Yet again another sweeping comment from our very own answer to Mary Bloody Whitehouse. Until you become the worlds foremost authority on modern society don't even bother judging them all by your own pedantic little standards.

Last things first - don't confuse people liking different things to you with people being stupid. That's just... stupid.

And first things last - how many stories from the original run do you think were excellent? And how many were poor? Were they spread across the whole run or, rather than being a REAL FAN!!! of Doctor Who are you actually a REAL FAN!!! of a particular way of doing it?

That would explain why you think the quality is so patchy - eg, if you're a Hinchcliffe fan but don't really rate the rest of the original run, I'd suspect your "excellent" new series stories would be the likes of Unquiet Dead, Tooth & Claw, Satan Pit and the more gothic side of things.

If you're a Dicks / Letts fan, I suspect you prefer the more bombastic, action based, military episodes like AoL / WW3, Army of Ghosts, Doomsday etc.

Early JNT fan, you probably prefer the high concept episodes like End of the World or Blink.

Myself, I'm a fan of most of the original run. Which means I'm lucky enough to be a fan of most of the new run, too.

What I'm NOT - by ANY stretch of the imagination - is pathetic, celebrity-obsessed, low-attention-span, or unintelligent.

And the sooner you stop confusing different tastes with different levels of intelligence, the sooner you'll stop looking like a fool yourself.

So, you have now progressed from insulting people on DS, through to insulting the millions who watched VoTD, and now you top that off by insulting society in general, all via very sweeping generalisations.

Either

a) You have some real issues

or

b) You are doing this for effect and reaction.

Commenting society in general is not the same as insulting people on this board - so stop take offence when there is none intended.

Example - I can say that Britain's scoiety is predominantly white and heterosexual - that does not mean that any of you DS members are however.

I think everyone would agree that modern British society IS obsessed with celebrities - IS low attension spanned, IS mostly unintelligent. It diesn't mean that you good posters are hoever. In fact it is we, the literati that are the clever ones in society - we are ATYPICAL from scoiety. This is why so many people here raise such valid concerns with TV programming in general - becuase it is aimed for a massively dumbed down audience - Big Brother for instance and that ilk.

Anyone who is offended by that is being really childish.

No, a section of British society maybe.


All of British society? I very much doubt that. A small section perhaps (although that is down to other factors as well).


Hmmm .....

Well from our resident queen of childish throwing toys out of her over sized pram attitudes we obviously must bow down in front of your unrivaled expert testimony on the subject.

After all obviously when it comes to the childish masses nobody knows the subject matter and more first hand than yourself.

I do not insult you or make horrid remarks about you so why are you so beastly towards me?

There is never an excuse for insulting another member...

You are saying, though, that new Who is an extension of that type of media. The logical conclusion being that anyone stupid enough to enjoy it is just not as discerning as you.

Which is piffle.

I'd be interested in an answer to my other question - how much of classic Who do you actually enjoy?

Same as there is never an excuse for insulting the general poplus based on your own unsubstantiated beliefs.

For instance the dross that is Big Brother may receive 9-12 million viewers but take into account that the country's population is well in excess of 50 million undoubtedly this shows that more people don't watch than do therefore bringing the validity of your comment about a celebrity obsessed culture very much into doubt thus casting a huge shadow over the rest of your remark.

Yes I will hold my hands up and say perhaps my previous comment was close to the knuckle, some would even say harsh but I would also bet that others would say it was very close to a nerve.

3 pages of waffle and catty comments for a simple answer.

12+ million viewers = a success from a broadcasting perspective and therefore equals more programmes being commissioned which equals a success for the beeb and a success for us...the fans.

The fact that a show first commissioned 44 years ago with a limited budget and a seemingly limited lifespace still exists today, has enriched generations of children around the world, will continue to do so for many years to come means YES it is a good show and the concept is still valid.

So to answer the question, no, ratings don't automatically make anything good but they provide an indication of the public like or dislike for it and that moment.

So lets just cut the b***s**t and just accept, Doctor Who is a quality programme 12+ million viewers or not. Afterall we know it is.

To the OP

Technically you have a point if this was the first series.

However we are over 40 years in and dw has a very dedicated fan base. The ratings for the xmas special were so high because over the last three years the new who series has proven itself an excellent piece of british television which entertains people of all ages.

It truly is one of the best shows on british television and if you dont like it dont watch it.

Dervish - but you really don't get the point do you. By making the statements you make in the same posts that you make your criticisms of Doctor Who IS INSULTING the people on this board.

You need to take on board what you say and stop confusing different tastes with different levels of intelligence.

But it doesn't.

Big Brother averaged between 3 and 4 million viewers this year, with average AI of 73.

Well that just helps to prove my point further.