The Sylvester McCoy years
Welcome to Part Seven 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:
A quick reminder of the Test:
- It has to have two named female characters
- Who talk to each other
- About something besides a man.
Last week, we saw that despite the production chaos around him, Colin Baker’s run was the least sexist of any Doctor so far, only failing the Test 18.8% of the time – the most sexist era so far being Jon Pertwee’s which failed the Test 54.2% of the time. With John Nathan-Turner still producing, and shifting the show ever closer to light entertainment courtesy of some dubious stunt casting, callow newcomer Andrew Cartmel comes in at this point to shepherd in a new Doctor. With his own light entertainment background, Sylvester McCoy might have seemed an odd choice, but was soon to prove otherwise. But how well would this new era treat women? Let’s find out…
Simon’s Incoherent Blog 