Yeah I agree with her. I don’t mind answering questions for my friends but the fact I have friends needing to ask me about The Rani, and now especially Omega, shows there’s just something not being done right
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There’s always a chance that a show with this much lore and backstory will throw off people just getting into it, especially when they’re being called back to more often nowadays. But there’s also a chance that the existence of concepts, locations, and characters with an actual catalogue of stories to their name prior to that first encounter could entice viewers to start exploring.
I went through a similar thing myself. I started out with RTD1, and I vividly remember being completely thrown for a loop when I went onto the BBC Doctor Who website for the first time, and saw Tennant’s Doctor listed as the Tenth. I only had him and Eccleston to go on at first, so the thought that there was that much history I hadn’t seen yet made me curious to check it out. I started pooling some Classic-era recommendations, and that’s how I got started with the older stories.
I don’t doubt the experience of @ChrisStokes’ other half, and I get that RTD’s attempts to generate interest in OldWho can get pretty muddled. But there is a certain logic to it all the same.
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It’s really just the sheer volume recently. Like Omega is stated as the first Time Lord who the Rani is trying to find. That’s fairly explicit and if I’d answered her question with, “Was Omega in doctor who before?” with a no then she’d have gone, “OK,” and the episode wouldn’t really have suffered.
If the Rani was trying to find and free someone we’d never heard of then we’d all be in the same boat. That it’s Omega doesn’t really upset any of that in my opinion, it’s fairly gettable that she’s trying to reach a big bad for anyone.
It’s just that Omega has been in the show before so along with the Rani and Susan and Sutekh and Mel and so on she doesn’t react the same way as long term fans would and so feels left out.
Some of these returnees are, I think, laid out fine in the show (and some really aren’t) but the amount of them makes it feel like a deep cut Whovian shindig that she just doesn’t feel invited to.
And I can see why.
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It has definitely accelerated over the course of RTD2. The 60th anniversary specials felt like RTD was just having fun pulling from somewhat obscure parts of the DW ‘canon’ like Beep The Meep and the Toymaker, and now he’s not just bringing together even more of them, but in quick succession. I had the wherewithal to go back and watch all the older stuff… but something I tend to forget in the midst of that level of hyperfixation is that my fascination isn’t the same as everyone else’s.
I mean, we live in the age of the search engine, so the details are easy enough to find. But in terms of actually watching those earlier appearances, the streaming situation is pretty shambolic outside of the UK, and physical media isn’t exactly in vogue at the moment.
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Exactly that, and not everyone wants to go back. It can feel like the show is setting them homework.
In effect, in isolation, a lot of these returnees are explained fairly well. Anyone watching knows Mel used to travel with the Doctor because he recognises her and they reminisce. It’s the same with Sarah in 2006. But you’re right, so many in a fairly short space of time almost paints this as “for the long term fans” to some people.
If an episode lives or dies on a big reveal from the past (which, even though I have problems with some of them, not really any of these do in my opinion) then for many people it dies.
But Interstellar’s be-all-and-end-all isn’t the Rani reveal or Susan cameo, The Giggle’s be-all-and-end-all isn’t Mel, Wish World’s be-all-and-end-all isn’t Omega and so on, there’s other stuff happening. But the parade of blasts of the pasts can begin to feel like repeated in-jokes. Or, at the very least, a culmination of about 5-10% of the current era which a lot of viewers feel like they might be missing out on.
Because that Susan cameo and Rani reveal is a consideration when it comes to Interstellar for many of us, just not so much for a lot of viewers.
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Conrad , now please give me that book calmly 
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Okay… I’ve been refraining from getting into any line of discussion regarding Disney themselves having any direct influence on the show since they secured streaming rights, but this sounds exactly like the problem late-stage Marvel Studios has been (failing to) deal with for the last several years. A connected universe is one thing, but it’s not as effective when it’s all vital for whatever new thing comes out.
