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Mar. 11th, 2008 11:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skygiantsThing One: I have surprisingly little time for tv-watching these days (and especially for the dedicated hunting and gathering that is tv-watching without an actual tv) but I am, at last, finally caught up on Torchwood. I have many thoughts but
Did they seriously just make a character on the show permanently incapable of having sex? On Torchwood?!? My goodness, show, I think perhaps you've grown!
The 'permanent', of course, is doubtful, due to the other issues that are going on, namely the fact that Owen's body reeeeally is not going to last very long in the Torchwood lifestyle. There are three interesting ways they could deal with this. 1.) Start replacing body parts with metal infrastructure, calling up disturbing Cyberpeople comparisons and major Ianto issues. 2.) Start creating a metal exostructure, calling up disturbing Dalek comparisons, though that does not have as many issues for the Team. 3.) Somehow get him a spare body to switch into when the old one's had it too rough, in case the actor wants to take off for greener pastures, which could say some interesting things about the Doctor on Torchwood's parent show. I think the first is most likely, but then again, this is still Torchwood, so there is just as much of a chance that they'll go on keeping Owen miraculously unharmed except for his Dramatically Destroyed fingers. We'll see.
Thing Two: okay, guys, so my mother is currently midway through the Dark Tower series. Over the weekend, she called me up while she was waiting to get on her plane to England, and, among other more pressing topics of conversation, she said, "We really have to talk about the Dark Tower series next time I see you. I have a question for you." "Oh?" I said. "Yes," she said. "You have to tell me - WHY does Susannah have no legs? Does it move the plot along? Does it move the character along? - no pun intended.* Because right now I just kind of have the feeling that Stephen King has a bunch of character traits in a jar that he pulls out at random when he's creating characters, and Susannah just happened to pull 'no legs'." "Well, I can't answer right now," I said, "because my friend is standing right next to me giving me funny looks and also I haven't read DT in years, but I will ask the experts and tell you what they say." "Please do," said my mom, and ran to catch her plane.
So! Panel of experts! This is your chance to weigh in. Why does Susannah have no legs?
* She was lying.
Did they seriously just make a character on the show permanently incapable of having sex? On Torchwood?!? My goodness, show, I think perhaps you've grown!
The 'permanent', of course, is doubtful, due to the other issues that are going on, namely the fact that Owen's body reeeeally is not going to last very long in the Torchwood lifestyle. There are three interesting ways they could deal with this. 1.) Start replacing body parts with metal infrastructure, calling up disturbing Cyberpeople comparisons and major Ianto issues. 2.) Start creating a metal exostructure, calling up disturbing Dalek comparisons, though that does not have as many issues for the Team. 3.) Somehow get him a spare body to switch into when the old one's had it too rough, in case the actor wants to take off for greener pastures, which could say some interesting things about the Doctor on Torchwood's parent show. I think the first is most likely, but then again, this is still Torchwood, so there is just as much of a chance that they'll go on keeping Owen miraculously unharmed except for his Dramatically Destroyed fingers. We'll see.
Thing Two: okay, guys, so my mother is currently midway through the Dark Tower series. Over the weekend, she called me up while she was waiting to get on her plane to England, and, among other more pressing topics of conversation, she said, "We really have to talk about the Dark Tower series next time I see you. I have a question for you." "Oh?" I said. "Yes," she said. "You have to tell me - WHY does Susannah have no legs? Does it move the plot along? Does it move the character along? - no pun intended.* Because right now I just kind of have the feeling that Stephen King has a bunch of character traits in a jar that he pulls out at random when he's creating characters, and Susannah just happened to pull 'no legs'." "Well, I can't answer right now," I said, "because my friend is standing right next to me giving me funny looks and also I haven't read DT in years, but I will ask the experts and tell you what they say." "Please do," said my mom, and ran to catch her plane.
So! Panel of experts! This is your chance to weigh in. Why does Susannah have no legs?
* She was lying.
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Date: 2008-03-11 06:59 pm (UTC)Longer answer: A lot of Susannah's character arc is about overcoming adversity: as a black woman from the 60s, as someone with split personalities who has to reconcile them, as someone from our world who gets thrust into a strange and dangerous world and has to survive in it, and as a legless woman who has to get around in circumstances that aren't always ideal for a legless woman to get around in. You could argue that when she's got all the rest to deal with, no legs is overkill, but I think it also contributes to her hardness and capability and sheer "I am NOT going to let this handicap get the better of me"-ness. If she hadn't learned how to deal with having no legs, maybe she would have been more poorly equipped to deal with everything else that came her way.
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Date: 2008-03-11 07:55 pm (UTC)