Youtuber Stubagful released a twenty-minute video asking this very question and I highly enjoyed it. It’s got a lot to it, and I thought it was very worth discussing. What are your thoughts on Stuart’s points? And does Doctor Who need a massive redesign in the current age of binging, targeted viewing experiances and multiple screens in residences?
I didn’t really get the overall point he was making. Especially when he ended on the question “Would Doctor who catch on today?” Like, thats just not a very good or interesting question. The answer is probably no but you don’t see anyone asking that question about Batman or Shakespeare plays. I also think there was an assumption made in the video that the world of streaming is SO DIFFERENT to how TV was before and that’s not really true. Where we watch stuff is different but the age of binging has been dying out for a few years now and streamers just seem to be replacing cable. I personally think if Stubagful didn’t have the “smart youtuber” cadence and a British accent this video wouldn’t come across anywhere near as insightful as it does, because it just isn’t that insightful and it feels more like a man trying to intellectualise the fact he doesn’t think dr who is as good as he used to think it was.
Also all the streaming shows he compared it to at the end of the video were made for adults and the show is a childrens show. You’re better off comparing it to “Bluey” than you are “Severence”
Is Doctor Who outdated?
Yes.
But I’ll let Stubagful and anyone else who is interested in on a secret: It’s been outdated since around 1970. I can say that with… a certain amount of confidence, as someone who was born into the same world as Doctor Who. Growing up in that era, I could see the influences that informed the series - Quatermass, obviously, but also fictional British spacemen like Dan Dare in the comics and Journey into Space on the wireless (as we still called radio back then). All of which were starting to appear a bit quaint even as Jon Pertwee was falling out of his TARDIS into a world of colour television.
Maybe though, that very quaintness is part of the series’ appeal. Even before Star Wars came along, the good Doctor still had to compete with flashy looking U.S. upstarts like The Time Tunnel, Star Trek and Land of the Giants. There was also homegrown competition from Gerry Anderson in the form of UFO and Space: 1999. By comparison, Doctor Who looked like a night out at the local reparatory theatre, but… so what? I liked rep theatre.
But that’s the classic era. Doctor Who has evolved. When it came back in 2005, I think Harry Potter was more of an influence than Dan Dare (more recently I think it’s the Marvel movies). I always compare 20th century Doctor Who to the Haunted House at the fair, while 21st century Who is the roller coaster ride. Personally I prefer the former but I don’t resent the latter (as, sadly, far too many fans of my generation do).
I am fairly confident, again, that when some of you young 'uns who joined the series as kids and teenagers in 2005 are in your sixties, that Doctor Who will still be around in some form - though I scarcely dare to imagine what form that will take (holograms?). Maybe you’ll even be sat there with your grandkids grumbling about how the modern stuff isn’t as good as it was in your day. When you think about it that way, and in the context of Doctor Who, a TV series about a time traveller, the word ‘outdated’ becomes irrelevant. Quite right too.
The first half of your comment reminds me that this was literally the question Michael Grade had asked
Look forward to watching this later.
Watching it now.
As for the original video, I disagree with most it. & it’s strange that it’s coming out in 2025 when the streaming bubble is about to burst. A lot of the comparisons to other shows are not fair, they are not aimed at the same audience. Also I have to be honest, the presentation is awful - the silly stick figures, the repeated use of a grainy b & w photo of someone pointing a remote control at us as if we are the telly, the fonts used. For a video that talks about something being outdated it’s a very outdated looking YouTube video.
Is Doctor Who outdated (visually)? Yes. Do I still like it? YES.
Stubagful responded to Mr Tardis’ response in a lenghty comment in the comment section. Interesting stuff.
Compared to what? For me the Chibnall era in particular is far more impressive than all those netflix shows which look the same. They may have big budgets & FX but all look so bland.
I think that the latest season also looks amazing. I do not think that the FX looks on pair with other stuff.
It does, but doesn’t look significantly different to the previous seasons. Especially given all the talk of financial input from Disney.
Watching this now. Very good. I also really enjoyed Stu’s clarifying statement in the comments. Having watched Season 1/Series 14/Season 40, there were things I enjoyed and things I didn’t. I do think that Doctor needs a possible reformat of some sort (no I don’t know exactly what). I’m not entirely sure RTD was the right person to helm the series past the 60th. For the 60th Anniversary, yes, I think he was a good pick. He got the show back in people’s minds after the Chibnall Era, no matter what your personal opinions on that era might be. I enjoyed the three specials. But, going into Series 14, I think it should’ve been someone else. There are a number of issues with Series 14 that it appears Series 15 is potentially fixing (RTD writing everything, two back-to-back Doctor-lite episodes, too short a season, etc).
So, is Doctor Who outdated? No. It does evolve over time and has somewhat evolved in the past 25 years. However, I do agree that it needs to evolve just a little bit more. I do think that RTD’s idea of a word or phrase being the entire arc is a bit outdated, though not entirely. What is the solution? How should Doctor Who evolve to compete with the more popular streaming shows? I have no idea.
Is there another way to do it??? /j
CGI baby mouths £5.50
Ncuti’s wardrobe £100,000
Fake snow £100
Alien makeup for Ruby (one single gag) £8,000
T-Rex £100,000,000
Someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this, my TV show is dying.
Shauny has been ousted as the BBC!
(Pulls zip down forehead… climbs out of Shauny’s body)
It’s me! Russell “The” Davies!
Shhhhh!
(Zips back up)
So how much of the budget for Season 2 did you put into getting Gareth to make that video for us? Does this mean we are going to get bubble wrap and sock puppet monsters in this season??
