Doctor Who IV - Everything Whovian - Would you like a jelly baby?

[Tendrin]

In all fairness to Russel, I doubt he's even going to bother with the woke ****

Yes, I'm sure the show that just cast a trans woman as the companion would never bother with anything that smelled of 'woke'.

[Matt Rat]

Yes, I'm sure the show that just cast a trans woman as the companion would never bother with anything that smelled of 'woke'.

Quote Originally Posted by Matt Rat View Post
She's not the companion, she's only been cast for the special. Tate is the companion going forward for the specials.

I just mean RTD is going to focus on telling a good bit of escapism and not go into issues of race or whatnot in the kind of condescending historicals that blighted Whittiker's era and Capaldi's last series. The ratings show nobody cares for it.

[Tendrin]

She's not the companion, she's only been cast for the special. Tate is the companion going forward for the specials.

I just mean RTD is going to focus on telling a good bit of escapism and not go into issues of race or whatnot in the kind of condescending historicals that blighted Whittiker's era and Capaldi's last series. The ratings show nobody cares for it.

I think you may be getting ahead of yourself, and Davies is not likely to ignore historical racism. Who will continue to be 'woke', it'll just have better integration with its storytelling.

[Matt Rat]

I think you may be getting ahead of yourself, and Davies is not likely to ignore historical racism

Biggest example was Human Nature/Family of Blood with Martha...but that was the extent of it. It wasn't every week/year.

. Who will continue to be 'woke', it'll just have better integration with its storytelling.

If we get anything with that kind of commentary from him in it, they won't make a big deal out of it, they'll tell a story first and a message second.

[Tendrin]

Biggest example was Human Nature/Family of Blood with Martha...but that was the extent of it. It wasn't every week/year.

You have missed a *considerable* amount of subtext if you really think that. Doctor Who has been a political show since 1963.

If we get anything with that kind of commentary from him in it, they won't make a big deal out of it, they'll tell a story first and a message second.

We're going to get a lot of commentary.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Don't understand why they would need to do that at all. Ever.

I've read articles wondering how they would tackle a POC Doctor in Historicals. So my answer is one option while another is to use what the Master did in Spyfall- ie hide behind a perception filter.

[Jokerz79]

You have missed a *considerable* amount of subtext if you really think that. Doctor Who has been a political show since 1963.



We're going to get a lot of commentary.

Classic Who regularly tackled social issues during it's run thru allegories. But honestly New Who has hasn't especially during the RTD era.

For a year Mickey was the Prime Suspect in the missing person case of a 19 year old pretty blonde white girl in 2005 England and it's shrugged off.

[Jokerz79]

I just did some rankings of designs in the Star Trek thread and thought what is everyone's favorite Tardis Control room designs.

1: Capaldi's (Won't mention Smith's 2nd too close to this one and I feel Capaldi's was the better design.).
2: Smith's 1st Tardis.
3: 60's Hartnell & Troughton Tardis.
4: Jodie's Tardis.
5: McGann's Tardis.
6: The 80's Tardis (Basic design used by 5,6, & 7).
7: RTD Era Tardis (Not going to lie always found this design ugly).
8: 70's Wood Tardis (Would had beaten RTD era except the control panel was too lack luster).
9: 70's Tardis (Always looked like a cheap version of the 60's design).

[Tendrin]

Classic Who regularly tackled social issues during it's run thru allegories. But honestly New Who has hasn't especially during the RTD era.

For a year Mickey was the Prime Suspect in the missing person case of a 19 year old pretty blonde white girl in 2005 England and it's shrugged off.

I think you're probably missing it. Davies doesn't shy away from political content at *all*, but his politics during his run were rooted in white LGBTQ rep, normalizing queerness in a way which was shocking to see in Who back in the early 2000s, but seems relatively anodyne today (which is why he's going further now with casting the first black doctor, a black trans woman, and so on). We have the Doctor kissing Harkness, for example, and his sexually tense relationships with Rose as well as Harkness. These are all things that one time would've been 'political' due to the way LGBTQ identities were seen (and still are) as inherently political in their existence. I think you're underestimating how much is there considerably.

Though LOL about the bit on Mickey. He definitely has his blind spots too, you know?

[Derek Metaltron]

I have confidence that as long as he’s calling the shots and not the BBC, RTD will get the balance down just fine rather than Chiball who would punch you in the face every five seconds with politics and agendas at times in his run.

Think of the difference between the nuanced Green Death tackling climate change in the 70’s versus the hammer approach of the god awful Orphan 55.

[Matt Rat]

The official Doctor Who Magazine cover is out, Gatwa is featured, but the magazine breaks from tradition, it doesn't announce him as 'The Doctor' just yet, just asking who is he...

[Catlady in training]

I just mean RTD is going to focus on telling a good bit of escapism and not go into issues of race or whatnot in the kind of condescending historicals that blighted Whittiker's era and Capaldi's last series. The ratings show nobody cares for it.

Those are not mutually exclusive.

And do you mean the same RTD whose second episode included the line "Ladies, gentlemen and variations thereupon" in the near future, who introduced Jack Harkness (in a historical episode where he was hooking up with a gay soldier), whose run included episodes like Planet of the Ood, Human Nature/Family of Blood, who had Martha travel into Shakespearean England and who created the Torchwood team where 4 out of 5 members were bisexual?

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

The official Doctor Who Magazine cover is out, Gatwa is featured, but the magazine breaks from tradition, it doesn't announce him as 'The Doctor' just yet, just asking who is he...

It'll be funny if he's actually the Master.

[Digifiend]

One way the Gatwa Doctor could deal with race is to have his companions act as stand-ins. Similar to how Clara pretended to be the Doctor in "Flatline". It fits the Doctor's role as a trickster and supporting protagonist.

Yeah, there was an episode where someone thought Graham was the boss because he's a man.

The official Doctor Who Magazine cover is out, Gatwa is featured, but the magazine breaks from tradition, it doesn't announce him as 'The Doctor' just yet, just asking who is he...

That's because Jodie's Doctor hasn't regenerated yet. Jodie's first cover just said Time for a Lady. Capaldi was still the incumbent at the time.

[thwhtGuardian]

Classic Who regularly tackled social issues during it's run thru allegories. But honestly New Who has hasn't especially during the RTD era.

For a year Mickey was the Prime Suspect in the missing person case of a 19 year old pretty blonde white girl in 2005 England and it's shrugged off.

Wait, what?

One of the main complaints in the press during RTD's tenure was that he was too concerned with being progressive and was "jamming" it down the audience's throat every chance he got.