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| Bored of not understanding? |
David Brown on the Radio Times blog has asked this rather appropriate question, using his own love of Doctor Who and his son's increasing confusion with Series 6 to determine what, exactly, the show's audience is meant to be.
. . . Is Doctor Who gabbling fast and blinding us with supposed plot in the hope that we'll overlook the fact that it's failing to serve the children it was originally aimed at?
I don't know about you but I'm beginning to feel pummelled by all the timey-wimey nonsense while my seven-year-old, who loves seeing Jon Pertwee take on the Raston warrior robot, is starting to feel a bit left behind by the Matt Smith era. He has no concept of time - if he did, he'd realise that a five-minute job like putting on his pyjamas doesn't need to take two hours.
So how is he supposed to cope with River Song and the Doctor's state of affairs, where one's going backwards and the other's going forwards in the hope that they'll one day meet and realise that the answer to life, the universe and everything is 42 or whatever it is they're supposed to know? . . .
The full blog post can be found here. This intriguing question Brown raises might just be because opening of Series 6 is in two parts, but Steven Moffat will have to tread carefully to avoid alienating his broad audience, whatever that may be. At least Doctor Who may be challenging its viewers, as opposed to underestimating their ability to comprehend complexity in plot.
13 Comments:
I fail to see how TIA is confusing, its actually incredibly linear :/
The only thing I feel is maybe hitting home The Doctor has sent them all there a little more, just because you sometimes forget what there suppose to be doing.
But its actually very straight forward otherwsie so /yawn
huh?
:)
Doctor Who isnt a kids show its a family show. The same way that The Simpsons is. Theres Bart jokes for kids and Homer jokes for the adults. Should The Simpsons stop doing Homer jokes? No. They'll just learn to appreciate the other half when their older.
I loved Ghostbusters when I was a kid because of the effects and the whole ghost catching business. I didnt realise how funny the film was until my mid teens.
The people who think that Moffat's Who is too complicated probably couldnt follow Back to the Future.
Doctor Who hasn't become needlessly baffling. It was needlessly dumbed down for too many years. About time somebodys having the balls to put proper time travel elements into a time travel show.
I disagree, Doctor Who is the greatest example of British Children's Television. While I am past my childhood, I am in tune with it and know I would love every bit of Matt Smith's tenure and I certainly could have grasped these concepts at the age of four. While I have not been able to share The Impossible Astronaut with any children I did share Matt Smith's first season with 4 kids ranging ages 2-12 and they alll loved it madly and they grasped it. They might have asked a question or two but once explained they got it. Some adults seem to think of children as this mass of idiots and they deem it appropriate to make idiotic programming for them like Hannah Montana and Dora the Explorer and music like Justin Bieber. They condition them to like that rubbish and to think of themselves as ignorant. Doctor Who is brilliant Children's Television and all brilliant Children's Television should have some appeal to adults. Quit telling your kids they are dumb and teach them by allowing them exposure to smarter things in television, film, literature and music. Doctor Who will prepare them for complex concepts, critical thinking, analysis and development.
Confusing to follow ?? My 7 year old daughter didn't seen to have any problem following TIA
As I said, it's better to challenge viewers than to underestimate them.
Wait, Doctor Who is a kids show? I can see how is for family and how it should branch out for a larger audience. In fact there isn't enough fast paced, complicated tv showes out there. No it's not hard to follow along, just all the the theories are.
i would invite David Brown, and his son, to eff off.
and i doubt his son is bothered, actually. the real problem is, the son is probably looking to the dad to explain it, and he cant, because David Brown is a simpleton.
i think its great to challenge minds on TV. the show is aimed at whoever watches it. kids are obviously digging it. so what is the problem? they must be getting something out of it or they wouldn't tune in.
its layered in such a way that everyone can get something out of it.
and further, imagine kids asking parents about doctor who and the two discussing physics and fluid dynamics and time travel and philosophy... that is awesome.
so, david brown, figure it out you big dummy and explain it to your stupid kid as well. thanks.
I don't totally agree but there is some truth in this article. I actually think a more straightforward single-parter would have made a better introduction to the series, drawing the widest possible audience in - and then hitting them with some more complex timey-wimey stuff later!
Paraphrasing Douglas Adams - "The show needs to be complicated enough to hold kids' attention and simple enough to interest the adults."
Having said that, the one thing I don't like constantly is the ability to erase everything and start all over again. Seems a bit too easy and it's been done a lot.
My first reaction was that I didn't enjoy the episode. I enjoyed parts, characters, but it made me think of Lost and Heroes. I stopped watching them because they became too difficult. I love a good story arc, and I won't stop watching Doctor Who, BUT...
Well, my son (5) has absolutely fallen in love with Doctor Who SINCE Moffat took over.
He finds the scary bit scary, the funny bits funny & the exciting bits..well you get the picture.
I do find it amusing that a writer who finally incorporates time travel into stories about a time traveller is critised for it...
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