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selenakThese days, lots of people post pretty pictures of their OTPs. This is as good an excuse as any for what follows, dear reader. You see, in all the mighty shipping wars now waged in Doctor Who fandom, one name is sadly missing, and I just don't understand it, for this being was really the only rival the TARDIS ever had in the Doctor's hearts, and we all know (or should) that he loves the TARDIS best. There was just this one time. The time he cheated on her. It's a stirring tale of infatuation, love, betrayal, abandonment and reunion after years of separation. (And as such, provides even useful material for those of you who want further proof the Doctor can be a total bastard who leaves you behind sometimes, then shows up again and - well, you'll see.) Now, while of course I ship Doctor/TARDIS above everything else, I must admit this torrid affair has also won my heart. Which means that naturally, I want to convince others of my cause. More people than just myself need to admit that this is clearly THE crucial romance in the Doctor's life.
Her name, gentle reader, is Bessie. Now after being forced to regenerate and partially mindwiped by the Time Lords (long story, available in a video store near you), the Third Doctor was stuck on Earth for a while. Naturally, the first thing he tried was to get away again, but due to holes in his memory and some direly needed parts taken away from the TARDIS, he couldn't get the old girl going again. It was a sad time for both of them.
Which was when the Doctor met HER. Well, actually, he requested her, the cad. After hooking up with UNIT, he told the man in charge, the Brigadier, that of course he wouldn't take MONEY for his services, but a lab and a car would be nice, thanks. The Brig, because he was cool that way, did not point out this made the Doctor sound like his kept mistress but provided the lab and the car. This car.
The Doctor pretty much fell for her on sight (and named her Bessie). The first time we see the two of them together, the Doctor is shown in a compromising position.
In addition to tinkering, which previously was an activity reserved for the TARDIS, he's also serenading this new vehicle, singing to it. (He'll keep up the habit.) In short, he does everything to sweep Bessie of her wheels, and they're up and away on their first adventure together. With additional passengers and without.
If you're wondering just what the Doctor has been tinkering with as far as Bessie is concerned, well, being the adrenaline junkie he is, he of course increased the speed:
and added his own licence plate:
The rest of you can swoon about unlimited mobiles and keys, but I maintain superdrives are way more personal. No one else got that one, as opposed to the keys which the Doctor has been handing out like candy over the centuries.
But how did Bessie feel about Doctor? Well, draw your own conclusions from the FACTS I'm reporting here, and proving by screencaps. Bessie didn't simply transport him through English roads, oh no (though let me assure you, English roads can be scary; especially in Cornwall when there is a bus coming from the other direction!); when he got abducted via a black hole into an anti matter universe (don't ask), Bessie remained with him.
Despite the anti-matter universe consisting of quarries. Bessie, unfazed, drove through them. This was far from her only trip off planet. She also was on Gallifrey this one time (another kidnapping-of-the-Doctor affair), and drove Gallifreyan roads as surely as Earth ones. If you're not yet impressed, the part of Gallifrey Bessie transported the Doctor through was the Death Zone. It looked like Wales:
On that occasion, Bessie, selfless car that she is, reunited the Doctor not just with Sarah Jane but also with the Master.
This didn't work out as planned - what with Three being still pissed off at the Master because of that whole shooting incident - but hey, Bessie tried. She did before, too. There was that occasion where the Master tried to use her to make a getaway. Sounds familiar? Well, as opposed to certain blue boxes, Bessie resisted the Master's wiles - this despite the fact he was in his Roger Delgado regeneration, and thus very charming indeed - and brought him right back to the Doctor instead:
Truly, it was the good life. Bessie, the Doctor, and whoever he hung out with at the moment. Here they are with Jo:
And with Sergeant Benton, during a less sunny mission that involved giant worms and another quarry. Also, Benton seemed to think he was on a zoo trip and kept cooing at the worms. Bessie drove on nonetheless:
The Doctor being the Doctor, he managed to gets his hearts broken on occasion (plus ca change, plus ca change) which led to him walking silently towards her, away from the companion he left behind (or who left him, if you want to get technical - this was when Jo decided to save the planet on her own and to marry):
Bessie was there for him, and together they drove off in the sunset:
But like all love stories, something had to come between them. In this case, a regeneration and the Doctor's ensuing flighty, flighty nature. Oh, sure, immediately after regenerating from Three to Four, he took her for one more drive:
But just look at him!
Watch out, Sarah Jane. You'll be next. Yes, that's right, long before the Doctor dumped and left Sarah Jane without explanation, he did this to Bessie. I strongly suspect the real reason why I can't warm up to Four the way most fans do is this callous dastardly way of leaving the car who stood at his side all through his exile, held him together emotionally, and is now put aside while he goes back to gallivanting through the galaxy with his TARDIS. Yes, Bessie was the other woman, she should have seen it coming - they always return to their wives - , but she was in love. Can you blame her?
However, this was not the end between the Doctor and Bessie. Years and several regenerations later, the Brigadier worked with the Doctor again. (This involved Arthurian knights from outer space. Don't ask.) And brought Bessie along. Now the Doctor was Seven by now. Seven has a somewhat deserved reputation as a ruthless manipulative bastard, but you know one of the reasons why I love him much more than Four? Because he was a ruthless manipulative bastard who showed his friends he loved them. Ask Ace, or the Brig, or Bessie. Just look at the reunion:
Happy Seven is happy!
