Let's Talk About Six...

[thisbluespirit]

I think we last had a discussion post in June, so we're well overdue for another. (As ever, if anyone else wants to start one, go right ahead.)


I commented in previous discussion posts that One and Two lagged behind the other Doctors in terms of stories on Teaspoon, but that just isn’t true anymore… it’s Six that’s now possibly the least-written Doctor. Funnily enough, I was thinking we should talk Six next anyhow…

While Six’s isn’t my favourite era on TV, there’s still plenty I like about it (and him), and some fun characters introduced (The Rani, Sil, Glitz), the audios and comics gave us Evelyn and Frobisher among others, and he’s wonderfully technicoloured. Personally, I always find writing Six is the most fun a person can have doing fanfic. He’s loud, loves cats and words and he’s very much the Doctor whether you like it or not.

So what Six-era stories would people like to see? Any crossovers that would work best with him? One-off characters or companions you feel should be explored further? Something else?

As ever, to kick things off, here be a mix of weird, wonderful and oddly sensible prompts pulled from the random Pairing Generator.


As usual, I tend to think of them as fun starting points rather than ships, but what you will. (And I realise Maxil is technically Five era, but, um, well…):

The Trickster / Sixth Doctor / hope
Sixth Doctor / Jenny ('The Doctor's Daughter') / an alien planet
Seventh Doctor / Sixth Doctor / trapped
Sixth Doctor / Captain Mike Yates / the follies of youth
Sixth Doctor / Colonel Mace / 1969
Sixth Doctor / Rani Chandra / breaking the rules
Romana I / Sixth Doctor / looking back

Third Doctor / Peri Brown / in the wrong place
Peri Brown / Luke Smith / alcohol
Peri Brown / Darkel (The Inquisitor) / the butterfly effect
Maxil / Peri Brown / taken

The Face of Boe / Mel Bush / no looking back
Mel Bush / Rosita / India
The Corsair / Mel Bush / knife
Jamie McCrimmon / Mel Bush / Sea Devils
Mel Bush / Toby Avery / frozen

Maxil / First Doctor / ice
Maxil / Mickey Smith / Time Agents
Denise Riley / Maxil / handcuffs
Maxil / Timothy Latimer / a swordfight

Evelyn Smythe / Abigail Pettigrew / running out of time
Susan Foreman / Evelyn Smythe / life, the universe, and everything
Evelyn Smythe / Davros / uncertainty
Evelyn Smythe / Wilfred Mott / independence

John Hart / The Master (Ainley) / the year 2000
The Master (Ainley) / Charles Dickens / the sun
Donna Noble / The Master (Ainley) / blind

The Rani / Jo Grant / don't drink the water
The Rani / The War Chief / years
The Rani / Professor Chronotis / souls
Susan Foreman / The Rani / frozen in time
The Master (Roberts) / The Rani / a letter

Sabalom Glitz / Chrissie Jackson / San Francisco
Duplicate Tenth Doctor (a.k.a., Handy) / Sabalom Glitz / teasing
Vera Juarez / Sabalom Glitz / blood
Romana II / Sabalom Glitz / Judoon

Azmael / Tenth Doctor / an explosion
Nyssa / Azmael / back and forth

The Valeyard / Katarina / reading
Shayde / The Valeyard / beyond comprehension
The Valeyard / Zoe Heriot / worthless

Darkel (The Inquisitor, Trial) / Adam Mitchell / ripple effect

Tegan Jovanka / Frobisher /transformed
Charley Pollard / Frobisher / dinosaurs
Romana II / Lucie Miller / Frobisher / the wrong impression

Comments

[captain91.livejournal.com]

i think 6 (and possibly 3) are the only doctors i haven';t seen an episode of, so for me i would like some general fincs that are ac cessible and a good way to get to know them.

i find a lot of classic who writers assume you have reasonable knowledge of the doctor, the assistants, and some of the storits that they reference which can make it hard for somebody who only started watching at new who, and the odd episodes from old series that i can get my hands on

[singeaddams.livejournal.com]

When I got started in WHO I found that the comic The Ten Doctors (http://comics.shipsinker.com/archive.php?arc=10doctors) by Rich helped me considerably in getting Doctors and Companions and several hangers-on sorted in my brain. Plus it's a great story!

[thisbluespirit]

find a lot of classic who writers assume you have reasonable knowledge of the doctor, the assistants, and some of the storits that they reference which can make it hard for somebody who only started watching at new who

Yes, a bit of a problem! Although I suppose that's true for fanfic in general really - just in most TV shows and things it's easy to know most characters & stuff - they aren't mammoth nearly 50yr-old series with many Doctors, companions, spin-offs - it's dizzying! :-)

I've found some fics can be really good intros to spin-off characters that I don't know, so I suspect that there must be good fics that would be accessible (after all DW is always the TARDIS lands, Doctor and companion get into trouble etc etc if it's gen. That bit is eternal. :-D) but I'd be hard put to say which, because I know all the Doctors pretty well.

