Doctor Who fanfic cliches

[ghost2]

For those of you who don't know, the DW/Torchwood/SJA Cliche-swap Ficathon is now open. Basically, each author takes a cliche that applies to one pairing and writes a fic where the cliche is applied to a different pairing. Oh, just click the link and read the description over there; it really does make sense.

At any rate, this has to be the greatest ficathon ever, because it's totally cracked. I appreciate crackiness. I also appreciate cliches, and have (deliberately) written clichefic. One of my earlier efforts was an X-Files story wherein Skinner forced Mulder and Scully to attend the annual FBI ball together, after which they met on a blind date, confessed their true feelings, and immediately began calling each other by their first names. Then there was my Buffy fic where, upon Spike's return from Africa, he and Buffy promptly reconciled and lived happily ever after.

Anyway, I'm going to sign up for this ficathon. I haven't done it yet because I'm still mapping out my plan of attack, and signups don't close until next week.

My main point is, the premise of the ficathon got me to thinking about fanfic cliches. Then all that thinking led me to make up a bit of a list for various pairings.



I genuinely like some of these cliches, depending on how the authors handle them. Am not wild about some of the others, but what can you do?


ETA: I thought of a few more and stuck them in here. Will probably edit this list now and again with anything else that comes to mind.

Doctor Who
Doctor/Master (university era): Theta was the quieter one who rarely got into trouble on his own; Koschei was the wilder one who led him astray.

Two/Jamie: You can tell they're in love because they're always holding hands or clinging to each other.

Three/Jo: She gets engaged; he's jealous.

Four/Adric: Adric is maturing. The Doctor must "help" him.

Four/Leela: Leela decides she wants to have sex and the Doctor is conveniently there, so why not?

Four/Sarah: The real reason the Doctor left her in Aberdeen instead of taking her to Gallifrey (The Hand of Fear) was that he felt himself becoming too close to her and he pushed her away out of fear.

Five/Adric: Adric's only annoying because he wants the Doctor's attention! Once he has that, everything's fine.

Five/Adric: The Doctor figures out a way to go back and rescue Adric after Earthshock.

Five/Nyssa: They get involved during that gap between Time-Flight and Arc of Infinity, but then Tegan returns. Oh, no! What will become of this relationship?

Five/Master: He's especially obsessed with the Doctor immediately following the Four-to-Five regeneration and does everything possible to get his attention.

Five/Tegan: Opposites attract!

Five/Tegan: The reason he never takes her home is because he doesn't want her to leave. (Bonus points if the TARDIS doesn't want her to leave, either.)

Five/Tegan: She regrets leaving after Resurrection of the Daleks and angsts about her relationship with the Doctor.

Five/Tegan: The REAL reason Tegan left the Doctor is that she was pregnant.

Five/Turlough: Five must help Turlough get past his angsty background.

Five/Turlough: Turlough is always getting tied up by villains. Five takes his turn.

Six/Evelyn: Her chocolate cake isn't all he loves.

Six/Frobisher: There's barely any Six/Frobisher out there, so just go with me on this one. Frobisher is eager to please the Doctor and can take on any form the Doctor wants.

Six/Peri: He uses big words and insults her, and she bickers right back. Underneath it all, though, they truly love each other.

Seven/Ace: They decide that they've been together so long and know each other so well, the logical next step is to try a romantic relationship.

Seven/Mel: After Six regenerates, Mel must adjust to Seven.

Eight/Charley: This pairing must have at least one cliche. I just can't think of it. :(

Eight/Fitz: The Time War causes them to separate. The Doctor ends up with Fitz's jacket. This cliche can overlap with a Nine/Fitz pairing, where Fitz is dead and Nine wears his jacket all the time.

Eight/Grace: He goes back to see her and persuades her to travel with him.

Eight/Grace: He goes back to see her and tries to live a normal life with her but it just doesn't work out.

Eight/Romana: Angst, angst, and more angst, set during the Time War.

