10 Things Doctor Who Should Never Have Got Away With
4. The Doctor Snogs John Barrowman
Once the press got wind of the fact that Queer As Folk scriptwriter Russell T Davies was bringing Doctor Who back to TV, the kneejerk reactions from some of them were predictable as ever. Will the Doctor be gay? Meanwhile, those who pursed their lips at the (heterosexual) snogging action in the 1996 TV Movie lived in fear of more of the same under the new regime. Davies, meanwhile, clearly thought, Sod this"... and then some. After eight episodes detailing the obvious attraction between Christopher Ecclestons Ninth Doctor and Billie Pipers Rose, The Empty Child introduced omnisexual time travelling playboy conman Captain Jack Harkness who romances Roses and flirts with airman Algy, causing the letter-writing brigade to twitch in their seats. Casting John Barrowman, possibly the most out gay man in the world, in the role just put the cherry on the cake. Then, in the final episode of the season, Jack grabs the Doctors face and kisses him goodbye. The Time Lord, as far as the audience can tell, is fine with this. It had never happened before and, perhaps disappointingly, has never happened since. Whats more, it seemed to pass by without causing tremors. Whod have thought that the Doctor could kiss a man without questions being asked in Parliament? Bold as brass, Davies judged it correctly.
I teach literature of all types but when I write, it tends to involve "Doctor Who". My fiction can be found in unofficial anthology "Seasons of War"; my non-fiction in the "You and Who" books as well as the forthcoming "Hating to Love" and "Blake's Heaven".
