I don’t look at internet comments about shows very much anymore. Certainly not going to the comment sections after every episode.
People equate cynicism with being a smart reviewer. Saying everything sucks all the time doesn’t make you smart and it doesn’t make you a critic. The arts are about expression from the creator. They’re not court jesters who exist to attempt to satisfy whatever your own self determined metric of intelligence is supposed to be. These are not fans, but armchair tyrants who get off on declaring, “off with his head”, at every jester who dares to entertain their couch potato throne.
I agree completely, and I think too many online spaces make room for cynicism not realizing that it contributes nothing, and ruins the experience/eventually pushes out of anyone who isn’t cynical.
When I was a mod on /r/StarTrek we had a rule (it’s also thankfully a rule here) “be constructive” which was basically “Criticism is OK but cynicism is not. If you want to present ‘criticism’ you need to behave like a real critic and cite examples, not just rant”. And let me tell you that rule really upset a lot of folks who felt that had a right to pee in the communal pool.
I gave up on r/gallifrey during the Chibnall years…
Liking the show and just enjoying the general “vibe” it was going for was taboo, posting theories was pointless because you just got cynicism in response.
Something about Series 11 just really broke a lot of people’s brains and they never recovered… Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the best thing ever made, but Good God people, RELAX!
I find the general rule with Doctor Who fans is:
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The most recent showrunner is the worst and has ruined the show forever.
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The previous showrunner had their problems but they’re underrated.
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The showrunner before that was the greatest and they should come back.
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Whatever version of the show was current when you were a kid was the golden age.
So for example:
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RTD1 era: RTD is ruining the show! It’s nothing like 80’s Doctor Who which was the real show.
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Moffat era: Moffat is ruining it! RTD had his problems but he could write good dialogue!
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Chibnall era: What the fuck is Chibnall doing?! Moffat went off a bit at the end but season 5 was great. RTD was the best though, that was the Golden Age. I wish he’d come back!
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RTD2 era: RTD has lost it and ruined the show! I know Chibnall wrote some nonsense but I liked the Flux. The best episodes of this era were the Moffat ones, I wish he’d come back!
…and so on. So I expect when the new version comes back in a few years people online will hate it, start to “yes, but” the RTD2 era and pine for the Chibnall years lol.
That is pretty accurate, yes 😂 A big part of it I think is fans watching new episodes as they air, and going mad with waiting a week for the next one. The hyperfocus on picking over details of the week’s story and speculating on what will happen next creates a weird and often (mostly) overly harsh criticism. Especially when discussed online…
And that’s when previously hated runs are suddenly viewed through rosier glasses. Seems it’s only now that the fandom can embrace Whittaker’s Doctor (i.e., not spit bile on others for expressing moderate appreciation). Because apparently Chibnall did still ruin the show, but RTD really, really ruined it?
Also, don’t forget the subset of fans who only really liked Tennant’s run and the Rose romance arc, and will continue to comment like those three seasons are all that really count out of a >60yrs show 🙂
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Can’t really disagree with him about the substantial leaks, nor about the online outrage professionals. It’s an exhausting environment to navigate as viewers, especially because it largely feeds off our passion for shows like Who and Trek.
However, I’ll be interested in following the reactions of other parties involved in the production of the show for the past couple of years, once they’ve digested Davies’ version. If the messy season arcs and anticlimactic finales are any sign, there must have been more happening on the production than just unfounded optimism about Disney extending their streaming deal.
I mean the answer is literally to just ignore online communities and make art. It’s amazing that it’s taken both gave devs and show runners like 15 fucking years to figure this out.
People on the Internet are toxic. Ignore them. The “bigger” the influencer is, the more you should ignore them. I am available for consulting work if any big studio execs would like to learn more.
I mean the answer is literally to just ignore online communities and make art.
I’m sure most creators would love to, but you just know the network execs are coming to RTD and saying something like “Twitter is really upset about XYZ, can you tone down the wokeness?” etc.
I mean the answer is literally to just ignore online communities and make art.
I wish I could agree. The toxic communities aren’t doing what they do to get the creators’ attention, so withholding that attention don’t accomplish anything. That’s not what sustains them.
I think Davies is a pretty diplomatic guy - he didn’t really throw anyone under the bus as an individual, and was pretty sympathetic to the Beeb’s predicament.
Similarly, I don’t think he’s ever said a bad thing about Christopher Eccleston, even though the latter has openly called for him to be fired.
So as much as I’m sure there are other sides of the story, I’m not sure they’d be very juicy. Except maybe the Disney POV, but Davies likely isn’t privy to that.
I refuse to believe that the vocal complainers of any fandom are ever anything like a majority (yes they do tend to pee in the pools of any online space they are allowed to pee in making it bad for everyone, but I digress…) However I have a feeling the C-suite folks who only care about money are seeing those complainers on Twitter and Reddit and believing they they represent more of the audience opinion than they do.
This was a sad but honestly refreshing take by RTD, usually folks just say “we love the fans!” and leave it at that.
When it comes to science fiction, the problem of leaking online is now so vast and so pernicious it threatens to ruin everything. And it’s more ferocious than ever with Doctor Who. Every decision we ever made, every single plot twist, every single moment, all the way up to the appearance of Billie in the very last seconds of the last series finale, was leaked. It’s absolutely extraordinary, and I swear it did a lot to destroy the profile of the show. It introduces a cynicism among fans, because they’re not surprised by anything any more. Their response to a leak is weariness, an instant assumption that whatever has been leaked won’t work. They instantly imagine the worst version of it, and then, when they eventually see it, it inevitably confirms their bias.
I feel seen.
