Going with James Bond first (as that is a more blunt and direct example) then compare and contrast James Bond in Dr No and Skyfall.
The first is suave, competent, supremely confident.
The second is... not doing too well. He tries to hide, he drinks too much, he fails all the tests. The bad guy laughs in his face when he talks about Queen and country.
Bond and Doctor Who reflect the time when they're made. In the 60s things were still clear-cut, familiar, reassuring. The empire might have mostly crumbled, but the basic structure still held. Now? Well, now Scotland very almost up and left. As M says in her speech: The world is more opaque. And she is frightened.
Doctor Who reflects that too. And since the post I copied above was written before Day of the Doctor aired, I now know that Gallifrey isn't gone completely - yet it is not accessible. If we want to work out who we are now, we need to do it on our own. We have to find our way home, but it'll be difficult. And when we get there (if ever), it won't be what it was.
So yes, the Doctor is no longer on a pedestal. And fear is something that is always with us. Pretending otherwise is foolish. The Doctor can lie, but lies will only carry us so far:
DOCTOR: You know when grown-ups tell you everything's going to be fine and you think they're probably lying to make you feel better? AMELIA: Yes. DOCTOR: Everything's going to be fine.
Funnily enough, this ties in with my mini-rant at the start. Kids are smart and shouldn't be lied to. Yes, fear as a constant companion is a horrible concept. But it's also honest. The Doctor comes, and the Doctor helps, and - more importantly - the Doctor understands. (Oooooh. That's Christianity and the incarnation, right there. The Doctor understands because he is - in his own way - one of us. Would you rather a god that sits on a cloud, or one that walks with us?) <- If that's all too religious, blame the fact that I'm off to church in a minute. ;)
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The first is suave, competent, supremely confident.
The second is... not doing too well. He tries to hide, he drinks too much, he fails all the tests. The bad guy laughs in his face when he talks about Queen and country.
Bond and Doctor Who reflect the time when they're made. In the 60s things were still clear-cut, familiar, reassuring. The empire might have mostly crumbled, but the basic structure still held. Now? Well, now Scotland very almost up and left. As M says in her speech: The world is more opaque. And she is frightened.
Doctor Who reflects that too. And since the post I copied above was written before Day of the Doctor aired, I now know that Gallifrey isn't gone completely - yet it is not accessible. If we want to work out who we are now, we need to do it on our own. We have to find our way home, but it'll be difficult. And when we get there (if ever), it won't be what it was.
So yes, the Doctor is no longer on a pedestal. And fear is something that is always with us. Pretending otherwise is foolish. The Doctor can lie, but lies will only carry us so far:
DOCTOR: You know when grown-ups tell you everything's going to be fine and you think they're probably lying to make you feel better?
AMELIA: Yes.
DOCTOR: Everything's going to be fine.
Funnily enough, this ties in with my mini-rant at the start. Kids are smart and shouldn't be lied to. Yes, fear as a constant companion is a horrible concept. But it's also honest. The Doctor comes, and the Doctor helps, and - more importantly - the Doctor understands. (Oooooh. That's Christianity and the incarnation, right there. The Doctor understands because he is - in his own way - one of us. Would you rather a god that sits on a cloud, or one that walks with us?) <- If that's all too religious, blame the fact that I'm off to church in a minute. ;)