UK Newspaper Front Page - New Dr. Who Is "Too Sexy"!!!

Bloody hell...

When I posted up my review for the first episode of Matt Smith's Dr. Who series this Saturday little did I know that the joke I made about enraged parents phoning the BBC to complain it was too sexy (or Amy to be precise) would actually come true...

But low and behold as I popped into my local BP petrol station this morning I see on the front (yes this seems to be front page news) of the Daily Telegraph Karen Gillan's face and something about her and the new show being "too sexy".

I got home and looked it up online and yep, I wasn't mistaken, the hordes of angry virgins, religious prudes, misguided parents and ugly people with attitudes have done it again... They've complained about something that needn't even be an issue when there are so many other things in the world to focus on.

Sorry if that seems harsh... No hold on a minute, I'm not sorry at all. Anyone who complained about "The Eleventh Hour" or anything minutely sexual contained therein need to get out more and take a look at the world around them and how certain things work. I pointed out the fact that this would be brought up sooner or later but I saw it as a positive, as I'm sure the show runners did when filming it.

Amy Pond said she was a "kissogram", she didn't say she was a stripper, exotic dancer or prostitute (not that I should be dissing any single profession). She didn't actually do anything naughty apart from wearing a mini skirt and tights (which again isn't actually naughty or racy), her nurse and nun outfit were referenced briefly in a humorous way and we didn't see much of Matt Smith's body when he was changing. Plus - Amy not wanting to look away when he was changing was justified in my eyes. The Doctor had been an obsessive part of her mind since she was a child, you saw that at the end with all the stuff she'd drawn and made, from what her friends had said and by the story you'd been watching. If you were Amy would you have looked away from your "imagination-incarnate" standing in front of you when you'd had four years of counselling to tell you he wasn't real? There's no way she wouldn't have formed some sort of fantasy-crush on him too. Didn't Rose, and Martha for that matter, both fall in love with the Doctor? Didn't Rose end up getting her very own Doctor to keep in an alternate dimension too?

Here are my other strongly felt points:

1) Dr. Who is a "family" show, not a kids show. It's meant to cater for everyone in your household from little 6 year old Jimmy, through 16 year old Jenna and 40 year old Bob, right up to 70 year old Mavis... That means cool tech and aliens for the young ones, adult humour and pop culture references seasoned with some light sexual tension for the mid range, followed by historical time frames and places and a weird but somewhat dashing toy-boy (or girl) for the old fogies.

2) Sex sells... Everything. If you haven't grasped this concept by now you need to rip of those debilitating blinkers you've got strapped to your noggin and realise that the reason a scantily clad 20 something female is holding a phone on the front of a tech mag, straddling a Harley Davidson on a bike mag, sweating whilst lifting weights on a health mag or the most popular hero(ine) ever from a computer game is because sex sells... The world doesn't have to be perverted or sexist to morally and successfully use a woman to sell a product or boost an advertisement (or in this case garner more interest from a predominantly male audience for a t.v. show). Did people do this kind of complaining (and have any impact) when Star Trek Voyager introduced possibly the most sexually interesting character ever in Seven of Nine for instance? Maybe. But then she boosted ratings like never before and it wasn't seen as a negative, even with the skimpy silver jumpsuit... Hell even Enterprise has a naked T'Pol in one episode! And those are only two minor examples from one sci-fi franchise, I could go on forever on the subject.

3) Are we now saying that any previous Dr. Who companions weren't sexy? Or just not sexy enough to cause a fuss? Billy Piper? Freema Agyeman? Catherine Tate? Or is it just because Karen wore the Police Woman outfit and her job was a kissogram? Grrrrrrrr... Remember that the Doctor is now in his youngest transformation yet, and possibly his strongest and nuttiest. What better companion to have that a young, strong willed, sexually charged (yet totally innocent) red headed beauty like Amy Pond? Rose, Martha and Donna wouldn't have fitted with Matt Smith. They would have been too experienced and dominant, more than Amy I mean. Amy is the right mix, so far, of what this wild and wacky young Doctor needs. This is a next generation jump changing all the rules, for the better. And with all due respect to Karen, she wasn't mind blowing sexy-dirty, she was just cute and somewhat hot. C'mon was she (and the Doctor changing his shirt scene) really that bad to complain about? Geez...


I'm sure this post will be located by Internet travellers and I'll get negative feedback somewhere along the line but let me point out a couple of things. I'm a father of two young girls, one of which watched the episode with me and had no problem whatsoever in its content. I have no problem with what she witnessed on Saturday as she totally loved it and she wasn't that keen on Tennant's reign anyway. Even if she had known what a kissogram was she wouldn't have given a crap. I've been a Dr. Who fan since I was very young and I'm now 32 years old. Do I have a problem with them adding beautiful women and a bit of sexual interest to a sci-fi program I love (and now watch with my daughter)? Hell no, in fact if it was all males I wouldn't enjoy it half as much. I'm not a pervert and I don't have to be to put this point of view across, but I do love women, especially sci-fi and fantasy t.v. ladies (hence the sister blog we have) so I'm a little biased towards this argument.

I suggest you read the Daily Telegraph story HERE to see what was said about Saturday's episode and what some people complained about. Then, once you've read it, scoff and the silliness, understand a little more about the world (if you needed to), acknowledge the fact that the whole first season has already been filmed, there's nothing anyone can do about it, they'll probably never mention Amy's job (or that outfit) ever again and then look forward to the rest of the season with wide eyes and open arms.

Bravo season 5, I'm with you all the way! ;P

Rant over, taking a breath and going off to relax now...