Doctor Who: 10 Lessons It Can Learn From The Thick Of It

7. Focus Groups Are Fallible When the Department of Social Affairs is unsure about whether or not to implement a new policy, Ollie suggests bringing it before a focus group. After a series of mishaps that reveal that the DoSA basically relies upon focus groups for major policy-making decisions and that their star supporter is a hired actress, the new policy flops and a whole lot of swearing ensues. It's pretty great. Despite the mishaps in this first series episode of The Thick of It, the message is solid: too much focus on focus groups never ends well for anyone. With the increasing international popularity of Doctor Who, it is no longer at all possible to find an accurate cross-section of the fandom in a single setting. Any attempt to please one particular group could easily alienate another. The best way for Doctor Who to continue producing quality episodes is to carry on independently rather than catering to fans.