Let's see what we can do here, then... :-)

[derekmetaltron.livejournal.com]

Evelyn Smythe / Davros / uncertainty is one I'm quite taken with. In fact Davros is another character who gets precious little fics on Whofic so I might well do something like this for him.

Funny enough given that Six gets not much fiction written I do actually have three Six and Peri stories in mind. One is the unfinished Back to the Future crossover (where I still can't decide if I'm going to have Peri and Doc be related or not), another is a tale set in the closing hours of the reign of the Dinosaurs and sees Six passing his respects to a certain companion, not to mention he and Peri uncovering the orgins behind two of his most formidible enemies, and the third is a bit of a crazy idea inspired by some recent Blackadder crossovers and down to the fact that Nichola Byrant happened to appear in a certain episode!

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

I'm always happy when I see a Six story in the Teaspoon queue. Sadly, one rarely shows up. :( In the last two months, only eight Six-era stories have been posted there. I might be able to cajole a couple of friends into submitting a few new fics, though.

As for Six-era stories I'd especially like to see, I love the team of Six and Evelyn, so something fluffy and light with them would be great.

Frobisher is another terrific Six companion. I love how they play off of each other. A humorous adventure story featuring the pair would be fun.

How about Turlough as Six's companion for a while? What would Sarah Jane make of him? Perhaps someone could try writing Six/Rose.

[thisbluespirit]

Perhaps someone could try writing Six/Rose.

I did that already. :-p (Well, maybe I didn't take it, ahem, too seriously... :lol:)

I love Six and Evelyn, too - the more we can have of them, the better as far as I'm concerned.

Turlough and Six is really interesting idea - I don't think I've ever seen that combination.

[librarylover82.livejournal.com]

Sixth Doctor/Rani Chandra/breaking the rules looks like one with a lot of good possibilities, if only for the Rani jokes.

I think Sixth Doctor/Sherlock would be an interesting crossover, due to the clash of titanic egos.

[thisbluespirit]

Sixth Doctor/Rani Chandra/breaking the rules looks like one with a lot of good possibilities, if only for the Rani jokes.

Yes, that one definitely caught my eye! I'd love to see that if somebody wrote it.

And, :lol:, yeah, neither of them could ever be wrong, could they?

[daystarsearcher.livejournal.com]

Bahahaha, that would be hilarious. You know he'd refuse to believe she wasn't the Rani for like forever.

[singeaddams.livejournal.com]

I love 6! I've written him in two out of the three fics I've produced for Doctor Who. I think the problem with his fanfic popularity isn't his characterization, it's the fear of writers thinking they won't get any attention with Six stories. He's something of a red-headed stepchild in and out of canon.

Sixth Doctor/Rani Chandra/breaking the rules sounds like fun!

[thisbluespirit]

I think the problem with his fanfic popularity isn't his characterization, it's the fear of writers thinking they won't get any attention with Six stories.

I don't know - I always find that One and Two fics I write tend to die a quiet death, but Six fans are dedicated and appreciative and my Six fic usually gets a nice response as a result. But certainly, he and the two b&w fellows are in the doldrums. I mean, relatively speaking - the categories on Teaspoon isn't exactly a scientific measure. But a clear indication there should be MOAR, of course.

And, yes, I liked that prompt, too!

[justice-turtle.livejournal.com]

I need to watch some Six stories. o_O (Dratted Netflix, effectively doubling their rates... I iz poor! *sticks out tongue*)

BTW, lost_spook, clocketpatch and I are agreed that this icon is the BEST. THING. EVAR. XD *totally relevant, yes; yay Frobisher!*

[thisbluespirit]

Also sticks out tongue at bad Netflix for interfering with supply of Who. :-p Are the audios any easier to obtain by, er, any means? (I love the Six and Evelyn series.)

Six's episodes are a bit of a mixed bunch and he has the shortest era, but I do like him. Especially writing him. As Pitry says below, he has a particular kind of arrogance which is fun.

And, awwww. Thank you. :-) To think that was the one I nearly deleted and all...

[clocketpatch]

It really, truly is the BEST THING EVER. Except now that it's Turtle's default I shall never be able to use it (is Turtle ok? JT? I always shorten people's names...)

This post has reminded me that I should probably finish that Peri/Jack/Ycranos epic that I start waaayyyyy back in the day (dear goodness, I think it's been over four years since my last update o_O). Except now Jack's gone off to Torchwood and it would all be horribly AU and I have so much trouble writing AU fic unless it's deliberately supposed to be AU. Oh well.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

I would LOVE more Six and Menzies, and more of Menzies and Evelyn (one audio is not sufficient for that duo of awesomely no-nonsense women!)

[thisbluespirit]

Heh, I could have guessed that one, I suppose!! ;-) (Ooh, when were Menzies and Evelyn in the same audio?)

[derekmetaltron.livejournal.com]

Whilst we're asking about prompts I suggest that I'd love to see something with Six and Donna. The loudest Doctor and the loudest Companion? Sold!

[eve11]

Ah if you've not seen it, aralias wrote me a lovely story with Six and Donna for the sixathon ficathon we had a few years back. Well, Donna before she met Ten, that is. It is quite marvelous. :)

[john_amend_all]

Peri Brown / Luke Smith / alcohol

This can only end well :-) Entitled The Undergraduate, of course.

