# What's so great about Doctor Who? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186 "2010-05-20T21:41:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/61 "2010-05-22T00:32:27Z")
> [@ivan732](#): > > Better to compare Doctor Who to mainstream popular fiction, in which we expect and get plots that make a reasonable amount of sense. Doctor Who’s problem is that it must have an intriguing SF-style premise, and it is very difficult to get from there to a satisfying explanation. They always have to fall back on vague hand-waving. Sometimes it does work, when a strong premise and a witty script make up for the plot holes. I see what you mean, but I don’t really agree. Most Doctor Who plots do make sense given the rather loose strictures inherent in the concept. It’s never going to withstand any great amount of nitpickery, and there’s very little point in even trying, but some of the stories have been done better than others, granted. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/62 "2010-05-22T00:43:43Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I haven’t even seen _Blink_ yet, I’m apparently not that far into the series. The fact that I’m already tired of this trope and it happens at least once more does not please me. > > The most recent example of it that I’ve seen was in _The Impossible Planet_. The Tardis is the mechanism by which the protagonists get involved in sticky situations. It’s as much a “trope” as the Starship Enterprise and her works-according-to-needs-of-plot transporters. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/63 "2010-05-22T04:12:13Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The Tardis is the mechanism by which the protagonists get involved in sticky situations. It’s as much a “trope” as the Starship Enterprise and her works-according-to-needs-of-plot transporters. I’m not bothered by the existence of the thing, I’m annoyed that so many plots seem to revolve around the Doctor _losing_ it. It’s just lazy writing. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/64 "2010-05-22T04:38:41Z")
No, it’s not. The plots don’t revolve around the Doctor losing it. The problem is that the TARDIS is essentially a plot nullifier. It can travel to any point in time and space, nobody can get into it unless they have the key, it basically can’t be destroyed, and the heart of the TARDIS holds all kinds of power. That means that you’ve always got to answer the question of “Okay, but why doesn’t the Doctor just use the TARDIS?” The _real_ answer is “Well, then the episode will be over in 5 minutes.” As a result, the writers have to figure out ways to remove the TARDIS from the equation so there’s actually tension. So they do different things to take it out of the equation so they can tell the story they want to tell without the great nullifier hanging over their head. The comparison to the malfunctioning Enterprise is a really good one. Lots of shit on the Enterprise malfunction randomly. The entire plot of **The Enemy Within** hinges on a transporter malfunction, but that’s not what the episode was about. Just like **The Forbidden Planet** wasn’t really about losing the TARDIS. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/65 "2010-05-22T08:14:37Z")
Funnily, the TARDIS was originally conceived because it would allow them to put the characters into and SF plot they wanted. In fact, in the beginning, they were taking stories written by SF authors and converting them to the show. (Those documents on the [bbc.co.uk](http://bbc.co.uk) website were quite informative.) ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/66 "2010-05-22T15:22:24Z")
If the comparison with the Enterprise is an apt one, then I believe, frankly, that that only proves my point. After eighteen holodeck misfunctions, who didn’t throw up their hands when someone got stuck in the holodeck _again_? It’s tiresome and boring and makes you wonder why anyone would even use the holodeck. After all the times the Doctor has lost the TARDIS, you’d think he’d be a little more careful with it, is all I’m saying. It creates conflict, sure, but it’s _boring_ conflict after the fifth time it happens. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/67 "2010-05-22T16:53:06Z")
Relating to what I posted earlier in the thread, there’s very little point in trying to argue someone into liking the show. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions. In the interested of accuracy however, it is appropriate to correct factual error, especially one made repeatedly. > [@Kyla](#): > > Writer 1: What should we do in this episode? > Writer 2: How about…the Doctor misplaces the TARDIS? > Writer 1: Wait, haven’t we already– > Everyone else: BRILLIANT! Ha ha ha! That’ll make for an intriguing story! > Writer 1: No it won’t. 1. The Doctor has **never** “misplaced” the Tardis, as the word is commonly understood.\* 2. In in-story terms, in the few adventures in which the Doctor has been prevented by external forces from using the Tardis for an extended period of time, the loss of the Tardis has **never** been the precipitating crisis but has rather been a _result_ of the primary threat.