this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2023
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Doctor Who

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Some media outlets still use Twitter/X as a source for news and opinion, otherwise I wouldn't go near the site. Seeing some of the replies to a trailer for the upcoming Doctor who xmas special, I wonder why somebody feels the need to actively shit on a show they so clearly dislike:

Like most #DrWho fans, I won’t be watching. #DrWho is dead. The doctor is now black and gay, Sir Isaac Newton is now Indian, and the character of Rose is being played by a man wearing women’s clothing. #RIPDoctorWho #DefundTheBBC #DiversityHire

That quote alone has too many levels of wrong to pick over, but it will never not surprise me how little of the show's humanist messages these people have taken to heart.

Edit: Thanks for the "duh, Twitter" responses. I do think it's low hanging fruit to just blame the platform (which is, inarguably, a dumpster fire). Let's talk about reactionary fans instead, yeah?

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[–] rtxn@lemmy.world 31 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

It's twitter. What did you expect? That is just the average twitter user about anything.

[–] YoBuckStopsHere@lemmy.world 17 points 2 years ago

The few civilized people on Twitter left. It's just assholes now.

[–] halm@leminal.space 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

That's true, but it's really deteriorated beyond its former lows. I assume the sensible voices that used to even it out got the hell out of Dodge when Musk took over.

[–] StarManta@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago

There are some who remain there, but only interact with their own “bubble” of people that they’ve cultivated over the years. So whatever sensible people are there wouldn’t be responding to hashtags and getting involved in this sort of conversation.

[–] lurch@sh.itjust.works 22 points 2 years ago (2 children)

FTFY: I guess ~~Doctor Who~~ twitter is now primarily made up of people who hate ~~the show~~?

[–] halm@leminal.space 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I mean, true. But as I posted this to a Doctor Who forum, I don't agree that you "fixed it for me".

[–] lurch@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 years ago

Yes, i know and i didn't mean yours was broken or wrong. It was just grim humour at the expense of twitters decline.

[–] MimicJar@lemmy.blahaj.zone -2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

FTFY: I guess ~~Doctor Who~~ twitter is ~~now~~ primarily made up of people who hate ~~the show~~?

[–] MajorHavoc@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

Your post needs an extra squiggly on each side to format right on most clients.

https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax

[–] citrusface@lemmy.world 19 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] halm@leminal.space 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Always good advice, as I said I'm only viewing tweets (through nitter) to make heads and tails of news items. The link above is also to a nitter instance so you guys don't have to visit twitter either.

[–] CeruleanRuin@lemmings.world 2 points 2 years ago

The bottom line is that Xitter is not an acceptable source for news, much less for gauging popular sentiment about anything.

[–] citrusface@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I gets it my dude. Imo it's not about how you view the content, it's consuming the content at all. It's not that the site is bad, it's just that it seems nowadays everyone involved with Twitter is just kinda shit. Again - my opinion.

[–] halm@leminal.space 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Completely agree. It is mind boggling at this point that serious media still use and cite Twitter as a news source. In a Doctor who context, Radio times are perhaps the worst offenders.

[–] ristoril_zip@lemmy.zip 15 points 2 years ago

Twitter is now primarily made of hate

[–] Volkditty@kbin.social 11 points 2 years ago

~~I guess Doctor Who~~ twitter is now primarily made up of people who hate ~~the show?~~

[–] nobloat@lemmy.ml 11 points 2 years ago

I am not on Twitter. I did find the first episode of the specials way too heavy-handed, but I absolutely loved the other two episodes. I love when Doctor Who has progressive messages but I want them to feel more organic and less like a morality tale. I love the appearance of the new doctor and I hope they will not do the preachiness in the same way in the coming seasons.

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 9 points 2 years ago

98% of the sane people left twitter, it's basically 8-chan now

[–] Crowfiend@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago

Just ignore those people. Giving them attention is exactly what they want.

[–] blackstampede@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 years ago (4 children)

I haven't kept up with the series and I'm probably not going to start again right now, but is the doctor canonically gay? Like did he regenerate gay, or is the actor just very obviously gay and they don't address it otherwise?

[–] TheDoctorDonna@lemmy.world 12 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

So the new actor, Ncuti, is IRL "gay"- David Tennant is not, he has a wife and children and there's a whole Doctor Who story behind that too. But the Doctor has never been "straight", at least not for NuWho ( but there was some serious flamboyance in the classic series too). Jack and the Doctor kiss in the first season of NuWho and 13 fell in hard like with Yaz, her female companion. Plus there are scattered remarks throught the show that would make one question the Doctors sexuality if it mattered.

The Doctor is essentially omni-sexual. They fall in love with a personality not genitals or species.

[–] blackstampede@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yeah, I had always assumed he was omni-ish. That's why I was wondering if they had made some definitive statement.

[–] TheDoctorDonna@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago

I don't think they need to, but I don't recall anything definitive other than Donna's comment about the queer never being too far from the surface. I think they intend to bring it out a little more with 15 though because every actor gets to put some of themselves in to the Doctor.

[–] Devi@kbin.social 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

There was a bit with Tennant where he said he liked men, and said that was new. It's not a major plot point.

[–] SkyeHarith@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

He didn’t even say that he liked Men he just said that he thought one guy looked good. like come on. It’s just aesthetic appreciation

[–] Devi@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I didn't say he liked all men, just men.