A convincing account of how Peri escaped her fate in Mindwarp wouldn't go amiss. I had a half-formed idea for a Babylon 5 crossover in that direction, since with her head shaved she'd pass for a Centauri woman.

[thisbluespirit]

Yeah, it does sound a bit dodgy...

[pitry.livejournal.com]

Oh, Six! I have a great dislike to the plots of his era, but I love him as the Doctor - including in these plots! I know, I know, contradictions. But he's so very much the Doctor and he's arrogant in such a wonderful way - and, as you said, in such a technicolour way!

Also, I have to say two thinks about his much maligned companions.
First, Peri treats him with about the same no-nonsense sarcasm Donna treats Ten, and it makes their interaction wonderful!
Second... Mel is so much better in the audios than she is in the show! When she showed up I almost stopped watching Trial of a Time Lord (I actually enjoyed it until that point) but then I listened to an audio with her and she was brilliant.

What I'd like to see? Well, more Six, period! But more Six that explores his relationship with Peri and Mel - and Mel after Peri... y'know all that "I'm loud because" nonsense I like so much :D

Also...
The Trickster / Sixth Doctor / hope
Oooh, poetic!

[thisbluespirit]

I'm tempted to say 'what plots?' but I do like some of the stories, heh. And, arrogant in a wonderful way is quite, quite true. And in some of the audios they like to claim he has a blue version of his coat, but, really, I like him being technicolour. Whyever should the Doctor be normal, have fashion-sense or dress quietly?

There were some nice prompts in amongst that random bunch. :-)

[aralias.livejournal.com]

boo... i had written a comment, and now it's disappeared. because i wrote a different comment.

well - it was mostly an observation that these prompts are mostly pretty awesome - particularly mel hanging out with teh corsair (both space pirates!) and all the frobisher ones. also six being the least popular fic doctor is sad (though he's currently exactly the same amount of popular as SJA interestingly)(sadly it is not much). i will think ont, and maybe write something... that would be good.

maybe a six and lucie miller story... since six seems to steal everyone else's companions, and there's some definite mileage to be had from the greatness of that. i suggested ace and six at the sixathon too - because that seemed to be a good relationship to mine (now she knows more, etc), and... something else that didn't get written. probably somethng with the master knowing myself as i do.

i also have a six going to peri's wedding story stored on my harddrive - or rather i have about the first 200 words, because i ddint' know how the rest of the story was going to go. i might one day finish that...

i tell you what, though, i've also just remembered that i've written a six (sort of) fic for best enemies that i never posted because i thought i should be anonymous at least once. perhaps not particularly of interest, but- it will raise his profile! (not in a good way though...)

[thisbluespirit]

Yes, the RPG does cough up some great things sometimes. (Sometimes it is worryingly sensible. It gave me Peter Dalton/Sarah Jane Smith/marriage in the course of this, which was not very random at all.)

Six and Lucie would be great. The prompt at the end with Romana, Lucie, Frobisher (and Six) would be brilliant. Heh.

Ooh! Instant fic result! ;-)

[tardiscrash.livejournal.com]

I love Six. I just finished something with him a little bit ago and he was a joy to write. I would really like to see something with him talking to Evelyn about how he wishes he had been better to Peri.

[thisbluespirit]

Yes, he eally is fun to write, I agree. And that's an interesting idea.

[daystarsearcher.livejournal.com]

He's not my favorite Doc, but I still quite like him. And I loved the idea of how completely wrong regeneration can go, and how scary that can be, and I wish the writers had explored it even more. Especially with the fallout of him attacking Peri.

[thisbluespirit]

Yes, that would be an interesting angle for fic.

[clocketpatch]

Just thinking of it now... but you know, I'd like to see fic with Six and one of Peri's friend's from America. Or one of Peri's descendants after he goes up to check on her and arrives a bit too late.

Or, just fic with him checking up on her.

There was something, and now I can't remember if it was fic or Big Finish because it's all getting flustered in my head, but there was a thing where Six and Erimem brought Peri a cat which was very sweet.

[thisbluespirit]

More interesting ideas... :-) Hmm, don't they visit Peri's family in BF's The Reaping? I haven't heard that one, but I think they do.

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

I started watching Doctor Who back in the Fourth Doctor era, so I was introduced to Five and Six "live" (or at least, when those episodes were purchased by PBS for broadcast in the U.S.). I really disliked Six at first, which was very traumatic as he was the first Doctor I didn't like. However, I find that I like him more now than I did back then. While he definitely suffered from poor writing, I also wonder if part of the problem was the shock of the difference between Six and Five. There's always an adjustment when the Doctor regenerates, and Four and Five were very dissimilar too, but Six was so brash, which was about as unlike Five as you could get. I'm trying to think if there was such a large change between any other consecutive Doctors. Any thoughts on this?

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

The change between arch-manipulator Seven, and dreamy Byronic Eight seemed pretty dissonant to me - though of course, Eight did end the Time War, so he didn't stay dreamy!