Tag: Tenth Doctor

Ten/Sex

Sit down for this one, ‘cos you’re gonna get hot under the collar as hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott discuss David Tennant and sex in Doctor Who with guests Aimee Nichols and Richard Watts in our tenth (ish) live Splendid Chaps episode, recorded at the Gasometer Hotel in Melbourne on October 13, 2013. Plus there are prizes, another deluge of audience questions, and Melbourne geek rock band Blue Turtle Shell marry our two topics in song! This one isn’t very sweary – but it does get a little risqué. What can we say? It does what it says on the tin.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:29:45 — 41.2MB)

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Don’t forget you can go into the draw to win season four of modern Doctor Who on DVD (the Tenth Doctor and Donna season), courtesy of our friends at BBC on DVD! To enter the draw, just comment on this episode at splendidchaps.com. Do you think David Tennant is sexy? Is he your favourite Doctor? Do you find him smug or charming – or both? Are sex and relationships okay in Doctor Who, or do they weird you out? And who else in Doctor Who was clearly doing it, right under our noses? Comment by November 20 to be in the running, and we’ll announce the winner at the recording of Eleven/Future on November 21.

The Ten/Sex viewing list

Uh-oh! It’s been so busy around here, what with theatre productions, Pozible campaigns and mini-episodes, we’ve neglected to write up the viewing list for our next episode! But in case you want to cram in your homework in the few days left before the show, here is your homework viewing for Ten/Sex, which will be recorded on October 13th at the Gasometer Hotel in Melbourne (full show details here).

Your homework viewing for David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor is:

  • The Girl in the Fireplace
  • The Shakespeare Code
  • Partners in Crime

We’ve made sure there’s one from each of his full seasons, so you can see him in action with Rose (and Mickey!), Martha and Donna.

To experience something of the spectrum of sex and relationships in Doctor Who, we suggest:

  • The Green Death (Jon Pertwee, 1973; six episodes)
  • Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways (Christopher Eccleston, 2005, two episodes)
  • Human Nature/The Family of Blood (David Tennant, 2007; two episodes)
  • The Unicorn and the Wasp (David Tennant, 2008; one episode)
  • The Name of the Doctor (Matt Smith, 2013, one episode)

We’d also recommend some previous homework, including The Aztecs (the first time the Doctor gets engaged!), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (and anything else where a companion falls in love and leaves the TARDIS – reasonably or out of the blue!), The Romans (for that post-coital scene between Ian and Barbara, and the French-bedroom-farce style antics of Emperor Nero), The Caves of Androzani (if you want to think about the creepy side of this topic, with Sharaz Jek), Captain Jack’s debut in The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, and the reframing of Sarah Jane’s relationship with the Doctor in School Reunion (both recommended last month for Nine/Women).

Other possibilities include The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords (for both Martha’s exit, which frames her relationship with the Doctor, and the Master’s relationship with his wife), The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End (for…well, you know what for), and anything with River Song in it (but especially Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead and The Wedding of River Song).

But we’re sure you have your own suggestions – so let us know in the comments!

Ten/Sex (live show)

The Doctor, survivor of the Last Great Time War, discovers to his horror that the Daleks he thought dead have returned to exterminate humanity. He sends his friend Rose Tyler home, but she absorbs the energy of the Time Vortex in order to obliterate the Daleks – energy which will destroy her. The Doctor, already prepared to die, absorbs the energy from Rose with a kiss and bids her a proud farewell before regenerating. The new Doctor is younger, happier and more engaged, but retains something of his predecessor’s hard edge – and after a rocky start, soon develops a deeper connection with Rose.

Splendid Chaps is a year-long celebration of Doctor Who‘s fiftieth anniversary: eleven live performances recorded as podcasts in which your brains will be fed, your funny bones tickled, and your hearts opened (yes, both of them!). Our tenth major episode brings us to many people’s first (and favourite) Doctor, David Tennant. Phenomenally popular, and quickly establishing his own fanbase independent of the show, Tennant stayed in the role over five years, all the way to the end of Russell T Davies time as showrunner, cementing the program’s success and becoming “the” Doctor for a whole generation of viewers.

Seemingly a big part of Tennant’s success was his sex appeal – something foreign to many fans of the classic series. The Doctor of the Old Time (and most of his friends) seemed disinterested in sex, save for the occasional bit of flirting, but in the new series he clearly romances Rose, spurns Martha, fends off Amy and perves on Clara; he’s snogged every female companion, and “danced” with or married a slew of historical figures. Then there’s future pansexual Captain Jack; Amy and Rory, who spend their honeymoon in costume and their wedding night in the TARDIS; and the love affair that lasts lifetimes between the Doctor and Professor River Song. Is this weird? Is it awesome? What does modern Doctor Who say about sex, relationships and sexuality, and did the classic series have anything to say about them?

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott are joined by writer, broadcaster and critic Richard Watts (artsHub, RRR’s SmartArts) and erotica writer and burlesque performer Aimee Nichols. Plus music from Melbourne geek rock band Blue Turtle Shell, giveaways from our lovely sponsors, and all the usual tomfoolery! (But no hanky panky.)

Space: The Gasometer Hotel, 484 Smith Street, Collingwood (corner of Alexandra Parade)
Time: Sunday, October 13; recording starts 5 PM
Accessibility: We regret that this venue is not wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: $15 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via trybooking.com or at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: “Ten/Sex”, released 23rd of October, 2013.