Mark Gatiss, former Doctor Who writer and current star of Bookish, has said that “nostalgia is a great enemy” and that if we don’t like the show as it is, it’s probably because it’s “not for you” anymore.
Gatiss said:
“The actual process of trying to make a modern show for a new audience is not about nostalgia. And I think that’s the great difference. You have to get right. Why is this going to work now? It doesn’t really matter what worked for Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. It’s about now… And it’s a strange thing because I’ve revived so many things, but I think nostalgia is a great enemy, and we have to all be careful of it.
“It’s part of the reason we’re in the mess we are. I think it’s weaponised nostalgia. Nothing’s as good as it used to be. And yet people can’t see that people have always thought that, even when it used to be better.”
This is partly something a lot of us have been saying for years, that people have always had gripes with the show; nonetheless, it’s difficult to argue that Doctor Who isn’t in a troublesome place right now, seeing as hype for the show seems to have basically died, recent episodes haven’t set any audiences alight, and it’s “on pause”, as per the comments of showrunner, Russell T Davies.
Plus, the franchise has weaponised nostalgia — it’s done it a lot, hence episodes bringing back the Daleks or starring multiple Doctors, but since Davies returned, so too have David Tennant, Catherine Tate, and Billie Piper, the latter seemingly for stunt casting. All these things not only tell audiences that the past is arguably more important than the present (especially concerning, given that Ncuti Gatwa’s era was heralded with “Season 1”), but further that it’s a series so rooted in its own history that it cannot move on.
“As much as I love old stuff, what the job of the show constantly is to regenerate itself. Sometimes when I meet grumpy old Doctor Who fans, you think you’ve just fallen into the same space-time trap: that it’s not as good as it used to be because it’s not for you anymore.”
“If you still like it, that’s great, but it’s not for you.”
While I often agree with Gatiss, this is a line of thinking that I think is damaging. It’s frequently claimed that Doctor Who is inclusive, so implying that it’s inclusive of everyone, just not you, is really harmful. It gets people’s backs up and makes them feel disrespected. By a TV show!
But then also comes the question, who is Doctor Who actually for now anyway?
Is Doctor Who really about change? Or is it about an alien travelling through time and space, fighting aliens and getting embroiled in history?
