MISSY REACTION

This weekend's episode, Dark Water, saw Steven Moffat offer up his most divisive blow to Doctor Who lore yet. 

For those of you who have not seen Dark Water, and thus have not learned the truth of Missy's identity, turn away now!

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'The shop Mistress. Well, I could hardly keep calling myself the Master.'

What should have been a shock revelation came across, to most, as little more than the most obvious reveal in an episode full of obvious reveals (helped none by the trailer promoting Dark Water). For months fans have been discussing some wild theories on who Missy could turn out to be, and most linked her to the Master. But almost all those hoped it was too obvious a move for Moffat to pull -- alas, it was not!

Our very own Andy Frankham-Allen (author of Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants and line editor of Space: 1889 & Beyond) had this to say; 'Moffat knew he'd never get away with turning the Doctor into a woman, so he did so to the Master.' It is one of many responses collected by our friends at Kasterborous.com, the full responses from their contributors can be found HERE.

We would like to hear your thoughts on Dark Water, especially the Missy revelation. Please tell us what you thought in the comments below.

DOCTOR WHO: THUNDEROUSLY RACIST?

Doctor Who has come under attack, not from Daleks or Cybermen this time, but rather from academics who claim that the show – which celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year – is racist. In a collection of essays titled Doctor Who and Race, the show is criticized for having archaic attitudes, with a few of the 23 authors who contributed stating that the lack of a black or Asian actor in the main role highlights recurrent racism within the programme.

Lindy Orthia, an Australian academic who compiled the anthology, said, ‘The biggest elephant in the room is the problem privately nursed by many fans of loving a TV show when it is thunderingly racist.’ One of the contributors, an American professor named Amit Gupta, writes that the cricket-loving Fifth Doctor – as played by Peter Davison – harks back to the ‘racial and class nostalgia’ of British Imperialism. Other criticisms include the casting of white actors in ethnic roles – as in The Talons of Weng-Chiang, where John Bennett was cast as a Chinese villain – and the ‘slapstick’ manner in which Hitler was portrayed in an episode last year; detracting from any real understanding of the Holocaust. A general consensus among the book’s authors appears to be that primitive cultures are usually depicted as ‘savages’.

Fans in online Doctor Who forums are, on the whole, incredulous at the comments and view them as having absolutely no validity. Many argue that imposing twenty-first century ethics on the older shows is ludicrous and unfair. The editor of Doctor Who online, Sebastian Brook, told The Mail on Sunday: 'I think the suggestion the show is racist is ridiculous.’ The BBC stated: 'Doctor Who has a strong track record of diverse casting among both regular and guest cast. Freema Agyeman became the first black companion and Noel Clarke starred in a major role for five years [Mickey Smith]. Reflecting the diversity of the UK is a duty of the BBC, and casting on Doctor Who is colour-blind. It is always about the best actors for the roles.”

In another controversy regarding the show, actor John Simm, who played the Master in five episodes, is upset at - allegedly - being quoted out of context by the Radio Times in a recent interview in which he said, ‘It's great to be into something, but for goodness' sake, really? I'm not the Master, I'm not that evil Time Lord who rules the galaxy, I'm just in Tesco with my kids. Leave me alone!’ On first reading it appears that the actor is ‘doing a Shatner’ but perhaps it’s not quite as straightforward.

Sources – The Telegraph and The Independent