Doctor Who: Why healthy debate is so great within the fandom
By James Aggas
Doctor Who fans love debating about the show as much as they enjoy watching it, which is one of many reasons why the fandom is so fantastic.
One thing that I really enjoy about being a part of the Doctor Who fandom is the wide variety of fans there are. It’s not just how many of them there are out there.
It’s also the fact that people become fans of the show for so many different reasons. Doctor Who is one of those incredibly rare series that has varied so much in style and format over the years. And, while some eras were definitely more successful than others, it’s still surprising to think how such wildly different styles can be so highly successful for the same series.
For example, at the start of the Sixties, the First Doctor and his companions would have a nice mix of both purely historical stories and hard science-fiction.
By the end of the decade, however, the show was already shifting its focus to stories of alien invasions and bases under siege. In fact, the show experienced many stylistic changes over the years that went beyond who was playing the Doctor or the companion.
Since Doctor Who began, the fans have been given many stories, Doctors and companions to enjoy. So it makes sense that it’s difficult for them to agree on the best ones. But can that be a good thing?
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
A love of healthy debate
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So unsurprisingly, many fans love the series for wildly different reasons. What’s a “perfect era” to one fan could be another’s least favorite period of the show. A fan’s least favorite Doctor could very easily be another’s all-time favorite.
And that’s precisely what makes the fandom so interesting and so wonderful. The fact that we all have equally valid opinions on what is the best or worst of the show. Sometimes, yes, a very small minority can take things massively out of hand and overreact when it comes to another’s opinion.
But generally, the fandom’s always keen to discuss different ideas and opinions. People love discussing who their favorite Doctors are, but they’re also keen to find out why others have a different favorite, too.
The constant discussion and debate over Doctor Who and its many different eras and stories not only shows how much it’s constantly changed over the decades. It also shows just how wide and diverse the fandom is, too.
Next. Continuity errors (and why I love them). dark
Do you agree that healthy debate in the fandom is a good thing? Do you enjoy the fact that so many fans love the show for wildly different reasons? Let us know in the comments below.
