Why Doctor Who is Dying

[Modal Seoul]

Doctor Who has always been a favorite of mine. I watched the series in order, watching the classic, then the modern. My favorite Doctor, by far, is Patrick Troughton. But through the modern series, it lost a charm that the classic series had. Exploration. Every season in the modern Doctor Who has had some sort of story arc, kind of shutting out the actual purpose of Doctor Who, which was to show the universe to an eager new companion. Yes, there have been small story arcs in the classic series, but there have been only two seasons where it revolves around one arc, that being The Key to Time and The Trial of a Time Lord. Learning new things and exploring new planets is what it's supposed to be about.

Don't get me wrong. The story arcs in the modern series have been amazing, but less about building character and learning. That's one reason why.

The other reason is the Doctor himself. (Or because of recent events, herself.) He has had many faces, but there's always something unique about him. It's awesome. Like Colin Baker. His time as the Doctor was short, and sadly, is considered the worst Doctor by some. I personally love his forwardness and brash attitude. There has never been a Doctor that I didn't like. But the flame is dying for two reasons. One is Jodie Whittaker, the Thirteenth Doctor. I don't mind BBC casting her, but her casting has lost support from a lot of the fanbase. My friend has vowed never to watch Doctor Who again, which is sad. To me, thirteen is the number where things start to wear out. I will still watch it, but I don't know what will happen. If we reach the Sixteenth Doctor, I may quit too. It's sad. Christopher Eccleston was brief, but great. David Tennant and Matt Smith were amazing. Peter Capaldi was the beginning. His first season took some getting used to. But by the time, his next seasons rolled around, he was awesome. Now with Jodie Whittaker, I will cross my fingers. If they pull this off, Doctor Who will live on for a while. If they don't, I will pray for their souls.  

[Toaster Retribution]

I have never seen an episode of Doctor Who in my life (is that a mortal sin by the way?) but I know how diehard the community is, so I have a hard time seeing it die anytime soon.

[Orlion Blight]

1 hour ago, Toaster Retribution said:

I have never seen an episode of Doctor Who in my life (is that a mortal sin by the way?) 

Nah. There's a good chance you can go through your entire life without having to know anything about Doctor Who besides maybe the basics, and that's only if it comes up AND the Whovian being willing to let others contribute to the conversation. 

Both happening at the same time is highly unlikely

@Captains Domon I stopped watching New Who in part for what you mentioned. It lost that fun sense of adventure that Classic Who had so it could have that "epic" story telling that's en vouge right now along with some derivative melodrama mistaken for an "emotional connection with characters."

I might give the new ones a shot. Everything, from the showrunners to the Doctor are so different, they might be able to get rid of their worst indulgences. 

[Kaymyth]

I, too, have eagerly watched the Doctor's adventures in all of his incarnations. I grew up on classic Who back in the 80s and loved every cheesy bit of it. And I'm going to disagree with a huge chunk of the OP.

It's important to remember that the show's format has changed drastically between Classic Who and New Who. Back in the classic days, the show was serialized - stories ran anywhere from 2 to 6 (or even more) episodes long. People in the UK were, in fact, following longer plot arcs over more episodes. Those of us in the States had them broadcast on public television as omnibus single-episode stories, but they really weren't designed that way. The new format with longer and fewer episodes is vastly different, and the treatment of story arcs does not translate well in either direction. It's not just a matter of "those durned kids and their newfangled long plot arcs" so much as the entire format of British television having changed.

And I'm going to say that New Who is better. Better production values, better written, better acted, better plotted, and just generally more enjoyable. Character development back in the old days was minimal and shallow. Sometimes the writers could barely manage to shoehorn in a halfway valid reason for a companion leaving. (Seriously, Leela's random, "Oh, hey, this Gallifreyan dude that I have exchanged maybe five words with over the course of the entire story is now my twoo wuv! Laters, Doc!" was rather absurd.) They literally made Nyssa sick in one episode because the TARDIS was so stuffed full of companions that they couldn't figure out what to do with all of them. And the focus was always on the Doctor - companions existed mostly for him to explain things to them. Every once in a while you got a gem like Zoe or Romana who could hold their own intellectually, but those were the exceptions rather than the rule.

Now is different. Now, the companions are vital and interesting. They affect the outcome of the episodes instead of being swept up in the effects of what the Doctor is doing.

As for Jodie Whitaker, I have zero patience with anyone who complains about the Doctor regenerating into a woman. Seriously. This has been teased as a possibility since the 80s, when Tom Baker suggested the idea. Tom Baker, the man who is THE Doctor of Doctors. If Doctor Who dies, it won't be because the show went wrong. It will be because too many of the fans proved they weren't worthy of it.

[AngelEy3]

Jodie Whitaker is gonna be awesome. I've seen her in a few different things now and she's been really good in all of them.

[StormyQueen]

From what I have heard from a lot of people, is that, the show just isn't as fun anymore, and I would agree. I haven't seen much classic who, but with the new Who, the first 2 and a half doctors and their adventures were (mostly) fun adventures where they went exploring in some alien and unique place. There were dark episodes and sad moments, but the majority of the show was fun, and I can't help but feel that we've lost some of that in the more recent seasons where there have been so many more dark themes.

But Jodie Whitaker is going to be fantastic.

Edited September 1, 2017 by StormyQueen

[ParadoxicalZen]

The only reason it'll die is due to bad show running and/or scriptwriting. For me that was Capaldi's downfall; he was a good Doctor, but there's only so far acting chops can take if you lack the proper support from the higher ups

[soyperson]

@Kaymyth hit the nail directly on the head. Also, Jodie Whittaker is one of the more capable actors of her generation. Have y'all seen Broadchurch? It's amazing. David Tennant and Jodie co-star as a lead investigator with a history and the mother of a young victim, respectively. It's on Netflix, so check it out.