Eight/Rose: Rose meets an alt!Doctor in Pete's World, and he is Eight.

Eight/Rose: While travelling with either Nine or Ten, Rose encounters the Eighth Doctor. Of course she immediately likes him but faces the difficulty of being unable to mention the Time War to him, obviously because he doesn't know anything about it yet.

Nine/Rose: He's all emo and she's his only reason for living.

Ten/Donna: Everyone they meet assumes they're married.

Ten/Donna: He likes it when she yells at and/or slaps him. He really likes it. (Possibly good fodder for BDSM fic.)

Ten/Martha: He convinces her she isn't just a poor substitute for Rose.

Ten/Master: The Master turns into a big, fluffy puppy due to his overwhelming love for the Doctor.

Ten/Master: The Doctor keeps the Master as a prisoner in the TARDIS so he can't get into any more trouble. (Yeah, right!)

Ten/Rose: They get married and have a Tiembaby named Gallifrey (Gallifreya if it's a girl). Maybe they need to have twins, eh? Then they can use both wonderful names!

Ten/Rose: They're separated and live horrible, unfulfilling lives until they eventually commit suicide and are therefore together forever (songfic optional).

Ten/Rose: She is the most speshul companion ever, the only one he ever really loved.

Ten/Rose: Rose gets kidnapped and naturally, the Doctor must rescue her.

Ten/Rose: The TARDIS (or Jack) has nothing better to do with her (or his) time and decides to play matchmaker.

Ten/Sarah: He's upset over the loss of Rose and visits Sarah for comfort.

Handy/Rose: Handy worries that Rose thinks of the Doctor when she looks at him; Jackie comforts Handy by reminding him that her own relationship with Alt!Pete has survived a similar issue.

Handy/Rose: After Journey's End, they quickly decide to stay together and Handy picks a hilarious new human name (or just goes by that old standby, "John Smith") and then he grows a new TARDIS within the year and he and Rose go off travelling around the universe together so it's almost like he really IS the Doctor!!!!!1!!!!



Ace/Hex: They eventually leave the Doctor to live together on some random planet where Hex can work in a hospital and Ace can come and go as she pleases.

Barbara/Ian: After they return home, they tell everyone they initially left because they had eloped. Then of course they do get married.

Ben/Polly: Obviously they stayed together after leaving the TARDIS. That's what everyone assumes, right?

Erimem/Peri: Does this pairing even have enough fic for there to be a clear cliche yet? I can't think of one. They're just adorable together. I don't suppose sheer fluffy sweetness is enough of a cliche. Anyone have ideas for this pairing?

Harry/Martha: They're both doctors, so it's easy for them to encounter each other in the course of their jobs. It's also easy for them to meet in various time periods, considering that they know the Doctor.

Harry/Sarah: After the Doctor dumps Sarah off (Hand of Fear), Harry picks her up from Aberdeen and she realizes how great and reliable he is, and they start a relationship.

Jack/Master: The Master uses Jack to get revenge on the Doctor.

Jake/Mickey: Mickey is insecure because he thinks Jake is still thinking about Ricky whenever they're together.

Martha/Master: The Master uses Martha to get revenge on the Doctor.

Master/Rose: The Master pretends to be a future regeneration of the Doctor in order to win over Rose.

Master/Rose: Rose is the only one who can stop the drums in the Master's head from beating.

Mickey/Rose: Mickey angsts because he knows that in Rose's mind, he's just a poor substitute for the Doctor.

Nyssa/Tegan: The Doctor finally figures out just how close Nyssa and Tegan really are.

Tegan/Turlough: They discover that underneath all the bickering, they have a lot in common.

Doctor/TARDIS: He's the last of his kind; she's the last of hers; they belong together.

Doctor/TARDIS: She's jealous of his latest companion.

TORCHWOOD
Gwen/Jack: He got into a relationship with Ianto only because he couldn't have Gwen.

