I love Two and so should you!!!

[ceebee_eebee]

I came pretty late to this whole Doctor Who phenomenon. And, to be honest, if Chris Eccleston hadn’t decided to take the role I probably never would have given it a go. (I worship Eccleston with the heat of a thousand suns). After falling in love with the new series I found myself wanting to understand its origins and to find out how any show could have lasted all these decades. What I discovered was that the Second Doctor is the greatest Doctor of them all. Why? Oh let me count the many, many ways.



First and foremost, the Second Doctor rules because Pat Troughton owns the character. Owns it in every possible way. When you watch him, you can truly see every Doctor. He can be a clown and play stupid, but he’s utterly brilliant with a darkness in him. He’s clever and witty and manic and melancholy. He IS the Doctor.



The second, and almost equally important reason that Two kicks ass is one James Robert McCrimmon, the greatest companion there ever was.





He spends almost his entire run wearing a kilt, and on the rare occassions when he has to change, he looks like this:



SO HOT.

And he isn’t just a sexy beast. You think Rose and the Doctor were touchy feely? They don’t even begin to compare to Jamie/Two:



But hold on. Let’s back up. I wanna throw a little history at you. Here’s what Outpost Gallifrey has to say about Two:

In 1966, the unprecedented occurred: the popular William Hartnell left Doctor Who, and a man named Patrick Troughton took over the role. He was absolutely nothing like the crotchety old Doctor viewers knew well -- this new incarnation was feisty, mysterious and occasionally prone to fits of hysteria. The series was changing, and the viewers were along for a wild ride. Troughton was immediately a new type of Doctor -- much more hands-on, more physical, and more prone to slapstick. To that end, in his second adventure, he gained the services of Jamie MacCrimmon (Frazer Hines), a young Scottish soldier who would see him through to the bitter end, joining the travels with Ben and Polly (Michael Craze and Anneke Wills), who witnessed the transformation. Along the way, Ben and Polly would depart his company, only to be replaced by two very independent young ladies from different backgrounds: 19th century socialite Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling) and futuristic scientist Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury).

(I’d argue with them characterizing Victoria as “independent”, but more on that later.)

I think the most interesting thing about this era, from a strictly historical perspective, is that this was when the real Doctor Who canon came into being. For example, this is when we first find out for certain that the Doctor is an alien. Like I’ve seen said many times before, if Troughton hadn’t taken over the role, it’s HIGHLY unlikely the show would have survived all these years.

Curious yet?

Ok. To sum up, when Two first appears he is traveling with Polly and Ben.






(I love those photo booth pics so much it hurts me)

Then, in The Highlanders, his second episode, he takes on Jamie:



In the final episode of Troughton’s first season, he loses Ben and Polly but brings Victoria Waterfield onto the TARDIS in what could be considered the best Two episode of them all: Evil of the Daleks





She’s a real sweetheart and both the Doctor and Jamie absolutely ADORE her. She is, however, really not cut out for life on the TARDIS and spends a great deal of time being held hostage or otherwise scared out of her mind. So, after one season of some tremendously brilliant episodes, she leaves.

In the next episode, Wheel in Space, the Doctor and Jamie meet Zoe Heriot, the cutest, tiniest little muffin you will ever see in your life. For me, this threesome is the real highlight of the Troughton years. Although the Doctor and Jamie loved Victoria in a way that we don’t see with Zoe, the three of them have SO MUCH FUN together.



In all honesty, the Second Doctor era is genius and Pat Troughton kicks ass in every way. But what got me interested in watching his episodes in the first place was the fact that Two and Jamie CAN’T KEEP THEIR HANDS OFF EACH OTHER. Here's a brilliant vid to illustrate:

ETA: And here are some other clips which illustrate this BEAUTIFULLY. Oh, they are so good.

TEXT and SUBTEXT

Now, we move on to gratituous picspam territory. \o/

This is how Two and Jamie react to threatening situations:









And this is how they act when all is well:















Apparently they don’t believe in personal space. So ridiculous. Jamie is the most touchy-feely character EVER and the person he really wants to be touching and feeling is the Doctor. No joke. Even Zoe gets in on the action sometimes:





I think what cracks me up the most is that just when I think I’ve seen them be as gay as they possibly can be on 1960s television, I see this:



Seriously, now. When your reaction in a time of crisis is to nuzzle a dude’s crotch, I think there really aren’t any gayer places you can go with your clothes still on. And if you think this is just a second-long accidental crotch-shot, think again. Jamie really does stay with his nose on the Doctor’s dick for a while. It’s utterly brilliant.

Here’s a couple more pics just because I love them:







I imagine that a major reason why the Doctor and Jamie have such fabulous chemistry is because Pat Troughton and Frazer Hines genuinely liked each other. (RPS fans can read into these what they will).







