Doctor Who: 10 Controversial Moments From The Revived Series
6. There's No Need To Shout
The Doctor has done his fair share of shouting (you wouldn't like this Time Lord when he's angry...) but throughout the revived series, and particularly during the first in 2005, the BBC has been slammed for its heavy use of incidental music in the series which, according to some, can be overbearing to the point of distraction. This isn't a reflection on the music itself, of course, as Murray Gold's magnificent scores are arguably one of the most beloved aspects of the Doctor's modern adventures, but the point of a show's soundtrack isn't to completely drown out the actual dialogue within it, something which many Doctor Who viewers have been known to experience. Saying that, there are probably many fans who would prefer to watch an episode with just its score in tact, but that's neither here nor there. In light of the complaints, the BBC launched an "extensive study" into the editorial standards of the series and discovered that reducing its background music by just one point - that's four decibels for the more science wciency inclined - made the dialogue considerably clearer without detracting from its overall quality and style. So there you go. They also suggested that the show's multitude of "unfamiliar accents" could also be a factor, an issue which was most recently raised by reports that international fans were finding it increasingly difficult to understand Peter Capaldi in his role as the Twelfth Doctor. The BBC have described the actor's decision to keep his Scottish accent as "a creative one" which resulted in further controversy when fans raised the point that David Tennant was forced to "go English" when he took over the reigns as the Time Lord. Ultimately it doesn't really matter what accent the Doctor has - he is a 2,000 year old alien, after all. Besides, lots of planets have a Scotland... right?
Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.