10 Most Hated Doctor Who Characters

6. River Song

More than a little controversial, River Song is either absolutely, violently loved by fandom, or hated with a passion. There seems no middle ground for the Doctor€™s wife. Many choose to take out their frustrations with Steven Moffat€™s direction for the show upon River, who seems to represent for them everything they dislike about Doctor Who after Russell T. Davies left. Her appearances inevitably involve jiggering around with complex stories that lack complete explanations, something that Moffat is routinely berated for. More than that, there€™s the extrapolation of her character following Moffat€™s taking over the series in 2010, and the development of her backstory. Too many elements of her character seemed to be a variation upon the €˜Mary Sue€™ trope in fandom: she€™s an idealised but far from fully-realised character, inserted into the narrative as having an instant, important connection with the protagonist, with powers and skills that in many ways rival his own, and who usually (if not always) comes out on top in verbal exchanges between the two. River is also the subject of mystery and speculation throughout the majority of the narrative of Moffat€™s run with the 11th Doctor, and has elements of tragedy to her in her asynchronous relationship with him. Finally, she€™s revealed to be even more central to the plot than had previously been hinted at. At times, it feels as though the character has been created by an adolescent fan for use in their own amateur Doctor Who fan fiction, not by a professional writer and producer for use in their hit television show. That€™s not all, of course €“ many seem to feel that River is annoying, and that her frequent reappearances in the story are irritating rather than something to look forward to. Of course, these are the same people that find irritating any strong, capable woman who doesn€™t fall immediately in line with the hero, so we€™ll take that with a pinch of salt.