Month: July 2014

How sexist is Doctor Who?–Part Six

The Colin Baker years

CBaker1

Welcome to Part Six of my attempt to analyse the sexism in every Doctor Who story ever, using the Bechdel Test – and my wits. For a reminder of the rules, check the Intro here. Then, going by Doctor:

  1. William Hartnell
  2. Patrick Troughton
  3. Jon Pertwee
  4. Tom Baker
  5. Peter Davison

A quick reminder of the Test:

  1. It has to have two named female characters
  2. Who talk to each other
  3. About something besides a man.

 

Last week, we discovered that Peter Davison had shown a marked improvement in Bechdel terms from his predecessors, scoring the least sexist rating yet. But with trouble on the horizon for incoming Doctor Colin Baker, can he continue the trend of improvement? Let’s see…

Continue reading “How sexist is Doctor Who?–Part Six”

How sexist is Doctor Who?–Part Five

The Peter Davison years

Davison1

Welcome to Part Five of my attempt to analyse the sexism in every Doctor Who story ever, using the Bechdel Test – and my wits. For a reminder of the rules, check the Intro here. Then, going by Doctor:

  1. William Hartnell
  2. Patrick Troughton
  3. Jon Pertwee
  4. Tom Baker

A quick reminder of the Test:

  1. It has to have two named female characters
  2. Who talk to each other
  3. About something besides a man.

With John Nathan-Turner now producing for the rest of the classic run, the job of ‘showrunner’ now starts to fall more than ever to the script editor. In this case, with a few exceptions, that means Eric Saward, not renowned for his sensitivity. Will his macho, violent style make the show more sexist than ever, or will the new, more sensitive Doctor be less of an unwitting chauvinist than his predecessors? Let’s see the results…

Continue reading “How sexist is Doctor Who?–Part Five”

How sexist is Doctor Who?–Part Four

The Tom Baker years

Tbaker1

Welcome to Part Four of my attempt to analyse the sexism in every Doctor Who story ever, using the Bechdel Test – and my wits. For a reminder of the rules, check the Intro here. Then, going by Doctor:

  1. William Hartnell
  2. Patrick Troughton
  3. Jon Pertwee

A quick reminder of the Test:

  1. It has to have two named female characters
  2. Who talk to each other
  3. About something besides a man.

After Jon Pertwee’s shameful 54.2% Test failure, surely his successor can only improve? But then, he has far more stories to be sexist in, and quite a few of them are script-edited by Robert Holmes, who we’ve already established to have a less than sterling track record of female representation. Let’s see the results…

Continue reading “How sexist is Doctor Who?–Part Four”

How sexist is Doctor Who?–Part Three

The Jon Pertwee years

Pertwee1

Welcome to Part Three of my attempt to analyse the sexism in every Doctor Who story ever, using the Bechdel Test – and my wits. For a reminder of the rules, check the Intro here. Then, going by Doctor:

  1. William Hartnell
  2. Patrick Troughton

A quick reminder of the Test:

  1. It has to have two named female characters
  2. Who talk to each other
  3. About something besides a man.

According to the venerable Sue Perryman over at the Wife in Space blog, Jon Pertwee outranks either of his predecessors for active sexism, story by story. Can it be true? Let’s find out…

Continue reading “How sexist is Doctor Who?–Part Three”