Has Doctor Who become too white?

[Lance]

At one point wasn't he running around with an Alien, an Australian and an American?

Not at the same time. Actually the Fourth Doctor had no Earth-human companions from Sarah Jane's departure until Tegan's arrival four and a half years later, instead hanging around with human colonist-descendant Leela, far-future robot dog K9, Time Lady Romana, Alzarian Adric, and Nyssa of Traken (though she technically joined the same time Tegan did).

I think that was his longest span without an Earthling companion, but there were other times when he had no present-day companions. After Ian and Barbara left, the companions were Vicki and Steven, both from the future; Katarina from Ancient Troy; and Sara Kingdom from the future. But there was only about a 10-month gap between Ian and Barbara's departure and the brief tenure of Dodo, a present-day English girl, followed by her contemporaries Ben and Polly. But after Ben and Polly left, the Second Doctor's companions for his remaining two seasons were all from past or future Earth.

I remember reading publicity material from 1980 which took great pains to point this out. Tegan Jovanka was very much sold to the audience as being a 'back to basics' companion: the first Earth human companion in nearly five years, and the first contemporary Earth human since (arguably) the 1960s (it's up for debate, but the intention seems to have been that Liz Shaw, Jo Grant and Sarah Jane Smith were all conceived to be from the 'near future', from the viewers' stand-point).

And on the 'back to basics' thing, she even ended up an unwilling passenger aboard the TARDIS who ultimately grows to accept time/space travel, not unlike Ian and Barbara. So that was kind of where Producer John Nathan-Turner was going with her.

(The more I think about it, the more I think Graham Williams' era was possibly the most 'exotic', space-opera-esque era of the show. It's clearly got an eye on that kind of vibe. The concept of the Doctor having non-human companions was quite in vogue in the 1970s. It was quite different to the thinking that the companion had to be contemporary in order to be relatable for the viewers...)

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Wait...What did I miss?

What Alternative Sexuality was Canton Delaware?

I would've liked to have seen either the girl From The God Complex or the woman from The Silurian 2-Parter take at least a couple/few trips in The TARDIS.

As far as Diversity, Male Companion in General hasn't been all that frequent. I can't think of any Serials/NuWho episodes with only a Male Companion (Peri's first was Turough's first alone. Steven and Jamie, if they were ever alone, it was very briefly), and there's been long stretches without any Male Companions.

At the end of "Day of the Moon," Nixon offers to help Canton get back into the FBI and assumes that Canton got kicked out because he wanted to marry a black woman. Canton says he does want to marry someone black, but it's not a "she."

 

[Sindatur]

Wait...What did I miss?

What Alternative Sexuality was Canton Delaware?

I would've liked to have seen either the girl From The God Complex or the woman from The Silurian 2-Parter take at least a couple/few trips in The TARDIS.

As far as Diversity, Male Companion in General hasn't been all that frequent. I can't think of any Serials/NuWho episodes with only a Male Companion (Peri's first was Turough's first alone. Steven and Jamie, if they were ever alone, it was very briefly), and there's been long stretches without any Male Companions.

At the end of "Day of the Moon," Nixon offers to help Canton get back into the FBI and assumes that Canton got kicked out because he wanted to marry a black woman. Canton says he does want to marry someone black, but it's not a "she."

Crap...I missed that?

Thanks Christopher and Middyseafort

 

[Christopher]

As far as Diversity, Male Companion in General hasn't been all that frequent. I can't think of any Serials/NuWho episodes with only a Male Companion (Peri's first was Turough's first alone. Steven and Jamie, if they were ever alone, it was very briefly), and there's been long stretches without any Male Companions.

Steven was the Doctor's only companion for nearly all of "The Massacre," though Dodo showed up in the final scene. Jamie was effectively the sole companion for much of "The Faceless Ones" and "Evil of the Daleks," but never for an entire story. Technically Adric was the only companion in "The Keeper of Traken," but Nyssa was in that story even if she hadn't joined the TARDIS crew yet, so that doesn't really count.