Jack/Ianto: All Jack ever needed to make him settle down and be fluffily domestic was the love of the right person.

Owen/Tosh: She's had a crush on him forever. Finally he comes to his senses, realizes how wonderful Tosh is, and reciprocates her feelings.



I couldn't think of cliches for every pairing. I also must have left out some real classics. Still, I think this batch is a nice start.

Comments

[phlegethon-vii.livejournal.com]

One of my earlier efforts was an X-Files story wherein Skinner forced Mulder and Scully to attend the annual FBI ball together, after which they met on a blind date, confessed their true feelings, and immediately began calling each other by their first names.

Did you post it online? If so, I think I've actually read it. If not...X-Files fans must be this weird hive-mind. Why they kept me out of the loop I'll never know :p

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, I posted it online: A Helping Hand (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/100561/1/). That's the PG version; I wrote an NC-17 version as well but deleted it from ff.net once they changed their rules about adult material. I just chucked every cliche I could think of into that story.

[biichan.livejournal.com]

Two/Jamie: Jamie goes "commando" under his kilt.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Good one!

[coneyislandbaby]

To be fair, that's not so much a cliche as being historically accurate.

[thisbluespirit]

I think it's kind of a Jamie/Anybody cliche.

[coneyislandbaby]

Yes, but is it a cliche if it's something that happened or would be very likely to happen? Unless I'm wrong, Scots didn't wear underwear under kilts at all at that time, so it's just... using reality? For whatever value one assigns reality. I know it's possibly a cliche because it's used so often but it's like writing Rose wearing a bra - women usually wear bras now unless they have very small busts, which Rose doesn't, so it'd be more unusual for her not to be wearing a bra.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

I think because it's used as an actual plot point in so many stories (rather than just something that's mentioned in passing), to the extent that entire fics have been based around the idea, arguably it's crossed that line from historical accuracy to cliche. This one's a close call.

[elliptic-eye.livejournal.com]

Unless I'm wrong, Scots didn't wear underwear under kilts at all at that time, so it's just... using reality?

Scots didn't wear kilts at all at that time, if memory serves. But agreed that no one but a fairly modern Scot would have tighty whities or the equivalent on under there, which really makes one wonder about all the times that 2/J/Z went crawling through air ducts or collapsed into unconscious piles or, say, climbed down ladders in industrial London.

[livii.livejournal.com]

Ace/Hex: They eventually leave the Doctor to live together on some random planet where Hex can work in a hospital and Ace can come and go as she pleases.

I've written that...at least once, maybe twice. Hee!

Harry/Martha: They're both doctors, so it's easy for them to encounter each other in the course of their jobs. It's also easy for them to meet in various time periods, considering that they know the Doctor.

I'm absurdly pleased that these are generally cliches I created for this pairing. ;)

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

;) I wonder if anyone will write Ace/Hex or Harry/Martha for the ficathon. And which cliche they'll work with. Hex gets engaged and Ace is jealous! Harry is kidnapped and Martha must rescue him! Ace is emo and Hex is her only reason for living! What's not to love?

[livii.livejournal.com]

Hex gets engaged and Ace is jealous!

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD SOMEONE WRITE THIS. PLEASE. WITH CUPCAKES AND A PONY ON TOP.

Harry is kidnapped and Martha must rescue him!

Hah, I've kinda written that...that's more classic, cos Harry? The type to get kidnapped, and Martha? The type to rescue. ;)

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

What no Martha/Ten cliches?? The most obvious one must surely be that after S3 he realises how much he loves her and comes back for her and they go off and have adventures (yup, wrote that!)

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Great addition. Also, if set during S3, there's the one where Ten has to prove to Martha that she's not just a poor substitute for Rose.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Oh yes...

[cersia5.livejournal.com]

Let's look at some of the cliches I've used:

The reason Tegan leaves is because of a lack of chocolate in the TARDIS.

