How can you tell Doctor Who is doing it right?

When they trot out this old warhorse.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/doctor-who-become-unsuitable-children-4304006

WHAT ABOUT TEH CHILDRANZ?!?!!?!!11!?


Look. Busy-body house-proud matrons have been fretting about how appropriate Doctor Who is for children since the program's inception. It's too violent. It's too scary. Blah blah blah. "Hiding behind the sofa" while viewing the show as a child is a common meme associated with Doctor Who. So is peeking out from behind the sofa.

But you know what? If it's too violent or scary or racy or hyper for YOUR kid...don't let 'em watch it. It's as simple as that. It's not Auntie Beeb's job to raise YOUR kids for you. It's YOUR job as a parent to police the media your kids consume and ensure it's appropriate for them and their particular psychological makeup.

When I was a little kid, my parents forbid me from watching Speedy Gonzalez cartoons. Not because they're vaguely racist caricatures of Mexican culture (which they are, but that's beside the point), but because if I watched those on Saturday mornings then I would wind up hyperactive and racing around like a lunatic for at least the early morning. So, no more Speedy Gonzalez cartoons. Bam. Problem solved. Yes, your kids will complain or whine about how Andy's parents let him watch Doctor Who, and you know what you do?

You shrug your shoulders and say "Well, you're not Andy, and I'm not Andy's dad. No Doctor Who for you. It's too scary and it'll give you nightmares. You can watch it when you're older." Because that's actual parenting.

I liked it a few years ago (probably series 1 to 3) when the BBC site had 'Fear Factor' ratings. Basically, they'd given an advance preview to a (very lucky) family of Who fans and the kids gave their views on what was scary or funny, etc. It was spoiler free and I think it could have proved useful for some parents, maybe they'd decide to watch a certain week's episode first, to see if they thought it was suitable.
It was also interesting, because I think it was there that they revealed that in the case of "The Empty Child", the grown-ups found the monster/child scarier than the kids did.

But yeah, it's always had scary moments, but it's fun scary, and you know The Doctor will always make things better. Plus I love the fact that generations have grown up being scared of it as kids, then introducing their kids, and sometimes even on to a third generation. All watching, all enjoying, all sharing the fun, the fear and the fandom. What's the betting that the "think of the children" brigade have never watched the show?

I think that the problem is that too many parents don't want to be parents any more and see the telly as their electronic baby sitter. Need to do something around the house, sit your kid in front of the boob tube and give them the remote. Then they complain when they watch something inappropriate. Then there's the ones who are too interested in being their child's "friend" and don't feel that it's right to restrict what they watch or feel that they should be able to watch what they watch because, after all, that's what friends do right? In the process they forget that while they're busy being their child's friend there's nobody there to be their parent.

I was pretty pissed when I sat my 5 year old down to watch 300 so I didn't have to watch him. Much too violent. I think I'll write a letter. They shouldn't make movies like that because they are inappropriate for children.

Being scared is part of being a kid. Why the hell are we sheltering children!?!?!?!

Some people may want to raise p***ies but I'm not one of 'em.

The Doctor would say, "No...no...no...NO! You're asking the wrong question. The question you should be asking is, 'Have children become unsuitable for Doctor Who?'".

letmebestormy said:

The Doctor would say, "No...no...no...NO! You're asking the wrong question. The question you should be asking is, 'Have children become unsuitable for Doctor Who?'".

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THERE ya go! :thumbsup

My son recently stayed at a friends house and the kids were playing that video game "5 nights at Freddies" which is basically about a night security guard that works at a creepy chuck E cheese where the animatronics come to life. It terrified him and he couldn't sleep. Know what I did? I made him watch it until it wasn't scary anymore.

That's one way to do it, sure.

Also, its an opportunity to get parenting RIGHT. If your child is scared, you tend to them- do a bit of a Clara (you know, the soldiers) and they give you their trust- and that always comes in handy later on...

The most effective means of parenting:

letmebestormy said:

The Doctor would say, "No...no...no...NO! You're asking the wrong question. The question you should be asking is, 'Have children become unsuitable for Doctor Who?'".

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To which I would say "No" because no one else could watch what has passed for Dr. Who since coming back other than children.

This is surprising to me, I haven't seen any Dr Who since Tom Baker was in the role, (I was very young at the time) but I never found it scary at all. Pretty curious to check out the new series, but I don't know if I can just jump right in or if I need to start with the beginning. (just where is the beginning in a time travel show? :lol )

Bigdaddy said:

This is surprising to me, I haven't seen any Dr Who since Tom Baker was in the role, (I was very young at the time) but I never found it scary at all. Pretty curious to check out the new series, but I don't know if I can just jump right in or if I need to start with the beginning. (just where is the beginning in a time travel show? :lol )

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You can either pick a Doctor (9, 10, 11, or 12) and simply start at the beginning of their run or just start with 9 and go from there as 9 is the start of the current generation of the show.

I'd start with 9 and go from there. Starting with 9 kind of assumes that you don't know anything about the show. I'd seen the odd airing of a Tom Baker episode on PBS as a kid, and had watched parts of The Key to Time season with him as an adult, but otherwise was unfamiliar with the show. After watching 9's run, I went back and started watching through every DVD available on Netflix, in order. It's a terrific show, but the older stuff is VERY different in terms of feel than the newer stuff. Even the newer stuff has changed over time, for that matter. Anyway, start with 9, go from there. That's my advice. You can go back and watch the old stuff, but only do that if you're comfortable watching old-school effects and much slower-paced stories. They're interesting stories, though.

