I don't know. I am like you and I like the old fashioned adventure in time and space.

The new emotional stuff just seems silly after awhile. The current revival of the show is dripping with it.

The show survived the better part of three decades without out. Why does it need it now?

I do think some people think sentimentality = emotion, when often they're poles apart. I don't mind genuine emotion, and we got that, mostly in an understated way, in Classic Who, and get it now though sometimes obscured by saccharin and schmaltz which I can do without.

Simply put - it wouldn't work.

You might like it. A few others might like it.

But the intended audience - as in, you know, everyone, not just a few - wouldn't like it. It did not come back to pander to you or those few pwople who feel it should rigidly stick to how it eventually became (because it didn't start off prudish), despite being all about change and moving forward. It's quite ironic, and not a little disturbing, that fans of a show about embracing new and different things feel that it should stagnate itself.

I think it depends on the viewer, for some the first 6 words in that post are correct. They don't want to have to think, they want to be told what to think and how to feel and are frustrated and lost when they aren't. At least that's what the producers probably think the whole audience is like.
I personally find the relationship stuff way too suffocating and concentrate on the other bits.


I agree with this.
It probably depends on the person. I'm someone who likes to keep my feelings to myself and just get on with it, so I could relate to the subtle understated way the Classic Series handled those moments. Give it a minute or two and then put it to one side.
Whenever someone gets too theatrical and OTT emotional I'm just like *backs away slowly*

With the exceptions of Rose and River, none of the companions since 2005 have been romantically involved with the Doctor. Fancying him or briefly even kissing him doesn't count, not really.

I think you've inadvertantly pinpointed an issue there - for some it seems that unless it is very subtle and understated, it is OTT schmaltz. It is not an either/or thing. There are many shades in between - just because it's not the 'stiff-upper-lip' subtle that you would prefer does not instantly make it theatrical/OTT. None of the emotional stuff in Doctor Who has gone so far as soaps do regularly.

i don't think the treatment of companions and relationships as per the Classic series would work for a modern audience. The audience is more sophisticated these days, it demands fully rounded characters with backstory and character arcs. Relationships are an integral part of this sort of treatment.

Personally, I don't have any problem with romantic attachments or relationships. If things get too schmaltzy and sentimental then that's more a failing of the writer or the director for the particular story but it shouldn't be an issue with the storyline itself.

Having said that, I think some people are too jaded and cynical when it comes to sentiment. Rings of Akhatan was roundly disliked because of its high sentiment quotient but, personally, I really loved that aspect of it. It's why it's one of my favourite episodes!

C'mon guys, feel the love

I was more talking about two extremes rather than it being just one or the other. There's a definite scale to it, but unfortunately the scale coming from the show and the scale coming from me usually have two different readings, making the emotional moments feel unnatural if I'm not there with it.

I think part of the problem could be the shift in focus, from an alien perspective to a human perspective. The show used to be from the Doctor's perspective so there was a kind of cold indifference and pompous arrogance about the way things came across, but now it's more from the companion's perspective so there's a certain needy, self-indulgent desperation about it.
Watching the show from an alien perspective, it allowed me as a human (I think lol) to fill in the blanks and react to it how I saw fit, but watching the show from a human perspective takes away that freedom and makes me critical of their actions instead.
It could be a bit like Big Brother, where female viewers tend to be way more critical of female housemates rather than males, because they imagine themselves in the same position and think 'well I wouldn't do it like that'.

I'm afraid I'm with saladfingers81 on this one. At least there was grounding to Amy's infatuation - she fantasised about the Doctor for years, she was taken to psychiatrists for it, she obsessed about him. So it's perfectly understandable when she ran away from her old, boring life to chase him. But she quickly realised how much what she had mattered to her. And done.

In this case, romance (towards the Doctor, at least) had very little to do with it. But obsession and running away from a future you don't know if you want are very human things.

People have asked why we need emotional content when the show managed thirty years without it? Because we want it to last another thirty years. Whether it survived or not, old Who was very poor at some things. We've fixed that now, and it opens up a whole raft of new storytelling possibilities.

As posted above, the audience today now expects there to be a romantic relationships, so we'll probably get more of that. Ultimately though, it depends on how it is handled within the shown itself. Earlier it was mentioned that romance should be a single part of who a character was, not the basis for the character, which is why Rose, in my opinion, was a bit of a poor character; she entirely revolved around a romantic relationship with the Doctor, and there wasn't that much else.

Amy and Rory, I think, are very good examples of there being a relationship in the show. While the romance between them is important, it's not the only thing to them. I like that they are able to have conversations with other people, and not talk about each other.

You can put emotion into the show without making it romantic, which is something I would like to see. I don't what every future companion down the line to have a romance with someone else, it would seem rather boring after a while.

Classic Who has had emotional content. Yes companions had very little focus some of the time and screamed at aliens but Classic Who has also done some things better than New Who. You have more time to view other characters rather than the Doctor and the companions for example.

Also I debate whether more emotional stuff will ensure the future of the show. The last series showed that some people weren't happy with the plots and what they perceived as rushed endings. I think the priority for series 8 are these two things (of course they are going to have emotional stuff because Clara is rumoured to have a boyfriend)

As a New Who viewer who hasn't seen much of the classic series, I don't have a problem with a romance angle being included in the series. I think with stuff which is supposed to attract a wide audience people expect a romance to be included somewhere, along with some action and adventure, some comedy etc, and I think it's been that way for quite some time.

