Back again with a—not quite a guide, but I like alliteration. Here are some of the things I am looking forward to checking out!

My companyums will be on multiple panels, click their names to see them all and add them to your schedule!

• Amanda-Rae Prescott (Website)
• Talia (Wibbly Wobbly Pod)

I’ll be showing up and possibly showing out!

• Whovians of Color, let’s get together at the POC Meetup on Friday @ 1pm! I’ll be there alongside Who Watch: Time and Relative Blackness in Space #TARBIS co-hosts of the past and present. Come meet us and each other!

Sched

BBC announced the new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, and it is fantastic news! I want to start out by saying: I love Jodie Whitaker’s Thirteen. I was happy when she was announced, more so when she arrived, and I’ll be sad to see her go. Her era is uneven, but ultimately one I enjoy. I’ll go into that more, later, but for now, know that I will always have a fondness for Thirteen. That said, I am excited for the next evolution of Doctor Who!

Why I’m not sad the next Doctor isn’t a woman of color

In a perfect world, the next Doctor would be a woman or enby of color. In a perfect world, Doctor Who would be an environment where a BIPOC/BAME woman or enby could lead the show and be supported as a character—with thoughtful writing that shows their full humanity—and as a performer—with a studio who makes a concerted effort to protect them and defend them against harmful fans.

This is not a perfect world. What became clear to me during this current era, the era of a white woman Doctor, is that this fandom isn’t a safe space. Not just unsafe, but often actively hostile—for even a white woman. When I think of someone in that position who is not a man and who doesn’t have the bit of protection that being white affords them, I feel fear.

We know what fandom is like to companions who aren’t white women. Even setting aside the treatment of Martha Jones—the character—in the show and in the fandom, you can still find the toxicity aimed at Freema Agyeman—the performer—who merely dared to play a part on a show. Fandom’s dislike for the other has never stopped at the character, and has always followed the talent into their real lives.

By the time Pearl Mackie signed on as Bill Potts, I’d already sequestered myself away from the uglier parts of fandom. So, I don’t know all the nasty things that may have been said about her… but I can imagine. And while I deliberately avoided hate for both the character and the actress, I did—and still do—experience a phenomenon where people are ecstatic to praise the show for butchering Bill, a character who is a Black, lesbian woman.

It’s hard to say whether people who hate the Fugitive Doctor do so because she’s Black, because she’s a woman, or because she threatens the concept of the Doctor that white men have for decades projected their personalities onto. If the Doctor has been a woman before, if they’ve been Black, how can they also be aspirational? Whatever the cause, some folks will take every opportunity to diminish the work of Jo Martin.

This isn’t to say there aren’t valid criticisms to be made about characters in Doctor Who who are women of color—though that should also be aimed at the cishet white men who wrote them—but that criticism should not be coupled with outright aggression towards the people who portray them. But again this isn’t a perfect world. And when fans that are used to being centered their entire lives feel like they are no longer prioritized, they lash out. And women of color take the brunt of that.

Doctor Who, as it is now, isn’t ready for a mainline Doctor who is a woman/enby of color.

I believe RTD was being progressive when he brought Martha and the Jones family into the show. I believe he had good intentions. But his privilege prevented him from being able to write Martha with the care and consideration she demanded. And as a result he mistreated the character. And that gave fans permission to hate her, and to project that hate onto the actress.

Yaz is similarly unrealized as a character because so much of the nuance of her being a woman of color is unaddressed outside of the episodes that are specifically about race or British colonialism. The fact of her being in law enforcement as a Pakistani woman is never fully explored… how she’s treated by the people she serves and protects (or whatever the British equivalent of those values are), how she’s treated by other officers.

With Thirteen, their femme appearance has almost no bearing on how they move through time and space. Except, again, in an episode that is specifically about sexism. The Doctor rarely has to acknowledge their outward presentation or how it hinders them, even passively. It is literally a non-point. And that could be cool except the show makes a point when it’s relevant to the story. The way Yaz (and Ryan) never have to acknowledge racism except when they’re stuck in the Jim Crow south.

Being—or being perceived as—a woman influences everything about the way you experience life. And being perceived as a woman in a body that isn’t white brings with it an entirely different, more complicated reality. A white woman wouldn’t even be able to fully capture the reality of a woman of color. A woman or enby of color simply cannot be written by a man, especially a white man.

