Poll: So... Anyone else think that the Doctor is just taking the proverbial now?

[the jellyman]

Doctor Who. You can't really hate it, but I am just wondering whether anyone else thinks that they've started taking the piss.
Seriously, I've stopped watching it but the last few times I've switched onto it I've seen:
1. A flying shark, a cliched 'christmas carol' plot, paper-thin characters and genuine creepiness from the Doctor himself (want to persuade someone? manipulate their childhood!)
2. Ridiculously bad prosthetic vulture aliens with two minor characters strapped to things which make a key from their memories. Said machine is subsequently destroyed by playing archived BBC Doctor who clips.
3. Old people with weird worm eye things in their mouths that would be creepy if they didn't look like things from Big Trouble in Little China, and which kill people with an aerosol green spray that looks awful and about as lethal as a light shower of sewage.
4. Any excuse to reuse classic aliens (the Daleks suffered most, but most of the rest of the Doctor's enemies have been shamelessly HD-recycled)
5. Episodes with original and interesting ideas being spread fewer and further between (Space ship falling into the sun, Silent library, angel statues) (Yes, I'm out of date)
Every episode being solved with a magic 'million-to-one-chance-anti-alien-device/event that nobody thought of until the Doctor did'.

Whew. It's good to vent, even about something that's not really part of your life. Maybe I'm missing something, but I just get the impression it's getting a bit tacky now.
SIDE NOTE: I'm English, so what. Can our budget let us set episodes somewhere other than England now? Doctor Who in Thailand. Get some mature content! Or maybe not.

 

[Blemontea]

I just entered the second season, soooooooooooooo im a bit a ways away from this stuff and now im curious to see whats going to happen.

Ps i miss Chris Eccelston as the Doctor

Edit: oh yeah and so the Mods dont yell at you, this should be in Off-Topic discussion

 

[JoJo]

Well it is a kid's show so you can't exactly put more mature content in it... what you've described otherwise is pretty much true, except from what I remember it's always been like this, at-least since it came back in 2005, it's what the show is about.

And what's wrong with the odd flying shark?

 

[GiantRaven]

Doctor Who was always silly. Sometimes silly is a good thing. Doctor Who is one of those times.

 

[Akihiko]

If you want more mature content, watch Torchwood, great spin off series. Shame the new series of that probably won't be the same, due to what happened in series 2. I won't say what as it's spoilers. Do give it a watch, though.

I've yet to watch the first episode of the new series, partly because I still haven't watched last series' finale. Admittedly I've gone off it a bit with the new doctor. Really not a fan. Miss David Tennant and Catherine Tate from the previous series. I had reservations about Tate being the assistant at first, considering what shows she's usually in, but she wound up playing the part surprisingly well. Smith and Gillan don't really stand up...

I really need to watch the old Doctor who episodes again, mind. Maybe one day in the summer I'll get all the old VHS' I own out and watch them through.

 

[IndianaJonny]

Every episode being solved with a magic 'million-to-one-chance-anti-alien-device/event that nobody thought of until the Doctor did'.

This point x10,000! Given 1 hour episodes we're told for 45 minutes straight how much of a problem this has been for a millenia only for the Doctor to hit upon the answer in the last 10 minutes or so!

And why do our Doctors have to be so bloody young! They used to have white hair, for crying out loud! I want Bill Nighy [//www.imdb.com/name/nm0631490/] as the next Doctor, a grumpy, bitter, sarcastic man who cannot be arsed with all these young people and their running around.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

You arguments lost kind of their strenght when you admited that you are out of date.

And no. The Beast Down Below was great, The Van Gogh Episode made me cry, The Elevent Hour was sweet. I don't like River Song but the final was still decent last season. There always have been weaker episodes, the last season wasn't different to that, but the doctor still hasn't jump the shark.

So, if you want to make a valid point, don't base your arguments on outdated information.

But the opener for season six was kind of ... no definitly silly though. Give you that.

