- 01/06/2025
From Genesis of the Daleks to The End of Time, Doctor Who has plenty of controversies to its name.
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00:00Doctor Who has one of the most passionate and enduring fanbases in the world.
00:05Like the Master and the Daleks, this fandom just never seems to die.
00:09And with the excitement surrounding Russell T Davies' return in 2023, it only looks set to grow.
00:16But like any other fandom, Whovians do have those issues that they just can't seem to agree on.
00:22Now, the vast majority of Doctor Who storylines are well-liked and don't really cause much of a
00:28stir amongst fans. But there are certain episodes or even certain scenes, characters or storylines
00:35that aren't quite so lucky. So with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with WhoCulture, here with
00:4110 Doctor Who controversies that divide fans.
00:45Number 10. Was the end of time a satisfying send-off for the 10th Doctor?
00:50With David Tennant dominating the news cycle as of late, now seems like the perfect time to revisit
00:57a topic that has seen much debate in the years since he left the show.
01:02Was his final story, the end of time, actually any good? Or was it a total hot mess that didn't
01:10give arguably the best Doctor of all time the send-off he deserved?
01:14You'll often find people saying that the end of time has a bunch of terrific moments peppered
01:19throughout, like the four knocks, the Rassilon confrontation, and the Doctor's
01:23Time Lord's live-too-long speech, but that the master plotline is far too silly.
01:29The Doctor's farewell tour is self-indulgent and drags on way too long, and that sub-villain
01:34Joshua Naismith is a complete waste of screen time. Elsewhere, some find that the 10th Doctor's
01:39final line, I don't want to go, veers heavily into cringe territory, while for others, it
01:45instantly triggers the waterworks.
01:49In general, it's the story's emotional beats that people praise the most, from the
01:53Doctor's realisation that Wilf is trapped in the radiation booth, to Jeffrey Noble lending
01:58the Doctor some money for a lottery ticket. Thanks to Bernard Cribbins and David Tennant's
02:02incredible performances, there's a massive beating heart, or hearts, at the centre of
02:08the end of time, that does paper over some of the cracks. But, coming off the Waters of
02:13Mars thrilling, complex storyline, it's hard not to wish that Tenn's conclusion was a bit
02:19more engaging in the narrative department.
02:21Now, for me personally, I think I have to agree that the storyline element of that episode
02:27wasn't the strongest, it's not a storyline that sticks in my mind that I can always remember.
02:33But, I do think that the emotion was definitely there, and I don't think I have a problem with
02:40the farewell tour as it's put here, because particularly for the fourth series and for
02:45David Tennant's Doctor, those companions are such an important part of the storylines that
02:51we've seen, so I almost feel like it wouldn't have been right for him to have not said goodbye
02:56to them. I do think that there is one character in that line-up of farewells that just wasn't
03:02quite right, it seemed a little out of place, which was the great-granddaughter of Joan Redfern.
03:08Number 9. Could the fifth Doctor have saved Adric?
03:12Although Adric is usually at the bottom of the pile when it comes to ranking the companions,
03:18his death in 1982's Earthshock was one of the most, well, shocking moments in the show.
03:25So much so that the end credits rolled in complete and utter silence for the first time in Doctor
03:31Who history. But rather unexpectedly, Adric found himself back in the news when series
03:3712 was on the air in early 2020, with fans debating whether or not his death could have
03:43actually been prevented by the fifth Doctor. This debate was sparked by the episode Praxeus,
03:48where the thirteenth Doctor uses her TARDIS to rescue Jake Willis, who has decided to manually
03:54pilot a small spaceship after its autopilot fails. Right before this spaceship explodes, the TARDIS captures
04:01Jake like a net, shielding him from the explosion and saving his life. Many fans then pointed
04:06out the similarities between Jake's situation and Adric's, with the eSpace stowaway also
04:12trapped on a doomed spaceship that's about to blow him sky-high. In this case though,
04:17the fifth Doctor does nothing, instead watching on in disbelief as his companion dies.
04:22So why couldn't the fifth Doctor have used the same trick that the thirteenth Doctor did?
