Aten't dead

[lizbee]

Just offline.  The library is closed on Sundays, and it turns out that every single other wireless hotspot in Melbourne blocks LJ.  Can't justify Monday's absence, except that I got up, had breakfast, watched an episode of Dexter and then went back to bed until it was time to go to work.  What can I say?  Fail ISP has said we'll be reconnected on Wednesday. 

In my absence, I have been re-listening to Big Finish audios again, or at least, those ones with Romana.  Try as I might, I simply cannot find it within myself to give a damn about Charley, Evelyn or any of the other non-Romana companions.  This is, I know, my loss, but I never pretended I wasn't monomaniacal.  Anyway, so far I've gotten through "The Apocalypse Element" and "Neverland", and  I have come to the conclusion -- which shouldn't really be news to anyone who has read my fic -- that by the time of her escape from the Daleks in "Apocalypse Element", Romana is absolutely, utterly insane.  Not merely a bit unstable, but totally batshit CAN YOU HEAR THE DRUMS????!!!! mad. 

I have come to this realisation mostly because of the scripting.  Apparently -- and I do wish I could remember where I read this, because I'm told sources are handy things to cite -- the writer really wanted to do season 17-style banter with Six and Romana, and someone (possibly Gary Russell?) had to keep saying, "Um, dude, she's spent twenty years as a Dalek slave.  The conditions aren't really right for banter."  So the script sort of veers wildly between VERY SERIOUS ANGST (and again, I've said this before but it bears repeating: Lalla brings it.  Absolutely her best work in Who ever, and it's just a shame everything else is such a mess, not to mention that she's never been that good since) and BANTER, with random bits that leave me going WTF SHE'S SUPPOSED TO BE EMACIATED AND MALNOURISHED HOW CAN SHE SPRINT DOWN THAT CORRIDOR??? and WHY DO THE DALEKS KEEP CALLING HER HUMAN???

Obviously, in-text, the best way to explain the radical mood swings and personality changes is to assume that Romana went crazy on Etra Prime, and somehow no one noticed.  Possibly because she's hardly the first Gallifreyan president to go a little bonkers, and as long as she's not actually setting out to play the Game of Rassilon, no one really minds.  Alternatively, I strongly suspect that Gallifreyan psychiatry runs much along the lines of "take this suicide pill and call me in the morning if the drums persist", so maybe there's a certain amount of incentive to keep a lid on one's sanity-impairment.  Either that -- look, I like this theory, I could spend all afternoon finding variations -- or she's assuming that the Doctor will take her down if the problem becomes serious.  Six would, probably.  Seven would, definitely, and I'd quite like to write fic about Seven and Ace visiting her in the wake of Etra Prime, only I suspect I may be stepping on prof_pangaea's toes.  But then he goes and regenerates into Eight, who's not at all good at that sort of thing, and then he goes and gets himself exiled anyway.

My theory is particularly good because it explains why Romana's so unhinged and brittle throughout the Gallifrey series.  At first I thought it was just bad writing and creaky acting, but no, having spent twenty years of slavery with nothing but her identity as Madame Lady President to cling to, of course she's not going to give that up without a fight.  Even when she really, really should.

So, yes, in conclusion, Romana = really, really crazy, even before you factor in the latent evil living in her head, and the CIA's anomaly vault sentience that moves into her brain in the third season, and -- look, at least she doesn't listen to the Scissor Sisters.

With all that, I also realised that I don't care for "Neverland" at all.  Maybe because India Fisher's voice strikes my ears like glass sliding down a blackboard, and I spotted the big plot twist the first time around, and I just don't care.  Romana is terribly written; if not for the fact that she shares a name and an actress with a former companion, she could be almost anyone.  And Lalla's not an actress who can rise above a bad script, so her performance falls down, and she and McGann have none of the spark they share in "Shada".  It's just no good at all.



Now, the real question is, do I skip the first three episodes of "Zagreus" and pick up where Romana comes in?  And I think the answer is yes, because ... well, who has time for that much surrealism?  Not me, especially not when I'm in a rush to get to the Gallifrey series so I can try to make sense of the Pandora thing for once and for all. 

Comments

[petronelle.livejournal.com]

To properly appreciate Zagreus, one must be in the mood for utter crack. If you're not, you may as well skim it, but it may be even more confusing that way. I'm not sure how, but it may.

On the other hand, you might miss the true love story of the piece if you do, and I don't mean Charley.

Gallifrey is worth skipping ahead for.