That’s not to say there should be no women or enbys of color in the series. There absolutely should be! There should be writers and directors of color, women and nonbinary folks, and folks with other identities that give them unique experiences and perspectives, who can craft stories for these characters with the care they deserve. These characters should be in Doctor Who, and Doctor Who should evolve to support them. Putting the weight of being the Doctor on a woman or enby of color without doing the work to protect them would be perpetuating harm against them.

But what about Ncuti?

When Tosin Cole (and Bradley Walsh) left the show at the end of season 12, folks couldn’t wait to disparage Tosin. They couldn’t leave it at criticism of the character, a simple “I didn’t connect with Ryan.” There was always the additional, personal attack on Tosin. There will always be folks who refuse to empathize with Black folks–real or fictional. Casting a Doctor who is not white is still a bold choice, and taking that role is still brave.

Ncuti is a Black man who is known for playing the gay character—Eric on Sex Education. But he has not explicitly identified as gay. His personality is flamboyant, his style is immaculate, so whether he identifies as queer, he is likely perceived that way. But he is first and foremost a man. He will absolutely have to deal with racism—and queerphobia—and HE SHOULD BE PROTECTED! But there is a level of familiarity white men will have for him that would not likely extend to white women, and almost never to women of color.

Why I’m happy the Doctor is Black—even if he is a man

Black men have had it rough in the Whoniverse. Mickey was compared to a tin dog and treated as less than for the majority of his run on the show. The Doctor called him outside of his name so much–Rickey, the idiot–they made a joke of it by giving his alt-universe doppelganger the name Rickey. Even though Mickey got to become a hero, and ended up with the baddest to ever do, Martha–extreme pair the spares energy—Mickey never really got his due.

Danny Pink got nothing but racist microaggressions from Twelve. Clara, Danny’s own girlfriend, lied to him, dismissed his feelings, and basically treated him like shit. He stayed with her, so that’s partially on him, but all he got for that was a torturous post-life existence as a Cyberman with feelings. Truly heinous.

Finally Ryan. He didn’t get mistreated, but he wasn’t really served by the story. With three full-time companions, there just wasn’t space for any one of them to be fully developed without sacrificing the other. Unfortunately, Ryan was not prioritized as much as Graham, but he had it better than Yaz—a woman of color.

My fears are…

• That RTD, like his predecessor, will feel the need to surround their Black (queer?) Doctor with at least one companion that is safe, benign, and expected–a straight, white, middle-aged or older man; a Classic Doctor-eque avatar for the cishet white man audience to feel reflected by.
•  That RTD has not learned a thing since Martha, and will write his Black (queer?) Doctor “color-blind” with no regard to how his Blackness influences his human experience.

My hopes are…

• That RTD will build on top of the foundation Chibnall laid.
  • I want the Timeless Child arc to influence storytelling for the Doctor.
  • I want classic canon to be recontextualized with this new framework.
  • I want Flux to be followed-up with stories that acknowledge it happened and are affected by it.
  • I want to mess with the Doctor’s numbering somehow…
• The Doctor is openly, canonically queer! I want the Doctor to flirt with folks of various genders, and have crushes on men and enbys who are masc-presenting. And/or I want the Doctor reveal they have no sexual and/or romantic interest, and explicitly identify as what humans call asexual and/or aromantic.
• The Doctor is flamboyant, fresh, funny, and weird! I want them to bring Ncuti’s personality to the Doctor, and lean into them being gorgeous! 
• We get more Fugitive Doctor, and more Dhawan Master!

My Headcanons (things I’d love, but don’t expect)

• References to previous eras, and companions, especially Black ones–acknowledgement of Martha’s (and Mickey’s) treatment, Danny, Bill, etc.

My Doctor is…

I don’t need my Doctor to be Black. I don’t need my Doctor to be a woman or enby. I want my Doctor to always be something different! I want them to reflect the vast diversity they see throughout the universe, in their complexion, in their physical stature, in their age, in how they dress, how they speak…

I want my Doctor to be a Doctor for everyone.

NOTE: I wrote this piece before the latest casting announcements, and instead of editing this to reflect those new announcements, I will leave this as-is and follow-up!

Transcription and additional written commentary may be added. Please be aware, this is the third or fourth recording. I might drop the other ones on Patreon, just so you know it was… worse. I’m very new to recording and editing myself, but I wanted to get this done. Thanks for listening!

