It can be easy to wax poetic about the ways in which Doctor Who shows us how to be tolerant of those who are different and the heartache that follows when people think only of themselves. Like Star Trek has traditionally done on this side of the Pond, our show often serves to promote understanding among people of different backgrounds and make us think critically about our common assumptions.

Maybe that’s one reason it makes me sad to realize how homogeneous its characters are.

Think about it. How many characters have been people of color (that is, colors other than green!)? Or people with demonstrably other-than-heterosexual orientations (or any other minority identity one could name)? Of those, how many were major players? We’ve only had one Companion (or two, if you count Mickey, which I really don’t) who was a POC. Granted, now and then there’s a one-off POC character (like Rita in The God Complex or Nasreen in The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood), but they don’t stick around. Similarly, no one but Captain Jack is blatantly “omnisexual.” (I know Moffat’s stated that River is bi, but the fact that he had to tell us means she’s not represented that way on screen.) And given the demographics of the UK (because, let’s be honest, as a British show, it’s going to reflect British culture), you’d think there would be more POC/non-heteronormative/etc. characters even among the extras.

What with the post earlier this week by well-known Who pundit Ian Levine about the disappointing (bordering on alarming) state of the show during this, its fiftieth anniversary year, it seems like the right time to post a few of my own thoughts on the subject.

I’ve known from the moment it was announced that I was probably not going to love the Anniversary Special unconditionally. As the details unfold, I’ve continued to be cautiously optimistic – after all, Tennant is “my” Doctor (the one who really pulled me irrevocably into the show) – but am generally disappointed. Where are McGann, McCoy, Baker, Davison, and Baker (no one should ever have had any illusions that Eccleston would be in on it)? Are we not even going to see them in cameo roles as non-Doctor characters? I’m with Levine on that count, for sure. You can’t celebrate fifty years of a show’s history by highlighting only the most recent eight or so.

The real question, though, is about the future of the show as a whole – those regular new episodes of which we are about to have such a dearth. When it was first announced that RTD was leaving and that Moffat would be his successor, I was super excited. “The guy who wrote some of the best shows of the first four post-Hiatus years (The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, The Girl in the Fireplace, Blink, Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead) is going to be showrunner? Excellent!” It all turned out a bit differently than I’d envisioned once he took the reins, though.

When the question of favorite Who monsters comes up, the recurring classics are always high on the aggregate list of fan faves. And when you add the term “iconic,” Daleks and Cybermen pretty much always top the list. I’ve already ranted a bit about how overused the Daleks are, so now it’s time to pass judgement on the Cybermen.

Here’s the deal. As I understand it, the Cybermen were originally designed to be a creepy near-human-but-not-human foe (remember the Uncanny Valley?), made the more so by the idea that they might also try to convert you and make you into a “thing,” too; classic body horror. By the time the show was into what was arguably its heyday in the (’70s and) ’80s, though, the Cybermen sort of turned into plain ol’ robotic baddies.

Granted, I’m not overly familiar with the particular stories in which they appeared with those “middle” Doctors, so perhaps I’m missing something, but it seems to me they lost most of their menace somewhere along the way. Aside from having certain physical advantages associated with their non-biological aspects, their main characteristic seems to be “lack of emotion” (which doesn’t always come across during this period, either). How is that threatening?

From the first time I realized that in its homeland Doctor Who is considered a children’s show – a little something to entertain the tots at tea time – I’ve been flabbergasted by the fact. Herein lies one of the blatant cultural differences between the UK and the US: while makers of television program(me)s in the UK seems to believe that kids enjoy not only a bit of peril in their stories but being asked to face some tough issues, those in the US think seem to think their audience is full of morons.

It’s frustrating. As someone who considers herself to be firmly outside the ranks of the morons (though I’m sure there are those who hold a dissenting opinion), I hate being “talked down to” by the shows I watch. I seek out shows that have a bit more bite to them, that stretch me a bit either intellectually, emotionally, or morally. That’s one of the reasons I love Doctor Who – it gives me all of those challenges at different times. And, at least in my experience, that’s not the norm in this neck of the woods.

Here in the US, the majority of television tends to be aimed at the “lowest common consumer,” so to speak. Anything that makes you think at all is usually either in the news/documentary category or relegated to the local PBS (Public Broadcasting System) station – or both. Costume drama? PBS. Literary mystery? PBS. Anything produced in Britain? PBS. I think you can see the trend here.

This time of year, I see lots of Twitter posts about how excited my tweeps are for the Doctor Who Christmas special. Many of them (who clearly do celebrate Christmas otherwise) say they’re not really that psyched up for Christmas except for the fact that there’s new Who on the horizon. I’m just not there.

For a start, none of the Christmas specials from 2005 through 2011 (which include, in order: The Christmas Invasion; The Runaway Bride; Voyage of the Damned; The Next Doctor; The End of Time, Pt 1 (not exactly a “Christmas special,” but it was broadcast on Christmas 2009); A Christmas Carol; and The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe) do much for me. Each of them has certain things to recommend it, but in the grand scheme of things, they’re nowhere near the top of my list of favorites, even if I limit that list to post-Hiatus episodes. There always seems to be some sort of fatal flaw that just keeps me from loving any of them, and I’m not quite sure why. Perhaps it’s because they’re all meant to be what is stereotypically deemed a “romp,” or that they’re just meant to be little light, fluffy bon bons of stories. Whatever the case, I’ve never remained excited about any of them for more than a week or so.

And this year doesn’t look to be any different. The prequel bits for The Snowmen (no, I won’t say anything about what’s in them this time) haven’t grabbed me. I’ve avoided as much hype and spoilers as possible, though I’ve already seen posts about how there will be a new this-or-that all over the place. I’ve even avoided the Adventure Calendar this year. But just the officially released content – trailers or prequels – tell me enough to know that I can expect more of the same. Some folks are all pumped up and in countdown mode for the “Wholidays”; I just can’t summon the energy.