The reason the Doctor fetches Tegan again is that, well, he misses those home cooked meals of hers. (It's all about the routine)

The reason the Doctor and Tegan end up mud wrestling is because they ran out in a rainstorm and got locked out by the drunken Madame Fronda.

Tegan will dance for her friends dinner even if it means wearing a purple chicken suit and doing the chicken dance, which, of course the Doctor finds...provocative even though he's with two members of the High Council of Gallifrey and his auditor.

The Master blows up Terminus after kidnapping Nyssa.

K-9 is the true navigator of the TARDIS from four on.

The Master thinks the Doctor has left Nyssa at the Cranleighs.

The Doctor faints when he realizes that Tegan is pregnant with twins. Tegan douses both him and Peri with a waterhose.

Tegan is forced onto the handle bars of the bike the Master is riding, forcing the Doctor to steal a bike and give chase. This one involves Multi-Doctors and eventually a motorcycle. Boring all the same.

And all those Black Scrolls of Rassilon cliches :P

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Everyone would have been better off with K9 as navigator, IMO. Of course, I don't say that JUST because I'm an insane K9 fan. I think it's obvious truth. ;)

[amaresu]

The only Peri/Erimem cliche I can think of is them being locked in the Tower for two years means they had lots of sex.

[jinxed-wood.livejournal.com]

TRUFAX!!!!

[amaresu]

I don't know what else they would have done to kill the time.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that one works. It makes for a good cliche, too, because it's so plausible.

[sue-denimme.livejournal.com]

I've been reading a lot of Teaspoon lately, and there are two things that drive me nuts in particular, in Ten fic, that is.

One is comparing Ten to a puppy -- either saying he has puppy-dog eyes or having him cringe and look like a whipped puppy. OK, I get it, DT has big brown eyes, but can't anyone think of any other way to describe him?

The other is "he popped the p" (when saying "yep" or "nope"). Yes, he overpronounces those words sometimes, but does EVERYONE have to use that *exact same phrase*?

Thanks for the chance to vent.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

I'm right there with you. It might seem like a minor thing, but it really is annoying. Then there are stories where the Doctor and Rose have children who pop the p. Please, NO.

Also, in one story, the Doctor "gave Rose the puppy eyes." That's exactly how the author phrased it. I could think of nothing but a mutilated puppy blindly wandering around because the Doctor wanted to use its eyes to impress Rose.

[jadekirk.livejournal.com]

I think I put 'he popped the p' in one of my fics but I'm not entirely sure.

[sue-denimme.livejournal.com]

Don't feel bad, I think everyone has fallen into doing a cliche at some time or another.

[coneyislandbaby]

Nine/Rose/Jack: Rose and Jack conspire to get Nine into bed with them.

Nine/Rose/Jack: Rose and Jack commiserate with each other over wanting Nine. He overhears them and does something about it.

Nine/Rose/Jack: Jack and Rose basically have to do the seducing (different to the first one).

Nine/Rose/Jack: Some alien planet presumes they're already together. They have to give an appearance of such, and end up going off to have sex together.

Rose/Jack: Get together after being upset that Nine doesn't want them.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

True, I've seen those plots pop up in fic after fic.

[coneyislandbaby]

*G* I've written almost all of them I think. Maybe not the alien one - that was the one that was written for me *g*

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

Romana cliches (at least some of which I have written, possibly created):

Ten/Romana:

- They have zany, flirty adventures that are just like "City of Death" only with a special effects budget.
- OR, Romana is bitter because Gallifrey has been destroyed, and takes it out on the Doctor by having sex with him. A lot.

Four/Romana:

- The kinkmeme has perpetrated the notion that they spent a lot of time having absolutely filthy sex. And quite right, too.
- Romana regenerated so he'd like her better.
- The Doctor didn't love her until she was blonde.
- OR, the Doctor loved her but couldn't admit it while she was an intimidatingly beautiful brunette.