It’s time for a reintroduction. I’m Nicole and I explore Doctor Who from my Black, queer, femme, (and American) perspective. Black TARDIS examines the show through an intersectional lens. And brings specificity and nuance to conversations about storytelling and representation in Doctor Who.

I am not an academic or a scholar. I’m a fan of the fantastical who loves narratives that teleport me to other worlds. Doctor Who is one of my favorite shows. When it’s great it’s transcendent and when it’s bad… It can be heartbreaking.

Loving Doctor Who means it hurts when the show fails to represent the communities I belong to and the identities I embody. Or fails to reflect things I value. Black TARDIS was created out of love and frustration and persists out of the same

You don’t have to like or agree with me, but please: Respect me, this space, and the people who feel seen and reflected here. This is an inclusive space—all are welcome—but it is a space that centers the feelings, experiences, and perspectives of BIPOC.

You can hear me discuss #DoctorWhoFlux in season 4 of Black Girls Create’s Who Watch: Time and Relative Blackness in Space alongside my #TARBIS copilot Delia. I also tweet at @BlackTARDIS, and will be introducing new content here and on my Patreon at the Cane Companion tier and above.

This is not really a guide, but I like alliteration. Here are some of the things I am looking forward to checking out!

My companyums will be on multiple panels, click their names to see them all and add them to your schedule!

• Amanda-Rae Prescott (Website)
• Skye (The Queer Archive)
• Talia (Wibbly Wobbly Pod)
• Riley Silverman is carrying!

I’ll be showing up and possibly showing out!

• Whovians of Color, let’s get together at the POC Meetup on Friday @ 1pm!
• Let’s play The Quiz of Rassilon, Friday @ 8pm!

I have ribbons fresh from the TARBIS! But you’ll have to catch me to see them! (SPOILERS!) Check out my Sched to get an idea where I’ll be and say “hey” if you see me!

Happy Black History (#BlackWizardHistory) Month!

I know I’m a few weeks late but I’m Black year round, so I celebrate by existing and being my ancestors’ wildest dreams—wild cause they are looking down in absolute horror! If you want to support Black creators this month (and always) I have a Patreon now! You can also support Black Girls Create, a unique intersectional hub for Black creators and critical fandom.

Gallifrey One

It’s already mid-February(!!!) and it’s just now hitting me that Gallifrey One is THIS WEEK! We are a mere three days away, and I’m NOT prepared. I am excited to see friends but also… weary because of :gesticulates wildly: But I can’t wait to see so many of your lovely faces again, and to finally meet some of y’all irl!

I have not prepared at all—this cannot be overstated—but here’s a look at my Sched if you want to see what I’m getting into! I am not on any panels, so we just vibin’. If you see me, say hey!

Cane Companions

I recently launched a Patreon and I do not have much there yet but I have a TARDIS Tier—that is, surprisingly, not the actual name—and for $5/mo you can become a Cane Companion, which gives you access to upcoming Doctor Who content.

We back, baby!

My hiatus is officially over. I’ll be posting more here and on Patreon in the coming weeks. I’ll also be working on building up the #WhoFUBU community. Stay tuned to the socials or subscribe!

On Saturday, June 6, 2020 we participated in #DoctorWhoBlackout an alternative #DoctorWhoLockdown live-tweet event that centered on fun episodes featuring Black companions. In addition, we used the event to raise awareness for organizations supporting Black Lives Matter and other community initiatives that benefit Black people.

Over the course of four episodes, and four hours, Whovians donated over $2700 to 95 organizations!

Friends Rachel, Shannon, Tom, Michelle, and Joy compiled a list of organizations and resources that were shared during #DoctorWhoBlackout. You can learn more and donate (continue using the tag) by visiting the link below.

Our live-tweet was about coming together around episodes of Doctor Who that could be enjoyable for everyone. Raising awareness (and funds) for organizations that benefit Black Lives Matter was a beautiful added benefit. Whether or not you agreed with or participated in #DoctorWhoBlackout the important thing is we, as a fandom and community, came together to uplift and support Black Whovians and Black people.

Thank you for tweeting along. Thank you for raising awareness and amplifying organizations. Thank you for donating. Thank you for making #DoctorWhoBlackout a fun and meaningful event!

