Has anyone else fallen out of love with Doctor Who?

[Richard Baker]

I really liked Capaldi but there were only a couple of shows that really worked well for me- he seemed to be a designated taxi driver for Clara to have adventures with. She was the first companion I remember who had a primary life she did not give up to travel- she kept her job and social life and just went out for fun. Others did keep a home connection but when they chose to leave with the Doctor they left. Danny Pink was a horrible addition to e show and ruined every scene he appeared in.
Jodi does a pretty good Doctor- reminds me a lot of David Tennant in style and delivery. I have four issues with her shows though.

1- Far too many companions. The show runners tried to broaden the cast with new demographics for viewers to identify with- that is the reason they gave in an interview. The trouble is trying to find something for all of them to do in an episode. If Yasmin is supposed to be a member of the police, even a rookie, she brings none of that to the table- it just seems to be a random back story pulled from a hat. Ryan does more harm that good- he even decided on his own, to send another time traveler, who is a known meddler, back into the past where he could cause more problems to the time line. Graham seems to be the only one that is contributing in a meaningful way instead of causing needles complications. Dump the other two, keep him and move on.

2- Lackluster stories which seem to be based on virtue signalling- the monsters in this past season were mostly humans acting badly as an example for us. I would like some traditional Dr Who stories and stop being lectured at.

3- Worst TARDIS interior ever. They went from a grand showcase of alien technology, with sweeping stairs and nooks and crannies filled with books and tech, to salt lamp fingers inside a soccer ball. If this was an alien ship for a single episode it could pass, but this is the first TARDIS I do not want to even visit. I saw a number of proposed designs before the big reveal- all of them were better that this one.

4- Cut back on the magnificent production values with location shooting and give us more stories with the money you saved. The classic series managed to produce some very good work on a shoestring budget because they focused on telling us a good story. This newest incarnation seems to be obsessed on being as visually overwhelming and the stories are just an excuse for the next feast for the eyes. I do not mean they have to go back to cardboard sets and paper mache creatures, but strike a balance. Not every episode has to try and outdo the Avengers or Game of Thrones, but use the SFX to add spice, not be the main course.

I still watch the show (my daughter loves it), but I find myself having to push through an episode instead of enjoying it. The first season with a new Doctor is always a bit rough, but this new show has a lot of issues in concept which are fundamental.

 

[GeneralFROSTY]

There was a period of time in my life, to which I have fond memories of, where Doctor Who was everything to me.
This was the Smith era.
I rewatched every episode over and over, put together cosplay items and attended conversations, meeting new friends to share the experience with.
Through Doctor Who cosplay, I went on museum and city walk adventures with people from all walks of life and was opened up to experiences that I would not have had without it.
Fast forward to now. My Doctor Who days seem like a dusty book of old photos, a life left behind in the past.
At some point, all the love and attention faded away.
Maybe it was the writing and direction. Maybe a new Doctor. It could of been the overflow of merchandise that I would of wanted more had it hit US shelves a year earlier.
Whatever the reasons are, I fell out of love with the show as it stands now. I suspect the next time I watch an episode, itll be one from the past.
I sometimes miss my Doctor who days. Maybe more the comradeship of sharing the fandom with unique people I would not of met otherwise.
New Who, to me, is so far removed from what it should be, much like Star Trek Discovery, that I cannot watch and enjoy it.

 

[NormanF]

Honestly, I never fell in love with the show when it returned with Eccleston. I generally enjoy it, but I just can't figure out why I don't like it as much as the "original" shows. And I was really annoyed, if not angry, when they changed the Cybermen origin.

 

[AJK001]

The thing about making changes to the Cyberman origins is that almost every showrunner since the beginnging of Doctor Who has changed things when they took over to suit their vision of the show. I didn't watch from the beginning but caught the show during the 1980's on PBS with Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker and loved the show. I just went back and watch all of classic Who, at least those episodes that have not been lost, and cringed at some of the early ones, singing cowboys anyone, and a lot of the McCoy ones before the show went off the air and a lot of that had to to with the showrunner just like what has happened with new Who.

 

[patrickivan]

I don't know. I really enjoyed tenant and Smith for the most part. But I started getting fed up with the god complex like speeches, and self complimenting about how great "I am" at everything. It just seemed it kept getting too big and less character story driven. I love dialogue and when it's just nonsense, RUN, and oh I'm so good, it wears on me.

I made it up to the first half of the newest Doctor, and haven't seen anything since. Sadly, I haven't missed it. It truly does make me sad.

 

[NakedMoleRat]

I don't know. I really enjoyed tenant and Smith for the most part. But I started getting fed up with the god complex like speeches, and self complimenting about how great "I am" at everything. It just seemed it kept getting too big and less character story driven. I love dialogue and when it's just nonsense, RUN, and oh I'm so good, it wears on me.