\*\* 3. In real-world terms, the loss of the Tardis has never “made” a story, but has sometimes been necessary to keep the story going. There is always a more urgent and existential threat to be dealt with. As the Tardis is the perfect escape vehicle, most “outpost under siege stories” could be ended in five minutes by the Doctor herding everyone aboard and taking off for Brighton Beach. If you don’t allow the writers to put the Tardis out of reach or out of commission once in a while, you’re pretty much stuck with stories in which the Earth itself is in danger or a companion wanders off and gets in trouble, and then people would be complaining about the overuse of _those_ devices. Comparison to the holodeck is completely in-apt, as the holodeck could be dismantled without negatively impacting the Enterprise’s core mission. The only reason for the characters to continue using it is as a handy plot-generating device. On the other hand, the only way the Doctor could be absolutely sure of never losing the Tardis is to stay inside it all the time, in which case it wouldn’t be **Doctor Who** anymore. Spoilers in footnotes.\* “Always” and “never” and similar words refer to the 2005-present series. Going back to 1963 there might be a few counterexamples among the hundreds of episodes produced. \*\* Arguably, the Doctor would not be involved in the events of “The Planet of the Dead” at all if the Tardis weren’t missing, but the loss of the Tardis itself is barely mentioned in the story and never exploited as a source of dramatic tension. It’s just a reason for him to take the bus once in his life. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/68 "2010-05-22T17:06:26Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > Relating to what I posted earlier in the thread, there’s very little point in trying to argue someone into liking the show. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions. In the interested of accuracy however, it is appropriate to correct factual error, especially one made repeatedly.1. The Doctor has **never** “misplaced” the Tardis, as the word is commonly understood.\* > 2. In in-story terms, in the few adventures in which the Doctor has been prevented by external forces from using the Tardis for an extended period of time, the loss of the Tardis has **never** been the precipitating crisis but has rather been a _result_ of the primary threat.\*\* > 3. In real-world terms, the loss of the Tardis has never “made” a story, but has sometimes been necessary to keep the story going. There is always a more urgent and existential threat to be dealt with. You know what? I don’t care. Clearly, we have different opinions of what makes a storyline trite and boring. I think it’s unoriginal that multiple episodes revolve around the Doctor trying to find the TARDIS, you don’t. Numbered lists are not going to convince me that what I find boring is actually _not_ boring so I really don’t see a need to continue. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/69 "2010-05-22T17:17:58Z")
The usual reason for not getting into the TARDIS and flying away is simple: if they do that then the monsters will kill thousands of people. They have to stay until the monsters are defeated. Sure, they could load everyone on The Moonbase into The TARDIS and fly away. But then the Cybermen would take the weather control machine and unleash havoc upon the Earth. In most stories there’s no need to misplace the TARDIS to keep The Doctor there. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/70 "2010-05-22T17:29:48Z")
> [@Sean\_Factotum](#): > > HA! In an episode of _Coupling_, which was Moffat’s romantic-comedy series on BBC a few years before he started writing for (and now running) _Doctor Who_, there was a scene in a furniture shop where one of the characters gave three reasons for having a sofa, and the third one was “hiding from Daleks,” and was said as he ducked down behind the sofa. Andy Partridge of XTC was being interviewed about Todd Rundgren, the producer of their album _Skylarking_. The two famously did not get along during the production, although Partridge has come around on the value of the end result. He described Todd as having “…the people skills of a Dalek”. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/71 "2010-05-22T17:30:38Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I think it’s unoriginal that multiple episodes revolve around the Doctor trying to find the TARDIS They don’t. > [@](#): > > Numbered lists are not going to convince me that what I find boring is actually _not_ boring As I wrote (twice), opinions are opinions. My numbered list was only to correct factual errors. > [@](#): > > I really don’t see a need to continue. OK. > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > In most stories there’s no need to misplace the TARDIS to keep The Doctor there. Again, he doesn’t misplace the Tardis. In some stories, _not most_, he is separated from it by external forces. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/72 "2010-05-22T17:34:34Z")
