Dr Who Dying a Slow, Painful (Woke) Death

As a kid, I loved Doctor Who, the British science fiction TV series broadcast by the BBC. As a bit of a nerd myself, Doctor Who felt a bit like a haven for the nerdy created by science geeks with authentic quirks and creativity. It was both funny at times, as well as a little bit scary, but ultimately, it was entertaining. The original writers’ genuine weirdness, wit, and sci-fi creativity have in many people’s opinion, been replaced by hollow gloss, focus-group keywords, forced inclusiveness and political correctness, which come off as disingenuous, reducing once rich characters to meagre stereotypes distracting from what could be, and should be, compelling storytelling.

The Doctors I most remember were Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy, probably just because they were around when I was growing up. I also have some memory of the earlier Doctors, I guess because they probably showed a lot of reruns on TV.

Doctor Who took a bit of a hiatus in the early 1990s, but there was a Doctor Who television movie in 1996, which I never watched, I think I was too busy with high school.

But then in 2005, there was a revival of sorts with four more doctors taking on the role. I only ever watched a couple of episodes – I guess I had grown out of it a bit – but my friends and colleagues who were keen Whovians, generally liked this era of Doctor Who. I believe these four Doctors were typically highly regarded among fans of the show.

But of course, all good things must come to an end. In 2017, the BBC noticed something a little bit unusual about the casting of these Doctors over the last 36 seasons or so, and I think you can guess what… They were all men! This clear favouritism and inequity couldn’t be allowed to go on any longer! The BBC correctly pointed out, “Ladies can be Doctors too”, don’t you know?

So this brings us to our thirteenth Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, who starred in three seasons and a few specials between 2018 and 2022. From what I’ve heard, she’s a fine actor, but there was obviously some backlash casting a female Doctor Who.

According to the ratings database, IMDb, of the 13 series since the 2005 revival, the three lowest ranked seasons were the three Jodie Whittaker seasons.

It was towards the end of Jodie Whittaker’s stint as the Doctor that the BBC signed a deal with Disney meaning all new seasons of the show will stream exclusively on Disney+ outside the UK and Ireland ending the 50-year partnership between the BBC and the public broadcaster in Australia, the ABC. This means Whovians outside of the UK would have to fork out a subscription fee to watch the show from 2023 onwards.

The tenth Doctor, David Tennant, reprised the role and became the fourteenth Doctor in 2023 starring in three specials to celebrate the program’s 60th anniversary with disability, sexuality, and gender all covered.

The character of Davros, a major enemy of the Doctor, used to be wheelchair bound in the original series, albeit, a very futuristic looking wheelchair, but in the most recent incarnation, he is able-bodied. But why? Executive producer Russell T. Davies, who describes himself as “absolutely happily left wing”, said it was to avoid contributing to harmful tropes of disabled villains in media.

But this year being the year of super-diversity and uber-inclusion. the pièce de résistance, as I kind of hinted at the start, is the next incarnation of the Doctor who turns out to be a different ethnicity, and perhaps, a different sexuality, with Rwandan-Scottish queer actor (his words, not mine), Ncuti Gatwa, taking on the role of the fifteenth Doctor. Look, I’m sure he’s a good actor, but is this what Doctor Who fans want, or is this what Disney and the BBC want? I don’t know. The series contains a villain by the name of Maestro played by real-life American drag queen Jinkx Monsoon, who has been described by showrunner Russell T. Davies as “the Doctor’s most powerful enemy yet.” I know, it sounds like I’m making all this up, but I’m not.

Look, I think there’s only one of two ways this can go. Either I’m completely wrong, and actually hardcore fans, as well as new fans of the show, love the new super-diversity and uber-inclusion path that the Doctor is taking, or, this season sounds the death knell for Doctor Who as we know it. My feeling is that the once-loved Doctor has been ruined by the BBC’s self-righteous pandering and incessant moralising. Gone are the days where we could enjoy Doctor Who as an innocent adventure series. Now they desperately try to please everyone and avoid offence at all cost. Its preachy woke agenda is just resulting in losing viewers and credibility in the process. Unless something drastically changes, Doctor Who is destined for the same fate as other Disneyfied projects – forgotten and axed. Rest in peace Doctor Who. You were once great, but the BBC has utterly destroyed you.

MUSIC
Allégro by Emmit Fenn