# My problem with Dr. Who **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 4, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784 "2016-08-04T23:31:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/21 "2016-08-06T03:40:05Z")
I’m just saying if I was a doctor who villain… I’d win. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/22 "2016-08-07T15:38:05Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > I’m just saying if I was a doctor who villain… I’d win. No, you wouldn’t. The Doctor would not put himself near to you in any circumstance in which you would shoot instantly. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/23 "2016-08-07T15:47:50Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > This also happened when the Doctor was surrounded by a ton of Sontarans in _The Poison Sky_ and they broke out into their war chant instead of gunning him down. He of course escapes while they shout and stomp. Or _A Good Man Goes to War_: “Three minutes, forty seconds… AMELIA POND! Get your coat.” ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/24 "2016-08-07T16:01:15Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > That’s how I see it too. He’s smarter than we are and to us it looks like he’s just blathering away and luckily not getting shot, but he’s probably calculating exactly what to say and do to not get shot. Plus he’s beaten them so many times the Daleks probably assume just shooting him on sight won’t work anyway. It’s frequently the assumption he’s a badass that causes his adversaries to hesitate long enough for him to get away and formulate a plan, not that he always is a badass. And it’s frequently even enough to get his adversaries to rethink their approach altogether, because well, he has beaten them time and again, so when he’s just standing there, proudly announcing he’s got nothing up his sleeve, they’re going to think, he’s definitely got something up his sleeve. [Case in point](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ecycHAZtaM). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/25 "2016-08-08T02:14:59Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > As far as I can tell, James Bond gets captured on every single adventure – at which point bad guys patiently explain things to him and then sort of wander off while, ah, expecting him to be no trouble at all. > > If those were the stories of _Jane_ Bond, we’d call that out as insanely sexist. Yes, and his approach to espionage/counter espionage is to drive an Aston Martin up to whatever upscale venue his target is currently residing at, introduce himself (usually as Bond James Bond) and then antagonize him by beating him at baccarat and hitting on his girlfriend. ---
**Author:** ![TYphoonSignal8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@TYphoonSignal8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TYphoonSignal8)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/26 "2016-08-08T03:50:41Z")
There was a very amusing piece of Marvel Comics fan fiction somewhere, where Galactus rolls up to the Earth, threatens to eat it, and then looks at the gathering of superheroes. He asks where Reed Richards is. When it is explained that Richards is off somewhere else, Galactus says, oh well, never mind, I’ll come back later. Perhaps the Daleks secretly love the Doctor. The entire interaction between the Doctor and the Daleks is a slow burn, unrequited romance. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/27 "2016-08-08T12:43:08Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Not just Daleks either. How many times has he just shown up in the command center or bridge of some space ship or military installation, often in the midst of combat? And most of the time the security forces just look dumbfounded instead of shooting him as an intruder. Because he immediately starts taking command and sounds authoritative. After only a few sentences, it’s clear he knows what he’s doing and probably understands the situation better than anyone else on the bridge. People respect competence. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/28 "2016-08-08T18:36:48Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Because he immediately starts taking command and sounds authoritative. After only a few sentences, it’s clear he knows what he’s doing and probably understands the situation better than anyone else on the bridge. > > People respect competence. Yes I can’t tell you how many times in Iraq some Al Queda type would walk into the command post and start issuing orders, I just loved taking orders so much it never occurred to me to shoot him. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/29 "2016-08-08T18:40:14Z")
You don’t shoot unarmed people just because they’re in the wrong location. At most, you detain them (which does happen to the Doctor). And especially if they clearly will be useful to you. But go ahead and ignore expert advice. That’s the way to survive a dangerous situation. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/30 "2016-08-08T20:01:33Z")
Where’s the comedy reel where they just keep shooting and he keeps popping up as different actors? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/31 "2016-08-08T20:31:26Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Where’s the comedy reel where they just keep shooting and he keeps popping up as different actors? 😛 It’s in “Curse of the Fatal Death” actually, which is probably on Youtube somewhere (check out the last 10 minutes or so). ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/32 "2016-08-08T20:33:10Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Because he immediately starts taking command and sounds authoritative. After only a few sentences, it’s clear he knows what he’s doing and probably understands the situation better than anyone else on the bridge. > > People respect competence. That’s why the episode called “Midnight” is so good - it puts the Doctor in a situation where looking competent makes him the chief suspect among a crowd of rightly terrified people with access to an airlock. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/33 "2016-08-08T20:44:27Z")
