More musings on why purists may be upset

Purists occur in every fandom. Star Trek fans generally scorn Voyager and Enterprise while Star Wars fans sneer at the thought of the prequels. These are the fans that have a set view of the way the universe unfolds and certain principles must be abided. I find it hard to have the same philosophy with Doctor Who as I have trouble treating the series as serious science fiction or fantasy, but I can attempt at understanding why certain people feel Moffat/Matt's era isn't the greatest.  

 

One of the complaints for Voyager is that everyone dies; sometimes more than once. I think the same thing can be applied to Doctor Who. In one season alone, we have seen the doctor die twice. Once is on the floor in his tux with River at his side using up her last regenerations. We see him "die" again in the series six premiere and finale. The only problem is he isn't dead. He's in here.

That's right. He's in a robotic pupil. No one really knows when he got into the robot version of himself, but there he is telling River on their wedding night to look into his eyes and keep it all a secret. In essence, the robotic version of The Doctor tricks (or compromises depending on how you want to look at it) to marry the false version of himself and to kiss it so they can stop time from disintegrating and he has a chance to be alive.

 

I am not sure if it's the girl in me, but I found the actual wedding slightly disappointing. If these two people are in love and want to spend their lives together, then why does it seem somewhat forced? Why is his marriage proposal to River an accident in communication and their wedding something thrown together without Rory really knowing what's going on and Amy somewhat understanding? The only redeeming part of it is the kiss

 

 

until you realize she is kissing a robot and both are in on the farce. As much as I do love Matt's era, I can see why people would prefer the storylines with David and Billie because at least that one seemed to be filled with emotion and passion.

 

Then there's always this

 

 



 

You take a gorgeous man and place a false beard and wig on his head and now he's a soothsayer. Luckily, we can still see his eyes. I wouldn't be a fan of the series if I didn't think the episode still had some great moments. I particularly liked the Indiana Jones reference with The Doctor saying he doesn't like rats and our adversaries are quite cool.

I've always thought The Silence were the best monsters/nemesis of the rebooted series. I still like the humour sprinkled throughout the episode as well.

If we are to play along with the idea that discovering your first doctor is like finding your first love, I think we need to treat them in the same manner. Love means embracing all their flaws and quirks. Yes, there are moments like Matt pursing his lips before he dies when I think perhaps that wasn't completely flawless. As much as I do love Doctor Who and the many adventures we go on, I think it's important sometimes to step back and say maybe that wasn't the greatest. Like Love, you accept it all.