04:27Seems like a fair question at face value, but many of those riled up Adric supporters missed
04:33that the fifth Doctor's TARDIS console was badly damaged by a Cyberman, which prevented
04:38him from flying to his friend's rescue. And still, some fans think that this is a rather
04:44flimsy excuse, because the TARDIS has a mind of its own and therefore should have been able
04:48to function still. While others hilariously just think that the Doctor didn't like Adric and
04:54so couldn't be bothered to save him. I mean, it's rather cold, but maybe understandable.
04:59Now, to be honest, I don't really have much knowledge of the classic era of Who, so I don't
05:04really feel comfortable making a personal opinion on that situation. But, our very own Sean Ferrick
05:11does indeed have some very strong opinions about Adric, so I would suggest checking out
05:16the video where the classic companions are ranked from best to worst, which will be linked in the
05:21description below if you want to hear his side of the story.
05:24Number 8 – In the Forest of the Night
05:28Series 8's In the Forest of the Night has always been a controversial episode, but I don't think you
05:34realise just how much it split the fandom in two. In 2016, this twelfth Doctor story was voted the
05:42most divisive Doctor Who episode ever in a Radio Times poll, beating out fellow twelfth Doctor
05:48stories Sleep No More and Kill the Moon, as well as the sixth Doctor serial Vengeance on Varos.
05:54Now, that's quite a feat, so what earned In the Forest of the Night this not-so-coveted title?
06:00On the positive side, this Series 8 adventure was praised for its creative premise. The people of Earth
06:06wake up to discover that the planet has been completely covered by large forests, and its lighter,
06:11more fairytale tone – a refreshing contrast from the darker episodes of the series. Detractors labelled
06:18it aimless, threatless, and felt that there were a few too many silly moments, forcing then-showrunner
06:24Stephen Moffat to jump to its defence, calling it beautifully and elegantly written.
06:29Now, it's pretty rare for the showrunners to jump in on the debate, which just goes to show how
06:35divisive this episode actually was. Maybe if there was a less plodding script and a few more standout
06:42moments, such as the deleted Doctor's speech about the Untempered Schism, it might have been one that
06:49was slightly more positive than polarising. Now, this episode isn't particularly memorable for me
06:55personally, but I do remember Series 8 feeling quite dark in tone, and so it was quite refreshing to just
07:02have this episode of lighter tones to it. But I do think that you're always going to have that divide,
07:08where there are some fans who really like the darker, more intricate episodes, and some fans who
07:14just want to watch them stand alone and forget about it after it's finished. And so you're always going
07:20to have that divide, so it's very important to find that balance in the middle, which I think this
07:25episode was aiming to try and do. 7. The Sasha Dewan Master ignores Missy's redemption arc
07:32Though few people actually expected Missy slash the Master to be gone for good after soaking up a
07:38laser screwdriver blast in the Series 10 finale, it was nonetheless a surprise when the character returned
07:45in Series 12's Spyfall. And not because fans expected the character to be dead, but more the fact
07:51that this new incarnation of the Master seemed to be a step backwards after the arc that Missy had been
07:58on through her run in the Series. While Dewan's portrayal of the character received a lot of praise
08:03from fans and critics alike, there was a subset of Whovians who were displeased and confused as to why
08:10this new Master had regressed back into a moustache-twirling villain after the Missy arc had shifted the
08:15Doctor's oldest foe more towards the light. Missy's decision to become a do-gooder cost her
08:21her life, so why undo such a powerful character moment for the more bog-standard villain antics
08:27we've had for the last 50-odd years? Now, credit where credit's due, Sasha Dewan has been one of the
08:32highlights of the Chibnall era, and it looks like that streak is going to continue in the Centenary
08:37special. But I can understand the confusion. Big finishes the Lumiat has explored this gap between
08:44Missy in Series 10 and the Master in Series 12, but there are a lot of fans who don't
08:51have access to the Big Finish audio dramas, and so it probably would have been better if they'd
08:56explored this in the actual TV series so that the confusion could have been cleared up. Now,
09:03I have just done a little bit of research into the Lumiat, and the premise does sound very,
09:08very interesting, where Missy has her own version of the Valiard. So whereas the Doctor has this version
09:15of themselves that's pure evil, Missy has the Lumiat, which is pure good, which I think is
09:20extremely interesting. But, like I said, if you don't have access to Big Finish, then that is going
09:26to be very confusing to the audience. Number six, are the Daleks overused? Now, there's a Doctor Who
09:34urban legend that the Daleks are contractually obligated to appear at least once every season.
