10 Questionable Creative Decisions Made On Doctor Who

By John Hussey / April 22, 2021

Throughout Doctor Who's fifty seven year reign on television, there have been many creators and many writers who've left their various marks on the show. A lot of those creative decisions have helped shape the series, and even aided in its continuation, deepening the lore of the Doctor.

Unfortunately, like all positives, there's always a negative element. Bad creative decisions come at the cost of gaining good creative decisions. Sometimes they can be harmless. Other times they can be downright questionable. To the point where fans, and audience members alike, are left baffled as to how these creators came to making such bold calculations within their creativity.

This has led to bizarre choices from characters, plot holes that render a narrative unwatchable, or even retroactively dampen other creator's positive work on the show. Sometimes creator's have even shot themselves in the foot.

It's a crazy experience witnessing these strange outcomes first hand. They either lead to you falling to the floor with laughter, because of how dumb it is, or results in you screaming out in rage. Nevertheless, it's always fun pointing out these questionable choices.

10. The First Doctor Breaking The Fourth Wall

During the height of Dalek Mania, original producer Verity Lambert decided to set things into motion for a twelve part epic featuring the Doctor's bitter adversary. In turn, this became one of the Time Lord's darkest battles, with the Daleks attempting to control the universe through the means of the Time Destructor, a device that can age planets in an instance.

In the process of keeping reality safe from the Daleks, the First Doctor loses two of his companions, and faces many deadly traps, and fierce encounters with sadistic foes. It's fair to say that this adventure was grim. Naturally, when it was discovered that a segment of The Daleks' Master Plan would air on Christmas Day, it was felt by the creators that this particular set piece should be lighter in tone.

So it was decided that The Feast of Steven would be a filler episode, devoid of the Daleks and the more chilling themes featured within the rest of the serial. However, William Hartnell felt it was a good idea to wish the audience a Merry Christmas during the final scene. In any other show, this would've been deemed acceptable.

Here, it implies that the Doctor is able to see the viewers at home watching his adventures, which is far too meta, and strange in both its execution, and concept. It completely takes the audience out of the narrative, and dampens their overall experience, through being reminded you're simply watching a television show. Perhaps it's a good thing that this episode is missing from the archives.