Doctor Who was a beloved sci-fi staple whose fandom spanned many generations. Yet, like most mainstream things, it succumbed to the woke mind virus and began a decay that saw its audience abandon it in droves to the point where few would watch it anymore. 

(READ: 'Doctor Who' Alienated Fans So Badly That Its Finale Had Anemic Ratings Despite David Tennant's Return)

In an attempt to bring audiences back for the show's 60th anniversary special, former Doctor Who showrunner Russel T. Davis was brought back, and with him came fan favorite David Tennant, who played what ended up being arguably the most famous of all the Doctors. While this would definitely get people curious about where the show was headed, the flipside is that this would create a great deal of expectations for the show. 

To be sure, quite a bit of the audience did return with a reported overnight rating of 5.08 million viewers according to the BBC.  

But instead of a return to form, viewers were insulted as they were beaten over the head with woke politics, a focus on pronouns and transgenderism, and an unhealthy injection of anti-male feminism. Moreover, taking a step back, you'd see just how much the audiences have abandoned the Doctor Who franchise. Tennant used to bring in over 8 million viewers an episode, a great deal more than five. 

The audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes don't give people a lot of reason to come back either. As of this writing, the critic reviews sit at 100 percent, but the audience score (usually the more reliable number) sits at 53 percent. 

What went wrong? 

Understand first that some of the concepts weren't bad at all. Certain plot threads that called back to the history of Doctor Who were woven in nicely, and if it had stayed with the theme of calling back to the decades worth of Doctor Who that was available to call back from, it would have been worthy of an anniversary special. 

But it didn't do that, at least not nearly as much as it should have. In fact, the show seemed more intent on disrespecting The Doctor than celebrating him. 

Like many Doctor Who specials, it introduces a few new characters one of which is an alien (so far so good) and another which is a transgender person. As the mainstream entertainment industry often does, the transgender character's entire personality revolves around being transgender to the point of smug condescension that the show just lets happen with no blowback and full capitulation. 

These moments become very shoehorned into the show to the point where it takes you out of the moment when they happen. They add nothing to the plot, but that's usually how message-first storytelling goes. It's not about the story, it's about the message.

Take this moment, for instance. 

#RIPDoctorWho pic.twitter.com/cBNAgrnsF6

— pher (@Christo08679133) November 25, 2023

There are other shoehorned-in moments, but there was one moment in particular that didn't just come off as shoehorned-in, but downright denigrating toward men. It happens near the end where companion Donna Noble and the transgender character are effectively dressing down the Doctor for not understanding something because he's male, and he would have understood it if he was still female, the Doctor form he was before he reassumed Tennant's form. 

It's condescending, sexist, and insulting. The superior looks on their faces while they talk down to the Doctor doesn't help.

#RIPDoctorWho pic.twitter.com/oRV4JQthro

— pher (@Christo08679133) November 25, 2023

This has been the path of the show since it was taken over by Chris Chibnal. Social justice has ruled over the show's writing for some time, being a key component of the show's disappearing audience. The hope was that a lesson would have been learned by this, but it clearly wasn't. Davies abuses the show just as much as Chibnal did, writing in political statements instead of good sci-fi. 

Doctor Who remains yet another show that could have been great again, but like many other things consumed by wokeness, isn't worthy of attention. 

It's sad that beloved characters and franchises get caught up in the culture war like this, especially when they've brought so much joy and inspiration to billions of people. That's the nature of modernity, though. You have writers who cave to activism, or activists touting themselves as writers, using the things you love as a delivery system for their socio-political perspectives. They wouldn't be able to sell them to you otherwise, because the ideas they're presenting are often too ridiculous to accept without the assistance of something you know and trust. 

But this is part of what we do here at RedState. We call out the nonsense, point at the lies, and ridicule these bad sales attempts. If you enjoyed this article, then feel free to sign up for the VIP program where I write about this stuff quite a bit. Right now if you use the promo code "2024" you'll get 50% off your subscription price as well as get access to articles, videos, and podcasts not available to non-subs. Sign up today!