09:41Now, supposedly, this is due to an agreement between the Daleks creator Terry Nation's estate
09:47and the BBC. Whether or not there is any shred of truth to that remains to be seen,
09:51but the Daleks do indeed rear their heads on a consistent yearly basis.
09:56Even when they don't have an episode to themselves, they can't resist a cameo,
10:01which has got fans asking the question of whether or not they're overused,
10:05and whether it would be best if they were rested for a while.
10:08On one side of the argument, the Pepper Potts have been used in some new and interesting ways
10:13over the course of their 59 year long shift, from introducing their creator Davros in 1975's
10:20Genesis of the Daleks to Series 11's body controlling reconnaissance scout. Plus,
10:25they're the bloody Daleks, they're one of the most iconic parts of Doctor Who,
10:29and have been since the very beginning. But on the other hand,
10:32it's no longer exciting or surprising when Scarrow's finest wheel onto our screens.
10:37And they've also been outstripped by other villains in terms of power and scare factor,
10:42bringing their status as the Doctor's greatest enemy into question.
10:46Personally, I don't think they're overused. Maybe a little bit at the beginning,
10:50during kind of Series 1 to 4? Slightly, maybe a little bit. They seem to be the big bad at the
10:57series finale pretty much every season. But I also agree that they are so iconic and such a big
11:03part of Doctor Who that without them, it just wouldn't be the same.
11:06Number 5, The Sixth Doctor. As many polls and rankings will demonstrate,
11:12Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor is one of the least popular incarnations in the show.
11:17Digital Spy and Radio Times have both got him at the bottom of their fan-voted lists,
11:23and even some of our own rankings do the same. And it's a similar story with episode polls too,
11:29with Baker's debut serial, The Twin Dilemma, being voted televised Who's worst outing not once,
11:36not twice, but three separate times by Doctor Who magazine readers.
11:40With hardcore Whovians though, it's a slightly different story.
11:44Sure, it's not like he suddenly shoots to the top of people's list,
11:47but there's no question that love for Baker's Doctor has increased in recent times,
11:52thanks to his successful run of big Finnish audio dramas. Indeed,
11:56many will agree that The Sixth Doctor works far better on audio,
12:00which is something that our very own Tom Howson noted in 2020, stating,
12:04Big Finnish enhances The Sixth Doctor. Colin's incarnation is simply a joy,
12:09and it's understandable why you'd wish to travel with him.
12:12Colin Baker even got to do an audio story that was written by the king of modern Who,
12:18Russell T Davies, which instantly upped his Doctor's cool factor.
12:22But all this is to say is that your opinion of The Sixth Doctor is widely dependent on whether or not
12:28you are an audio listener. His TV era was categorised by its brash tone, violent content,
12:35and frequent behind-the-scenes drama, and it was this ill-fated mid-80s run that doomed him to the
12:41bottom of those fan polls, likely for a good long while. However, he is much more likeable over at Big
12:47Finnish, making his entire era a tale of two halves, and one of the most divisive runs a Doctor has ever had.
12:55Now again, I'm not particularly knowledgeable of the classic era of Who, so I don't have a strong
13:02opinion either way of The Sixth Doctor, but I have listened to some of the audio adventures that
13:08do include him, particularly The Diary of River Song, and I do think that he sounds very fun and exciting,
13:15so I do agree that the audio dramas have worked in his favour.
13:19Number four, should the Doctor become romantically entangled with their companions?