I want to thank the following, again, for making this all happen: Joy, Robyn, Tai, Katelyn, Brenna, and Black Girls Create. And special thanks to the following for gathering these resources, and being rockstars: Rachel, Shannon, Tom, Michelle, and Joy. I also want to thank Sarah Dollard for participating, donating, and sharing BTS info with us!

Doctor Who’s period-set episodes are technically mini period dramas. New Who has continued the tradition of using the time travel episodes as a vehicle for history education. The episodes where Black and POC companions travel to societies where racism is more overt or has a different dynamic are especially important towards educating the audience. There might be aliens messing with the timeline, but adding Black companions to these stories is not an act of “political correctness” or “pandering”. Maxine Alderton and Sarah Dollard are simply presenting the truth that Black people have lived in the country we call today the United Kingdom since the Roman Era. Sadly, many people only associate the presence of Black British people starting with the first post-war Caribbean immigrants onboard the Windrush in 1948. In addition, American and international fans may not have the same historical context to 

“Thin Ice” and “The Haunting of Villa Diodati” are firmly grounded on real events and figures from 1814 and 1816. Abnormal weather events leave room for a giant alien fish and a Cyberman to mess with the timeline of human history. These episodes actively use and subvert current period drama tropes to flesh out a compelling story. Most importantly, both episodes allow viewers to glance beyond traditionally whitewashed depictions of the era.

Regency England was a time of established institutional racism. Although the British slave trade was outlawed in 1807, British industries continued to profit from goods produced by slaves from their colonial holdings in the Caribbean and also in America. Olusuga notes many in power were afraid of Jamaica and other British colonies in the Caribbean would overthrow slavery the same way the Haitians did in the 1790s. In addition, the British East India Company was pursuing the extraction of raw materials and labor from India. This was accelerated by the defeat of Napoleon’s army removing French competition for colonial development. London Lobbyists representing colonial business interests as well as merchants promoted negative stereotypes against racial minorities in newspapers. Some groups even lobbied to send Blacks “back to Africa” because they didn’t believe in assimilation or were unwilling to subsidize poor relief. Some willingly volunteered to go to settlements in Sierra Leone or Liberia out of a desire to reconnect with their ancestral roots. 

According to Marche, about 10,000 people of African descent lived in Britain during this time period. This estimate is based on church parish registers and other civil records. Black men and women residing in London and other cities represented all walks of life. Some examples of employment from parish records include the maritime trades, in domestic service, merchants, seamstresses, and trade laborers. Some even owned property as there was no race-based legal barrier to acquiring homes or businesses. There were no bans on interracial marriage, a critical difference between Britain/its colonies and the United States during this time period. Citizenship was acquired through birth or for Black immigrants through the process of church baptism or acquiring real estate.

Although both episodes feature discussions on race relations during the time, “The Haunting of Villa Diodati” takes a more subdued and intersectional with gender politics approach to race. This is a similar approach to “The Witchfinders” earlier in the Thirteenth Doctor timeline. A large section of the episode is designed to set up a historical conspiracy behind Mary Shelley’s writing Frankenstein. Ryan and Yaz face subtle microaggressions while in contrast, Bill tackles racist Londoners head-on.

Ryan and Yaz’s intro to Lord Byron and Mary Shelley in “The Haunting of Villa Diodati” is focused much more on Graham misquoting Jane Austen than any overt comments about their skin color. This is assisted by their entirely conventional to the era attire. After the introductions, the audience is introduced to the existing relationships in the villa through the trope of a Regency dancing sequence. Not only does this scene establish the biographical facts around Mary Shelley, but it also sets the tone for the dialogue questioning Lord Byron’s aggressive flirting towards the other women and the Thirteenth Doctor. 

The first time there’s an overt racial remark occurs when Ryan is playing “Chopsticks” on the piano with Mary. She then says Ryan is from “the colonies”. Ryan continues the conversation as normal as Mary fears that she is not as good a writer as her parents. (As an aside, her mom Mary Wollstonecraft was a feminist intellectual and her dad Willam Godwin also published radical philosophy works.) This “colonies” comment is subtle but clearly indicates the underlying racism of the time, as if Ryan could not have been born and raised on the British Isles like she was. On the other hand, Yaz’s initial interactions lead to scolding about spying on Lord Byron’s locked room. The tone of the scold straddles the line between subtly racist and enforcing gender norms.  

