Doctor Who has been on the air for the better part of nearly 60 years, with the first serial airing on the BBC in 1963. During that time, the show in all of its forms starring all of the different Doctors has given birth to a dedicated and passionate fan base that stretches across different ages, genders, and generations of people.
With such a passionate fan base, it would be hard to please every fan regarding every decision made about the show behind the scenes. Passionate fans are always the most vocal ones and those as passionate as Doctor Who fans have been vocal enough about their displeasures to sputter off the biggest controversies.
10 The Doctor’s First Regeneration
Regeneration has become such a staple of Doctor Who that it’s gotten to the point that The Doctor, now The Timeless Child, has been confirmed to be able to produce an infinite amount of regenerations. Fans don’t even bat an eyelash at the concept anymore, but when the writing staff first came up with it as a means to answer William Hartnell’s deteriorating health, it was a bold choice for fans to accept.
It was especially bold since The Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, was so divisive as a new Doctor. Many critics thought he was too whimsical, silly, and overall a long departure from Hartnell’s performance. It took years before fans accepted regeneration for what it is.
9 The Doctor’s First Kiss
Romance has become such a huge staple of Doctor Who – particularly in The Doctor’s romance with the likes of Rose Tyler and River Song – that it seems silly to think anyone would be up in arms about a kiss. But alas, Doctor Who: The Movie marked the character’s first on-screen kiss and love interest when Paul McGann locked lips with Daphne Ashbrook’s Grace Holloway.
This marked the first time that The Doctor had ever been romantically linked with a companion or anyone in the series’ canon. He had practically been portrayed as an asexual and the implication that he was anything more caused an uproar with long-time fans.
8 The First Female Doctor
As Peter Capaldi’s tenure as The Doctor was coming to an end, BBC announced that he would be replaced by Jodie Whittaker, marking the first time that a woman would canonically be cast as The Doctor. This decision received a mixed reaction from fans.
The reason is that while some were happy to see the show freshen things up with the first female Doctor in a groundbreaking move, others felt like it was a shallow attempt at being politically correct or “woke” for the sake of sensationalism, even though this is certainly not an appropriate reaction to the casting of a female actor.
7 The First Black Doctor
In arguably the boldest decision made by Doctor Who staffers to date, Jo Martin was introduced as not only The Doctor but a previous and unknown incarnation that The 13th Doctor had previously locked away in her memory banks. This marks the first time that a black person was canonically cast in the role.
Much like the case with Jodie Whittaker’s casting, this was met with a mixed reaction, particularly a divisive one that can be reflected in the number of dislikes on any official BBC YouTube clips highlighting Martin’s Doctor. Some think this is incredibly groundbreaking, while others believe it’s the show trying too hard again to be “woke.” Whatever fans think, though, the negative reaction was in no way deserved or appropriate.
6 The Secret War Doctor
Right before BBC aired the 50th anniversary special, Day of the Doctor, Doctor Who made the shocking revelation that there had always been a secret Doctor that none of the Doctors like to talk about and it was The Doctor who ended the Time War: The War Doctor.
An interesting idea on paper became muddled and produced controversy when fans realized how much it overcomplicated the established timeline of Doctors. Suddenly, the Eleventh Doctor was actually technically The Twelfth Doctor, and then actually the Thirteenth Doctor upon pointing out that The Doctor’s false-regeneration in “Journey’s End” still counts. It felt less like a clever twist and more like a retcon that caused further plot holes.
5 Retconning Gallifrey’s Destruction
Even more controversial than The War Doctor mucking up the timeline was how The Day of the Doctor mucked up Gallifrey’s destruction. Ever since Doctor Who’s revival, it had been established that the Ninth Doctor regrettably destroyed the Time Lord race and the Daleks on Gallifrey to end the Time War.
A retcon suggesting they were safe in a pocket dimension this whole time did more to downplay the melancholy of past Doctors and makes past episodes age poorly. The more current storylines mess with Gallifrey’s destruction, the more displeasure within the fanbase increases.
4 The Interspecies Kiss
In Peter Capaldi’s first episode as The Doctor, Jenny Flint and Madame Vastra shared their first kiss together on-screen. They had long been established supporting characters and a married couple, but this was the first time they expressed their love for each other. This inspired complaints to the BBC that the show was “promoting homosexuality” or “a gay agenda,”
Doctor Who has often received bigoted complaints that the family show was promoting such an agenda as recently as when openly bisexual Captain Jack Harness was introduced to the show. Per The Independent, these complaints had been ramping up, especially between February 2013 and September 2014.
3 When The Doctor Tortured A Dalek
During the sixth episode of Series 1 of the Doctor Who revival, titled “Dalek,” the last Time Lord comes face to face (or to plunger?) with what was then thought to be the last Dalek. In a huff of rage, The Doctor electrocutes and tortures the thing.
This inspired complaints from none other than the British Board of Film Classification. They did not so much as have a problem with the torture itself as much as they had a problem with the torture being executed by a heroic symbol of goodness like The Doctor.
2 Reminding Viewers That They Will Die
Death is inevitable for everyone and most people have accepted this by now, albeit begrudgingly. Perhaps those same people don’t like being reminded of this fact while watching their favorite family show, because complaints flooded aplenty during the episode “Dark Waters.”
In it, Missy mentions in an off-hand comment that corpses still have a feeling component to their bodies to the point that they can still feel being burned during cremation. This brief comment was enough to compel hundreds of people to complain to Ofcom. The BBC went on to defend themselves and the episode sticking to the core themes of the show.
1 Graham Norton Ruins Doctor Who
Perhaps the strangest controversy to take place on the show had nothing to do with the show itself, at least not the writing of it. Instead, the hate geared towards a whole other show on the BBC.
During the final minutes of “The Time of the Angels” and right before its climactic cliffhanger, an animated advert promoting Graham Norton’s Over the Rainbow appeared at the bottom of the screen. Believing the advert ruined the moment, enough complaints stormed the headquarters of BBC to compel the BBC to issue a public apology.
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