Janet Fielding bitches about JNT for 20 minutes straight

She has a point.....

Ungrateful cunt.

iank wrote:Ungrateful cunt.

+1

"Russell T Davies is a genius!" Stupid cow. It just goes to show that turning up and saying the lines does not make one an authority on what makes a series work.

Fielding is definitely one of the most unpleasant people associated with the classic series. Smug, spiteful, mean-spirited and shockingly ungrateful for the permanent financial security Doctor Who has given her.

There are many vastly more talented actors and creatives who'd give anything for the fortune and recognition she takes for granted, yet she can think of nothing better to do than constantly bad-mouth the producer who afforded her the opportunity and the fans who continue to replenish her bank account on a daily basis.

Well I don't think she's wrong that the makers grossly mishandled the emotional aftermath of Logopolis' events, particularly for Tegan and Nyssa. At best you could say the era had an intriguing hauntology to it for that absence. At worst it was hollow and soulless. And I can understand Janet being frustrated as an actress that there seemed nothing tangible on the page to work with.

I'm still unsure whether the mistake was Logopolis going that far in the first place, but in some ways I think if it's something the show dares to do, then that marks it apart as a series in which the most tragic events can happen and the Doctor sometimes loses terribly.

But from how Janet puts it, about going from political theatre in which she knew where her character was going emotionally from scene to scene, to a show like 80's Doctor Who where the production schedule and filming order can be more disjointed and taxing to an actor's sense of continuity, I do feel as though Bidmead's high dramatic ambitions when he wrote Logopolis were wildly out of synch with how the show was being produced.

As for the praise of RTD..... it would be sad to think that working on Doctor Who is what jaded Janet to television as a chauvinistic set-up. I wonder if maybe had she been on the show during the Williams era, she might've had a better opinion on the show, given female characters seemed to fare better then, than Saward's era that seemed all about projecting a frustrated learned helplessness onto all the characters.

But in any case I think that's why she, like Carol Ann Ford, Katy Manning and Elisabeth Sladen seems to have RTD stars in her eyes. Because of how forefront the female companion became.

The trouble is, did Rose really have the great story arc Clayton Hickman talked of? The way I saw it was that in order to make Rose seem a strong companion, RTD had to ensure the surrounding characters were all completely braindead idiots beyond what rang true. Her arc seemed to just culminate in her getting God-mode powers in Parting of the Ways, then regressing immediately in the next story to a whiny, blubbery mess again, and she seemed to spend the rest of the next season stagnating.

I have actually heard Janet come out with that line about planets where 'the people were stupid enough to put men in charge' at another convention I was at, and it did leave a bit of a nasty aftertaste with me, even if meant as a joke. And same when she hinted that she was a bit irritated by how the show's fan following and interest in Tegan has not died down.

But I will say she was pleasant enough with me in the Q and A session, and afterwards when I spoke to her while getting her autograph.

No class.

Maybe Tegan wasn't the sort of serious, emotionally involved dramatic role she wanted, but the character struck a chord with enough people to provide her with a more or less passive income and level of financial security most of us can only dream of for four decades and counting. She could have put that money towards as many political passion projects as she liked, but she didn't. No, she instead chose to reprise the role she apparently hates so much with Big Finish, paid for handsomely by those awful "basement-dwelling dinosaurs" for whom she has nothing but sneering contempt.

I remember back after the original show was axed, she didn't want anything to do with it but after NuWho's launch, she was suddenly becoming more involved (Doing conventions DVD commentaries and BF audios.)

On a side note, am I the only one who can't stand the Davison era commentaries?

ClockworkOcean wrote:Fielding is definitely one of the most unpleasant people associated with the classic series. Smug, spiteful, mean-spirited and shockingly ungrateful for the permanent financial security Doctor Who has given her.

There are many vastly more talented actors and creatives who'd give anything for the fortune and recognition she takes for granted, yet she can think of nothing better to do than constantly bad-mouth the producer who afforded her the opportunity and the fans who continue to replenish her bank account on a daily basis.

Absolutely spot on. The way she talks about classic era fans as sad basement dwelling Dinosaurs who are frightened of women is despicable, as is her constant back stabbing JNT.

She has such a chip on her shoulder for being cast as the sidekick. She actually thinks it was sexist she didn't get as much focus as the lead role? You were the companion!