13:24No hanky-panky in the TARDIS was basically an unwritten rule of the classic era of Doctor Who,
13:31and according to some accounts, it was actually a firm rule. But regardless as to which version of
13:36events is true, the point is clear efforts were made to not have the Doctor be romantically involved
13:43with, well, anyone. But all that changed with the 1996 TV movie, where all of a sudden Paul McGann's
13:508th Doctor was snogging companion Grace Holloway. Now granted, this was more of an American take on
13:56the character, portraying him as a dashing Hollywood hero, rather than the awkward weird uncle of the
14:01main series. But even when the show returned to British waters with the 2005 revival, that romantic
14:08angle didn't go away. In fact, it actually became more prevalent, with the 9th Doctor and Rose growing
14:14closer and closer throughout their time together before capping off Series 1 with a kiss. Things
14:19kicked up a gear when the snogaholic 10th Doctor entered the scene, with he and Rose pretty much
14:24becoming an item by the end of Series 2, and even declaring their love for each other, or, well,
14:30almost, in the Doctor's case, on the beach at Bad Wolf Bay. The modern show's decision to make
14:35the Doctor a romantic character has been criticised and appreciated in equal measure. To some, the
14:40Doctor is an asexual being, which is more or less what we got throughout the entire classic series.
14:46To others, giving the Doctor a love interest makes them more relatable, and adds an interesting dynamic
14:51to their relationship with their companions. Either approach can work, which has been demonstrated
14:56throughout the decades of the show. It just entirely depends on what the showrunner at the time
15:02wants to do with their version of the character. We all know that I love River Song, and I do really
15:07love that story arc of River and the Doctor, but I do think that in terms of a romantic relationship
15:14for the Doctor, it needs to be very specific. In the case of River Song, this character is kind of 50%
15:20the point of her is to be this mysterious, ambiguous love interest of the Doctor, but she isn't a
15:27companion that is there all the time. In the case of it being, say, Rose and the Doctor, it was good
15:32because it was new. As we've said, it hadn't been done before, and so it was a new approach to
15:38the Doctor Who story. But it then became a little bit repetitive as the series went on, when you've still
15:44got Martha then pining after the Doctor, and even now you've still got, you know, you have Yaz and
15:50things like that. So I think that if it's a specific character whose purpose is to be this ambiguous
15:56love interest, it works. Because I'm always going to defend River Song. But if it becomes too much of
16:02the main drive of the story, it takes away from what Doctor Who is actually about, which is about
16:08adventure and friendship more than anything else. Number 3, Clara Who and Hellbent.
16:15From her shock debut in Series 7's Asylum of the Daleks, it was clear that Clara Oswald was going
16:21to be a companion the likes of which we had never seen before. Over the coming months, that certainly
16:26proved to be true, with the name of the Doctor revealing that she was born to save the Doctor,
16:31having splintered herself along his timeline to save him from various threats throughout his life.
16:37Continuing this theme of being a Doctor-like character, Series 8 even saw Clara on occasion
16:42fill in for the Time Lord, most notably in Flatline when he was unable to leave his TARDIS. And this
16:47continued emphasis on the character led to accusations that she was being overused,
16:52with detractors even coining the phrase, Clara Who. Now it is somewhat understandable that these fans
16:59felt that Clara was overshadowing the Doctor, but also overshadowing the show's previous companions.
17:05At the same time though, plenty of viewers found Jenna Coleman's bubbly performance hard to dislike,
17:11and Steven Moffat did garner some props for trying something new, actively avoiding the same old
17:16companion role we'd seen a million times before. The Clara controversy reached its peak in the Series
17:229 finale Hellbent, which was criticised for undoing her death in Face the Raven, as well as doubling down
17:28on her desire to be like the Doctor, with the episode actually giving her a TARDIS of her own.
17:34Now I'm not personally a massive fan of Clara, I found her to be a little bit dull in comparison
17:40to previous companions. I did like her original story arc being splintered throughout the Doctor's
17:47timeline, but I think it started to take a very different turn following that. But I'm not one who likes
17:54change very much, and so I think once the notion of the companion changing slightly kind of put my nose
18:00out of joints slightly, and maybe that's something that I need to get over more than the show itself.