In a lot of situations, what people want is someone to walk in and take charge. The Doctor does it and sounds like he knows what he’s doing. Doesn’t mean no one questions him and we still get the occasional “But _I’m_ in charge here!” God knows I’ve seen it happen enough, and done it myself, in business situations as well as in gatherings, gaming, volunteer work, etc. Of course, in the latter couple of situations, you’re more likely to hear “Who put YOU in charge?” (Answer: If you had wanted to be in charge, you would have been talking before I was.) ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/34 "2016-08-09T21:53:29Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Actually killing off someone who’s future self will come back with complete knowledge of what you did and how to prevent it happening and stop you is pretty difficult. If you kill him off now, he won’t _have_ a future self. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/35 "2016-08-09T21:58:40Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > For at least twenty years, comic-book fans have joked that Batman must have a twist on the Shadow’s famous Power To Cloud Men’s Minds – in that Superman, who in his own title is bright enough to outwit Lex Luthor, becomes a doofus in need of advice during any team-up; and gloating murderers put our hero in escape-artist situations instead of just killing him; and the world is otherwise full of otherwise-competent folks who fawningly wait to hear whatever the guy says so they can nod in dull agreement.\* Many years ago, a tabletop role-playing game magazine called _Different Worlds_ ran an article on how to adapt comic book superheroes to a game campaign. The writer noted that the Justice League includes several superintelligent aliens, scientists, and expert tacticians; but when trouble strikes, they all ask “Well, Batman, what do we do now?” He concluded, “Obviously, Batman has the power of Automatic Area-Effect Intelligence Drain.” ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/36 "2016-08-10T13:05:05Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > In a lot of situations, what people want is someone to walk in and take charge. The Doctor does it and sounds like he knows what he’s doing. Doesn’t mean no one questions him and we still get the occasional “But _I’m_ in charge here!” > > God knows I’ve seen it happen enough, and done it myself, in business situations as well as in gatherings, gaming, volunteer work, etc. > > Of course, in the latter couple of situations, you’re more likely to hear “Who put YOU in charge?” (Answer: If you had wanted to be in charge, you would have been talking before I was.) True, and that ability’s sometimes boosted by a gimmick: Psychic paper that looks exactly like what the viewer wants to see. It’s easier to take charge when you’ve got an inspector’s licence, or police ID, or… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/37 "2016-08-10T13:50:49Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > If you kill him off now, he won’t _have_ a future self. Exactly what someone with a primitive understanding of time travel would say 🙂 As long as his future self keeps you from killing him, he’s not dead, so his future self exists. And he’s been shown messing around with his own timeline, even at a fixed point in time, to make sure that an apparent or risked death doesn’t happen. You might think you’re killing him, but you’re actually just activating a transmat beam, or killing a robot that looks like him, or… ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/38 "2016-08-10T13:58:15Z")
> [@xnylder](#): > > True, and that ability’s sometimes boosted by a gimmick: Psychic paper that looks exactly like what the viewer wants to see. It’s easier to take charge when you’ve got an inspector’s licence, or police ID, or… 🙂 The slightly psychic paper was invented for the revived series, and works well to speed up the storytelling. On the old show, the Doctor would often spend an episode or two being locked up and/or disbelieved by the authority figures, until they finally figured out that they needed his help. That’s fine if you’ve got six or seven episodes to work with, and need all the filler you can get. When you’re doing a show where each episode is only 45 or 50 minutes, apart from the occasional two-parter, you’ve got to pick up the pace. Hence the psychic paper, to cut through all that “But who are you, and why should we listen to you?” time-wasting. But even on the old show, the Doctor pretty much always operated simply by assuming command, and since he was the protagonist, it always worked. See the classic Tom Baker story, “The Horror of Fang Rock”: Lord Palmerdale: Are you in charge here? The Doctor: No, but I’m full of ideas! ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/39 "2016-08-10T14:01:55Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > If you kill him off now, he won’t _have_ a future self. But the Doctor operates in different timelines, doesn’t he? You may kill him off so he has no future in Timeline A, but not Timelines B through Z. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784/40 "2016-08-11T04:49:52Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > John Constantine gets away with this sort of thing because he’s skilled enough to bluff the enemy into thinking that he’s got something big up his sleeve to hit them with until he can find something big to hide up his sleeve to hit them with, and then he pulls the something big out of his sleeve and hits them with it. > > Chuck Bartowski gets away with this sort of thing because he has the ability to stop professional assassins from killing him merely by putting out his hand and shouting “Waitwaitwait!”, which is so stupid they pause just to marvel at how amazingly stupid this approach is. He then gets incredibly lucky. > > The Doctor basically combines the two approaches. I was going to say that it’s a badly written children’s show that has survived this long and become an institution because Britain is just small enough for Doctor Who to get away with it. But your answer actually works pretty well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-problem-with-dr-who/761784.md?page=3)