As you say there are so many other actors who would be happy just to get any kind of major role in a popular series that is still beloved after 30 years.

Compare her to Charisma Carpenter. She was treated shamefully by Joss Whedon on Angel. Joss at his absolute worst completely fucking butchered the Cordelia character in S4 of Angel. He had her bang a 16 year old, and murder teenage girls, before firing her, as though that trainwreck of a series was her fault! (Overall as much as I like his work, Joss sounds like a fucking nightmare to work with. Far worse than JNT.)

Yet Charisma always handles talking about that difficult situation with such class and is still grateful for the opportunity Angel and Buffy gave her, and in constrast to Janet who shunned Big Finish, she actually returned for S5 of Angel for the fans.

Then again Charisma has worked in other things so maybe that's why Janet has more of a chip on her shoulder, but that's only because Charsima can what's that word? Act!

Not a talented actress. I quite liked the character - confrontational and at odds with the doctor - but her performances left a lot to be desired. She should be grateful JNT gave her a break and also recognise that any glass ceiling which limited her success after Dr Who may have been a product of her own limitations as an actress.

It's easy for her to say these things about him when he's dead and thus not in a position to defend himself.

burrunjor wrote:She has such a chip on her shoulder for being cast as the sidekick. She actually thinks it was sexist she didn't get as much focus as the lead role? You were the companion!

Well when Leela and Romana were companion, they still got to have moments of being a protagonist and point of focus in their own right independent of the Doctor (I'm thinking particularly of The Sunmakers, Androids of Tara, City of Death and Horns of Nimon here). And I would argue their's was a much stronger run for it, and that by the time Janet joined, things had regressed.

I will however say that speaking strictly from Janet's feminist perspective, it is a bit snide that she doesn't credit JNT more for his strides forward in employing more female directors and writers on the show than before. It is a shame (and to my mind a disgrace) that we only got one Barbara Clegg story, but I get the impression from recent interviews that it was mainly Saward's fault she was never heard from again.

Compare her to Charisma Carpenter. She was treated shamefully by Joss Whedon on Angel. Joss at his absolute worst completely fucking butchered the Cordelia character in S4 of Angel. He had her bang a 16 year old, and murder teenage girls, before firing her, as though that trainwreck of a series was her fault! (Overall as much as I like his work, Joss sounds like a fucking nightmare to work with. Far worse than JNT.)

Wow!

Do you have any idea why he fell out with her? Especially given they'd worked on two shows together.

I like wanking to her but that's about it.

Tegan or Cordelia?

Tegan.

Maybe we should do a poll on this - Who do you like wanking to the most - Cordelia, Tegan or both the same????????

stengos wrote:Maybe we should do a poll on this - Who do you like wanking to the most - Cordelia, Tegan or both the same????????

Why not? I think this forum is in desperate need of some wank related threads and polls.

Commander Maxil Gale wrote:I like wanking to her but that's about it.

The perfect response to a feminist.

Tanmann wrote:

burrunjor wrote:She has such a chip on her shoulder for being cast as the sidekick. She actually thinks it was sexist she didn't get as much focus as the lead role? You were the companion!

Well when Leela and Romana were companion, they still got to have moments of being a protagonist and point of focus in their own right independent of the Doctor (I'm thinking particularly of The Sunmakers, Androids of Tara, City of Death and Horns of Nimon here). And I would argue their's was a much stronger run for it, and that by the time Janet joined, things had regressed.

I will however say that speaking strictly from Janet's feminist perspective, it is a bit snide that she doesn't credit JNT more for his strides forward in employing more female directors and writers on the show than before. It is a shame (and to my mind a disgrace) that we only got one Barbara Clegg story, but I get the impression from recent interviews that it was mainly Saward's fault she was never heard from again.

Compare her to Charisma Carpenter. She was treated shamefully by Joss Whedon on Angel. Joss at his absolute worst completely fucking butchered the Cordelia character in S4 of Angel. He had her bang a 16 year old, and murder teenage girls, before firing her, as though that trainwreck of a series was her fault! (Overall as much as I like his work, Joss sounds like a fucking nightmare to work with. Far worse than JNT.)

Wow!

Do you have any idea why he fell out with her? Especially given they'd worked on two shows together.