Since Seven was big with the manipulation and the button pushing, he undoubtedly knew that once the immediate shock and joy of the reunion had faded, Bessie would remember his abandonment of her. He needed to convince Bessie that he did love her, even if he loved the TARDIS more. This he did by making his companion du jour, Ace, clean her, because that's the Doctor for you:
Bessie was convinced, and it was all very heartwarming:
But she got her own back, just to show the Doctor she wasn't THAT easy. At the end of the story, she drove off with Ace, Ace's girlfriend of the episode, the Brig's (female) successor, Brambera and the Brig's wife, Doris, and left the Doctor and the Brig behind to make dinner for them. In short, it was as happy an ending as you could wish for:
If you want to know more about Bessie, she has her own website, from which most of these screencaps were borrowed.
Her name, gentle reader, is Bessie. Now after being forced to regenerate and partially mindwiped by the Time Lords (long story, available in a video store near you), the Third Doctor was stuck on Earth for a while. Naturally, the first thing he tried was to get away again, but due to holes in his memory and some direly needed parts taken away from the TARDIS, he couldn't get the old girl going again. It was a sad time for both of them.
Which was when the Doctor met HER. Well, actually, he requested her, the cad. After hooking up with UNIT, he told the man in charge, the Brigadier, that of course he wouldn't take MONEY for his services, but a lab and a car would be nice, thanks. The Brig, because he was cool that way, did not point out this made the Doctor sound like his kept mistress but provided the lab and the car. This car.
The Doctor pretty much fell for her on sight (and named her Bessie). The first time we see the two of them together, the Doctor is shown in a compromising position.
In addition to tinkering, which previously was an activity reserved for the TARDIS, he's also serenading this new vehicle, singing to it. (He'll keep up the habit.) In short, he does everything to sweep Bessie of her wheels, and they're up and away on their first adventure together. With additional passengers and without.
If you're wondering just what the Doctor has been tinkering with as far as Bessie is concerned, well, being the adrenaline junkie he is, he of course increased the speed:
and added his own licence plate:
The rest of you can swoon about unlimited mobiles and keys, but I maintain superdrives are way more personal. No one else got that one, as opposed to the keys which the Doctor has been handing out like candy over the centuries.
But how did Bessie feel about Doctor? Well, draw your own conclusions from the FACTS I'm reporting here, and proving by screencaps. Bessie didn't simply transport him through English roads, oh no (though let me assure you, English roads can be scary; especially in Cornwall when there is a bus coming from the other direction!); when he got abducted via a black hole into an anti matter universe (don't ask), Bessie remained with him.
Despite the anti-matter universe consisting of quarries. Bessie, unfazed, drove through them. This was far from her only trip off planet. She also was on Gallifrey this one time (another kidnapping-of-the-Doctor affair), and drove Gallifreyan roads as surely as Earth ones. If you're not yet impressed, the part of Gallifrey Bessie transported the Doctor through was the Death Zone. It looked like Wales:
On that occasion, Bessie, selfless car that she is, reunited the Doctor not just with Sarah Jane but also with the Master.
This didn't work out as planned - what with Three being still pissed off at the Master because of that whole shooting incident - but hey, Bessie tried. She did before, too. There was that occasion where the Master tried to use her to make a getaway. Sounds familiar? Well, as opposed to certain blue boxes, Bessie resisted the Master's wiles - this despite the fact he was in his Roger Delgado regeneration, and thus very charming indeed - and brought him right back to the Doctor instead:
Truly, it was the good life. Bessie, the Doctor, and whoever he hung out with at the moment. Here they are with Jo:
And with Sergeant Benton, during a less sunny mission that involved giant worms and another quarry. Also, Benton seemed to think he was on a zoo trip and kept cooing at the worms. Bessie drove on nonetheless:
The Doctor being the Doctor, he managed to gets his hearts broken on occasion (plus ca change, plus ca change) which led to him walking silently towards her, away from the companion he left behind (or who left him, if you want to get technical - this was when Jo decided to save the planet on her own and to marry):
Bessie was there for him, and together they drove off in the sunset:
But like all love stories, something had to come between them. In this case, a regeneration and the Doctor's ensuing flighty, flighty nature. Oh, sure, immediately after regenerating from Three to Four, he took her for one more drive:
But just look at him!
Watch out, Sarah Jane. You'll be next. Yes, that's right, long before the Doctor dumped and left Sarah Jane without explanation, he did this to Bessie. I strongly suspect the real reason why I can't warm up to Four the way most fans do is this callous dastardly way of leaving the car who stood at his side all through his exile, held him together emotionally, and is now put aside while he goes back to gallivanting through the galaxy with his TARDIS. Yes, Bessie was the other woman, she should have seen it coming - they always return to their wives - , but she was in love. Can you blame her?
However, this was not the end between the Doctor and Bessie. Years and several regenerations later, the Brigadier worked with the Doctor again. (This involved Arthurian knights from outer space. Don't ask.) And brought Bessie along. Now the Doctor was Seven by now. Seven has a somewhat deserved reputation as a ruthless manipulative bastard, but you know one of the reasons why I love him much more than Four? Because he was a ruthless manipulative bastard who showed his friends he loved them. Ask Ace, or the Brig, or Bessie. Just look at the reunion:
Happy Seven is happy!
Since Seven was big with the manipulation and the button pushing, he undoubtedly knew that once the immediate shock and joy of the reunion had faded, Bessie would remember his abandonment of her. He needed to convince Bessie that he did love her, even if he loved the TARDIS more. This he did by making his companion du jour, Ace, clean her, because that's the Doctor for you:
Bessie was convinced, and it was all very heartwarming:
But she got her own back, just to show the Doctor she wasn't THAT easy. At the end of the story, she drove off with Ace, Ace's girlfriend of the episode, the Brig's (female) successor, Brambera and the Brig's wife, Doris, and left the Doctor and the Brig behind to make dinner for them. In short, it was as happy an ending as you could wish for:
If you want to know more about Bessie, she has her own website, from which most of these screencaps were borrowed.
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Date: 2008-08-26 05:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-26 05:30 am (UTC)