In the new series, Jackson Lake was the companion in "The Next Doctor" (although I guess Rosita counts as a sub-companion), Wilf was the companion in "The End of Time," and Craig was the companion in "Closing Time" (Amy and Rory are in the episode but don't interact with the Doctor).

Tegan Jovanka was very much sold to the audience as being a 'back to basics' companion: the first Earth human companion in nearly five years, and the first contemporary Earth human since (arguably) the 1960s (it's up for debate, but the intention seems to have been that Liz Shaw, Jo Grant and Sarah Jane Smith were all conceived to be from the 'near future', from the viewers' stand-point).

Hmm, I guess you're right -- it was later forgotten, but at the time they were meant to be from the near future.

However, the same goes for Rose, Mickey, Martha, and Donna, since pretty much all of RTD's "present-day" stories were set about one year in the future of their airdates.

At the end of "Day of the Moon," Nixon offers to help Canton get back into the FBI and assumes that Canton got kicked out because he wanted to marry a black woman. Canton says he does want to marry someone black, but it's not a "she."

Nixon asks (paraphrasing), "So, this person you want to marry. Black?" And Canton replies, "Yes. He is."

 

[Lance]

However, the same goes for Rose, Mickey, Martha, and Donna, since pretty much all of RTD's "present-day" stories were set about one year in the future of their airdates.

This is true, I had forgotten about this. Technically Rose herself is still a 'contemporary Earth companion' because she actually leaves in the TARDIS from the year 2005 at the end of "Rose", and is displaced 12 months later in "Aliens of London". Every subsequent story featuring Mickey and Jackie was therefore out-of-time. Meaning that while Rose is still contempory to the viewers at home, she is implicitly out-of-sync with the rest of her universe.

As you say, there's a knock-on effect of this which is felt all the rest of the way through the RTD episodes, with every 'contemporary Earth' story taking place one whole year after broadcast (so, indeed, Martha, Donna and Cristina DeSouza are all 'near future' companions rather than contemporary ones).

 

[ATimson]

Although you may have a point in that there's been less cast turnaround in the Smith/Moffat era. The Doctor went through more companions in the RTD era, so there were more opportunities for diversity.

The RTD era spanned four seasons and three ongoing companions. The Moffat era to date spanned three seasons and three ongoing companions. (Add one to each if you think Jack and River count.) That seems like pretty much equal turnaround to me.

RTD simply spent more time on side trips. Only one of his four Christmas specials featured the ongoing companion, whereas Moffat is three for four.

I think the big difference is that RTD spent a lot of time with the companions' friends/family in the present day, allowing a diverse recurring cast. Moffat, not so much. There was the epilogue to "The Big Bang", "The Power of Three", and "Nightmare in Silver"... I suppose "The Eleventh Hour" since Rory wasn't in the credits yet. So four episodes "on the home front" in three years... RTD did at least as many episodes per year.

EDIT: Had said "The Crimson Horror", though "Nightmare in Silver" was the episode I was thinking of. Turns out the kids were in both! So. Five episodes in three years.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

At the end of "Day of the Moon," Nixon offers to help Canton get back into the FBI and assumes that Canton got kicked out because he wanted to marry a black woman. Canton says he does want to marry someone black, but it's not a "she."

Nixon asks (paraphrasing), "So, this person you want to marry. Black?" And Canton replies, "Yes. He is."

I was summarizing from memory, just to get the gist.

 

[Christopher]

The RTD era spanned four seasons and three ongoing companions. The Moffat era to date spanned three seasons and three ongoing companions. (Add one to each if you think Jack and River count.) That seems like pretty much equal turnaround to me.

Except as you say, it's not just the companions, it's their associated friends and family members. Having Martha as a companion added the whole Jones family to the ensemble. Rose and Donna had their own distinct families as well. But of the Eleventh Doctor's four primary companions (including River), three are part of the same family.

So Tennant went through three different major family groupings, the Tylers, the Joneses, and the Noble/Motts, plus a few one-shot companions. Smith's tenure has been dominated by only one family grouping, the Pond/Williamses, followed by Clara and her less well-established associates, and with two other more minor groupings, the Owens family and the Paternoster Gang. Comparable in number, perhaps, but not as balanced in importance/centrality.

