"Doctor Who" has been passing the Bechdel Test since 1963 (if you haven't heard of this eye-opening test for cinema and television, look it up), and had been on the forefront of female representation in television until...well, until Moffat took over as show runner. I've wracked my brains, but I don't think any of Moffat's female characters (companions or otherwise) have ever held a conversation with another female about anything other than the Doctor. Please, correct me if I'm wrong. We have, for example, River Song having a conversation with Vastra and Clara, where she is being really "independent and strong willed"...and talking about the Doctor. We have a conversation between Vastra and Jenny, where they are both being "independent and strong willed"...and talking about the Doctor. We have a conversation between Clara and...who was that lady who had a previous romantic fling with the Doctor apparently that we never heard of or is suddenly in love him now?oh yes of course, every secondary female character ever...anyway, Clara is being really "clever and independent"...and talking about the Doctor. I can't even begin to delve into the depth of misogyny that has begun to be a staple in this once groundbreaking programme. I could mention the kissing without consent, or the fact that Amy was a mother whose baby was stolen from her but never really cared, or the fact that all the recent female characters have been essentially the same archetype, or that their only purpose seems to be to live for the Doctor, or that they are all paradigms of female physique, or that the highest compliment Clara has ever been paid by the Doctor is that he would be happy if he grew to be half the man that she is, or the fact that maybe two episodes since 2005 has been written or directed by a woman, or...or I could go on. I have been truly horrified by this trend, and I absolutely need this momentum to swing back if I am to continue to call myself a fan. Is anything keeping you from loving "Doctor Who" like you used to, or am I completely off my rocker?
Adriel Brandt is a less-than-prolific artist who writes, reads, looks, watches, paints, runs, breathes, sings, strums, talks, and wishes he lived in The Shire.
