11 Things Doctor Who Wants You To Forget

Sometimes it's just easier to forget.

Doctor Who is a great TV programme but even the most loved shows have elements that are far from perfect. Looking back on over 50 years of televised stories, there are certain moments and ideas that the creators would undoubtedly prefer the viewers forget... forever.. In fact, with so many episodes under its belt, Doctor Who can be forgiven for its occasional poor taste (oh, those costumes in The Twin Dilemma), dumb ideas (let's face it, the Kandy Man from The Happiness Patrol, apologists notwithstanding) and general monster costumes with seams plainly visible on the backs (looking at you, original Silurians!). In the spirit of fairness, though, let's not dwell on the usual items used to castigate the showrunners, such as burping wheelie bins, wobbling sets, Daleks blundering into cameras and the problems caused by limited budgets. Instead, fans should view this series through the prism of genuine affection. Also, let's avoid things that became silly only with the passage of years. At the time of its original broadcast, for example, the green bubble wrap coated arm in Ark in Space was scary - it was only with the subsequent growth in popularity of bubble wrap that the material came to look commonplace and ridiculously out of place masquerading as transmogrifying flesh on an actor's arm. The makers of Doctor Who can hardly be critiqued, though, for not guessing how that material would come to be so popular in the future... So, let's instead focus on the worst things that the creators should have known wouldn't work. Here are the 10 most egregious aspects from NuWho and the Classic Series that the creators would no doubt prefer were swept under the carpet to be never mentioned again. Let's begin!
Contributor
Contributor

Mike has lived in the UK, Japan and the USA. Currently, he is based in Iowa with his wife and 2 young children. After working for many years as a writer and editor for a large corporation, he is now a freelancer. He has been fortunate enough to contribute to many books on Doctor Who over the last 20 years and is now concentrating on original sci-fi & fantasy short stories, with recent sales including Flame Tree, Uffda, and The Martian Wave. Also, look for his contribution on Blake's 7 to "You and Who Else", a charity anthology to be released later this year. You can find him on Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/culttvmike