A second instance of the term “the colonies” comes immediately after another trope laden scene. Dr. Polidor challenges Ryan to a duel which is interrupted by the appearance of the mysterious skeleton hand. Lord Byron is the next person to refer to Ryan and Yaz as residents of “the colonies”. This instance is obscured somewhat by Thirteen examing the hand, but Byron clearly distinguishes that the Doctor is from outer space. Byron then reveals the hand is part of a skeleton from a battle several centuries earlier. Most of the audience wouldn’t think twice about a skull from a 16th Century Middle Eastern battle, but Lord Byron’s bragging is a clear reference to Britain’s expanding imperialist aims. 

Displaying oddities from around the world thematically links Lord Byron’s collection with the 1814 Frost Fair. Merchandise from around the world is for sale in the stalls on top of the frozen Thames River. In contrast to Ryan and Yaz who have had multiple experiences negotiating racial relations in the past. “Thin Ice” is Bill’s first trip back in time. London as she knows it is not She’s immediately afraid that she will be sold into slavery even after she changes into conventional for the era clothing. These fears are also balanced with the observation that the Frost Fair is clearly attracting international participation, which is closer to her experiences with modern-day London. The camera often pans to Black and Asian fair attendees and street performers. Viewers see an elephant casually walking on the solid ice. These background visuals plus Bill’s observation that “the Regency is a bit blacker than it is on television,” cements the in-your-face pushback on whitewashed history. 

Bill and Twelve wander the fair, but their attention is drawn to an anomaly underneath the ice. Kitty, a black orphan girl, and her friends try to pickpocket Twelve’s sonic but this incident leads to the time travelers realizing that people are falling through the ice cracks and dying. The Frost Fair attendees aren’t safe from the giant alien fish living underneath the water. Bill and Twelve use intelligence from the orphans to discover that the villain in this situation isn’t the giant fish. 

The group of orphans banding together for survival may seem out of place may seem at first to be an anachronistic reference to Charles Dickens’ stories. However, Myers used London court records to extract a lot of information about Black Londoners who were convicted for pickpocketing and other offenses. The post-Napoleonic War economy turning towards industrialization causes the conditions for the exploitation of the poor featured in his writings in later decades. Dickens himself or his works appear in several previous Doctor Who episodes, but this time around, his tropes are used to highlight some of London’s poor orphans were also Black or POC. In history, Dickens’ attitude towards racial issues is complicated. Olusoga notes that while published his travelogues decrying slavery in America in the 1840s, he described African-Americans in extremely stereotypical terms and didn’t acknowledge that Blacks could be equal to whites. 

Lord Sutcliffe realizes the alien fish is generating a source of energy that’s even more powerful than coal and steam and moves to make a profit off of it. Unfortunately, this power source comes at the cost of humans as the fish eats the humans who fall through the ice cracks. Sutcliffe doesn’t care about the human cost because in his mind the lives of racial minorities and poor whites don’t matter. When Bill and Twelve go to his house to investigate, things turn ugly quickly. Sutcliffe calls Bill a “creature” at first sight. This ugly slur is a direct reference to cartoons and artwork from the era made by pro-slavery advocates in Britain to mirror the blackface artwork common to the antebellum South. 

Twelve’s response is immediate. He gives Sutcliffe a hard slap in response is a welcomed departure from the Tenth Doctor often failing to confront racist comments towards Martha. The message of “Thin Ice” is clear: white people must challenge macro and microaggressive racist comments to Blacks and POC made by other white people. Not every situation may require a slap, but a “that comment is racist” is often enough. 

The rest of the episode focuses on Bill and Twelve along with the orphans working to free the alien fish from the Thames. Lord Sutcliffe’s racism and greed are eventually his undoings as he falls through the ice to become the last victim of the fish. “Thin Ice” ends with Twelve editing Sutcliffe’s will to make Perry, one of the orphans, Lord Sutcliffe’s legal heir. Ensuring the orphans have a safe place to live and plenty to eat is the family-friendly equivalent of a historical romance “happily ever after”. One can also conjecture Kitty and her friends would use her share of the money to help out other poor black Londoners. 

“Thin Ice” and “The Haunting of Villa Diodati” are two years and two seasons apart but share the common goal of educating Doctor Who audiences about Black British History. The current show slogan is “Space For All”, and that includes Black characters and Black talent on screen as well as behind the camera. Education about the real history behind the episodes is essential for cementing the sociological and political arguments in favor of more racial diversity on Doctor Who. 