One of the things that the recent episodes have made clear is that the Doctor is there because he _enjoys_ getting into these sort of situations. It’s fun. Shuttling people out of places wouldn’t be as much fun as diving in and straightening the situation out. He’s a compulsive meddler. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/73 "2010-05-22T18:02:21Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > They don’t.As I wrote (twice), opinions are opinions. My numbered list was only to correct factual errors.OK. > Again, he doesn’t misplace the Tardis. In some stories, _not most_, he is separated from it by external forces. Did you actually just address my post point by point? I bet you’re a blast at parties. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/74 "2010-05-22T18:24:32Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Did you actually just address my post point by point? Yes. With footnotes. Welcome the the Dope! ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/75 "2010-05-22T18:35:56Z")
**TWDuke** is now one of my favorite posters. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/76 "2010-05-22T18:45:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I like Doctor Who because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. No one tries to make sense of the Tardis and the Doctor’s technology. You have to accept that it somehow works. The stories are whats important. This just can’t be emphasized enough. It doesn’t make a lot of sense and most of us just don’t care. It’s clever, it’s witty, it’s fun. Often the main characters have some real growth along the way, for better or for worse, and by the magic of regeneration we are even learning more about what makes the Doctor … tick … every season. He’s a flawed creature and we like that. It’s a kids’ show that works at that level (and I’m still a kid at heart) and which has enough also there that we adults have plenty to both chew on, puzzle over, and to laugh at. Really I can’t ask for more than that. The show is not perfect and sometimes they do fall into the same trope a few times too many (if I never hear the Doctor telling some alien force to “look him up” and then “run”, or some variation, it will be too soon) but one thing I’ve personally never found it is boring. Your mileage may vary. We who like Who tend to be the people who like the people who address posts point by point and think they _are_ fun at parties! ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/77 "2010-05-22T20:36:04Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > **TWDuke** is now one of my favorite posters. As long as it’s only ‘one of’, I’m not gonna get all bitchy and possessive. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/78 "2010-05-22T20:47:18Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > As long as it’s only ‘one of’, I’m not gonna get all bitchy and possessive. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/79 "2010-05-22T23:07:09Z")
I’m going to pop in and suggest _Smith and Jones_ as a good episode for a first time viewer to watch. It isn’t the best episode, it isn’t perfect (boy, does it have flaws) but it’s a good place to start for a lot of reasons. Martha is a med student at a hospital that is suddenly, inexplicably, flash-bang transported to the surface of the moon (the bloody moon!) She falls in with the only other person around who’s not panicking, an odd patient she met earlier; the only person who seems to have the faintest idea what might be going on and the only one inclined to try to rectify the terrible trouble they’re all now in. And things seem dire indeed, because he’s nuts. I mean, he is batshit _insane_. He’s probably extra-weird here because they’re showing the perspective of a character who’s meeting him for the first time. But in the course of the episode, Martha (and thereby the audience) learns everything they really need to know about the Doctor. [ul] [li]He’s in fact an alien[/li][li]He likes to just stick his nose in and investigate odd things[/li][li]He may be crazy but it turns out he knows what he’s doing[/li][li]Lots of running[/li][li]He’s willing to sacrifice himself to save a whole lot of ordinary people he’s never met[/li][li]He is so…not suave or subtle with chicks[/li][li]Oh, and he has a time machine, and if you perhaps wanted to take a break from your tiring life, he could whisk you away for a while and drop you right back five minutes from where you left off.[/li][/ul] It’s a good lightweight standalone show; there are aliens, but you don’t need to know who they are- it’s enough that the Doctor knows. There’s a reference to prior series events, but they’re fairly irrelevant. The villain is a one-off, never to be seen again. If the Doctor’s personality seems too manic, he’s rarely wackier in any other episode. The attempts at depicting real-life medicine here are pretty bad, but if they don’t irritate your nitpick glands, then probably few other episodes will either. Really, it’s one that you just sit back and enjoy the ride and wave away the silliness, and if you like it, you’ll probably like the rest of the series too. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186/80 "2010-05-22T23:18:17Z")
"When you travel around as much as I do, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll run into yourself at some point. " _The Two Doctors_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-great-about-doctor-who/540186.md?page=3)