Sex & The Tardis

In past series of 'Doctor Who' or as it is now referred to the 'Classic' series, the Doctor was subject to strict codes of conduct when it came to relationships. However the newly revived series has been introduced into a society where sex is not the complicated and stringently restricted subject it was during production of the classic series. To discuss the heterosexual relationship between the Doctor and his female companions I will focus primarily on the new series as inter-TARDIS relationships seem to be thriving.In his long crusade against evil, the Doctor has not stood alone. He has been accompanied by a variety of companions including a loyal robot dog named K-9, a fellow Time Lord named Romana and even the Stone Age woman Leela.' (A Critical History of Doctor Who on Television, John Kenneth Muir: 1969:3)The television series 'Doctor Who' has always held much controversy over the relationships with the people who travel with the Doctor. Perhaps this is thought upon more with the new series because the 21st century society has differing opinions to those of the society when Doctor Who was first launched. Sex and experimental relationships is not the taboo subject it once was in television, and although the series holds the same teatime slot in scheduling, the storylines both in the realms of action, special effects and sex are now open to diversity. It has been noted that the majority of the Doctors companion are young, attractive females, and in the more recent series young attractive males. There were strict codes of conduct inflicted on the actors concerning the response to many of the companions, for example Peter Davies who played the fifth Doctor was not permitted to gesture the companions, and this included putting his arm around them. Sex in the TARDIS was clearly forbidden but unlike the present series was not suggested by the audience, and it was not seen to further the story in any particular way. Within society Doctor Who became a national institution and placed itself at the heart of children's Saturday night entertainment, this ultimately resulted in the Doctor becoming a somewhat avuncular character in relation to his younger companions. As the series progressed and Doctors became younger and more attractive the production team were thought to have provoked the idea of sex in the TARDIS, and resulted in the series being concluded that the Doctor was in fact not capable of even appreciating love, romance, sex and relationships. This is seen in the episode 'City of Death' where the Doctor viewed the character of the Countess Scarlioni as 'A beautiful woman, probably' confirming that perhaps as an alien and a Timelord he is unable to perform certain emotional feelings. The elusion of the Doctor and his sexual relationship is analysed in the text, 'A Critical History of Doctor Who.'As a result of this stringent 'no sex' policies, most romantic relationships on Doctor Who seem either forced or restrained. Susan, Leela, Vicki, Jo and Peri all leave the series to wed guest stars, but the decisions by these women to marry seem more a result of plot necessity than passion or romance. (A Critical History of Doctor Who on Television, John Kenneth Muir: 1969:64)This links us to the present day series of Doctor Who; the Doctor rarely seems to have competition for the heart of any of the female characters in which are introduced to. Even the character of Captain Jack Harkness who it is stated to like any 'kind' of sexual partner - be it women, men or aliens - bids for the Doctor's attention along with all his female counter parts, but the women always fall for the Doctor. They have only left the show due to force (in Roses case) or because there love for the Doctor is unrequited (in the case of Martha Jones).The subject of sex and relationships has been brushed upon within the series previously, in the first ever episode 'The Unearthly Child' it was established that Susan was the Doctor's Granddaughter but neither Susan or the Doctor ever discussed her parents, this is later reiterated with the tenth Doctor (David Tennant) who states in the episode 'Fear Her' he 'was a dad once'. In the most recently aired episode of the new series, the Doctor (David Tennant) explains to Donna (the current companion) that he has fathered children, and states that they and the rest of his family died in the time war, it is a feeling of fatherhood that can never be replaced, because it is too painful for him to bare. This frustratingly but also understandably makes the time period before the Doctors travelling days a matter open to opinion concerning his family history back on his home planet of Gallifrey. The subject of sex in the TARDIS was initially broken in the 1996 television film of Doctor Who where the eighth doctor was seen kissing his companion Grace Holloway. The film was also aimed at an American market, and perhaps this can be used to explain the sexualized nature of this television film, the sexed up version was made to appeal to this new audience however fandom was shocked when this act of romance was seen even in 1996, it broke the long standing taboo of the subject of romance between the Doctor and his companions, but at the same time it set a precedent for the newly revived series. In the case of Rose Tyler, who we know as the new 'girl next door' in the re-launch of the series in 2005, the actors and the characters have often challenged the opinions of the press, fans and other characters concerning the relationship between Rose and The Doctor. The ninth Doctor (played by Christopher Eccleson) describes the relationship by saying he 'employed' Rose, immediately raising queries with their sexual relationship. Through the first revived series there was also clear competition between Rose's boyfriend Mickey and the ninth Doctor, Rose even leaving Mickey in the first episode to travel with the mysterious man, she had only just met, instigating questions of love at first sight, desire or perhaps just instinctive trust. Rose and The Doctor show jealous emotion when the other had flirtatious moments with passing characters, heightening their relationship status. The Doctor appears to be much more open to relationships in the new series, and since the revived series aired in the 2005 the Doctor has developed from his first on screen kiss in 1996 to kissing and embracing many a companion, including Rose, Martha, Captain Jack Harkness, Madame de Pompadour and whilst being temporary locked as a human being had a serious relationship with the character of Joan Redfern. However for the audience and production team the Doctors emotional feelings - if he can be stated as having them - are always in the direction of Rose. After trapping Rose in the parallel universe to save her from being sucked into the unknown, the Doctor manages to transmit a hologram image of himself to meet her in the other universe, they share a tender moment where Rose exclaims she loves him and the Doctor only has time to say