Now, finally, here are some fan fiction recommendations. There aren’t a ton of people writing for Two, but what’s lacking in quantity is made up for in quality.

Let’s start with a few stories that connect the Second Doctor with the new series:

A Moment's Grace by cesario
(Two, Martha Jones) PG-13

An absolutely beautiful story that takes place during the year that Martha traveled the Earth in Last of the Time Lords.

Soft Touch by vandonovan (Nine/Jamie) R

Short but SOOOOOOO awesome. Jamie easing Nine’s pain.

Visiting Hours by sushigal007 (Ten, Jamie) PG

While Ten and Martha are stuck in the 60’s during Blink, the Doctor decides to visit an old friend.

Now, some porn:

Watching by pet_lunatic (Two/Jamie implied) R-ish

The Doctor catches Jamie in a...private moment.

The Bet by lithrael (Two/Jamie/Zoe) NC-17

Holy. Shit. I cant even BEGIN to describe how hot and awesome this is. Not only is lithrael amazing at pr0n, but her characterizations and language are just gorgeous. This story has one of my favorite passages of all time:

Zoe's heart was steady but her knees had gone slightly weak. They always did, over the Doctor. He was just too amazing. It was like having a crush on the whole night sky, and one day finding it could love you back.

It just kills me dead.

And last, but certainly not least, there is the story that I think is the quintessential Second Doctor era work. This story blows me away. It’s an AU that takes place after Evil of the Daleks but I honestly don’t think you need to have seen that serial to appreciate this story. Van does a beautiful job setting the scene. It’s long and intricate and the characterizations are perfect and the storyline is magnificent and I can’t possibly recommend this piece more highly. Absolute brilliance.

Reflections by vandonovan (Two/Jamie) NC-17

Author’s summary: Charged with saving the universe, can the Doctor overcome his own darkness to defeat the Daleks?

READ THIS IMMEDIATELY.

ETA: I can't believe I forgot this story:

Obsessions by vandonovan (Two/Jamie) NC-17

Cliche-fic done SO right. Hot as hell.

So, that’s my epic post pimping the Second Doctor. If you want to explore further (which I know you do) here are some resources:

two_love is a great community that deals with all things Two.

This post by lcsbanana is hilarious and absolutely true.

ETA: Van just posted some links to other absolutely BRILLIANT posts about the completely canonical love between Jamie and the Doctor.

by calapine Jamie McCrimmon, the Doctor's Actual Proper Soulmate
Part 1 and
Part 2

by martoufmarty
A list of Two/Jamie moments

and

by randominity
Why Jamie & Two being married is canon (the truest thing of all time.)
and
A pictorial post on a key segment of The Dominators (this one made me laugh so hard I cried.)

Don't Be Embarrassed, Those Feelings Are a Completely Natural Part of Growing Up by prof_pangaea

Some good official resources are:

The BBC website has photonovels and episode summaries and whatnot.

And, of course, Outpost Gallifrey has episode summaries and reviews and all the information you could possibly want about the Second Doctor serials.

I hope you all decide to go and watch these episodes and come to love the Second Doctor as much as I do.

I also want to thank vandonovan again, because he has almost single-handedly enabled my current levels of Two-obsession. THANK YOU!!!!

All screencaps courtesy of the BBC website.

Comments

[biichan.livejournal.com]

Dude, this is the greatest pimp post ever. Everyone needs to see it. I want there to be a grand Two fandom renaissance and for the Beeb to see our outpouring of love and respond by giving us The War Games on DVD and an animated reconstruction of Evil Of The Daleks. I AM NOT AFRAID TO AIM HIGH, OH NO.

Thank you so much for linking this!

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

I want there to be a grand Two fandom renaissance and for the Beeb to see our outpouring of love and respond by giving us The War Games on DVD and an animated reconstruction of Evil Of The Daleks.

Oh lord. Nothing would make me happier EVER. It would be like my birthday and christmas and the greatest sex and winning the lottery all rolled into one!!!

From your fingers to the BBCs ears, my friend.

[biichan.livejournal.com]

Also, we need to all get together and wish very hard and maybe instead of Tinkerbell Blue Jesus Fairy we'll get more MISSING EPISODES. IT COULD HAPPEN DAMMIT.

Also, I want lots of fic. Good fic. (I am myself working on something with Two and Martha and Jamie to aid in this, but it may be a long time coming since it wants to be my tardis_bigbang.)

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, YES!!! I agree with this completely. And I am SO excited to hear about your bigbang story! It sounds divine. I'm not sure why Martha works so well with Two, but she does. Fabulous.

[biichan.livejournal.com]

Hee, I'm glad you're interested! I tend to bitch and wibble about it and my lack of progress in my lj, but I have posted a teaser and I'll probably post another in a little bit. You want I should friend you so you can see it? (I'm kind of completely flocked right now, so as to keep some rather awful trolls out.)