Does Doctor Who fandom seem to be especially dead right now?

[betawho]

Is it just me, or does it seem like Doctor Who fandom is just not very active now? I know part of it is just that we're in the between-seasons slump, but it also seems like there's less involvement, and less anticipation or demand for it to hurry up and come back

Comments

[avarill]

I don't want to dislike 12 -- and I can see myself liking him if the scripts would give me a break from the dark, bleak and obnoxious. While the Doctor can be a jerk, the core of the show should be optimistic and joyful - it must have a heart. I think S8 went astray on that point.

Oh boy, what I didn't like about Eleven's regen LOL. What should I put on the short list... Well, queue the rant - please forgive me.

1) Moffat getting lazy. While I have adored the Moff on general principles, somewhere in the middle of S6 he started relying on 'telling' rather than 'showing' the audience the big, important scenes. The trend got worse and worse through season 7, until when we got a new companion, we were TOLD rather than SHOWN how awesome she is. Repeatedly.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Eleven's regen story. We actually lose, what, a thousand years of the Doctor's life? In the middle of his regen story? What?

It may be storytelling shorthand, but if relied upon too much, it's just disorienting and disappointing.

2) Which leads to a critical divorce of the Doctor from the companion in the middle of the regen story. Clara's not my favorite companion by far, but she deserved to play an important role. Instead, the Doctor ends up bonding with a whole new group of people (and cyberheads), who the audience hasn't had a chance to bond with. Who are these people and why do we have to spend so much story time making them important? This should be about the Doctor and the Companion. Full stop.

It severs the emotional core of Doctor Who.

3) And finally, from a characterization standpoint, it just seemed cruel to trap the Doctor in one place for so long. Even if we didn't get to 'see' it. Plus, Eleven ended up spending 1/2 of the Doctor's entire lifespan UP TO THIS TIME on Trenzalore. Seriously? See #1. It does not sit well with me. A regen story should be a celebration of the Doctor we're killing off. It should not be a montage.

Once we got to the actual regen, sure, no problems. I don't mind the way it was done. The whole concept of the story drove me around the bend though.

I've said to anyone who would listen that it felt like we had to choose between a great 50th anniversary story and a great regen. I'm glad that the 50th was great (I thought it was 99% perfect) at the expense of Matt's final story. To tell you the truth, I would have been satisfied if Name of the Doctor was Eleven's regen story. It *felt* right, and the story was about the right things, and the Doctor sacrificed himself for the right people.

Sorry. Rant over. Again, not to harsh anyone's squee, but to explain my reasoning and impressions.

[dbskyler]

I agree with you on all your points. Well said.