Dr Who appeasement or divide and conquer?

[Ignoremeiaminvisible]

Tonight's episode, if Dr Who is a lesbian does that appease the male idea that 'real' women cannot be strong and independent or is it designed to split the the females in society into two groups believing, in their minds, that females have as little tolerance between gay and straight members of their sex as males do?

Well. First off, I don’t think anything suggested the Doctor is lesbian in this incarnation. Her awkwardness comes from the fact that she’s over 1,000 years old and although she does love her companions she recognises she can’t ever reciprocate Yaz’s feelings in a way that would satisfy her. Her denial comes from not wanting to have that awkward conversation again (like s/he did with Martha etc) rather than being in denial about her own sexual orientation.
Secondly, there has always been an element of moralising in Doctor Who. Being ‘woke’ is not new.
Each Doctor has its fans and detractors. I personally like what Whittaker has done with the character. It’s an enthusiastic incarnation as if she’s rediscovered the joy of being the Doctor but there’s a deliberate guardedness there as well. I’ve found the Chibnall episodes have just got better and better, and the last few episodes have really worked for me.

I agree. She's a great actress and she's finally been given her head. The early Chibnall series were just appalling writing. Trite, superficial and cliched. And, as PP said upthread, dreary modern Calvinism. Preachy and humourless. I'm glad Whittaker got a chance to make a real go of it before she regenerates.

Or actor! I'm old....

For me the best recent Doctors were Matt Smith with Amy and Rory as companions and David Tennant with Donna. There's no romantic interest there and Amy, Rory and Donna got some great lines.

There was definitely plenty of tension between Eleven and Amy to the point it was a full-blown love triangle. Ten and Donna were my favourites, especially after love-addled Martha. I said on the DW thread in Telly, but Aisling Bea would make a great Donna-like companion. She was fab in the NY special.

Chances are the next doctor will be played by a black, disabled drag queen, complete with beard.

Ugh - I was so looking forward to RTD coming back and dishing out some bloomin' decent characterisation once again. But after his embarrassing speech about shortening words to three letters and attacking the LGB Alliance, I can't trust him not to shoehorn in the woo. I'm half-expecting a cross-dressing Olly Alexander to be the next doc.

I don't really understand your question, OP. But I'm so bored of companions falling for the Dr, whether the doc be male or female. I can't see it resolving well, either, since there are only two more episodes left. Think it'll go down the Dr/Martha route where it's a one-sided thing.

The Amy thing was really only one-way too, wouldn't you say? Though I found it a bit over-blown. Not that she had a crush on him, but I thought for a person old enough to get married her behavior was bizarrely immature, she was like a love-struck 14 year old.

Whether RTD would improve things I thought was unclear. If you think back to Eccelston or the first DT years, and what was going on in the world at that time, the pressures around correct speech and right-think were massively fewer. Other shows were things like House, Nip Tuck (totally non-PC) The West Wing. Even the ones with a real political bent wren't so preachy as every show seems to want to be now.

Given RTD's approach to politics it seems unlikely he wouldn't be right in with that.