Even then I can forgive it that just for some of the lines in that Episode...
"You know, you were only my second choice for this operation"
"That's fine sir, you were only mys second choice of President"
BOOM! Sit the f*** down!

Also... "I need a phone, a map, a compass, a cup of tea, 6 jammy dodgers and a fez" may just be the most awesome thing ever said by anyone... ever... of all time.

 

[Tanis]

It's Doctor Who...

The series has ALWAYS been like this, it's cheese and that's alright by me!

 

[Craorach]

Doctor Who has always been like this, enjoy it for what it is. The real problem is that we are so used to amazing special affects and movie like writing in TV shows that the idea of something cheap and a little silly/bizarre is strange to us. When the Doctor started and ended originally it was all amazing and new.

 

[Ultrajoe]

You're new to the Doctor, aren't you?

He's always been like this. He's always been fun.

 

[Canid117]

GETTING silly? Dr Who has been silly since the second season in the early sixties.

 

[dreddfan]

2. Ridiculously bad prosthetic vulture aliens with two minor characters strapped to things which make a key from their memories. Said machine is subsequently destroyed by playing archived BBC Doctor who clips.

Which wasn't Doctor Who. That was from The Sarah Jane Adventures which WAS made for kids.

 

[KeyMaster45]

Well it is a kid's show so you can't exactly put more mature content in it...

I don't know where you get your info but Doctor Who is not a kids show.(the revived series anyway, don't know about the original) Yes it's a great show for the family to sit down and watch but that doesn't put it in the category of kid's show. Now that spin off series The Sarah Jane Adventures; that's a kid's show and subsequently the one that spat out those awful vulture aliens. (they're the undertakers of the universe and Vultures. HA HA HA get it! It's funny /sarcasm)

Also I don't know many if any kid's shows that air during a network's prime-time.(outside of the all kid's show networks)

 

[Randomanom]

If the weeping angles were real i would be terrified 24/7

 

[scnj]

4. Any excuse to reuse classic aliens (the Daleks suffered most, but most of the rest of the Doctor's enemies have been shamelessly HD-recycled)

Yeah, I hated when they reused the Axons, Canisians (and General Tannis), Daemons, Ice Warriors, Jagaroth, Omega, the Rani etc.

Yes, they've used Daleks, Cybermen, the Master, Sontarans, and Silurians, but they've also invented many new villains like the Weeping Angels, Lady Cassandra, Jagrafess, Sycorax, Cat People, Krillitanes etc etc.

 

[kortin]

Which doctor who are we talking about? The original? or the newer one? I like the newer one (never saw the original), but the camera work is just driving me insane. It looks like they're using your average video recorder!

 

[Netrigan]

4. Any excuse to reuse classic aliens (the Daleks suffered most, but most of the rest of the Doctor's enemies have been shamelessly HD-recycled)

Yeah, I hated when they reused the Axons, Canisians (and General Tannis), Daemons, Ice Warriors, Jagaroth, Omega, the Rani etc.

Yes, they've used Daleks, Cybermen, the Master, Sontarans, and Silurians, but they've also invented many new villains like the Weeping Angels, Lady Cassandra, Jagrafess, Sycorax, Cat People, Krillitanes etc etc.

So far, they've only brought back the enemies which have shown up in multiple adventures. Mind you, there's a pretty steep drop-off after the Daleks, Cybermen, and the Master; but the Sontarans and Silurians have shown up a few times before and are popular villains in the novels and audios.

Personally, I think the new series has done a pretty good job of not letting their inner fanboy get away from them, despite the number of huge fanboys behind the scenes. They do a good job of letting references fly without alienating newer viewers who are completely ignorant of the show's rich history. I never feel like I'm in the middle of some fanboy history lesson the way I often feel when dealing with Star Trek, super-hero comics, or Doctor Who novels/audios.

Otherwise, I think the show does a good job of keeping it light and silly without sacrificing the drama.