Bibliography/Suggested Readings 

Note: Links are solely collated on current availability, use the ISBN info to find at your preferred sellers. Support Black-owned bookstores if you are able as there is no master index of inventory. Books with a star next to it are expensive academic press/reference books best borrowed from libraries.

Black British History

Black & British by David Olusuga  US  International 

“Uncovering Black Women in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Britain” by Montaz Marche for University College London

Black British History: New Perspectives edited by Hakim Adi  US & International

*The Oxford Companion to Black British History  US International  

*Reconstructing the Black Past: Blacks in Britain c. 1780-1830 by Norma Myers US & International

Mary Shelley and Lord Byron Sources

Brandeis Mary Shelley Biography

USC Lord Byron Biography

“The Strange and Twisted Life of Frankenstein” by Jill Lepore in New Yorker Magazine

In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein by Fiona Sampson US International

Mary Shelley: The Strange True Tale of Frankenstein’s Creator by Catherine Reef  US International

In Byron’s Wake: The Turbulent Lives of Lord Byron’s Wife and Daughter: Annabella Milbanke and Ada Lovelace by Miranda Seymour US  International 

Byron: Life and Legend by Fiona MacCarthy US & International

I wrote about #BlackHolesAndRevelations which was to be the final #DoctorWhoLockdown tweetalong, and how those episodes were a poor choice for a community watch (in general, but especially) given the present circumstances. Later that same day, Emily Cook, who organized the events, issued the following statement.

I appreciate that we were listened to, and thank Emily for this decision. I also want to personally thank everyone who read and shared the article, and who used their voices to support me, and other Black Whovians.

Before the cancellation of the official tweet-along, we organized an alternate #DoctorWhoBlackout and that is still happening! We hope you’ll join us! Read below for more information.

FAQs about #DoctorWhoBlackout

Is #DoctorWhoBlackout a response to the planned tweet-along of World Enough and Time and The Doctor Falls?

Why yes, it is! We know that #BlackHolesandRevelations (also: YIKES) was cancelled after our event was created, but its purpose remains the same. The main goal of #DoctorWhoBlackout is to create a safe space for Black fans of Doctor Who that would be inclusive for all to enjoy a live-tweet of the show. There is a lot of heaviness in the news right now and people are looking for avenues to maintain joy and optimism. #DoctorWhoBlackout will be a space to watch fun, entertaining episodes that don’t contain trauma that mirrors real-life experiences. Above all, we hope the live-tweet helps fans who feel isolated and unheard find their Who family and know that their voice matters.

How is this an event that also supports Black Lives Matter?

During the livetweet, we’re encouraging participating fans to amplify a BLM org or cause. (Here’s a great resource list if you don’t know where to start). For example: a fan could make a donation to Campaign Zero and tweet a screenshot of their receipt with a link using the #DoctorWhoBlackout. Alternatively, a fan could share informational resources or signal boost local grassroots organization working against police brutality and for racial justice; fans could post phone numbers to contact local government officials to lobby for change; or a fan can lift up and amplify Black-owned businesses, artists, and voices. All while using #DoctorWhoBlackout so that Doctor Who fans are sharing these resources with each other as a community.

You could’ve just watched something else; why do this if the show is so “white” and “racist”?

We can love a show and think about it critically. One thing that is problematic about race in Doctor Who now is that the show is from the white perspective, but seems disinterested in interrogating how that functionally plays out for POC characters in the show (e.g., Bill’s death). Marginalized folks should not have to defend creating a space for POC fans to join in on the tweetalongs, rather white fans should interrogate why an alternative needed to be arranged. #DoctorWhoBlackout is about celebrating the unique fandom that comes from finding connections over shared interests and shared life experiences. That doesn’t mean that you have to share these identities to join in; it’s an invitation to believe that the show is bigger on the inside.

Do you think they’ll reschedule the WEAT/DF tweetalong?

We hope not. Nicole’s already explained why. Black and non-Black PoC fans said why three years ago. We’ve continued to say it. It’s time to listen.

Why not do [insert alternate tv show/episode title here]?

We chose episodes that first and foremost, we wanted to rewatch together as a community. We also think that these episodes showcase how important it is to celebrate the contributions of Black artists in a show that most fans aren’t aware of or don’t appreciate.

