So this was the scene from The Web Planet where they were talking about the mess in the TARDIS. Info text for this story says that Russell and Hartnell felt it wasn’t right and so removed it even though it caused problems for the technical side meaning they mucked up the camera script. But thought it was interesting that the actors didn’t want the Doctor saying this. The writer of the Web Planet also added into the book that the Doctor told Barbara to make them breakfast which when we listened to the audio-book completely jumped out at us at being out of character for this era.
It’s so annoying to say this of the One era when we know people actively removed many sexist lines from its scripts, e.g Ian’s ‘women’s driver’ comments that could have been *shudders*. We’re not saying the era is perfect but then neither is the current one and we do think in the 60′s at least they wanted the Doctor to be seen as above all that, especially after his initial bad way of viewing the lesser Earth species. He learnt and grew. We can’t fault them for ways of their own time that slipped in the writing, especially when it was also taken out when they felt appropriate. It also had a female producer in charge of the whole thing which they haven’t had since. They also had two female companions at a time, for the first two seasons who were complex and never used for male gaze. We’re not saying there was never sexism, but why are we highlighting those minor moments when there was so much good and better stuff to celebrate?
Wanna make a commentary about the 1960′s? Here’s an idea. It’s quite easy with a time machine. You have the characters go to the actual 60′s and immerse in a different time where the females at the time are not treated so well. And then you can actually see the change, not tell us in a throwaway moment. It’s really odd to have the non-60′s Doctor be the mouthpiece for our current need to comment on 60′s society. The Twelfth Doctor isn’t from 2017 either so he’s seen the future of Earth so what would he think of Trump being president or many other things he’d consider ‘backward’ or ‘incorrect’ about our year? Why doesn’t the current Doctor go around telling the companions how silly and stupid they are?
We think if anything One should call out 11 or 12 a lot of the time because at least he never commented on his female companions looks or forcibly kissed anyone and he never glamourised stalking or shamed a woman for wearing a skirt as it distracted the men. The First era also introduced its first female companion as a history teacher, Moffat’s was a kissogram who then the Doctor shamed as there was a male gaze shot up her legs. We don’t really want to get into an argument about what Moffat did or didn’t do but doesn’t it go to show that sometimes the present isn’t so wise, that perhaps you can comment on your own faults instead of using the past to boost you up and act like you’re superior?
We’re tired of it so just our little thoughts. We think bringing a Doctor back should celebrate the history of the programme not make pot-shots at it. It’s no worse (and let’s face it there’s much worse eras) than anything else. Why not celebrate its positives? We just think there’s just such a massive misunderstanding of the era. Moffat doesn’t like the era, he’s made no secret of it. He once described Barbara as ‘sexy school-mistress’ and thinks the Doctor fancies her so excuse us if we don’t really think he get’s the spirit of the One era. We just hope it doesn’t put new fans off the First Doctor.
He tolerates the century but he don’t enjoy it dammit.
The other example I’ve seen was a sexist line put into the first Doctor’s mouth during The Five Doctors, written in 1983. Funny how some male writers like to prove they’re less sexist now by projecting sexist lines onto the past, while totally failing to notice the sexism in the show as it is during their own time.
@pipertennant this is what I was talking about earlier