10 Doctor Who Episodes That PISSED People Off

Spoiler Alert: Doctor Who + Violence = Complaints.

Doctor Who The Timeless Children
BBC Studios

There are many reasons that Doctor Who has received criticism throughout the years. Varying levels of production value can be forgiven in the grand scheme as this was a television show in the days long before movie-budgets like Game of Thrones received. However, production aside, it is more often than not the scripts that rile people the most.

In modern-Who, messages of pro-environmentalism have been met with derision, while nihilistic messages from classic-Who received stark critiques as well. The handling of certain issues could have been better along the way, though when it came to racist stereotypes, the show was definitely not an innocent bystander. Oh yes, THAT story does feature here.

Attempts to push the show either in a new direction or to shake up the format have also fallen flat, which has led to, arguably, a very fair question: what exactly is it that audiences want to see? That? Nope. That? No, not that either! Having said that, some creative choices have been made along the way...well, let's get to it.

10. Sleep No More

Doctor Who The Timeless Children
BBC Studios

Cashing in on the found-footage craze of the 00s, this Mark Gatiss penned script was meant to be a scary addition to the series, featuring creepy villains made from the dust that collects in the corner of one's eyes. All going well, a villain likes of the Weeping Angels or the Silence could have grown up from this. Instead, a highly confusing and muddled episode just served to annoy audiences.

While it was daring to attempt to switch the format of the show up, the episode arrived just after the fantastic Zygon Invasion/Inversion two-parter. The ninth series had been a drastic step up from the eighth, yet this episode spoiled what had been an upward trajectory.

None of the supporting characters are memorable, the Doctor comes across as arrogant rather than confident and the episode has no overall impact on Who lore or any ongoing threads. League of Gentlemen alum Reese Shearsmith, returning to the franchise after playing Patrick Troughton in An Adventure In Time And Space, plays the hero that the audience gets to know through flashback. Yet not even that is enough to help viewers understand what exactly was meant to be happening.

This episode was a swing and miss for Gatiss in Peter Capaldi's middle-season.

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Writer. Reader. Host. I'm Seán, I live in Ireland and I'm the poster child for dangerous obsessions with Star Trek. Check me out on Twitter @seanferrick