Start with 9, and then if you want more go back and watch the old stuff. It can take some getting used to but if you're a fan it's definitely worth it.

Blame Canada, Blame Canada.

I think the tone of the show changed very much over time. Today´s Doctor Who and Torchwood are IMO not suitable for children under the age of 12. There are elements in the show that weren´t there or at least not that prominent in the old shows, i.e. violent deaths, gruesome transformations, sexual interactions and relationships. I can see a 6 or 8 year old being very irritated by a lot of what is going on. If you want your kids to watch Doctor Who, then I suggest watch it with them. I mean it´s always stupid to just put your kids in front of the TV, sitting there unsupervised and alone with all the things that are going on. My two and a half year old has one show that he loves, it´s "the little Mole". No, it´s not about what´s going on in Lemmy Kilmisters face, but about a little mole and his adventures. [video=vimeo;15593194]http://vimeo.com/15593194[/video] But even here I have to sit next to him to sometimes explain what is going on or simply be there for him if the episode is a little bit scary.
So, I guess it´s okay to watch some episodes of he Doctor with your kids, but I think it´s not overparenting to select which ones to show and which ones to better save for a later viewing

DaddyfromNaboo said:

I think the tone of the show changed very much over time. Today´s Doctor Who and Torchwood are IMO not suitable for children under the age of 12. There are elements in the show that weren´t there or at least not that prominent in the old shows, i.e. violent deaths, gruesome transformations, sexual interactions and relationships. I can see a 6 or 8 year old being very irritated by a lot of what is going on. If you want your kids to watch Doctor Who, then I suggest watch it with them. I mean it´s always stupid to just put your kids in front of the TV, sitting there unsupervised and alone with all the things that are going on. My two and a half year old has one show that he loves, it´s "the little Mole". No, it´s not about what´s going on in Lemmy Kilmisters face, but about a little mole and his adventures. http://vimeo.com/15593194 But even here I have to sit next to him to sometimes explain what is going on or simply be there for him if the episode is a little bit scary.
So, I guess it´s okay to watch some episodes of he Doctor with your kids, but I think it´s not overparenting to select which ones to show and which ones to better save for a later viewing

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I don't think it's overparenting at all for a parent to actually, y'know, parent. If a parent makes a personal decision that Doctor Who is too much for their kid in whatever way (too intense, too scary, too violent, too sexual, whatever), that's fine and dandy. It's the public handwringing that gets me, particularly since that's usually the harbinger of some letter-writing campaign to try to change the show or get it removed from the air or whathaveyou.

In terms of the new show, yeah, I think it's a bit more "adult" or "adult-friendly" than the old stuff, but even back then, there were concerns that the violence depicted was too much. Nobody ever seemed to complain about anything sexual, but I think that was because sex and romance basically just didn't exist. The closest I can recall is Jo deciding to marry a dude in her last episode. The new series really introduced the romance aspect, and particularly the notion that the Doctor's companions are often romantically drawn to him to some degree.

As for Torchwood, that's ABSOLUTELY NOT appropriate for kids, but I don't think it was ever suggested that it was. Torchwood always had a much darker, more adult tone than Doctor Who. Really, though, I think a lot of "kids" entertainment has changed in the past few decades to be far more targeted at both kids and adults. It's understood now that the audience for a kids program isn't just the kids. It's the adults who control the remote or who buy the movie tickets, so if you want them to be willing to take their kid to see it, you've gotta keep them entertained, too. As a result, I think most "kid"-oriented material now has a more adult undertone to it, or at least a more "universal appeal" to it.

Anyway, as for Doctor Who, I think it's kind of a myth that a 5 year old kid can watch it. It's never really been meant for really little kids like that. 8-10, maybe. Depends on the kid, I'd figure. Some kids can handle that, others can't. And yeah, it's scary. It's always been scary, but it's usually FUN scary for kids, rather than "OMGTERRIFYING" scary. And if your kid thinks it's the latter...well...don't let 'em watch it. Easy peasey.

Meh. My kids have both been watching it (with me) since they were about 3. I think we baby kids too much nowadays.

Hundreds of years ago a kid had seen people have sex, die, kill, be killed all before they were 5. Even much more recently than that kids stories are full of sex and violence. Religious? The Bible is full of sex and violence too. That stuff was drilled into me from when I was a wee lad.

They're kids, not babies. If you're with them to help provide context they'll be fine. Part of growing up is facing fears, not being sheltered from them.

Torchwood was an adult show though, I obviously draw the line there. However Doctor Who? Tame. I took my oldest to see Jurassic Park in the theatre when he was 6. It was instantly his favourite movie!

0neiros said:

Blame Canada, Blame Canada.

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All that hockey hullabaloo, and that bitch Anne Murray too! :lol

I'm glad it still has scary elements. Kids like being scared responsibly and responsible parents should be aware of their child's limits. Unfortunately children are far too sophisticated from a younger and younger age these days. The Autons completely freaked me out as a kid but I've had no long term issues with shop dummies or rubber troll dolls.
And as for "hiding behind the sofa" I bet 98% of sofas were against the wall in the sixties and seventies.