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Doctor Who is easily one of the longest-running and most popular science fiction franchises of all time. The series debuted in 1963 on BBC One and has maintained a strong fan base over the decades, even when it wasn’t regularly producing new content. A resurgence in 2005 has brought it to the forefront of modern pop culture.
The problem with being on the air that long is that many aspects have become dated, even in the modernized version. Doctor Who has been trying to find ways to become more relevant, which has been mostly successful. But there are a few things that still need to change.
10 Remaining Apolitical Has Become Unacceptable
Over the decades and hundreds of episodes, the Doctor has been involved in almost innumerable missions. Many of them have led them to encounter a wide array of historical figures, including people involved in politics in different eras.
But the show itself has tried to remain apolitical. While it hasn’t always been successful in this regard, that doesn’t change the fact that even trying to stay that way has become tiresome. It seems to be offending people on the right and the left. At this point, taking a side would be better than nothing.
9 Still Fighting The Same Old Villains
As the Doctor has regenerated over the years and kept fighting, so have their most identifiable villains. That includes the likes of the Daleks, the Cybermen, and more. And all heroes need regular villains to face.
At the same time, this has gotten tiresome over the years, particularly in the case of the Master. The Doctor’s long-time foe keeps coming back in new forms, which was amusing at first. But a lot of fans have gotten bored of the same brain in a new body playing the same games.
8 Often Removes Blame For Systemic Flaws From Corporations
While the series has officially remained apolitical over the years, the same can also be said about its statements on corporations. Again, there is no official statement being made by the series but there has definitely been a pro-corporation vibe laid out there.
Corporate entities are not all good or bad, but there are often systemic flaws that can be quite pervasive and destructive. On more than one occasion in different eras, the show has seemed to side with negative corporations, putting the blame on individuals rather than a company’s inherent issues.
7 The Inherent Misogyny Of The Old Episodes
Digging back into old episodes of Doctor Who can be a lot of fun, particularly for long-time fans. Keeping in mind that there are still almost 100 episodes from the old days missing, there is a lot to mine from them.
Unfortunately, part of that is the misogyny built into the series. There were female characters but they weren’t always treated particularly well nor were they fully developed. It’s definitely a hallmark of the overall era of making TV but it stands out brutally by today’s standards.
6 And The Old Episodes Were Pretty Racist, Too
Making TV back in the day was a very different ballgame, particularly for science fiction. What was and wasn’t considered offensive back then are completely different to what crosses the same lines today. Doctor Who definitely fell into that trap.
The early episodes were not overtly racist most of the time but there were subtle racial overtones that cannot be ignored. This wasn’t the only series from that era that had such issues by far and it has moved past them. Well, to an extent.
5 Issues With Race And Gender Persist Today
The modern incarnation of Doctor Who has stylized itself as trying to be more aware of such problems. It certainly has been successful. But this is also a situation where two steps forward have included one step back.
Problematic depictions of race and gender continue in the series. This is particularly obvious in how it handles some secondary characters. A nasty example popped up when the current Doctor straight-up weaponized the current Master’s race against him.
4 Current Episodes Have Left LGBTQ+ Representation Behind
There are a few old-school fans who have stopped watching the series because they erroneously claim it has become too “woke.” Ironically, there are also people out there who say that the more recent episodes have tipped too far the other way and have actually become more offensive.
The modern incarnation originally started off with positive and prominent LGBTQ+ representation. That has faded away in the more recent seasons as LGBTQ+ characters are often minor and killed off quickly. Once again, it’s a big step backward after a few steps forward.
3 Constantly Changing The Backstory
The history of the Doctor is long, convoluted, and filled with holes. That’s mainly because the Doctor has only told their companions and the viewers as much as they’ve needed to know. At the same time, the Doctor is also a notorious liar so how much of it is true is up for debate.
But to justify changes in the current story, like adding more regenerations, has required changes to the backstory. It happens so much at this point that it’s just become an accepted part of the storytelling structure. That on its own is absurd.
2 Virtually Everyone Speaks With A British Accent
Yes, this is a series that was created in Britain for the BBC that has consistently been made by British people for the most part. As such, the vast majority of the actors who star in the show are British and speak with the appropriate accents.
But this has only gotten weirder and weirder over the years. It’s amazing how many alien civilizations in the show speak with British accents. There are several species that sound more “alien-like” but there are still too many British aliens to be believable.
1 Fridging Has Always Been A Big Problem
Simply put, the concept of fridging is when a female character exists to be injured, harmed, or killed as motivation for a male character. It’s something that comes up a lot throughout science fiction in general, even in the modern era of storytelling.
Doctor Who has not been above this in the least. Female characters are consistently treated as plot devices and are often victimized to provide motivation for the Doctor. Even the companions are not immune to this. This has not changed substantially in the modern era even with a female iteration of the Doctor.
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