her name before it is implied repeating her sentiment. This shows the clear admiration the Doctor and Rose shared, and could even be described as the Doctors first serious relationship with a companion, as although many a companion have declared their love for the Doctor it is unknown that the Doctor was capable to returning the same emotions. The Doctor then states to his new companion Martha that he'd rather travel 'alone', clearly mourning her loss. The character of Sarah-Jane Smith played by Elisabeth Sladen, is a recurrent figure first seen travelling with the third and fourth doctors, but she also reappears in the new series featuring beside David Tennant in an episode called 'School Reunion' her character is now a journalist investigating some mysterious activities at a school where the doctor happens to be investigating as well. This episode is particularly interesting to the question of whether Doctor Who's companion can be seen in a sexual context as there appears to be a lot more than just the question of hanky panky in the TARDIS when it is related to Sarah-Jane Smith. When the Doctor first sees Sarah-Jane in the staffroom, he is overjoyed; he looks at her with esteem, and states his name is 'John Smith' regular followers of the show know this to be the name the Doctor uses when he is undercover. Sarah-Jane Smith states,"John Smith? I use to have a friend who sometimes went by that name.'The Doctor: 'Well it's a very common name'. Sarah-Jane: 'He was a very uncommon man'. "The Doctor is very excited to see Sarah-Jane, and cannot hide is joyous smiles at being reunited with her, of course she is still unaware of his real identity. Later on whilst investigating the school at night she discovers the TARDIS in a store cupboard, and the Doctor begins his explanation and reasoning for leaving her a long time ago. The audience views the relationship between the two of them, and it is clear they have a lot of history and mutual love for one another. Comedic responses come when Rose and Sarah-Jane are introduced and a clear jealous nature is seen in the two of them. Mickey also makes the comment that the Doctor is dealing with 'The Mrs. and the Ex', launching more insight into the relationships between the Doctor, his old companions and that of Rose.This episode is different to previous episodes from the new series because it gives the audience insight into what happens to companions after they leave the Doctor and how they continue with their lives after seeing the whole universe before them, and we see the lasting emotional attachment left with the companions even long after the Doctor has clearly moved on. Rose believes that what her and the Doctor have is a real connection but after viewing the relationship between Sarah-Jane and the Doctor, changes her opinion to believe that she is just the next girl in a long line of attractive female companions, of course from the audiences point of view this is view is in a ore light hearted way, as Mickey stated it is like watching his current girlfriend and his ex-girlfriend argue over who means more to the Doctor. The Doctor states he would never do that to her, and even after Rose leaves, the Doctor never forgets her, leading us to believe that he did keep to his word, and maybe she is the first companion that he truly loved or his first serious relationship in a long time. Sarah-Jane even states at the end of the episode to Rose that 'Something's are worth getting your heart broken for'. Although there may be more sexual innuendo in the new series, I believe this to be because of a change in television and censorship. Within society romance can be accommodated more appropriately in early evening television and although the show was primarily aimed at children, with the regeneration of the new series it is apparent that any person from any age group can enjoy the show. This effects the role of the sidekick as it can be depicted to many different people. With the departure of Rose at the end of Series two we were introduced to Martha Jones, the first black companion, of course there was Mickey ( Rose's 'on-off' boyfriend) who was also from a ethnic background but his character was never permanent where as Martha was first perceived as a new romantic connection for The Doctor. However the Doctor, still reeling from the loss of Rose does not picture Martha in the same respect, Rose cannot be replaced. Martha shows examples of a lot of jealously towards Rose, one of these examples is in the third episode of the latest series called 'Gridlock', where the Doctor takes her to 'New Earth' and she realises he has also taken Rose to the same place and refers to herself as a 'rebound'.In fact Martha leaves the Doctor at the end of series three to save herself from anymore heartache, as she like many of the Doctors female companions has fallen for his remarkable charm. Knowing that she cannot replace her competitor Rose, she leaves his side to look after her family. The newly aired series four will feature five of the past companions. Catherine Tate plays the Doctors permanent sidekick and it is clear from the outset that their relationship is purely platonic, and reinforced towards the end of the first episode, when the Doctor is griping over the fact that he ruined part of Martha and her families life, and hints at the relationships being too much for him to take again, the conversation is as follows;'Doctor: I just want a mate. Donna: You just want to mate, (outraged) Doctor: No! I just want A MATE. Donna: Good 'cos you're not mating with me sunshine.'Although the Doctor has acquired yet another attractive female companion it is clear that the writer Russell.T.Davis has made a decision to cut the Doctors love interests for the beginning of this series, perhaps because it has become somewhat distracting from the narrative and alien encounters, or on the other hand just to rest the Doctor from love to let the friendly storyline of himself and Donna develop.The Good Doctor will always have companions, many of which female because it provides the entertainment the show desires to lift it from the reality and horror of travelling to different alien worlds. It provides more structure to the Doctors character as well, and makes him more audience friendly as people can sympathise, emphasise and feel compassionate towards him, as he struggles to fight the universe and his somewhat human feelings towards love. His sexuality and relationship status will always be a mystery to many followers of Doctor Who, although he first appeared as an avuncular character, his relationships through the new series have dampened this idea and left it open to discussion. Personally I feel he is very capable of these human emotions, and as his family history is also left open to opinion, the time lords may experience the same humane emotions. We know he had a family at some point, and it is hard to believe that he has never experience love, sex or relationships in his nine hundred year life span.