 

[shivkala]

Four Words:

Idris Elba, Thirteenth* Doctor

*pre-"The Name of the Doctor"/"The Day of the Doctor" counting

 

[Mr. Adventure]

^^ From what I've learned from the internet the only black actors in the whole of the UK that could pull off the role of the Doctor are Idris Elba and Patterson Joseph.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

Throw away Liz Ten, and I think Sophie Okenodo would have made a fine Doctor.

 

[Starkers]

^^ From what I've learned from the internet the only black actors in the whole of the UK that could pull off the role of the Doctor are Idris Elba and Patterson Joseph.

Elba would be a terrible Doctor, he's just not right for it (and I say that as a big fan of the guy.) Adrian Lester or Chiwetel Ejiofor would both make far better Doctors, as would Joseph.

I'd love to see Clyde and Rani come back as proper full time companions, and I'd have loved it if the girl from The God Complex had become a companion too, but on the whole casting ethnic minorities for the sake of it annoys me. One of the reasons I love DS9 so much is that it has a hugely diverse cast, yet it never felt like they were there to tick boxes, they were simply the best people for the parts and for the most part their ethnicity is barely even commented on.

Compare that to Enterprise which is painful, you can almost see the tick on Travis' back!

The other point which should be made is this, going by 2011 census data 87% of the UK population is white, you could probably argue that an even larger percentage are straight. Dr Who is a British show made primarily for a British audience, and as such it should never ignore the diverse nature of the 21st Century UK population, but it should do it in proportion.

And on a purely statistical front there are probably way more white actors in the UK into the bargain!

 

[Captain_Amasov]

Y'know, we could've easily fixed this by having Alexander Siddig as the 12th Doctor!

I imagined him playing the Master. However I'm sure I've read somewhere that Moffat doesn't really like the Master, so I doubt we'll see him, or possibly her, again anytime soon.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Throw away Liz Ten, and I think Sophie Okenodo would have made a fine Doctor.

Agree!

 

[VDCNI]

Yeah I would prefer Lester or Ejiofor over Elba and of course Daniel Kaluuya was also supposed to be in the running at some point. Though having seen him on stage I wouldn't have been too keen on him.

I think diversity has been pretty good on Who even if it has appeared to decline a little since RTD left and while most of the focus is on black actors - to reflect the racial mix in the UK it's actors of Indian and Pakistani origin that should be appearing more often really.

 

[shivkala]

Throw away Liz Ten, and I think Sophie Okenodo would have made a fine Doctor.

Agree!

I don't think they have to throw away Liz Ten, seeing as how they're not throwing away Caecilius or John Frobisher, nor did they throw away Commander Maxil.

And Elba would make a bad Doctor? I think the beauty of Doctor Who is that it changes to fit the actor in the title role. It may not be a Doctor like Tennant/Smith, but then again, Capaldi doesn't seem to fit that, either.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I think diversity has been pretty good on Who even if it has appeared to decline a little since RTD left and while most of the focus is on black actors - to reflect the racial mix in the UK it's actors of Indian and Pakistani origin that should be appearing more often really.

I was just about to say that there should be more actors from the Indian subcontinent in Doctor Who and that's really the next step (I might just have a poor memory but I can't even recall a significant guest star who was Indian or Pakistani).

I tend to agree with those who question the "become" part of this since Doctor Who has always been very white. However, I also don't think a show with only two characters in every episode should necessarily require one to be a minority character always. That's almost forcing race to be too much of an issue. I think the show has done a decent job of making sure Black actors have had prominent guest roles, though, which might often be good. I do think a non-white Doctor will eventually be necessary, but I don't think they should necessarily go out of their way to seek a black actor so much as simply choosing the best actor (while, of course, recognizing that it would be a significant and important decision on their part).

 

[3chordboy]

^^^ the scientist in The Hungry Earth/ Cold Blood two-parter?

 

[Shazam!]

Meera Syal. She was the best thing those episodes.

 

[Vyse]

Maybe they can take the step in actually not assuming that every living being in the entire universe celebrates Christmas, just a thought.