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I’m trying to watch Classic Who in order and RTD is like “So what? You should’ve watched it ages ago 
”
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Echoing what @ChrisStokes said about the frequency, and I do just think the execution has been lacking. With the Daleks, Cybermen, Dave Ross, and Master you got build up and context for who these are and why they were a big deal. With The Master specifically, we got The Doctor’s reaction. But with the Rani we didn’t at all, she was just casually revealed to two people who won’t know who she is, and then only to The Doctor at the end of Wish World and even then didn’t get much of a reaction cause his memories hadn’t fully returned. And same with Omega (though there is the theory he might not actually appear but still)
imo you either need that build up and context and/or the emotional immediate Doctor reaction and this year’s reveals have lacked both
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I’ve never really understood why it’s such a major problem to bring back old characters or elements and not spend a lot of time explaining them. If you’re confused, you can simply look it up if you’re interested. And then again, does it really matter? Does it matter to a new viewer that Omega and Sutkeh are pre-existing characters? The show makes references to past adventures, seen and unseen, all the time, so even if the Doctor seems to know Omega, it could just be from an unseen adventure.
I mean, I had no idea about the Master when I first watched Series 3. I knew nothing about his past incarnations or relationship with the Doctor, and the references to their past adventures (such as Claws of Axos, as mentioned by the Doctor) meant nothing to me, and didn’t put me off. And then, when I watched Classic, I finally understood what the references meant.
So I really don’t see the problem. But maybe it’s just me. I’m a very inquisitive and curious mind, so if I notice something that intrigues me, I look it up to learn more - and I enjoy it. And if I don’t, I stop thinking too much about it, especially in a show that continually likes to reference adventures we have never seen or heard. How is a mention of Omega any different from the Doctor mentioning a hot summer with Houdini - do people go: “Hey, is that Houdini story supposed to be a reference to an episode I haven’t seen?”
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It’s a bit of a Catch-22. Reference the old stuff, and you’re relying on previous material to make up for deficiencies in the new. Don’t reference the old stuff, and you’re “not even Doctor Who anymore”, like the people in charge are ashamed of their own history, or worse, just don’t care about it.[1]
not saying ANY of this as my own opinion, just in terms of worst-case scenario optics ↩︎
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Some people definitely do. When Jo Martin’s cameo happened, my mate who didn’t watch 13’s era (not due to anything crappy, he just didn’t watch the show for a bit and only recently got back in), asked me if he has missed like an adventure or something. There’s 60+ years of lore now, and for a casual viewer that can be overwhelming or a few of us wouldn’t be saying that our more casual viewers in our lives have been asking questions
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Like I said, it’s the frequency of it recently which is putting off the casual fans I know.
Omega is a big bad the Rani is trying to find. Fine. Mel used to travel with the Doctor. Fine.
It’s not that they’re scratching their heads necessarily at who they are, but having so many returning elements recently is making them feel like they’re not on the same page as the show.
One or two, outlined as they are, wouldn’t be as much of an issue as it feeling quite so frequent.
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I think it’s worth pointing out that I don’t feel like the show is relying on any of these. There’s more new stuff than old in the running times themselves. I genuinely think RTD is just playing in the sandbox and realising he can use this toy there and that toy here etc.
I just notice it having a knock on effect.
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Even as someone who’s trying to keep up with classic who , it still feels like RTD relies on Classic villains/characters maybe way too much
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There’s also the bigger cultural context to consider.
Like… the show is not in a good place in terms of optics. The leaks, the shortened season length, the constant barrage of #RIPDoctorWho waffle, the recurring worries about showrunners and lead actors dropping out all of a sudden; the conversation around the show is bigger than the show itself, to the point of actively leaking into the show proper.
To watch the main show, despite all of that, carries a certain assumption that the viewer has been on a long enough haul that such things aren’t enough of a deterrent. After all, superfans have been in charge of the show for at least two decades by this point; it’s not hard to assume the same of those watching it from a creative standpoint.
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I’m not really sure you actually would need to know who any of these classic characters were to watch the show. I mean, with the Rani, her name was dropped in a list of Time Lords back when the Doctor was saying they were all dead last season, and they’ve referenced Susan an awful lot in the last two seasons, setting up who she is.
You don’t always have to have the previous context. I end up thinking about how River Song was introduced as a new character as if she was a long running character…
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It isn’t a problem bringing back returning elements. The show has done that since the first episode back in 2005. It has done so gracefully and comprehensively (almost) every time.
But for a lot of people it’s happening much too often at this point.
It isn’t that they’re confused by who certain characters are, they’re just feeling like the show is being made for fans who know more than they do and it puts their noses out of joint a bit, and I can understand why. They used to feel like the show is made for them, not so much anymore.
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I heard a lot about the Rani atleast but I don’t think I had any idea of Omega yet , I feel lucky I finished Susan’s episodes before she came back
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