The situation between Joss and Charisma is an absolute mess, and there hasn't been any proper confirmation from either of them about what happened, but there might be a story that sounds logical:
Charisma was pregnant, but she didn't tell Joss or Tim Minear about it, because she wasn't sure that the baby was going to live (if I recall, Charisma had a miscarriage prior, but I would need solid evidence to see if this is true, but it definitely sounds plausible). Joss or Tim found out, and got upset, so Joss had to rush the Season 4 storyline and include a pregnancy trope in the storyline. Then they wrote Cordelia completely out of character in the whole thing, then later say that the reason that Cordelia was evil, was because she was possessed, but that came far too late (in fairness, I actually think that it was a logical reason even if it came too late and I can stomach it slightly more than what happens to her near the end of Season 3).

Now I do think Joss does get some shit (and to an extent, rightfully so), but I'm going to play Devil's Advocate and say that I think that the pregnancy storyline is largely down to Tim Minear. If I recall, Tim Minear was the one that proposed the Darla pregnancy storyline back in Season 3. And I also do think that the reason that the reason that the main arc of Angel Season 4 is such a mixed bag is because of Joss working on Firefly, Buffy Season 7 and now had to take over Angel Season 4 because of co-creator David Greenwalt leaving after Season 3, whilst trying to fight for Firefly to stay on-air. Acting as showrunner for all three shows was not a smart move at all (I mean, I do think Moffat trying to balance Doctor Who and Sherlock at the same time was what caused both shows to go downhill quickly).

Still, I'm happy that Charisma handled the whole situation with grace, and somewhat managed to stay on good terms with Joss Whedon (with them sitting in the same room for Buffy's 20th anniversary reunion, unlike David Boreanz and Nicholas Brendon who couldn't even sit in the same room). And to be fair, despite the wonky main arc, and obvious mishandling of characters (people definitely rag on Connor and Cordelia, but holy shit, Gunn annoyed me just as much in that Season), I actually really enjoyed Season 4 of Angel a lot, especially the last 4 episodes.

Tanmann wrote:

burrunjor wrote:She has such a chip on her shoulder for being cast as the sidekick. She actually thinks it was sexist she didn't get as much focus as the lead role? You were the companion!

Well when Leela and Romana were companion, they still got to have moments of being a protagonist and point of focus in their own right independent of the Doctor (I'm thinking particularly of The Sunmakers, Androids of Tara, City of Death and Horns of Nimon here). And I would argue their's was a much stronger run for it, and that by the time Janet joined, things had regressed.

I will however say that speaking strictly from Janet's feminist perspective, it is a bit snide that she doesn't credit JNT more for his strides forward in employing more female directors and writers on the show than before. It is a shame (and to my mind a disgrace) that we only got one Barbara Clegg story, but I get the impression from recent interviews that it was mainly Saward's fault she was never heard from again.

Compare her to Charisma Carpenter. She was treated shamefully by Joss Whedon on Angel. Joss at his absolute worst completely fucking butchered the Cordelia character in S4 of Angel. He had her bang a 16 year old, and murder teenage girls, before firing her, as though that trainwreck of a series was her fault! (Overall as much as I like his work, Joss sounds like a fucking nightmare to work with. Far worse than JNT.)

Wow!

Do you have any idea why he fell out with her? Especially given they'd worked on two shows together.

Here's a video from Charisma Carpenter on the subject.



You can see how much better Charisma comes off than Janet. One comes across as a professional, the other a screeching, entitled, bitter harpy.

Personally I don't have time for people like Janet that go on about Classic Who being sexist.

As far as I'm concerned it wasn't.

Yes there were some wimpy female characters but so what? There were wimpy male characters too like Adric and Turlough. (Funny how she never mentions them?)

I think Classic Who had a right balance of strong male and strong female characters.

You had strong men and women like Leela and the Brig, Ace and Jamie, men and women who were just normal, but were brave when it mattered like Ian and Barbara, Harry and Vicki etc, and finally men and women who were wimpy like Adric and Victoria.

You can't have every woman be brave. Victoria is a pampered, rich, teenage girl. Its not so unreasonable that she would be more scared than Jamie, a soldier from a war.

Leela however who is from a background where you'd expect her to be strong is just as strong as any man. Ditto Romana and the Rani.

