Doctor Who - Series 10 (Spoilers)

[Hawkmumbler]

55 years of production and only, what, 3 or 4 openly LGBT+ characters? Asking for more isn't filling a quota with those numbers.

[JamesC]

55 years of production and only, what, 3 or 4 openly LGBT+ characters? Asking for more isn't filling a quota with those numbers.

But times change and I think it's fair to assume that the show will continue on its current trajectory of increased diversity quite naturally.

[pauljholden]

Speaking as a comic creator who tends, whenever it's possible to diversify up my cast (I have limited powers in this regard being often just the artist) I can explain my thinking:

I have an agenda. That agenda though isn't "Let's make readers gay! bisexual! transgender! black! white!" it's this:

my kids grew up in a more diverse environment than me - they have more POC friends that I've ever known in my life, they have openly gay relatives (one of whom is due to get married soon) where if there were members of my family that were gay when I grew up, they were probably petrified to reveal themselves.

If I don't make an effort to include different people from different backgrounds then my cast will be ENTIRELY made up with the sort of easy to reach faces that I usually draw - ie, white blokes with broken noses.

While the vast majority of comic creators are white middle aged men, there will be a need to reach beyond their own experience growing up in order to create a cast more representative of the real world as it exists now.

When I see a show without a diverse cast I think "this must look really odd to my kids" (and, being a human with a certain amount of empathy "this must be really despairing to not see anything on tv that represents you just because of your sexuality/race/gender")

To sum up: my agenda. Make something that won't look like a weird bit of fossilised culture and that can feel inclusive and positive for as many people as possible, because the one thing we should all share is empathy.

[Will Cooling]

Honestly, as a flaming Bi AF dude it really isn't a political matter, its no more so than heterosexual relations. What it is is something that transendes politics and media and culture as just pure love between folk. Politics as far as the movement is concerned is more constructed notions like marriage, addoption and the right NOT to be fucking harrased in the street daily. THAT is political.

So yes, back to it. Bill was great theoughout, more gay characters please.

Your second and third sentences contradict the first. It would be nice if LGBT relations weren't political but historic oppression and enduring discrimination means they are. Matthew Yglesias of Vox had a nice line when he said that for the liberal left to pretend that it wasn't waging a (successful) culture war against social conservatism is gaslighting those that disagree with it. 

[Will Cooling]

Speaking as a comic creator who tends, whenever it's possible to diversify up my cast (I have limited powers in this regard being often just the artist) I can explain my thinking:

I have an agenda. That agenda though isn't "Let's make readers gay! bisexual! transgender! black! white!" it's this:

my kids grew up in a more diverse environment than me - they have more POC friends that I've ever known in my life, they have openly gay relatives (one of whom is due to get married soon) where if there were members of my family that were gay when I grew up, they were probably petrified to reveal themselves.

If I don't make an effort to include different people from different backgrounds then my cast will be ENTIRELY made up with the sort of easy to reach faces that I usually draw - ie, white blokes with broken noses.

While the vast majority of comic creators are white middle aged men, there will be a need to reach beyond their own experience growing up in order to create a cast more representative of the real world as it exists now.

When I see a show without a diverse cast I think "this must look really odd to my kids" (and, being a human with a certain amount of empathy "this must be really despairing to not see anything on tv that represents you just because of your sexuality/race/gender")

To sum up: my agenda. Make something that won't look like a weird bit of fossilised culture and that can feel inclusive and positive for as many people as possible, because the one thing we should all share is empathy.

This is a great point, brilliantly made.

And the thing is, the kids really do care.

I remember loads of crappy shows that I clung to as a kid because it featured LGB characters who I could reflect with. I see my Black stepson gravitate to shows that feature Black characters because they look like him.

It's easy to adopt a "great characters are greater characters" if you don't belong to a minority and don't have to deal with invisibility.

[Hawkmumbler]

Honestly, as a flaming Bi AF dude it really isn't a political matter, its no more so than heterosexual relations. What it is is something that transendes politics and media and culture as just pure love between folk. Politics as far as the movement is concerned is more constructed notions like marriage, addoption and the right NOT to be fucking harrased in the street daily. THAT is political.

