LINDA & Osgood: DW Fandom Represented

[M.A.C.O.]

Here we have two creations of two respective show runners (RTD and Moffat), that are meant to be in-show representations of Doctor Who fans on the show.

LINDA (London Investigation N' Detective Agency): Seen in Love and Monsters.

A group of people who are Doctor Who fans, who get together to talk about the Doctor, and try to find him.


Osgood: Seen in TDOTD, Dark Water/Death In Heaven/Zygon Invasion +Zygon Inversion.

Osgood knows a lot of about of the Doctor, works for U.N.I.T. and models the her wardrobes after styles of dress, the Doctor previously wore.


Tragedy and death has befallen both LINDA and Osgood, for being too close to the Doctor.


How do you feel about these characters who are intended to represent/signify "us", we who are the fandom?

 

[The Wormhole]

There was also Malcolm in Planet of the Dead, who even discussed which his favourite "files" were.

And let's not forget the prevailing theory that Victor Kennedy (the Absorbaloff's human persona) was based on Ian Levine.

 

[Mr Soak]

*Drops a Whizzkid bomb and scurries away*

 

[M.A.C.O.]

There was also Malcolm in Planet of the Dead, who even discussed which his favourite "files" were.

And let's not forget the prevailing theory that Victor Kennedy (the Absorbaloff's human persona) was based on Ian Levine.

There's also O'Donnell from Under the Lake and Before the Flood.


However, I wanted to focus on characters who meant to represent fans of DW the show in DW. Instead of people who are fans of the Doctor himself, in the DW universe.

Both LINDA and Osgood seem to represent the show runners acknowledgement of the fandom. There are a lot of cute winks and nods to continuity and what not. However, terrible things have happened to both sets of characters from Moffat and RTD. Perhaps, consciously or unconsciously, the show runners are trying to communicate they don't care what fans expectations are and will subvert them if it fits their (RTD, Moffat) agenda.


I should add, that I believe the real (human) Osgood died in Death in Heaven. The Osgood we see now comes off as smarted and her dialogue surpasses the Osgood we saw from TDOTD.

 

[Starkers]

Obviously it's up for debate but there is an argument that Whizzkid in Greatest Show in the Galaxy was supposed to represent the fans, if that is the case the nuWho has been a damn sight more respectful.

I'm not a huge fan of Love and Monsters but it does have some lovely elements and I especially liked the notion that a group of people brought together for one reason (the Doctor) found other things to enjoy beyond their core interest, I think that's the healthiest kind of fandom there is.

 

[Mister Spock]

LINDA I think was meant to be an analogy of fandom, and I think it worked.

The group were just like many of the fans I've met - bonding over an initial love of Doctor Who but also having fun and sharing different passions and interests. Victor Kennedy is the sort of fan who wants everyone to take it seriously and categorise and log everything about the show in a critical manner.

Given that the Doctor asked Malcolm if his favourite file was the one about the "giant robot", I like to imagine that the UNIT files on the Doctor are the Target novelisations.

 

[JRoss]

Linda represented fans of its day, as Osgood represents fans of this day. To me, Osgood is a specific type of fan, one who jumps on the bandwagon and decks herself out in Etsy crap. Whizzkid was supposed to be American fans specifically.

 

[Newspaper Taxi]

What about the people searching for the Doctor in NuWho's "Rose"? You could say they represent the hungry fandom during the wilderness years.


And if Whizzkid was supposed to represent American fan, he should have been presented as a drunk guy lying on the sidelines. He'd look up and say, "Wait, if you're the Doctor, who's the guy with the scarf? And WTF am I watching PBS at midnight on a Saturday?"

 

[Mister Spock]

To me, Osgood is a specific type of fan, one who jumps on the bandwagon and decks herself out in Etsy crap.

Osgood is a love letter to fans who are passionate enough to cosplay, Moffat said as much in a recent video. He likes the idea of someone dressing up as Osgood for a convention, because they'll be cosplaying a cosplayer.

I absolutely adore her.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I like Osgood. She reminds me of the person who got me into Doctor Who.