Regarding the Doctor, the canon Doctor, I don't know if I'd agree that he doesn't think about "the 'little people' he leaves behind in his wake."
I think that the Doctor absolutely cares about the "little people." But just because he cares doesn't always mean that he can do something to save or help them. And I think that if he doesn't appear to think about them, it's perhaps like why he doesn't generally talk about, or visit, his companions after they've left (the ones he could visit, that is) -- it simply hurts too much. He's had to make so very many decisions, decisions that have led, directly or indirectly, to so many deaths. if he doesn't think about those people, I believe that it's not due to indifference or an assumption that they don't matter.
He sacrificed himself for Wilfred. He was going to sacrifice himself for the 4,022 people in the Library (and desperately wanted to be the one risking/giving his life instead of River). I suppose this is more than just a few lives, but he was going to sacrifice himself to save the Earth in "The Poison Sky" in order to give the Sontarans a chance. He risked being trapped without the TARDIS, living life on the slow path, to save Reinette in "The Girl in the Fireplace."
I think the Doctor does care, deeply, about individual lives. But that doesn't stop him from doing what he must in order to save the planet or the universe. Pompeii, for example -- I almost think a part of him dies every time he has to do something like that. But he really doesn't have another option, unless he'd rather the entire Earth be destroyed, Pompeii included.
In "The Lazarus Experiment," the Doctor says, "There's no such thing as an ordinary human." In "The End of Time: Part Two," Wilfred says, "900 years. We must look like insects to you." The Doctor responds, "You look like giants." In "Father's Day," the Doctor says, "An ordinary man: that's the most important thing in creation."
I'll admit that the Time Lord Victorious is . . . a different story. But even at the end of "The Waters of Mars," the Doctor realizes that he's gone too far.
All that said, I think there's a difference between the Doctor and your Doctor. Which isn't to say that your Doctor is out of character, precisely, just that I think it's a different take on the Doctor. I think the Doctor (the canon Doctor) has the potential (capacity?) for this kind of ruthlessness, this kind of disregard for average lives, but I don't think it's who he is, or how he acts. He works against that potential. I wouldn't disagree with your statement if it's regarding your Doctor, though. And by the way, I think your story was excellent.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2011-02-21 05:49 am (UTC)I think that the Doctor absolutely cares about the "little people." But just because he cares doesn't always mean that he can do something to save or help them. And I think that if he doesn't appear to think about them, it's perhaps like why he doesn't generally talk about, or visit, his companions after they've left (the ones he could visit, that is) -- it simply hurts too much. He's had to make so very many decisions, decisions that have led, directly or indirectly, to so many deaths. if he doesn't think about those people, I believe that it's not due to indifference or an assumption that they don't matter.
He sacrificed himself for Wilfred. He was going to sacrifice himself for the 4,022 people in the Library (and desperately wanted to be the one risking/giving his life instead of River). I suppose this is more than just a few lives, but he was going to sacrifice himself to save the Earth in "The Poison Sky" in order to give the Sontarans a chance. He risked being trapped without the TARDIS, living life on the slow path, to save Reinette in "The Girl in the Fireplace."
I think the Doctor does care, deeply, about individual lives. But that doesn't stop him from doing what he must in order to save the planet or the universe. Pompeii, for example -- I almost think a part of him dies every time he has to do something like that. But he really doesn't have another option, unless he'd rather the entire Earth be destroyed, Pompeii included.
In "The Lazarus Experiment," the Doctor says, "There's no such thing as an ordinary human." In "The End of Time: Part Two," Wilfred says, "900 years. We must look like insects to you." The Doctor responds, "You look like giants." In "Father's Day," the Doctor says, "An ordinary man: that's the most important thing in creation."
I'll admit that the Time Lord Victorious is . . . a different story. But even at the end of "The Waters of Mars," the Doctor realizes that he's gone too far.
All that said, I think there's a difference between the Doctor and your Doctor. Which isn't to say that your Doctor is out of character, precisely, just that I think it's a different take on the Doctor. I think the Doctor (the canon Doctor) has the potential (capacity?) for this kind of ruthlessness, this kind of disregard for average lives, but I don't think it's who he is, or how he acts. He works against that potential. I wouldn't disagree with your statement if it's regarding your Doctor, though. And by the way, I think your story was excellent.