Talk:E is for... (audio story)

Infobox

I'm wondering why the infobox was changed back from showing Susan as the main character. The Doctor, Ian and Barbara do not actually appear in this story, though they do play a part in the plot. Susan recalls the events which took place while she was with them, but she's lost them for most of the story. At the end, they've been located, and Susan is waiting for them to arrive. At most, we might call the 2-minute flashback towards the start an appearance, meaning those three should stay in "featuring".

Is there a particular reasoning for using the doctor and companions variables even when most of them do not appear, or barely do so?
× SOTO (☎/✍/↯) 01:03, September 23, 2019 (UTC)

I think it's a case of people assuming "whenever the Doctor is in a story, the doctor variable must be used", when in fact (at least that's how I see it) it is merely an equivalent to "main character". So, given that the Doctor is definitely not the main character here, it should be used at all imo. OncomingStorm12th ☎ 18:18, September 25, 2019 (UTC)

There are certainly cases where the Doctor appears but is better placed under featuring. In this story, to be clear, the Doctor and co are narrated about in a 2-minute segment (and have no dialogue, but are at least briefly described as having said something), but even that segment is very much centred on Susan's experiences.
× SOTO (☎/✍/↯) 20:32, September 25, 2019 (UTC)

Possibly a missunderstanding such as the one I mentioned above, or maybe an "editing before listening to the story" (this is not meant as an attack btw; most times I create a story page I'm in this situation). Could we change it back to main character being Susan?

Also, I'm not sure I feel like the Doctor, Ian and Barbara warrant a "featuring" spotlight. Adding them there indicates to a non-listener that they have a somewhat proeminent role in the story, which is really not true. Once we settle the matters here, I'll do the same changes to Daybreak - that story is basically Vicki as main character, rest on the background with small roles throughout). OncomingStorm12th ☎ 00:11, September 28, 2019 (UTC)

Daybreak does use the others a great deal more than this one does, but it's also definitely a two-hander, starring Vicki alone as the main character. I propose to include the others as featuring at least for Daybreak; they are at least given proper dialogue, sprinkled throughout (whereas E is for... is noticeably absent of Doctors, Ians and Barbaras, and basically only mentions them).
× SOTO (☎/✍/↯) 03:53, September 28, 2019 (UTC)

Whoops missed this response (talk pages really flow under the radar nowadays). I absolutely agree. And, while we're at it, I'm midway through The Vardan Invasion of Mirth and it seems like the same situation as Daybreak: Steven-focused story, with the First Doctor appearing throughout. This seems to be the pattern for the whole box-set (more focus on the companions the usually, even for Companion Chronicles). I'd also support putting Steven as "main character" there, and First Doctor on the "featuring". OncomingStorm12th ☎ 02:17, October 12, 2019 (UTC)

No argument from me. It seems we're agreed. And that is definitely Vardan Invasion's structure, with the Doctor very much in the periphery while Steven leads and dominates the story. In fact, a good amount of the Doctor's involvement in that story is relayed on a TV screen within the story.
× SOTO (☎/✍/↯) 02:49, October 12, 2019 (UTC)

So, is it ok if we implement the changes to all three pages, as discussed above? OncomingStorm12th ☎ 22:57, October 12, 2019 (UTC)

Yes, hearing no dissent for almost three weeks on a fairly uncontroversial proposition, we're free to go for it. I do have to ask, though, are these the only Companion Chronicles which merit this treatment, or will this decision have ramifications for a good portion of the whole range? I don't have extensive experience with the CC catalogue.
× SOTO (☎/✍/↯) 23:03, October 12, 2019 (UTC)

Well, it's been a while since I heard any other CC story, except for these, but, iirc, most of them are "companion recalls an adventure, but the Doctor is quite proeminent in most of it". So it probably won't afect most stories from the range, but it might affect a few. OncomingStorm12th ☎ 23:06, October 12, 2019 (UTC)

Okay. I maintain that this is the more faithful representation, to bring usually central characters down to "featuring" even if they're the Doctor. There is a wider conversation to be had, of course, like whether the same applies to Turn Left and Blink or just Love & Monsters. As far as CCs are concerned, I see no reason why not to handle it this way.
× SOTO (☎/✍/↯) 23:22, October 12, 2019 (UTC)

Very much agreed. I mean, the Doctor appears significantly less then Donna and Sally, respectively, so there's little logic, imo, to put him in the "spotlight" of the infobox just because he usually is the main character in stories. Would certainly be an interesting thread, one day. OncomingStorm12th ☎ 23:26, October 12, 2019 (UTC)