The latest series of Doctor Who continues to air on BBC with new episodes landing every Saturday here in the UK and with each new episode the discourse surrounding this season grows tiresome. Whilst there has been a lot of love for the direction the show is taking, and that love is in the majority, there is a vocal minority that is trying to perpetuate the idea that the show is in decline or that the quality of the writing has reached an all time low. What I find sad about these comments is not whether there's any validity to them but the reality that they are made by people who are in denial.
Doctor Who is a TV show and like all TV shows it is written with its audience in mind. As a writer you consider first and foremost what demographic you want to appeal to and in the case of light entertainment and shows of this nature, that demographic is predominantly defined by age.
The key demographic for Doctor Who, that is, it's largest contiguous age group, is basically anyone aged 20 and below. If you are over the age of 20, yes you can still watch and enjoy the show, age is not a barrier intended to gatekeep the content from you but you have to recognise that you are not the intended audience, so not for nothing, what you think of it is for the most part irrelevant.
A Millennial is defined by most as anyone born between 1982 and the year 2000, in other words anyone born in the last millennium who turned 18 on or after the turn of the millennium. Those born after the year 2000 up until around 2012 are defined as Gen Z with some definitions giving a few years of flexibility to the cut off. From 2012 onward anyone born is regarded as Gen Alpha, with the implication being its birth cycle is close to ending, Gen Beta is already on the horizon.
Why is this relevant? Well for context anyone under the age of 20 who is part of the target audience of the show is either Gen Z or Gen Alpha, as such the content is written to appeal to these generations. It's sad to see commentary critiquing the show trying to herald its demise because it reflects a mentality that was once predominantly assigned to Boomers but now spills over, bridging generations, i.e. "I don't like it so no-one else should" - the only thing these outspoken critics are proving is that they're unable to let go of the idea that everything has to be made for them.
There are many communities I am welcome in and some that I am not and that's perfectly fine. I am not entitled enough to think that every community has to accommodate me, people need to have their space to feel safe and they have to be able to express themselves and enjoy the things they want to enjoy without being judged by others for it. Some communities that aren't for you will welcome you into them if you are respectful, as a gay man I say this for anyone who isn't gay who wants to visit a gay bar or other queer space, you have to recognise that you may be welcome there but your presence is predicated on your respect for the people that space was created for.
Doctor Who is a timeless TV show - ironically. It spans many decades for the simple reason that it has grown and changed with each new generation that discovers it and makes it their own. We had our time and so did you, now this is theirs. You can still watch it and enjoy it, but the idea that it has to hold to your world view and be unchanging denies the reality of the world we live in. Boomers are dying. Millennials are dying. Gen Z are dying. The only generation that new people are being born into right now is Gen Alpha, every generation above it is shrinking, there are no new boomers, millennials, or Gen Z being born; to try and fight change and hold to an antiquated world view is a recipe for misery.
There was a mantra, a pejorative statement made decades ago against the hippie movement that growing older meant "making peace with the establishment" - of course that mantra was bullshit, what it actually implied was assimilation, the idea that your political polarity would flip as you grow older and eventually join the opposing side to that which you held in your youth. This mantra collapsed with the millennial generation when millennials failed to acquire wealth due to the greed of boomers. That flip from liberal views to conservative didn't happen for the majority and you can see that now in the sea change that is happening particularly here in the UK where hundreds of MPs are now standing down ahead of our forthcoming general election because they know they won't be reelected, their views do not represen the majority of voters and they can't flip those views and campaign convincingly when they spent most of their careers opposing them.
That mantra is what should be flipped in reality, "growing older means making peace with change" - Gen Z was raised by Xennial parents, and Gen Alpha is being raised by Millennial parents and the shift in values is clear, a work life balance is expected, tolerance and inclusivity is expected, diversity in representation is expected, and the downfall of antiquated ideas is inevitable. The 1990s are seeing a resurgence in their trends when that sea change last happened after the 1980s, when a decade of conservative doctrine exhausted an entire generation, everyone was broke, and the economy didn't offer much in terms of hope for the future, and as people do in times of economic hardship they turn to art and entertainment for that sense of comfort instead - concepts such as "Recession Pop" embody this phenomena.
The economic hardship that we have faced as generations might not be over, there might yet still be worse to come before things improve but one thing is clear, the point of exhaustion has been reached with empty promises. People do not believe politicians will be the bringers of change, the shift away from politics as a path to empowerment has already begun with increased unionisation, and workers calling for better working conditions, and the grip that employers had in exploiting the labour force now broken, those who hold on to antiquated ideas are those who cry they can't find people to work for them, whilst those who embrace change and do not live in denial have accepted the reality that they must adapt to survive or die with the generations they cling to.
In terms of Doctor Who, nowhere is this more apparent than the fact that the latest season is marketed as "Series 1" it is not trying to continue the production environment of previous seasons it is resetting its position - the nature of the story allows for this to happen without having to reboot the canon.
The show has changed and there will always be valid critiques to be made as there are with any form of art, but before you decide to sound off on those changes and how much you are displeased, stop and ask yourself if it's intended for you in the first place, or if you're in denial that you've outgrown something - expecting Doctor Who to stay the same forever was asinine to begin with, the show has been around since the 1960s and has changed many times, the same backlash and critique was made by those who didn't want racial diversity in the show almost 60 years ago so be careful who you echo and which side of history you choose to stand on.
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