You had better sign those, they’re the ones paying your salary.
Jimmy Stewart 1968 on the set of Bandalero to Raquel Welsh when he heard her complain about signing autographs.
In an interview released this week Russell T Davies, who was briefly the great fan hope for the return of the Doctor Who franchise to what the fans loved for decades made it clear to all that this is not the case.
Russell T Davies has said that new Doctor Who episodes will upset die-hard fans of the science fiction franchise.
The Welsh screenwriter and television producer, 60, discussed the new release, which will be the centrepiece of the BBC’s Christmas Day line-up.
It would seem rather odd that Davies who was instrumental in the revival of the series that I’ve enjoyed for four decades and, like many other fans passed on that enjoyment to our children to be something in common as a family even as we’ve grown older, would be so callus as to spit in our faces and throw us away. But last night as I slept the explanation finally came to me, the truth of what Doctor Who is. It’s a rather ironic explanation that can be summed up in a just a few seconds below the fold:
As far as the BBC is concerned Doctor Who is not a beloved iconic franchise that has entertained and united a country and a fanbase since the day JFK was shot (and become a steady source of profit as well). It’s simply a toy and right now that toy belongs to Russell T Davies just as it did to Chris Chibnall to do with what he will.
It doesn’t matter what the viewing numbers are, it doesn’t matter how many of us are disappointed or walk away because in the end Doctor Who is just another toy, paid for by the License fee and that toy isn’t ours.
One might blame Tom Baker for us fans having this misunderstanding of what the series was. When he took on the role he turned it into a celebration and carried himself in such a way that he took the fanbase into his heart. His attitude was best illustrated by a story he told during in an interview he gave at the time Colin Baker was cast in the role. Said interview is not available online but I have the card copy from the Doctor Who magazine special that I bought way back when.
It seems he was at a restaurant one day during his years as The Doctor when he noticed a young boy excitedly pointing and staring at him. His mother was very embarrassed and he could hear her saying to him “George, Behave.” as he tried to calm him down. Baker being Baker got up from his seat, came over to their table and knelt down next to the little fellow as said the following:
“George, have I seen you watching me on the Television? [George looks at him in awe nodding his head.] I wonder, George, could I have your autograph?”
Baker might have been difficult on the set but to the public it was all about the fans. It’s no coincidence that Big Finish’s first promo of Tom Baker’s return as the 4th Doctor starts with a Baker voice over saying:
It’s Saturday night tea time in 1977 all over again!
It’s a celebration of all that we knew and loved and still do.
But for Russell T. Davies et/al it’s his toy and that sense of ownership is best described by C.S. Lewis in Screwtape 21″
Even in the nursery a child can be taught to mean by “my ‘Teddy-bear” not the old imagined recipient of affection to whom it stands in a special relation (for that is what the Enemy will teach them to mean if we are not careful) but “the bear I can pull to pieces if I like”.
If we’re very good, Davies and company will let us watch him play with his, and if we don’t enjoy his games, well that’s on us.
Closing thought. It’s rather ironic that today’s episode features the Toymaker a character who either absorbs those who play his games into his world or destroys it. Or perhaps it’s not irony as much as the ultimate message to the fanbase that he rejects.
Closing thought 2: The real Irony is that this attitude of ownership and disregard for the fans is the reason why the era of the first female Doctor was and always will be considered a resounding failure. Davies is setting up the era of the 1st black Doctor for the same fate or even worse, but he has no fear because no matter how bad a failure the series becomes in the ratings in viewership and in product sales the BBC as it did with Whitaker, dare not admit to this failure.
Unexpectedly of course.
Update: Just watched the final Tennant Special and while Davies might be planning to piss us off during the upcoming season he certainly didn’t to it with this episode. Full review later but I haven’t been this surprised since the Pats beat the Steelers this Thursday.
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