Over the past years, the British cult TV show “Dr. Who” has gone through several iterations, some more embraced than others. The ever-changing lead character meant that creativity and seemingly limitless options for development were at the disposal of the creators. Then, about a year ago, the production was looking for a studio to partner with, leading to the latest venture with Disney, and you could have predicted what would follow – as well as the results.

Take a completely anchorless character and place it under the guidance of a studio marinating in social activism and you just knew this would lead to a signaling character move and casting decision. The promotions for this new season highlighted that this latest Doctor was going to be a gay POC representation with great fanfare. Disney just could not help itself.

As is always the case with these woke casting decisions from the studio, the issue is not so much the presence of gendered/gay/trans/non-binary/whichever characterizations; it is that these characterizations are the primary driver of the product. It is never about subtly inserting a character who happens to be a checkbox-filling entity into an existing property; it is beginning with that character at the inception. “We need to make a (insert activist demographic characteristic)-centered storyline in the next ‘Star Wars’ series,” appears to be their mindset.

This was the case with the newest “Dr. Who.” For the new partnership with Disney, former showrunner Russell T. Davies returned to the fold, and he had every intention of injecting his trademarked activism into the proceedings. This appealed greatly to Disney, and it became a perfect marriage of woke sensibilities. It did not become a successful venture.

Right from the start, you sensed the audience being put on guard, as that woke mentality and not the show’s quality was what they were selling. Just ahead of the debut, Variety touted what the focus would be. “How Ncuti Gatwa’s Historic Casting, Russell T Davies’ Return and a Disney+ Deal Revolutionized the Franchise.” Davies also betrayed a bit of the show’s history in pushing this agenda.

“They weren’t exactly the straightest men in the past. You’re talking about someone who does have a lightness and a joy about him that, to me, chimes with queer energy.” While the Doctor’s sexuality has never been labeled, in Gatwa’s first episode as the lead…viewers see him dancing in a kilt and referencing his “long, hot summer with Harry Houdini.” 

What he is saying is that the character’s sexuality was never really declared, and viewers had their own interpretation. Yet today, after more than a dozen Doctors and 60 years of broadcasting, they fired out of the gate with “He’s Black! He’s Gay!” This tips the hands of the production team, showing that the focus was not on series development and its history. The lead actor then went further, telling the audience that his truth was more important than the show’s legacy.

Although Gatwa’s groundbreaking casting was met with much praise, there were, of course, some haters. Gatwa’s message to the naysayers is simple: “Don’t watch. Turn off the TV. Go and touch grass, please, for God’s sake.”

What a savvy marketing plan; telling a core portion of the fan base they can go piss off. So how did this strategy — one that resembles the cast of the all-female “Ghostbusters” in 2016 telling sexist fanboys to stay away — work out for the new “Dr. Who”? Welllllll…about as well as the past Disney efforts at woke programming. The viewers took Gatwa's advice, clicked off the remote, and went outside to stroll in the grass.

The December holiday special that introduced the new Doctor character received well under five million viewers, some of the lowest audience numbers seen in the series. You had to go back to the very first season in 1963 to get lower figures, and that year, the audience grew up to the finale, becoming a hit and a generation-spanning franchise. Then the new season kicked off this month, and the word “dismal” seems more than apt. 

The producers spotlighted the Doctor's sexuality, Disney promoted the activist casting, and the lead actor told viewers who opposed the changes to stay away.
That clever marketing led to the worst "Dr. Who" ratings ever. pic.twitter.com/QRXvwW0ADd

— Brad Slager - Scrubbing Down In a Bloodbath (@MartiniShark) May 17, 2024

After face-planting out of the gate for the season opener it manages to lose -8 percent of that lowly figure. This is a monumental rejection by the fan base. The only thing lacking in this proven failing Disney blueprint is for those involved in the show to next go public and declare the audience is homophobic and/or racist. That will round out the same cycle witnessed with past woke ventures that cratered, such as “Obi-Wan” and “She-Hulk.” 

Start by altering an established franchise, force your social agenda into the plot, lecture the fans about accepting the corrupted product, and then castigate the audience for turning away from your signaling failure. It has long been the practice at Disney. And just like the fans of communism when shown the lengthy list of their favored political system’s failures, the studio will simply insist that properly woke productions just have not been tried yet.