I'm so glad to have known her though.

Indeed. And something I can't even imagine saying based on her first appearance.

I'm angry, or just don't understand lots of things.

And yet, dalek Kan or Caan or whatever you spell its name? So damn funny.

What specifically are you angry about, or not understanding, Shir?

Oh, and Daleks in German? Awesome.

That so worked!!

I was a big fan of that episode, except for the whole "human Doctor perfect for Rose" bit. That was really lame, IMO. Although I did like the way that Tennant played him as a blend of the Doctor and Donna. "Oi, watch it, space boy!" "Oi, watch it, human!"

I'm glad I asked the co-worker who borrowed my S4 DVDs for them back when I ran into her on Friday--now I really want to watch the whole season again!

Donna's end was so damn tragic, but I kinda liked the way they left it. I'm hoping/guessing that she went on to become more than she was before she met the Doctor even with the mind wipe, just because her mom won't be such a Debbie Downer anymore.

I really have got to work on that fanfic I've had brewing in the back of my head, where she ends up working with Sarah Jane in an investigative story, but Sarah Jane has to remember not to mention the Doctor while working with her. I'd like to see what I can do with a Donna coming into her own without the Doctor's influence.

Donna's end was so damn tragic, but I kinda liked the way they left it.

It was very much a Hero's Journey for her.

I'm hoping/guessing that she went on to become more than she was before she met the Doctor even with the mind wipe, just because her mom won't be such a Debbie Downer anymore.

Anytime I get depressed about Donna's ending, I think of or even reread Jacob's recap for season 4:

I just wanted you to imagine that you met a man, the most wonderful man in the world, and that he showed you the stars, wonders and terrible things, all the majesty our world can muster. All the kindness and the brilliance and the bravery that lies in you. That he, among all of us, was capable of teaching you how wonderful you are, every second of the day. That you have a better choice than to turn right, or left. Look up at the stars, or laugh. Or jump.

I want you to imagine that you were chosen, of all the women and men in the world, to go on a wonderful adventure. Because of who you are, and what you can become.

And then I want you to forget that he [n]ever existed. In story school they teach you a very simple thing. First there are facts: "The King Died." Then, there are plots: "The King Died, The Queen Died." And then there are stories: "The King Died, The Queen Died Of Grief." But this isn't a story, it's your life. That's not how it works in the real world.

Dear Donna, the real world sucks. The world is wrong. So fix it. The Queen Lived.

So live.

What specifically are you angry about, or not understanding, Shir?

Things that I can come up with now:

Too much ex-cast, and too much characters and story lines. There's just so much you can juggle at the same time. Can't understand why some of them were doing there in the first place, and I got the feeling that stuff were written for them as an excuse for them being there. Sarah Jane, Martha, Micky/Ricky, Rose's mom and the Triple Doctor comes to mind. Also, since when the Doc can alter his regeneration?
"Human Doctor perfect for Rose", YES, very much a badfic (to the screen). She deserves better. Hell, I deserve better, as a person who watch the show. She crossed universes for you, man. Universes! After you told her this can't be done! But I did get all teared up when he told her she made him better.
The whole "let's put the Doctor in a special cell while we're destroying the world so he can think of his actions". WTF? I understand I'm missing some plot lines with one of the Dalek dudes, but since when this is a Dalek behaviour?
There is usually a philosophical part or moral to each Doctor ep, at least for me. This one's managed to squeeze into 4-5 sentences, without a real development, or a chance to think about the meaning. And if you'll ask me now if the Doctor brings more bad or good (because I never believed in the old "it's either good or bad" dichotomy. It's both, always), I'd say he's bringing more bad. Because he gets to decide for others, always. The whole "bringing more to the human kind" kind of got lost of me when he's disabling free choice (not free will; just choice. Like when he's teleporting Donna to the TARDIS in Silence in the Library) for us.

Jacob's recap for season 4

Written wonderfully, but just got me more depressed. And why "The Queen Died" isn't a fact, but part of the plot? And she'll live. But not as much as she'll ever be alive, with the Doctor.

Remind me again, why did he say not to say anything to her, after getting her back home? Because to me, take away from her the hope that she can be someone better is horrible.

ETA: I just googled Jacob's recap for season 4. It is wonderful, and just might be the thing to help me find the philosophical level I'm after, but more important: it got published on my birthday. I don't take that as a coincidence.

Also, since when the Doc can alter his regeneration?

It's an established Time Lord ability - that they can choose the timing, and the new form. In the past, it was shown as a skill taught at the Academy - one which Romana (female Time Lord, companion during the Fouth Doctor's run) had learned very well, as she was at the top of her class. The Doctor, who graduated at the bottom of his class, has so far shown little or no skill at guiding or choosing his new form during a regeneration. But then again, perhaps it is because he simply had no reason to care, up until this point.

Thanks, WindSparrow. I knew about time lords choosing their own names, had a slight feeling about the look, but thought that the timing is not really up to them (what if they get killed twice? Can one regeneration be enough for two deadly wounds?).

And from where do you know those wonderful things? Past Doctor episodes? Future Doctor episodes? Who is Romana? There wasn't any secret Doctor season somewhere, like Doctor 3 1/2, right?

Romana was a Time Lord who was also a companion during one of the Tom Baker (Doctor #4) series in the 1970's.

Windsparrow is a longtime Dr. Who fan.

Dr. Who has been on tv (with a 15-year gap) since 1963.