Doctor Who: 10 Funniest Moments From Nu-Who

By Mikey Heinrich /

6: €œBut I€™ve Been Dieting!€

As I€™ve mentioned more than a couple times before, I€™m a huge Donna Noble fan. And one of the things that€™s always struck me about her character is that for someone being played by a woman primarily know for her comedy, the character of Donna doesn€™t swing broadly for laughs terribly often. (Yes, I am fully expecting to get a debate about that in the comments, but if you go back and watch her run, what can be read as a broad comedy character is really a fairly interesting combination of character moments that serve to underscore her essential vulnerability and lack of self worth. Honest.) Besides which, genuine funny doesn€™t come out of broad character traits, it comes directly from finding something essential and true about the character or situation. Donna shouting €˜Oy!€™ is a character beat, not a punchline, or at least not a funny one. However€ In Forest of the Dead, in addition to having one of the most heartbreaking romantic storylines the show has ever seen (and the fact that I didn€™t include Lee€™s €˜Am I real?€™ moment as he faded away genuinely haunts me) she also gets hands down her funniest moment. Miss Evangelista is explaining in fairly dry terms that they are all in a virtual reality. But it€™s all nebulous and theoretical €“ as communicating plot functions often is. So when Donna€™s reaction is to be upset that it doesn€™t matter that she€™s been dieting it€™s not only funny, it also makes the virtual reality concept real for the viewer. I like me some humor that accomplishes more than one thing at a time.