fanmix: 23 dead women [doctor who & torchwood]

So I as I was saying - what was it, yesterday? - I recently watched Voyage of the Damned and as some of you might know (doubt it), I wrote a little rant about it. But as I realize nobody actually reads these rants I will recap: I did not like Astrid. I think Kylie Minogue is a talentless dolled-up twit, and having her run around in a French maid costume and dominatrix boots for the majority of the episode did not endear her to me. However, I was mildly fascinated by the manner of her ressurection - not in terms of good luck Astrid but rather well, THAT was a bit stupid of him - and of course, it got me thinking about her death, and that led to the fact that in Doctor Who, there are few men looking tearful as they plummet to their deaths.

I realize that Doctor Who is a fairly progressive show, what with JACK HARKNESS Donna, Rose, Mister McGoogles and whatnot, and Torchwood oversteps 'fairly progressive' and lands somewhere in the vicinity of SHAG SHAG SHAG bit a' swearing bit a' blood SHAG. Despite this, there is a disconcerting amount of women in refrigerators (or spaceships, or what have you) in the Whoverse. I mean, unless a man - and I mean HUman, not alien equivalent - is completely useless, idiotic, or just a downright bastard, there's a pretty low chance of him getting knocked off, whereas women drop like flies. In Doctor Who, the dead women are usually used to kick the Doctor's Guilt-O-Meter to whatever the proper number is that week; in Torchwood, the deaths are plot development. Perhaps because it's in no way billed as a "family show" and thus has more deaths in general, Torchwood has a lot of these WIRs - a lot of gals stabbed, raped, strangled, shot, taken over or killed in some other interesting manner.

I'm not sure if this is a reflection on the fact that in our society, it's easier to feel outraged by the deaths of women more than men or just the fact that they scream better. In any case, I'm trying not to make assumptions. I love both shows, and the after-images of the Feminist Explosion better not block out the TV screen. I just think they deserve an... epitaph, of sorts?

(And, of course, I was bored.)


( an epitaph for 23 women dead or close to it )