Season 12 of Doctor Who came to an end last week and saw a massive shake-up in the mythology of Gallifrey and the Time Lords. Along with story arc running through the series, there were also some standalone adventures which saw the Time Lady (played by Jodie Whittaker) and her friends encountering the likes of Nikola Tesla (Goran Visnjic) and Lord Byron (Jacob Collins-Levy).
There was also a tale involving the danger of plastic pollution destroying the planet.
The most recent series of Doctor Who followed on from Whittaker’s first season as the first female Time Lady.
Season 11 featured a story involving civil rights activist Rosa Parks (Vinette Robinson) written by former Children’s Laureate and acclaimed writer Malorie Blackman, while another focus on the Partition of India by Vinay Patel.
Fans also saw American actor and star of Sex And The City Chris Noth starring in a story focusing on the environment.
However, has the series tried to take on politics too much at the risk of the story? Express.co.uk spoke to fans of the BBC series about the sci-fi drama.
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Is Doctor Who too political?
According to Allan Leech of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, the show is not too political.
He explained: “Doctor Who was always envisaged as a show that should educate and inform as well as entertain, and has never shied away from introducing children to the big issues of the day.”
However, super fan Martina Mercer believes the show is now political as well as “trying to satisfy everyone, while pleasing no one”.
Mercer believes this change is partly down to the show’s popularity in America and it has been “gradually distorted to suit all audiences”.
She explained: “It’s too politically correct while losing what makes it such an incredible program.
“The story comes second to the messages it’s trying to portray, such as global warming, feminism, recycling, it reminds me of the teachers at a primary school trying to drive home the message of the rainforest being cut down and the impact on the environment, while forgetting that most watch it for the ultimate escapism and the audience are intelligent enough to understand the basics of the issues it’s forcing upon us.”
Nevertheless, Doctor Who has always featured politics in the past as well as serving as an educational family drama.
Leech described the Daleks as “basically the Nazis in space”, while the Cybermen were an “allegory for communism”.
He went on to cite Jon Pertwee’s 1973 serial The Green Death as a story of pollution and the environment.
Leech said: “All the way back to the First Doctor, William Hartnell – The Daleks is about the Nazis and also about the dangerous of atomic power.
“And the modern era has had Christopher Eccleston facing the power of giant media conglomerates in The Long Game, David Tennant facing the hard choice between liberty and security in Turn Left, and Peter Capaldi dealing with the radicalisation of minorities in the Zygon storyline.”
Mercer, too, agreed politics had an “important role” in the show but it was “always secondary to the story and arc without losing any of its impact”.
She felt the show was “forgetting” its older followers and focusing more on the children in the audience and becoming less “subtle”.
Nevertheless she hailed previous series for tackling political issues head-on, such as Peter Capaldi’s speech about Zygon radicalisation paralleling Isis and David Tennant’s Time Lord shutting down “trigger-happy prime minster Harriet Jones”.
Mercer added: “The Cybermen were introduced to show the dangers of relying on technology, while John Simm highlighted the risks of a narcissist psychopath in the Prime Minister’s role.
“Even the cute adipose episode sent a message about body image and the hazards of fad diets, yet still, the hook remained, and we were left feeling entertained.”
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Doctor Who: Jodie Whittaker’s replacement already revealed?
Although this it seems opinion is divided on whether Doctor Who has become too political, it’s nothing new to the show which has been on screens for over 50 years.
Season 13 of Doctor Who has been confirmed with filming taking place later this year.
Reflecting on what he’d like to see next on Doctor Who, Leech said: “I’d like to see the team build on the successes of series 12.
“More strong storylines, more fascinating historical characters, more high-quality guest actors and the answers to some of these mysteries…especially if they lead to bigger mysteries.”
While Mercer said: “I would love to see some chemistry between characters, some complex story arcs, some development of personalities, some storylines not set on earth.”
In the meantime, fans will be getting a festive special which will be airing either around Christmas on in the new year, which will pick up the devastating revelation of the Timeless Child.
Doctor Who season 12 is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now
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