My first exposure to the global phenomenon that is Doctor Who was back in 2005. I had heard it mentioned in passing before, but the show's revival was the first time I ever watched an episode. I followed it on and off during the first two series, and saw hardly any of the third. In 2008, I watched The Fires of Pompeii, the second episode of the fourth series, and have stuck with it ever since.
There are enough articles about Doctor Who to warrant a planet-sized database, so what can mine bring to the table? Well, I can start with my impression of why it is such a cultural sensation. Much of its success can be traced back to infinite possibilities of travelling in the TARDIS. By having a time machine that can travel to any point in history and anywhere in the universe, the amount of stories that writers can tell is endless. As the main protagonist, the character of the Doctor is a source of endless fascination due to his alien quirkiness and sense of ethereal mystery. This combination served the show tremendously in its original run, and continues to work just as well today.
Of course, there are many facets to the success of Doctor Who, including the imaginative storylines, memorable monsters, and the ever-expanding list of great companions. To try and explain how each of them contributes to the show would span several blog posts. So, to shorten the subject somewhat, allow me to lay out my own thoughts on the series' current state and its future.
Currently Doctor Who is a stronger position that it ever has been, in no small part due to the efforts of executive producers Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat. However, both of these writers have sparked debate and in some cases controversy. Davies has been critics for the lack of visits to alien planets, constant use of deux-ex-machina endings, the embellishment of the Doctor as a saviour-figure, and persistent sentimentality. Moffat on the other hand has been charged with misogyny, homophobia and an over-reliance on complex story arcs that span several series. In general, most of the hatred from ardent fans seems to be directed at Moffat as of late, but why?
I have sometimes been involved in discussions about Doctor Who with various individuals. Most of them seem to dislike the way the show has gone after Moffat took control and Matt Smith became the Doctor. Re-watching some of Smith's episodes, I can see why to a certain extent. His first series was consistently good, apart from a finale that was too complex for its own good. In following series, flaws such as lack of development for supporting characters and the show trying too hard to be clever became more prominent, especially in the latter half of the seventh series.
One problem I've always had with the newer series is that the villains are often lacking in personality, or that there is sometimes no villain at all. Episodes such as The Big Bang, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe are testament to this. Even The Day of the Doctor, the fiftieth anniversary special, had this problem to a certain extent. The villains of Moffat's run, including the Silence, Madame Kovarian, the Great Intelligence and most recently Missy, are all good attempts at memorable villainy but are squandered by a lack of characterisation.
That last mention of Missy leads me nicely to the current series with Peter Capaldi as the Doctor. Some of my colleagues have been full of praise for the darker tone, the focus on character development and the variety of new monsters on display. Others have been quite insistent in their criticisms, specifically of the continued time travel complexity, the overuse of the phrase "most dangerous (inset noun here) in the universe" and the kid-friendly resolutions to most of the episodes. I agree with all of these points, good and bad, but any suggestion that Doctor Who is on its way out is a highly miscalculated one.
To test the quality of Doctor Who as it stands, we need to weight until the end of the eighth series so that we can judge it as a whole. With this in mind, I intend to start a Doctor Who tend (if that's what people call it), in which I analyse the newest episodes for the reader's cynical enjoyment. Until then, all I can look forward to are presentations, poetry, and continued university deadlines.
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