[–] SkyeHarith@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

We’re on the same page. I was adding onto your point

[–] Pronell@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It's a right wing troll.

The doctor is often manic and playful. I know nothing about the actor but nothing about the performance seemed 'gay'.

That aside, Rose is a new character, not the old Billie Piper Rose, making the rest of thus idiot's take completely unhinged.

I hadn't watched and since Matt Smith and personally just wanted to see Tennant and Donna Noble together again.

[–] blackstampede@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Same, actually. I'm glad Tennant is coming back.

[–] Pronell@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

I wanted to see the rationale and was not at all expecting to see the new Doctor at all as again I'm like two Doctors behind at the moment.

But it's still the same old RTD style Doctor, both Tennant and Gatwa.

[–] Shareni@programming.dev 3 points 2 years ago

Wasn't he in just for the specials?

[–] halm@leminal.space 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

is the doctor canonically gay?

...and if they were?

No, it has not been writ in stone that the Doctor is now "gay". Ncuti Gatwa is queer although not public about what that entails afaik. In a recent special, David Tennant's Doctor did (somewhat to his own surprise) note that another man was "hot", but Donna commented that his queerness "was never that far from the surface, mate".

When it comes down to canon, the Doctor is a millennia old, time travelling alien that changes face every couple of years. If viewers are able to accept that and the other wild concepts of the show, they shouldn't have any trouble coming to terms with down-to-earth, real life things like the Doctor not being totally straight.

[–] blackstampede@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 years ago

I mean, I'm curious, that's why. But thanks for answering the question.

[–] Pratai@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Isn’t that the same as the Star Wars groups? Most of them only like two or three of the movies and bitch about the rest.

[–] leftzero@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 2 years ago

No, that is because the original trilogy is great, the prequels aren't bad, but somewhat disappointing if you grew up with the original trilogy, and the sequels (except for Rogue One, which is great) are chaotic poorly written and awfully directed trash (most of the shows are pretty good, though).

This is your run of the mill bigoted far right xitter xit. Hate is all you'll find there, for Doctor Who or for anything else that isn't far right shit.

[–] SgtAStrawberry@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

I have seen the same thing in a lot of fandoms unfortunately, so nothing new really.

[–] Lmaydev@programming.dev 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

They are clearly just a bigot and twitter is a safe space for them.

People were the same when it was women.

Basically if the doctor isn't a straight, white and cisgender man people lose their minds.

[–] Shareni@programming.dev 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

People were the same when it was women.

Don't forget that Chibnall is just bad, and that letting him showrun the first female Doctor was a horrible idea. Genuine discontent allows for biggots to more easily insert their own agenda and steer the course of discussion.

[–] halm@leminal.space -1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I need to say, Chibnall wasn't bad bad. He just looks that way following runs by RTD and Moffat and, honestly, so would most other showrunners in the scifi/fantasy genre.

He did some middling series with a couple of clunker episodes, that's all. We've just been spoilt for quality in Doctor who post-2005!

[–] Shareni@programming.dev 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

These guys aren't bad at diving, it's just that everyone is better.

[–] halm@leminal.space 1 points 2 years ago

LOL! I'm not even going to watch that video, it looks like it'll end in pain. I did watch the Chibnall seasons however, and I stand by what I say.

Obviously, I know mileages vary on this.

[–] halm@leminal.space 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

Basically if the doctor isn’t a straight, white and cisgender man people lose their minds.

Oh, for sure. The funny thing is how they feel the need to bolster their position by claiming that "all" or "most" viewers share their bigotry. And that's not just Twitter, you see the same on r/DoctorWho when people need to convince themselves that {female Doctor bad|Timeless Child ruined Who|Chibnall is the great beast} 🙄

[–] Devi@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago

I went there once to talk about an episode I liked, just like "I really enjoyed tonights ep for X, Y and Z reasons"

All the replies were explaining to me how I didn't actually like it, or how if I did it was cause I hadn't watched the show before,, or just generally a hater. It was so odd. It's a toxic place.

[–] Lmaydev@programming.dev 2 points 2 years ago

This is super common among racists. You'll often hear them say "I'm just saying what everyone is thinking" or "I just have the balls to say it" that's how they justify it to themselves.

[–] freewheel@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

"duh,X" but hear me out. The signal to noise ratio on Twitter has always hovered around 50%. Ever since the upheaval, anyone with any sense has already left the platform. It's fully expected that on any topic, the toxic responses will be louder than reason.

[–] RoseRose56@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I'm still watching doctor who, and I have to say that I love it, its the only show that keeps the story original without rebooting with 100 series. edit: judge on your own, dont only read others stuff on twitter and go with it. Bots can be used easy now days to change opinion on something.

[–] frankPodmore@slrpnk.net 2 points 2 years ago

That is not a real fan, or a real opinion, or even a real person. Pure trolling. Don't give them the oxygen.

[–] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

threads doctor who tag is delightfully wonderful :)

i grew tired of twitter doctor who when thirteen was announced and the misogynists came out. ;__;

[–] halm@leminal.space 1 points 2 years ago

I'm still not convinced a bunch of the "Chibnall bad" discourse wouldn't have been less harsh with a male actor as the Doctor 😕