General Romana cliches:

- The best cure for spending twenty years as a Dalek slave is sex.
- She was secretly infatuated with Brax when she was a student.
- She is basically promiscuous, and probably spent her entire presidency on her back. Or, alternatively, is totally naive.
- When not shagging her way through the High Council of Gallifrey, Romana spent her time crying in Leela's arms. Then having tasteful fade-to-black sex with her.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

All valid additions. I've seen a lot of the Four/Romana ones in particular.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

A disturbing number of these are canon. :)

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Then there are a bunch I wish were canon. ;)

[luniasta.livejournal.com]

I mean... Really no cliche for Doctor/Jack? ;O I mean, something like "10/Jack: Jack feels hurt after being told how wrong he is so he does everything to make Doctor like him again" or "10/Jack: The Doctor needsx distraction after the loss of the Master" is kinda classic, isn't it?
Otherwise, it was fun reading it :)

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

You're right, Ten/Jack (and Nine/Jack) should be on the list, too. I just didn't think of any cliches at the time I was typing it up, even though there are quite a few for the pairing(s). I like your suggestions.

[luniasta.livejournal.com]

You know, since it's Jack, we could just go with "Doctor/Jack finds Jack/Doctor extremely hot and 51st century attitude only helps them" :)

[thisbluespirit]

Ohh... Very funny! (Have a worrying feeling I've committed some of these. Eek.)

Here's one for Brig/Liz fic: Benton interrupts them kissing / whatever. (It's almost become a Rule.)

It's about the only one I haven't done in my Brig/Liz stories, but since they were all cliches otherwise, I thought best not... (70s Who cliches, invisibility, undercover date and a frame-up. I blame the characters.)

Eight/Charley: "Marry me, Charley, I'm bored!"

(But the stories I've seen that did that were so good!) Heh.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Cliches can make for good stories, though! Depends on how the author handles them. The Brig/Liz one made me laugh. I guess it's true, isn't it? And now that you point it out, I've seen that Eight/Charley cliche in a minimum of three stories.

[thisbluespirit]

Oh, I'd have to agree. Most of these I'm thinking of came from some great stories! :-)

The Brig/Liz Benton cliche is absolutely true, but it's always fun. (I'd have put it in if it hadn't been for me only giving the pair one kiss in 5 stories. It would have been cruel.)

Yep. Eight does tend to propose when he gets bored.

This is a fun idea. I'd sign up if my romantic stories didn't turn out so unromantic.

And:

Three/Jo - Locked in a cell & there's only so many amusing anecdotes about Venusians, hermits and daisies to pass the time.

[sue-denimme.livejournal.com]

Just thought of another cliche: Ten goes back in time, after Doomsday, and watches Rose with Nine. (He may or may not get caught by Nine and given a stern talking-to, maybe a shag as well. That'll teach him...)

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Definitely another one to stick on the list!

[thisbluespirit]

Some more:

Two/Jamie/Zoe (or Two/Zoe or Jamie/Zoe): Zoe just wants an education & Two and/or Jamie are willing to give her one, usually in a threesome. Possibly for the benefit of aliens, but generally just for fun.

Jamie/Victoria: Victoria screams. Jamie finds a way to silence her. (I'm sure that must exist, but I may have just made it up...)

Harry/Sarah: Sarah strings Harry along with annual dinner dates & sex for years on end but refuses to marry him despite frequent proposals, as she's still in love with Four. Harry doesn't mind.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

If that Jamie/Victoria one doesn't exist, it should. ;)

[thisbluespirit]

It does now. I'm sure it must do anyway, though - I'll have to look! But I did a quick drabble just in case. :-)

[neuralclone.livejournal.com]

Here via who_daily.

Hmmm.... You've left out:

Martha/Master - The Master is redeemed by his love for Martha

Donna/Master - She brings him back to life, he gives her back her memories

Donna/Master - They bicker and snark all the time, but they're (irrestibly) (mysteriously) drawn to each other.

*G* Hope these help.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Lovely Master cliches, yes. ;)