Steven Moffat’s Children’s Menu Analogy for Adult Doctor Who Fandom

Steven Moffat compared adult Doctor Who fandom to grown ups wanting to eat off the children’s menu at a restaurant. It’s a great analogy if you think about it.

Going to a restaurant as a kid was always a treat. You knew that there would be four or five options, all of which would likely be something that you would want. Instead of worrying about having to eat all your vegetables, or trying to choke down some casserole that smelled like a damp sock, you could have pizza or a hot dog or a burger. It was a great time.

Even now, when out eating, it is not uncommon to glance over that kid’s section on the menu. Every so often, it is tempting to order something from there, especially when the rest of the menu just does not seem appetizing. However, those grown-up sensibilities usually win out, and you end up ordering some adult entrée that you may have to try to convince yourself that you enjoy.

This leads us to the analogy used by Steven Moffat when talking about Doctor Who. As he says, it is a children’s show at heart. However, that does not mean that it is outside of an adult fanbase. Indeed, because of its very nature, plus the intelligence of the show, it fits perfectly for adults as well.

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And that is a great analogy. Just because we’re adults does not mean that we do not want to enjoy such fanciful shows. If that happens to be Doctor Who, or Adventure Time, or some other program, so be it. It does not matter if it is geared towards children or octogenarians; it just matters if it is enjoyable.

And yes, maybe some people will look a bit askance at a couple of adults wandering about discussing Daleks and where they would go if they had access to the blue police box. Too bad. As more and more people are becoming fans of the show, it is changing the perception of what Doctor Who is. Yet, it is still, at its heart, a children’s show, albeit one that every age group can enjoy without concern.

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If Doctor Who is like the kid’s menu at the restaurant, there is nothing wrong with that. And maybe, like Moffat, I’ll order the pizza and fries next time I go out instead of getting the risotto.