18:06Number two, should the fourth Doctor have destroyed the Daleks?
18:11There are few moments in Doctor Who history as pivotal as 1975's Genesis of the Daleks. As the name
18:19suggests, this fourth Doctor serial tells the story of the Daleks' origins, but if Tom Baker's mad-eyed
18:25Time Lord had acted differently, it could also have told the story of their end. Just touch these two
18:31strands together and the Daleks are finished. Have I the right? Muses the Doctor, his hands clutching the
18:37device that could end the tin cans forever. His hesitation is understandable. After all, genocide is
18:42a pretty big thing to have on your conscience, no matter how deserving the target species may be.
18:47But at the same time, Sarah Jane also makes a valid point, reminding the Doctor that he will cause
18:53untold amounts of suffering if he lets the Daleks live. And for many years, fans have been having
18:58this same debate. Was the Doctor's decision not to destroy the Daleks his greatest mistake,
19:04or was he right to not alter the future? From the atrocities of the Time War to their regular attempts
19:10to invade Earth, there's no doubt that the Daleks have done some pretty heinous stuff. But, as the Doctor
19:15notes, fear of the Daleks will prompt many worlds to become allies, united against a common enemy.
19:22And maybe that's worth all the pain they cause. I think that the dilemma the Doctor faces in this
19:27episode was a really important message for audiences about morality. And also, if the Series 4 finale is
19:34anything to go by, even if you do attempt genocide in regards to the Daleks, they're going to manage to
19:39survive somehow anyway. Number 1. The Timeless Child
19:44It's tough to think of a more controversial moment in Doctor Who history than the law-shattering
19:50revelations in the Series 12 finale The Timeless Children. This episode told us that the Doctor
19:56isn't actually a Time Lord, but a mysterious being from another universe, one with the power to
20:01regenerate infinitely. The DNA from this Timeless Child gave the Time Lords their ability to regenerate,
20:07meaning that the Doctor is the chosen one, a god, the foundation of Time Lord society.
20:13This reveal sent shockwaves through Who fandom, with many feeling that it was unnecessary, convoluted,
20:19and even disrespectful to the show's pre-established history. What was the point in Eleven's new
20:24regeneration cycle in the time of the Doctor? Do River's own regeneration powers even make sense now?
20:30To some, it was even boring and inconsequential, what the Doctor can regenerate infinitely.
20:36So? This was always going to be the way in some way or another for as long as the BBC wanted Doctor
20:43Who on the air. So the Time Lords lied to the Doctor about their past. And? The Doctor has never got
20:49on with the Time Lords, that's part of the reason why they ran away in the first place.
20:54While discourse on the Timeless Child skews largely negative, there are those who appreciate how it
21:00opens up opportunities to explore the Doctor's past. There's also Jo Martin's Fugitive Doctor,
21:05an important piece of the Timeless Child puzzle throughout series 12, who received a lot of
21:10praise for her commanding presence. All in all, the Timeless Child is still one of the most debated
21:15topics in Doctor Who's various online communities to this day. Chris Chibnall certainly took a bold swing
21:21here, but considering all the controversy, perhaps Doctor Who was a question best left unanswered.
21:27Now at first, I'll be honest, I was very, very, very confused by the Timeless Child story arc.
21:33I didn't understand it, and I was one of those people that felt that it was disrespecting the
21:38previous 50 years, 60 years. But I do think that there is potential for it so long as we are given
21:49some more explanations. As long as those unanswered questions and those loose ends are tied, I think
21:56it has the potential to be a really, really interesting storyline and a really good avenue for the show
22:02to go down. So long as it's explored fully and not left ambiguous. And that concludes our list. If
22:09your opinions are different, then do let us know in the comments below, but remember to be respectful
22:14of other people's opinions. And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that
22:19notification bell. Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there at WhoCulture, and I can be found
22:25across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild. I've been Ellie with WhoCulture, and in
22:30the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweeties.
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