Recently I discussed Doctor Who episodes with a friend and realized that apart from a basic appreciation of the show at its best (“Blink”, “Silence in the Library”, “Last of the Timelords”), we have almost no opinions in common. Some episodes that I consider favorites she can’t stand at all, and the same is true for some of her favorites. But this disagreement seems to come from something more general than simply what episodes are quality. It comes from the basic question of what Doctor Who is about.
It’s a surprisingly complex subject. I haven’t seen the show prior to the 2005 reboot, but even in the five new seasons there is no end to the interpretations of the show’s concept. Doctor Who has one basic status quo that has run through every season so far, the Doctor is a Timelord who uses his TARDIS to visit different points in time and space. This basic plot summary is something that all fans can agree on, but from here on it gets more difficult.
Why does the Doctor do what he does? Is he a hero or an antihero? Is he a warrior or a pacifistic? Should each story stand alone or add to a greater plot? These questions are hard to answer, and with almost fifty years of history, the writers are hesitant to give any answer too strongly. And what’s more, the best writers over the years insist on putting their own unique spin on the character and the plot. In Russel T. Davies’ tenure as head writer, the Doctor began as a broken warrior and eventually became a brilliant pacifist (and yes, there was more than a little romance thrown in). Steven Moffat writes the Doctor as a mad scientist who hides his more violent characteristics under a thin mask of ridiculousness.
These different takes tend to become more or less pronounced from episode to episode and often each season has a theme. For example season 1 is about the Doctor coming to terms with his violent past, while season 3 is about his legacy as the last of the Timelords. This difference in basic concept is often an asset: Doctor Who has more creativity and emotion any other science fiction show on television. On the other hand, if this isn’t handled carefully it feels like the show is handled inconsistently.
Where the inconsistency occurs is open to debate. It really depends on which version of Doctor Who you consider the “right” version. For example, I tend to think of the Doctor as more of a warrior and adventurer than anything else, and hence the episodes that play up the doctor’s pacifist side really bother me. For each viewer it’s different.
So the question is this: on what merits can an episode of Doctor Who be judged? Again, to use myself as an example, I love best the episodes that handler their sci-fi stories tightly and consistently. Others judge Doctor Who mainly on the merits of its emotional weight. It’s literally impossible to say one side is right (and certainly the best episodes have some of both).
There are of course many aspects of the show that are much less opinion-based; acting ability, filming quality, and dialogue are all elements that are judged wholly apart from the point of the show itself (and interestingly many of Doctor Who’s most famous episodes excel on these points).
Other points that are much less easy to agree upon are the quality of stories, the consistency of characters, and the tone of the show as a whole. To some extent this is true of many shows, but it’s certainly more pronounced in the case of Doctor Who, and the arguments between fans are often heated as a consequence. To a large extent this frustrates me, I don’t consider my taste infallible, but I am constantly disappointed that others don’t consider Doctor Who at its best to be the same thing I do.
But perhaps this is looking at the whole issue wrong. Doctor who is polarizing by its very structure and certainly no one will ever agree on what it’s all about (I don’t really see the show ending anytime soon). Maybe every fan of Doctor Who has to pick out their favorite episodes and ignore (in my case, sometimes not even watch) the offending ones. It shouldn’t be a bone of contention, but more a mark of how varied and interesting a show Doctor Who really is.
Don’t get me wrong, some episodes aren’t good by any standards (I won’t name any names, except perhaps “Love and Monsters”), but in the long run arguing over which episodes of Doctor Who are fitting and good is pointless and won’t change any minds. And a few years from now Doctor Who is bound to have a new spin and a new concept. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
