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I play a character who we are informed is 'mad' (nothing specific about the diagnosis). Mostly in canon he's sort of creative and eccentric with occasional tendency towards brooding. I've got plenty of room for the cartoon-madness stuff, but I want to bring a more realistic edge to the idea to help flesh him out more.

Anon, I've got a similar problem- in canon, character has canonically-diagnosed OCD that's written with a lot of atypical symptoms. Been trying to work the fine line of adding in more typical symptoms (obsession with more "mundane" rituals, intrusive thoughts, etc.) without going overboard or making the character too OOC.

If it's not outing yourself, mind mentioning the name of the character? Might be able to help a bit more if we have more of an idea of what the character's "madness" is.

The Doctor. A pre-Time War incarnation, so I can't really use PTSD.

Four or Six?

Six.

I'm not sure I'd call any of the Classic Doctors 'mad'. Maybe Six, before his character development in the audio dramas.

That said, most people just call the Doctor 'mad' because they don't understand how he works or why he does what he does. It's not that he's insane, it's that his actions and values directly contradict common sense.

Oh, may I ask who your OCD character is? I always like to hear about characters with OCD, especially those whose OCD is portrayed well or unusually.

The Riddler, AKA Nygma/Nigma/Nashton depending on canon.

It also depends on canon whether or not he's actually diagnosed with it, or how well it's written, but the general consensus is that his compulsions manifest with leaving riddles to a) prove his intelligence and b) tell the truth.

Usually it's attributed to the abuse he suffered in childhood, because (again depending on canon) his father refused to believe that he was as intelligent as he is and was cheating/lying about it.

Madness/psychosis/undiagnosed personality issues in general are a HUGE challenge, and it really depends on the medium imo! I've had the most success when I detail thought processes and body language in particular in tags. Its harder when you're slinging network stuff back and forth, but you can still make flavor commentary if you feel particularly strong about it.

Nervous twitches are a really good way to get it across body-language wise, even if its as simple as tapping a finger, brushing hair behind an ear, scratching an area of the body compulsively, etc. Other ideas include woolgathering, hyperfocusing on small details, losing focus entirely.

Going back to the medium thing, you mention cartoon-madness, so I'm assuming you're talking about a cartoon villain. Dark humor is always an excellent go-to, depending how your canon frames the villainy. Hopefully that helps at least a bit!

anon, it's possible you're misconstruing a UK definition of mad? It's often used in the UK as a term for being a bit crazy in a 'mad as a box of frogs' way rather than actual madness in a more serious way. The word is used flippantly.

With the doctor, this is probably the case

yes, and if they don't understand that difference then they should probably not play him.

I don't necessarily think they don't GET that so much as they want to play with it/explore it differently. I think that it would depend a lot on your approach, but it could be something worth looking into as long as they're not, like, diagnosing where there's nothing to diagnose.

i meant more that the op seemed to be questioning it as actual insanity, which shows a lack of understanding of the vernacular used in the show. that could lead to problems generally with interpretation.

LOL at this and OP's reply elsewhere

I am British.

it's a bit like there's a fog separating you from the rest of the world and distorting how it appears. you can't detect the fog, only its absence - like, you might go back and reread something you wrote at a different point in time and it just reads... bizarrely, because you're no longer in the specific state of mind you were when you wrote it.

This is helpful and it's something I can relate to, and perfect for my character.

agreeing with the others here in that the Doctor is not mad in the sense that he's insane

remember, the Doctor is an alien, and a long-lived one at that. it stands to reason that his methods and thought-processes may appear baffling to the humans with whom he interacts. but just because they cannot understand him does not mean he doesn't follow his own sort of logic, nor does it make him crazy. he's simply different, that's all. the ones labeling him "mad" are humans, judging him by human standards. but he's not human; his biology isn't the same as ours, so why shouldn't it follow that the same holds true for his mentality?

I basically agree with you, but for the fact adding elements of a more realistic madness would help me portray that odd, alien mental state in the first place. If he's a mentally healthy alien who acts like a mentally unwell human, a mentally unwell human is still a good model for the behaviour.

Which is even if he is mentally healthy, since other Time Lords think he's mad.

I don't want to start getting out diagnostic charts or anything like that, because that's not what I'm trying to achieve - I'm just trying to play with the more difficult, negative aspects of his eccentricity in addition to the quirky, cute ones, and I'd like advice for getting into that mental state.

Well

Playing 'madness' realistically

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OP

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ayrt

no subject

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+1

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ayrt

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OP

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OP