Doctor Who 60th anniversary special review bombed over trans representation

Saturday evening was a national event, with millions sitting down to watch the return of David Tennant as The Doctor, alongside his comical companion Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble. Arguably, it was a TV highlight of the year, yet the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special is getting review bombed.

I’m just going to say it: this is why we can’t have nice things.

Make sure you watch the official trailer for the Doctor Who 60th specials for yourself!

Many fans have been beyond excited – borderline beside themselves – after confirmation that Tennant is the 14th Doctor (at least for now). But, as is always the way, a small yet very loud pocket of the fandom wants to spoil the moment.

Reviews are moaning about “ludicrous BS” being added to the episode in reference to a trans character and storyline being an integral part of the narrative. The disgruntled reviewers continue on ranting about “ridiculous pandering”, before declaring that “this is no longer Doctor Who”.

Well, it is. And, we hate to break it to these unnecessarily upset viewers, but the series deals with gender non-conformity all the time – The Doctor has no gender. They’re an alien, able to change form; for all intents and purposes, this is a character not confined to the binary. If you’re a long-time fan of the show, this is hardly news to you, yet it seems we need to repeat it.

Doctor Who is getting review bombed on the Rotten Tomatoes audience score for pissing off people who can't handle trans characters on TV. I'll call that a sign of success. Rotten Tomatoes audience scores are meaningless lmao pic.twitter.com/SLuL9udDbH

— Someone Called Kevin (@scribblesscript) November 26, 2023

Despite this incessant need to complain about something that literally has no effect on them, and is also in keeping with not just the show but Russel T. Davis as a writer, the 60th anniversary special has been predominately well-received by critics. In all honesty, most of the fandom loved the show too. But, as always, it’s so-called fans who want to throw a very public tantrum that are heard.

But, let’s be frank here, while review scores help some people decide whether they see a film or TV show, the scores are essentially meaningless when it comes to individual preferences. One critic’s write-off is another’s favourite – art is subjective. And, just like social media user @scribblesscript, we will take all these petty, childish review bombs as a sign of “success”; Doctor Who came back with a bang and did not disappoint.

If you’ve yet to see the return of Tennant and Tate, you can watch the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special on iPlayer. Also, why not check out the 60 essential episodes from the entire series, classic and new, to really get you in the mood for more time-travelling escapades?