^^this
I know people who loved the era for being so "light and fun" and have no clue why the ratings have dropped faster than potatoes in a french fry factory*. But they also say how 80s stories tried to be more grown up than they should be as they only want the show to be fluffy and fun (and/or aimed only at young kids), or cite McCoy's era (even though seasons 24 and 26 feel almost like completely different television shows!!), and other amusing claims.
The only argument I'll make is that the show has changed target demographics often and the 80s were tailored to older fans who grew up with the show (leading to the excesses of seasons 21 and 22), even though that doesn't explain why seasons 1, 7, and 12-14 were aimed at older audiences or forgetting about the young kids entirely (where season 17 comes into play and I'd almost include 24 except the intentional pomposity and camp are there to mask very gruesome ideas) . Well, season 1 was all over the map but it does some adult stuff for sure and the makers got in trouble for scenes such as Susan stabbing a couch with a pair of scissors, but nobody yelled at kids running around screaming "Exterminate" but whatever....
* IMHO and to editorialize a little, a show that is too 4th wall, self-aware jokey, and turning to the camera to say "nite nite" are likely going to be off-putting to a lot of people. Tone still means a lot since, as presented on screen while mugging the camera in a way that even Mr Roper would be embarrassed by, and saying "What happens to that mysterious traveler in Time and Space known as the Doctor? I'm sorry to say his story ends in absolute terror. Nite nite!" comes across more as for the kids than anything else, bib and custard sold separately. Or new viewers intrigued. Everyone else knows who the Doctor is and the scene comes off as being artificial and facetious. But that's just "light and fun" and, yes, different people have different tastes. Each era has its detractors and supporters and it's silly for one to waste time watching something one doesn't like. A minor rewrite would make the core of the same phrase sound genuinely harrowing. But this era is for the younger kids. Later eras if made will likely have a different or wider target audience. With JMS emigrating to the UK, maybe he'll be the second import to get to do something with the show (Sydney Newman was the first and he only co-created it.) Then again, JMS's most-known shows were made for older audiences, so there's that little hurdle to deal with too...
). Initially relieved, he's suddenly overcome with convulsions and more screaming again, until everything around him goes dark...which turns out to be another nightmare of the 7th Doctor. Explaining his relief that it was only a bad dream, The Doctor and Ace head off for another adventure...
