Special episodes of “Doctor Who” which see David Tennant return to the role of the Doctor have been the target of homophobic and transphobic attacks on social media.
We can’t say that the party was spoiled, but still… The Doctor Who series made its comeback on November 25 with the broadcast of the first of its three special episodes produced for the sixty years of the cult program. On this occasion, David Tennant donned the Doctor’s costume.
One of the BBC’s most iconic series, Doctor Who follows the adventures of an alien traveling through time and space aboard his spaceship: the Tardis.
Generally alongside a companion, he possesses the power of Regeneration – a trick allowing him to change his appearance, and therefore his interpreter, and thus escape death.
Fourteen actors and actresses have played the Doctor since 1963. Of all the actors who have played the character, David Tennant is among the most popular. Appearing in three seasons, then in the special 50th anniversary episode broadcast in 2013, the Scottish actor made an unexpected return last year to succeed Jodie Whittaker, the Thirteenth Doctor.
Times change, not mentalities
At the time when the latter was announced as the new incarnation of the Time Lord, the English actress had suffered vile sexist campaigns against her. Despite this difficult context, the very first female interpreter of the Doctor held on to mark the history of the British series forever.
Sixty years of Doctor Who also mark the great return of showrunner Russell T. Davies. Already at the origin of the new series in 2005 (the broadcast of the original Doctor Who series was interrupted in 1989), the Welsh screenwriter is also known to the public for his series Queer as Folk, Years and Years and It’s a Sin .
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Himself openly homosexual and an activist for the defense of LGBTQIA+ rights, Russell T. Davies attaches great importance to diversity and the representation of minorities in his series.
His first decision as new showrunner of Doctor Who was to choose Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education) to play the Fifteenth Doctor (the one who will succeed David Tennant). The announcement of the very first performer of color for the character led to violent racist and homophobic attacks on social networks.
RIP Doctor Who, really?
Attacks also targeted the first special episode of sixty years in which transgender actress Yasmin Finney appears, and where the Doctor is described as a non-binary character (“Masculine and feminine. And neither. And both at the same time.”). In the second episode, a line of dialogue also suggests that the Doctor is now bisexual.
A hashtag #RIPDoctorWho appeared on the social network X and was taken up by hundreds of users. Internet users have also opted for the review bombing from the Serie. Praised by the press on Rotten Tomatoes (94% positive reviews), the first special episode displays an audience rating of barely 42%.
A hate campaign which did not prevent the series from achieving success, as evidenced by its audiences on the BBC (5.08 million viewers, the best launch for a series this year) and the place occupied by the series in the Top 5 on Disney+ in a large majority of countries (France included).
The first two special episodes of the sixty Doctor Who series can be found now exclusively on Disney+.
Discover the list of series currently available on the platform!