I made it up to the first half of the newest Doctor, and haven't seen anything since. Sadly, I haven't missed it. It truly does make me sad.

Exactly. I watched the first series with JW, but I only really liked Graham. I kept asking myself why I am still watching it. And the fact that the BBC keeps taking it off the air for a full 18 months between seasons now makes me not just lose interest in it, but forget it even exists.

 

[Richard Baker]

I agree- these extremely long hiatuses between seasons does make it hard to keep this series in mind- if it were not for the merchandising there would be very little to remind me it is still around.
The merchandising has dropped significantly at one major retailer - Books-A-Million. They always have had a large table full of Dr. Who books, replicas, gadgets and gifts, now you have to look hard to find anything about Dr. Who in the store,
That is not a good sign...

 

[Cephus]

Exactly. I watched the first series with JW, but I only really liked Graham. I kept asking myself why I am still watching it. And the fact that the BBC keeps taking it off the air for a full 18 months between seasons now makes me not just lose interest in it, but forget it even exists.

That was exactly it. The only character I remotely liked was Graham, the rest were bland and shoehorned in and the writing was so terrible, I had no interest in watching any more. I might give a new season one or two episodes to show that this is not going to continue, but I have no hope whatsoever that it won't be the same old tired BBC garbage that we're seeing in all of their shows these days.

 

[p51]

I got sick of never knowing when it was going to air. I lost track of half of a season, collectively, at some point, never knowing when new episodes were coming on.
The PC slant made it difficult to handle. After a lifetime of being a fan, I'm not a fan of anything after the Peter Davidson era.

 

[Egon Spengler]

Yep. Died for me around the end of the Amy Pond era, kind of renewed my interest a little with Capaldi, but then it was just the same old "Super special companion" rehash over and over making it more about the companion than the Doctor.

 

[AJK001]

I'm just waiting for one of the new companions to fall in love with the Doctor since that seems to be what has been happening since 2005 and in the PC era it won't matter if it is one of the guys or one of the girls. If I remember correctly, and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, the only companions not to fall in love with the Doctor were Donna Nobel and Bill Potts. I forgot about Rory, he was in love with Amy so unless they went in for threesomes didn't go for the Doctor too.

 

[Cephus]

I always hated that. The Doctor is an alien. For the Doctor, or a companion, to be attracted to each other, it's like wanting to screw your dog.

 

[Richard Baker]

The Doctor may look upon humans in the same sort of way we look upon dogs- he/she is an evolved life form from a very advanced civilization eons old. He cares for the human race and protects it, but the Doctor cannot relate to it the same way we relate to each other.

 

[phez]

Just to be fair I went back and rewatched the series this week. Unfortunently where I used to look forward to the next episode every week and then the next season, it was all I could do to force myself to want to continue watching the whole season.

The stories in themselves would be alright if they were not DrWho but just dont feel anything like who. The dynamic between the characters feels nothing like DrWho.

jodie whittaker has the Doctors qurickyness down but the way she interacts with the companions compleatly wrecks it.

The season finaly was a compleat disappointment. I really hope they can do better.

 

[Richard Baker]

Jodi is channeling David Tennant fairly well but she does not have that wonderful dark edge. He could shift into full wrath mode when the situation called for it as in 'The Family of Blood'.

I think one complication with that special connection with the companion is that instead of one she is dealing with the Morman Tabernacle Choir. Instead of bonding with the companion through adventure it is like she is driving a tour bus.

I still think far too much emphasis is placed on location shooting and 'Games of Thrones' level production values and the stories seem to exist mostly as a vehicle to preach at us. I have not given up entirely, but the show runners are clearly in a different type of head-space than what the series has traditionally called for...

 

[drcraig13]

IMO they get incredibly talented actors to play the Doctor and then give them **** to work with.

 

[NakedMoleRat]

What I thought was completely hypocritical was the spider episode. She chewed the guy out for shooting down the spider and killing it, saying it had every right to live as any other creature. Then she traps all of the other ones into a vault where they can slowly suffocate!

 

[Slate McLeod]

I have to agree with the majority of comments folks - gone are the Pertwee/Baker days sadly.

 

[Cephus]

I have to agree with the majority of comments folks - gone are the Pertwee/Baker days sadly.

And those are the only days I gave a damn about.

 

[NakedMoleRat]

I am beginning to feel about Doctor Who the way I did in the classic series. Tom Baker was the last of the awesome doctors. Davison was good but his stories began to suffer. By the time McCoy came around, the stories had gotten so silly and dumb that it was no longer fun to watch. I think that is what we’re dealing with now.