So yes, back to it. Bill was great theoughout, more gay characters please.

Your second and third sentences contradict the first. It would be nice if LGBT relations weren't political but historic oppression and enduring discrimination means they are. Matthew Yglesias of Vox had a nice line when he said that for the liberal left to pretend that it wasn't waging a (successful) culture war against social conservatism is gaslighting those that disagree with it.

Being LGBTQ+, not political.

Combatting systemic LGBTQ+ oppression, political.

[IndigoPrime]

A literal quota is probably not the way to go, but then blokes tend to write/draw/cast an awful lot of blokes. We see this a lot in film, where men vastly outnumber women across all roles and even in things like crowd scenes. And we see the same in comics. (Count how many female judges there are in an average Dredd that has a number of judges depicted.) And that's gender alone before you get into the thorny issues of race and sexuality.

As for Doctor Who: a very good season, I thought, bar a couple of wobbles. The finale, as ever, felt rushed and could have done with more room and better script editing. A pity if that's Missy's end. And boo hiss if that's the last of my favourite companion from the new run (something I never thought I'd have said after watching the first trailers.)

[Michael Knight]

Problem I have with New Who is that most of the time since Tennant left it seems to be a load of convoluted rubbish.
I find it boring a lot of the time. I never imagined writing these words about Dr Who, being such a mega fan of the 'classic' series and the Ecclestone and Tennant eras. I also absolutely loved Torchwood.
I just really feel Capaldi could have been one of the best Doctors if he had been given better stories.
Who has become like a Soap to me. Fed up of these companions he has since Amy and Rory were introduced. Give me Rose or Martha any day.
That being said i dont mind Bill myself or Lucas character

[Jimmy Baker's Assistant]

Problem I have with New Who is that most of the time since Tennant left it seems to be a load of convoluted rubbish.
I find it boring a lot of the time. I never imagined writing these words about Dr Who, being such a mega fan of the 'classic' series and the Ecclestone and Tennant eras. I also absolutely loved Torchwood.
I just really feel Capaldi could have been one of the best Doctors if he had been given better stories.
Who has become like a Soap to me. Fed up of these companions he has since Amy and Rory were introduced. Give me Rose or Martha any day.
That being said i dont mind Bill myself or Lucas character

What you're basically saying is that you liked RTD's reign and you didn't like Moffat's. The good news is that you have one more episode to get through and then the Torchwood showrunner takes over.

Personally, I thought Moffat has been a very mild improvement over his predecessor, but a massive disappointment after the classic scripts he contributed whilst RTD was in charge. I didn't much like Torchwood, but am willing to giver Chibnall the benefit of the doubt, for now. Especially if he casts [spoiler]Paterson Joseph[/spoiler] as the Doctor.

[Richard]

The previous couple of seasons were disappointing and Capaldi was wasted on some terrible episodes, but this year's run has been brilliant. It's been the first time I've thought about buying the DVD of a series since early Tennant. I'm glad, because Capaldi deserves to be remembered fondly, and now it looks as though he will be.

[Taryn Tailz]

The previous couple of seasons were disappointing and Capaldi was wasted on some terrible episodes, but this year's run has been brilliant. It's been the first time I've thought about buying the DVD of a series since early Tennant. I'm glad, because Capaldi deserves to be remembered fondly, and now it looks as though he will be.

I actually think this series has been the best since the shows return in 2005. I'm tempted by the DVD this time around too.

[ABCwarBOT]

Apart from a story here and there like Blink I don't think Nu Who's been very good since it returned in 2005 full stop.   A lot of the stuff in the RTD era was abysmal (Voyage of the Damned, Aliens of London etc were utter shite) and can't say I'm impressed by much stuff in the Moffat era either.

To me the best years of the show is Hartnell to the end of Tom Bakers reign.   

[Hawkmumbler]

Yet you keep watching...

[Jim_Campbell]

Yet you keep watching...

Gotta keep an eye on those gays. You never know what they'll get up to...

[GordonR]

"Oh, this Nu Who thing is abysmal!  Utter shite!  I'm not impressed at all"

/keeps watching for another ten years