Did you mean hearsay or heresy? Both apply, depending on your point of view.

I like both eras (Yeah, I know. Sometimes I feel like an endangered species around here ) - though not so much parts of seasons 8 and 9 - and I think both eras will be remembered fondly, but for different reasons and those who favour one or the other heavily now will still be in the same factions in years to come.

All the factions may come to regret it when some future showrunner plays it totally safe and "by the numbers" with Doctor Who. Right now, and ever since 2005, we're living in a golden age of Doctor Who.

I'm not, btw, saying Chris Chibnall will be like that at all. I'm prepared to see his output as showrunner before judging, unlike some here.

Hearsay, sorry. Had a slight dumb moment there.

Romantic in the classical sense rather than the 'love' sense (although there is also River Song; Amy and Rory, Clara and Danny). And I think it's a fair assessment. RTD's version of the show wasn't romantic, it was was more soap operatic, with the stories grounded in inter-personal relationships and an everyday milieu.

Truthfully though Mullet, you have a very satisfied mind when it comes to Moffat and I think you're long past thinking about any other position but the one you've arrived at.

I think RTD's smartest move was making the Doctor a romantic hero. What he and Rose had was a romance, not soap.

Moffat immediately returned the Doctor to a neutral, asexual eccentric role again (with both Smith and Capaldi). And then all the timey-whimy story arcs took centre stage.

Since RTD left the show has lacked romance, heart and passion. Romance is something you feel, not something you are told exists. I've felt nothing of the sort in Doctor Who for six long years.

Heresy are a much better band.

ETA Oh, *were* a much better band. Hardcore Punks from Nottingham, apparently. 1985-1989. Ahhh, We will never see their like again. Probably.

It's not something I miss. The show managed 26 years without needing romance, most of which were brilliant years, and the Doctor falling in love with his companions is something I can't used to nor do I feel it makes for a very strong or interesting dynamic. I'm glad to see the Doctor start taking on a more fatherly role to the companion again. I think there's been a lot of heart in the 6 years since Moffat took over, though.

I just think It's an artistic dead end, basically. Where can you go with it? (well, an alternative Universe, yeah. Okay!) I found the Doctor/River relationship romantic and personally more convincing as they felt more like peers, but we knew where that ended at the beginning! I'm okay with The Doctor having strong emotional attachments, but by the very nature of the programme we know they can't last...Obviously a bit different, but it's a bit 'Captain Kirk' syndrome' if 'romance' comes to the fore too much. (Kirk fancies woman/thing...she might as well be wearing a red shirt.)

Unless they do a series where The Doctor gets hitched and has to balance his love life with his escapades, with hilarious results. (You can have that one for free, Chibbers.)

River Song did feel a lot more convincing as a love interest and I enjoyed the way they met out of order as an interesting take on the show's concept of time travel. It was kind of like Melanie Bush or Charley Pollard except cranked up to 11. For the most part though I think romance plots should be left to the companions; the Doctor has usually always been more of a symbol.

Yup. The 'romance' was only there if you wanted to see it. In truth, The Doctor was no more affectionate to Rose than any other companion, before or since. 10 was a bit soppy, but I didn't for one minute think that 9 or 10 loved Rose romantically (in the Mulett sense, not the classical one).