My only real problem with it is if the love story ends up smothering and blocking out absolutely everything else that is going on, and the closest to that happening is Rose and the Doctor's love story. I was fine with that at first, but it ended up growing out of control, with Martha, who was supposed to be the main companion ending up somewhat sidelined for the memory of Rose, and then in the finale of series 4 the world, the universe, reality itself might be destroyed, but there was a bit of a feeling that it was less important than Rose and the Doctor ending up together forever. I'm really not a fan of "shipping" culture which is a fairly recent thing, where there are people who want the whole TV show to be about this one couple being lovey-dovey with each other and nothing else, they won't tolerate anything taking attention from it.

But other than that, I haven't had a problem with how it's been handled in the show. Donna was a breath of fresh air because she had no romantic interest in the Doctor. Yeah, she ended up getting married to someone, but I don't see why that's a problem, lots of people get married.

I actually really liked Amy and Rory, I enjoyed having a married couple on the TARDIS, and I liked how their story unfolded.

As for Clara, well there's been hardly any romance angle for her so far. Yeah, she made a comment about fancying the Doctor, but so what? Clara may have a love interest next series, but I think we should wait and see how that turns out, we don't how that will be handled yet.

There was a whole season of eccleston where their was no real indication of romance between them. Besides with both doctors there was more to her than just the romance.

She went with him because she was sold on the prospects of seeing the universe and traveling in time, then as she stayed with him she learned and remembered the things she had seen and gradually aspired to be his equal. by the end of series 2 there was almost no doctor/companion barrier between them. You only have to look at the start of 'the impossible planet' how the doctor say's 'it might be dangerous, we should probably leave' and then they both look at each other and laugh, or in army of ghosts where she's trying to remember buttons on the TARDIS console as if she's started trying to learn the controls to see that. They were friends and by the end almost equal traveling partners more than any other new who companion so far in my opinion, and the romance element of that relationship was only a part of that dynamic which came on gradually over time, and felt believable because of the strong bond they had formed.

To me, the character of rose stands as an example of a cross between well rounded companion and romance that is done well and balanced. The only reason she is perceived to be the companion who was overbearingly lovey dovey with the doctor is because that is the only part of the character that the rose haters mainly focus on when putting the character down.

Yeah, this is one of the things that I don't care for in Doctor Who (or Hitchhiker's or whatever): "I have a space ship, come and travel with me." "Oh, yes, please!" It is almost as corny as the "I am immortal" bit a la Highlander. Show a woman that you can travel in space and/or time or show a woman that you cannot die and she is all yours forever. Sigh.

So your saying that if the doctor turned up and said 'come with me' you'd just say 'no thanks'?. I certainly wouldn't. I think for many people (me included) part of the attraction of the show is imagining what it would be like if they could travel with the doctor, and watching his adventures on screen is the closest they can get to it.

I'm not a woman and I'm not a fictional character, but if someone with a time machine turned up on my doorstep and asked me to travel with them, I'd jump at the chance in just the same way as many of the companions do, as I imagine most would. To show that kind of reaction on screen is more realistic than cheesy in my opinion.

Also, regarding your final sentence about romance, I don't think anyone who's been shown to fancy the doctor has done so Just because of his tardis. In the examples of both rose and martha they travel with him first because of the tardis and only go on to later fancy him because of the person he is. Had he still had the tardis and ability to travel through time and space but had been a miserable pessimist coward, thing's wouldn't have turned out the same. They love the doctor, not the tardis

Nailed it, imho.

The doc had groomed her, same as he did with clara the old pervert

The sad thing is some of the Anti-Moffat halfwits on tumblr actually claim this is the case.

Wow. I am very anti-Moffat, but even I wouldn't believe that.

There is a differance between grooming and imprinting. Course Amy and 11 had a big effect on eachother. She was the first person he saw after regenerating from 10. Amy was only 7 so seeing her" raggedy man" was bound to affect her too. "12 years and 4 psychiatrists"!. If you want to talk pervy and grooming we need to bring in the other pond girl/woman. You could argue 11 took advantage of River aka Melody. She was emotionally damaged and vunerable. Didn't stop her parents giving their blessing for the marriage did it ?. Despite Rory barely remmebering being a father. Marriage was suppose to compensation for what she lost. Could give her back her childhood though. Plus she wasted years in prison and eventually took her own life to save 10 in the library.11 couldn't even comfort her after new york. She left because she couldn't grieve while looking at the man who failed to protect or rescue her parents. River didn't seem to get much from her marriage. Sporadic romance and sex however great is still sporadic. 11 loved her but he couldn't save her. All he could do was release her so she could finally rest in peace hopefully with her family.

I tend to think that characters like Superman with Lois Lane and Richard Gere's character with Julia Roberts' character in Pretty Woman have it far too easy. They just pander to juvenile desires that many of might harbour. Real life's rather more complicated than that.

It's a juvenile male fantasy (for some) that "If I can be smarter/stronger/tougher than the next guy I'll get the girl". It's a juvenile female fantasy (for some) that "If I can find a smart, strong tough guy I'll be happy ever after". They're flip sides of each other and are expressions of part of the genetic programming for selecting the fittest partner (genetically speaking) and passing our genes in to the next generation.

I don't think the Doctor sets out to impress for romantic/reproductive reasons, but there are definitely times when he is trying to impress.

Because todays writers cant write a decent story. All they care is soapy style stories and think kids are obsessed with romance which we arent.

Its the main reason why I hate new who. If it was more like the 63 - 89 series Id probably enjoy it more.

Amongst many insane things yeah. I find that lot laughable nowadays.

A soapy story is essentially one that develops character beyond a cardboard cut-out by having those characters experience things which impact them personally and lastingly. It's what the modern audience want these days and, personally, I think that's a good thing.

Romance and the desire to find a partner (even if just for sex) is the primary goal of most young people (and a whole lot of older people) on the planet so, if you're being truthful to real life, it would be essentially unrealistic not to recognise that in the majority of companions.