Maybe the Doctor's personality comes from the old Victorian bachelor/traveller archtype in British literature?
It's a safe bet that Russell T. Davies would be familiar with the type. And you may have picked up on something more central here: that of all heroes in television today, or probably any other medium, the Doctor's roots are not just in the present day, or the 20th century, or any particular time. He takes aspects from all ages and branches of culture. This helps to make him elusive and intriguing, and convincing as a time traveller. He doesn't fit in as a classic hero of our time (though he liked being compared to James Bond!) - or specifically of any given time - but he fits to a degree as a hero of any time. Which helps to make him seem timeless.
He certainly fits the Victorian archetype you describe, and wouldn't it be incredibly easy to imagine him in the pages of Dickens? But he would also fit into a Fielding novel, or Shakespeare, or Chaucer - well, who wouldn't? - or Aeschylus or - well, the writers of any era, especially if they span both the dark/serious and the light/comic.
Now I'm trying to picture the Doctor walking into a scene from Beowulf. Or Jane Austen - well, he might be one of the rather eccentric friends of her heroes, and the heroine's flighty sister might have a crush on him that would come to nothing.
Now I'm feeling the urge to write historically-minded crossover fic. Hmmph.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Babbling about the Doctor and Jack, part 2
Date: 2007-07-27 12:21 pm (UTC)It's a safe bet that Russell T. Davies would be familiar with the type. And you may have picked up on something more central here: that of all heroes in television today, or probably any other medium, the Doctor's roots are not just in the present day, or the 20th century, or any particular time. He takes aspects from all ages and branches of culture. This helps to make him elusive and intriguing, and convincing as a time traveller. He doesn't fit in as a classic hero of our time (though he liked being compared to James Bond!) - or specifically of any given time - but he fits to a degree as a hero of any time. Which helps to make him seem timeless.
He certainly fits the Victorian archetype you describe, and wouldn't it be incredibly easy to imagine him in the pages of Dickens? But he would also fit into a Fielding novel, or Shakespeare, or Chaucer - well, who wouldn't? - or Aeschylus or - well, the writers of any era, especially if they span both the dark/serious and the light/comic.
Now I'm trying to picture the Doctor walking into a scene from Beowulf. Or Jane Austen - well, he might be one of the rather eccentric friends of her heroes, and the heroine's flighty sister might have a crush on him that would come to nothing.
Now I'm feeling the urge to write historically-minded crossover fic. Hmmph.