An Open Letter To "Fans" Of Doctor Who [WARNING: CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE]

I don't usually write about Doctor Who but, on this occasion, I need to get this off my chest. I'm going to keep it short and sweet, and there will be some explicit language.

Dear "Fans" of Doctor Who.

We need to talk.

If you're in the fandom on Facebook or Twitter, you may have noticed that things feel...negative...since Jodie Whittaker took over as the Doctor and Chris Chibnall took over as head writer. I've certainly noticed and I've been watching it unfold as time has gone on.

However, this morning, I reached the point where I couldn't stand it any longer.

This open letter is designed to be read by all fans that come across it, but it's addressing those who dislike the Whittaker/Chibnall era and comment on every post about Doctor Who expressing this disgust.

I'm going to put my core message to you in the strongest possible terms.

If you don't like what Chibnall is doing, or how Jodie is playing the Doctor, then stop fucking watching. Seriously.

I cannot express enough how much of a waste of time it is for you people to put up a negative comment about the show on every single post you come across about it. Of course you're entitled to your own opinions and it's good you feel the need to express that, but frankly the amount you're posting about the same subject to no effect is tedious and, frankly, it puts those of us who like Jodie into a difficult position. 

I understand you have some legitimate concerns about the direction that the show is going and you have some concerns about how it's being presented. But by calling this era "woke" is frankly lazy and it's not an argument. And it's now a word which usage is now becoming quickly associated with people like Laurence Fox and Nigel Farage.

The writer Vinay Patel, who wrote Fugitive of the Judoon and Demons of the Punjab, recently told a fan to "GTFO" when they asked about Jo Martin's incarnation and many fans, who see the show as Woke now, got up in arms. However, when you consider that this "fan" on twitter changed official artwork to remove Jodie and Jo from them and was a constant critic of Jo's inclusion, of course that should be brought up and taken to task. But the amount of comments I found in support of this "fan" who had been sworn at was overwhelming.

And with the trailer for Revolution of the Daleks, Facebook was swamped with negative comments, while the YouTube upload didn't seem to have many at all. Maybe I'm on the wrong media platform? Maybe I should spend more time on YouTube.

I'm not going to lie, Chibnall's writing is not the best writing the show's had. As someone who started Who with Eccleston and grew up with Tennant, Russell T Davies' era of the show is my favourite by far. However, I absolutely adore Jodie's Doctor. And every time I see someone comment, quite aggressively, that they've stopped watching the show because of Jodie or  Chibnall, I feel like I'm in a strange minority that actually accepts the show's 57 year tradition of CHANGE.

As a result of this, it's increasingly becoming clear that there's a weird double standard with these people in terms of narrative. I'll use the Timeless Child revelation as an example.

1. It's not the first time that Doctor Who has theorized about regenerations prior to William Hartnell. The Brain Of Morbius in the 1970s alluded to this. But, until now, it could also be assumed that they were Morbius' faces. Either way, it's not the first time that the Doctor's chronology has come into question.
2. If the writer was Russell T Davies, and the Doctor was David Tennant, I'd bet there would not be the same outcry by some fans as there has been now. Given that a lot of NuWho fans see the Davies era as some kind of Holy Grail for the show, I'd bet there wouldn't be nearly as much opposition as there is now with Jodie/Chibnall.
3. The show adapts and evolves with time. It did so in the 60s, it did so in the 80s and it's doing it continually. Also, the show has to adapt to both a change in the world around it, but also how people consume television. The episodic formula that has underpinned Doctor Who since 1963 doesn't work the same today. Nor does it work the same today as it did 5 years ago. You expect Doctor Who to get it right every time?

Frankly, I'm thankful we still HAVE Doctor Who.

For so many years, Doctor Who has been a safe haven for people who feel they don't belong in the real world. It means so much to so many. Which is why, when people attack it like they are, there's mixed feelings by those who frankly don't care.

Of course not everyone is going to like every era of Doctor Who. Not everyone is going to like everything that the show does. But this kind of argument, and this kind of aggression, is where politics is going. This is how political discourse operates these days, not Doctor Who!

And of course the show is going to, as it always has, reflect the time in which it airs. So the prospect of a female Doctor, a potential lesbian relationship and multi-racial representation SHOULD NOT BE A MASSIVE SURPRISE IN 2020. 

Doctor Who is not some weird sleeper agent in the so-called "Culture Wars". It's not some leftist device to overthrow the established order and it's certainly not designed to alienate you into accepting certain things. Doctor Who has always been a show that promotes kindness and acceptance over all else. It's always been the show where the person or being that tries to sow discord or division loses and that love and hope wins. This has stood for 57 years. Why are some fans alienated about this now?

So if you are someone who isn't watching Jodie's era because she's a woman and think that the show has become "woke", stop watching Doctor Who and let those of us who enjoy it just enjoy it. Because you're not going to like it going forward. Jodie doesn't seem to be going anywhere right now and it seems Chibnall's going to stick around. Hell, he might even write the 60th!

Or, who knows, maybe he'll leave fairly soon along with Jodie because he can't cope with the toxicity that's infected the fandom.

So to those people I've described, seriously, fuck off and let us enjoy the show we love. There's plenty of other shows that will cater to your tastes. I'm sure Netflix or Prime will have something you can watch instead. 

As an aside, if you've stopped watching because you're just bored of it, or don't like it but don't feel the need to let every person in the world know, I like you. You're fine. It's just those who have nothing better to do but bring it down for everyone else that's the problem.

Just maybe don't try Star Trek as you may have a heart attack.