forever after with her crush, and I'm all for role model characters like that existing. But I could never quite get emotionally attached, or super invested in Ten's and Rose's relationship. (I actually liked her better with Eccleston.)
Martha was great, I really loved her, but she got put in such an unfortunate position by the plot--the rebound companion, and the companion who finds her fulfillment in separating from him. It's not a very thankful role, and I can't help but criticize the choice to give this particular role to the first PoC companion.
And you're right, making it all about romantic infatuation introduced this unfortunate imbalance. I liked her brief reappearances in season 4; she was on more equal footing with the Doctor at that point. And I have to admit that I liked her ending up with Mickey--they both got sidelined by the Doctor, so I liked them managing to find excitement and companionship independently of him.
Donna's ending was extremely sad. I thought it was very in character for Ten to do what he did, but it was definitely heartbreaking. Seeing it getting subverted with Clara was great, especially since they made it more-than-obvious that it was a reference to the ending that Ten and Donna had.
You should give it a try! Season 8 is still quite rocky, but season 9 is honestly great. As a stand-alone episode that's quite enjoyable, I can recommend the season 8 Robin of Sherwood one--it's quite funny, you get to experience Capaldi!Doctor, you can get an impression of Clara, and it's hands-down the best episode of that season. (Season 9 sucks for stand-alone episodes, because there's only one that's not a double episode, and that one is the single bad one.)