Take it seriously. It's fucking Doctor Who.
It
is Doctor Who, and that's why it's being done like it always has: with the whole family in mind. The show has always been a mix of drama, humor, science-fiction and adventure, with tongue planted firmly in cheek. That's Doctor Who. They
are taking it seriously, that's why the show itself is not always serious.
Nonsense. I don't remember a single episode of ass-grabbing in the past.
Dude, the fact that there's an bit of comedy with an old lady grabbing the Doctor's rear end is not a big deal. It's a bit of light comedy that does not take away from any of the drama.
It's Doctor Who -- a show about an alien with a British accent who flies through time and space in a wooden box and fights genocidal salt-shakers and men dressed in robot costumes. You're not supposed to take it too seriously most of the time, you're supposed to have fun! It's Doctor Who, not bloody Hamlet.
I love any time someone requests coherency of plot or tighter writing, <SNIP> Requesting a modicum of respect for its own narrative, as well as the audience, is not to request Shakespeare.
There was nothing incoherent about a piece of comedy with Wilf's lady friend, nor did that disrespect the narrative or the audience. Only someone expecting
Doctor Who to be the next Peter Morgan film would think that.
It's called adult storytelling. It's called serious drama.
Doctor Who is not adult storytelling
or serious drama on anything other than rare occasions.
Doctor Who, first and foremost, is middle-brow family entertainment.
Serious drama doesn't need blood, sex, or tits to be serious.
And no one's talking about violence or sex when we say it's not for adults; I for one am talking about the emotional tone that it needs to take in order to make it a work that both adults and children can process and enjoy.
Doctor Who is not supposed to be the next
Torchwood: Children of Earth; there's a reason that elements like Gadget or the dirty old lady are introduced, and it's not because adults are clamoring for them.
Besides, the absolute worst part of "The End of Time, Part One" was the five-minute sequence where it did take itself way too seriously, when it did indulge in pure melodrama without mitigating it with any sense of just how absurd it was being: The Master's resurrection.
If you think THAT was "serious" writing,
You're using the term in an intentionally ambiguous manner so as to alter its definition depending on the situation.
Your objection was to the presence of humor and of so-called "camp" (i.e., elements that break the fourth wall and comment upon how improbable a fantastic situation is). I cited that sequence as an example of a sequence that lacks both humor
and an awareness of its own absurdity -- it is pure fantastic melodrama, and it is
incredibly painful to watch as a result. Certainly,
Doctor Who has demonstrated an ability to do fantastic drama without humor or camp and to have it work (e.g., "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood"), but just as often it falls flat on its face. Humor and camp are wonderful mediators in that regard.
That was hollow as popcorn on par with fluff like Buffy.
If you think
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is hollow popcorn fluff, you have no idea what you are talking about.
), why not just post and share in the other thread? With all the other Whovians...?
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