Overidentifying with Fictional Characters

I recently watched the Doctor Who episode "Vincent and the Doctor" for the first time without anyone else around, and I was a bit surprised by my reaction. The first time around, it was one of my favorite Who episodes ever, and I was definitely moved by it. This time, though, I was full-on weeping.

It's not like I haven't cried over Who episodes before, because I definitely have. I've done some hard-core crying over that show. But in the past, it's almost always been when we've lost a character we've grown to know and love over an entire season--like Rose, Donna, or Ten. But it seems a bit strange to be so emotional over one episode where fictional Vincent van Gogh fights an invisible space chicken and then travels to an art museum in 2010. I mean, come on, right?

So I've discussed this episode before. It's a great one, if flawed. Van Gogh is a heartbreaking character, and his chemistry with both Amy and the Doctor is astounding. There's something just painfully sad about him. He is lonely and mentally ill, and the way he reaches out to the time-travellers really strikes a chord with me. I also adore the physicality of Matt Smith's Doctor. My favorite thing he does is when another character is upset or afraid or overwhelmed, he'll put his forehead against theirs in a gesture that is caring, comforting and protective, and sort of unbelievably intense. I feel like if Matt Smith did that to me, I'd never be able to have another negative emotion again.

I've also had my own issues with depression--I dealt with it for years before finally going on antidepressants just a few months ago, which, by the way, was possibly the best decision I've ever made. So, like van Gogh with the space chicken, am I just starring in my own revival of Overidentification Theater with this episode? ....Possibly.

I've always been drawn to characters who are broken... or damaged in some way. Fragile characters. Nine and Ten are my favorite Doctors because they have this side to them. Behind the whimsy, there is a real darkness. Similarly, I was so attracted to the idea of Amy Pond because I love to speculate on what it could really do to a person who met the Doctor as a child--this wonderful being--and then was betrayed by him. I was so disappointed because I felt that the past season didn't delve into that aspect of her satisfactorily.

Characters from other shows really attract me, too. Firefly's River Tam is a great example. I love the "crazy" characters in sci-fi shows, because they are invariably the ones who reveal the deep, hidden truths about their universe: the Controller on Doctor Who, the Hybrid on Battlestar Galactica--they are incredibly beautiful. Even, to stretch the idea of a "character," Mondo from Project Runway was someone that I connected to to an incredible degree. After the second episode when he revealed how impossibly lonely he felt among the others in the competition, he was my unwavering favorite.

I'd be very interested to know other people's takes on why their favorite characters are their favorite characters, and why they get emotional at certain things, but not at others. Is it just a case of overidentifying and connecting more with certain "types," or is there more to it?