Not once did the show make out that women are inferior to men, or that all women are wimpy.

IMO it only gets called sexist because of misandry ironically. Bigots like Janet Fielding hate it because it stars a strong male character.

burrunjor wrote:You can't have every woman be brave.

No, but I think after Leela and Romana, there should've some respect paid to the fact that the ante had been upped in terms of stronger writing and characterization for the companion, and audience expectations. Not a complete regression and abandonment of that standard.

burrunjor wrote:Yes there were some wimpy female characters but so what? There were wimpy male characters too like Adric and Turlough. (Funny how she never mentions them?)

...

Not once did the show make out that women are inferior to men, or that all women are wimpy.

IMO it only gets called sexist because of misandry ironically. Bigots like Janet Fielding hate it because it stars a strong male character.

I don't think Saward's willingness to instill his trademark worst, frustrated learned helplessness onto his male lead characters too really redeems his time. Infact it really means we got the worst of both worlds with the Doctor shown as a fallible, clueless failure, and yet a stubborn tradition demanding that Tegan and Peri still blindly, cultishly defer to his authority as the male hero regardless.

That's what I think Janet found sexist, cynical and unjust about her time on the show, and made her feel treated like a soulless cipher (and possibly set her on the path of feminist radicalization since), and I can't say I entirely blame her.

SomeCallMeEnglishGiraffe wrote:Charisma was pregnant, but she didn't tell Joss or Tim Minear about it, because she wasn't sure that the baby was going to live (if I recall, Charisma had a miscarriage prior, but I would need solid evidence to see if this is true, but it definitely sounds plausible). Joss or Tim found out, and got upset, so Joss had to rush the Season 4 storyline and include a pregnancy trope in the storyline. Then they wrote Cordelia completely out of character in the whole thing, then later say that the reason that Cordelia was evil, was because she was possessed, but that came far too late (in fairness, I actually think that it was a logical reason even if it came too late and I can stomach it slightly more than what happens to her near the end of Season 3).

I'm realizing I still haven't seen nearly enough of Angel yet.

Still, if that is true about Charisma having a previous miscarriage, it must've been rough to put it mildly. I'd hate to imagine, and certainly I would've wanted Joss to have shown some compassion for her previous tragic experience.

Now I do think Joss does get some shit (and to an extent, rightfully so),

I certainly can't respect the way he did the dirty on his wife. Nor the utterly weaselly, excuse-strewn apology he put out for it. Liana Kerzner did a great tear-down on that.

but I'm going to play Devil's Advocate and say that I think that the pregnancy storyline is largely down to Tim Minear. If I recall, Tim Minear was the one that proposed the Darla pregnancy storyline back in Season 3.

Well I have to say I think Series 6 of Moffat's Doctor Who has pretty much jaded me toward mystical pregnancy storylines generally. In a way even TNG's 'The Child' never could.

And I also do think that the reason that the reason that the main arc of Angel Season 4 is such a mixed bag is because of Joss working on Firefly, Buffy Season 7 and now had to take over Angel Season 4 because of co-creator David Greenwalt leaving after Season 3, whilst trying to fight for Firefly to stay on-air. Acting as showrunner for all three shows was not a smart move at all (I mean, I do think Moffat trying to balance Doctor Who and Sherlock at the same time was what caused both shows to go downhill quickly).

I have to say I do think Buffy's seventh season was the strongest season the show had enjoyed in a while. It felt a really rejuvenated show there.

As for Moffat, I don't know. I still think the main problem with both Doctor Who and Sherlock is that he's too much of an indulgent, insecure fanboy when it comes to both, and maybe it was a mistake to give him control of either.

Still, I'm happy that Charisma handled the whole situation with grace, and somewhat managed to stay on good terms with Joss Whedon (with them sitting in the same room for Buffy's 20th anniversary reunion, unlike David Boreanz and Nicholas Brendon who couldn't even sit in the same room).

Ah, another behind scenes animosity I didn't even know of. Dare I look into it, I wonder.

I'm a dinosaur yet a sixty-five-year-old is still banging on about things that happened thirty-odd years ago involving a man that died seventeen years ago. Move on, Janet.

Well she was at a convention where she was specifically *asked* to talk about things that happened thirty years ago.