But what happens to Bill isn’t about her color/stop politicizing Doctor Who/stop making everything about race!

Because Bill is the only queer, Black companion in the show’s entire 57 year run, her story arc is intrinsically tied to both her Blackness and her queerness. As POC fans, we believe the Doctor would be on the front lines, standing on the side of the protesters and protecting them from a fascist, authoritarian state. They would do it all with some pretty quippy one liners to keep our spirits up. We think this because the Doctor believes that there isn’t a SINGLE PERSON who isn’t important – that includes the millions of Black people on this Earth. They would absolutely support what is right, decent, and kind. And, the right, decent, and kind thing to do is dismantle anything that systematically oppresses an entire group of people.

But Bill triumphs/that’s not what the episode is about/it’s a showcase for Bill

Please. Just stop. Seriously. 

On June 6th join the #DoctorWhoBlackout! We’re supporting #BlackLivesMatter with this livetweet of THE GHOST MONUMENT and THE HAUNTING OF VILLA DIODATI starting at 6pm BST/1pm EST/10 am PST, and the party continues with THIN ICE and KNOCK KNOCK at 8pm BST/3pm EST/12pm PST.

This FAQ was contributed to by Joy (@inquiringjoy), Tai (@taigooden) Robyn (@robyn_ravenclaw) Katelyn & Brenna (@queerarchivepod) and is a Black Girls Create (@blkgirlscreate) community collaboration.

It has come to my attention that the powers that be have scheduled an official live watch / tweet of World Enough and Time and The Doctor Falls with live-tweets from Steven Moffat, Rachel Tallalay, Pearl Mackie, and Matt Lucas and all I can say is

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

Undoubtedly y’all have access to the same internet that I do, and so you MUST be aware of the situation here in the states. If you are not, somehow, here’s the Wikipedia article, do the work yourself. Black people are grieving, and protests have been raging on for days. Considering this, it is INSANE to me that someone would recommend a watch along of these episodes when one has a very graphic depiction of a BLACK companion with a gaping hole in her chest and the other depicts that same BLACK companion being approached with fear and suspicion and being told that she can’t be emotional because her JUSTIFIED anger and hurt make her dangerous.

Y’all got me fucked up!

I’ve been completely tuned out of social media, for many reasons, not the least of which is the onslaught of bad news and even worse takes. Feel-good television and video games have been my escape, and I’ve been careful not to watch anything that would feel too current, too relevant, and hit too close to home. Doctor Who is one of those shows I can put on to drown out the noise when the outside world gets too loud and starts to hurt. But it is a show that deals with hard topics and can sometimes be an ugly reflection of our real-world issues. Or at the very least, it can expose real-world biases, in how characters are treated, in how fandom reacts to that.

As a Black fan, watching World Enough and Time and The Doctor Falls is never enjoyable. There are moments in both, that taken out of the context of the episodes, are cool or fun, and would probably be worth revisiting. But because they exist alongside Bill’s pain, and sometimes depend on the exploitation if that pain to “work,” they don’t stand up. Those episodes do a lot for Twelve, and a lot for Missy and the Master, but they do nothing for Bill. On top of what they don’t do for the character, what they do do is bad on every level.

An alien shoots Bill square in the torso, leaving a (graphic) gaping hole. People (not companions, note) die on Doctor Who all the time, but a choice was made to show us Bill’s mangled body. We don’t see any other modern companions die, and their deaths are so ambiguous any of them could feasibly return to the show without much explanation. And before you, “well actually” me about Bill being dead… This is semantics.

We don’t see other (white) characters being butchered on-screen. Clara had a spiritual Raven pass through her, painlessly as far as I can tell. Amy and Rory lived long and happy lives and died of old age, again, painlessly. Martha, Donna, and Rose are coolin’. Bill is the only companion we see get shot and wounded. AND that’s not even the worst part.

Bill’s “saved” by who knows who, and after being “healed,” is put to work as a janitor. Fam. When all is revealed, we discover she is a Cyberman. She is the second Moffat-Era character, and second Black character to be turned into a Cyberman. ???? (That’s 2 for 2 for those counting.) And, even worse than the CyberBlack before her, she has to save everyone else with the same emotions and humanity that was literally denied her. Her emotions were dangerous until they could be used. This is too on the nose and it’s not surprising, but still upsetting, that the writers are oblivious.

Fuck those episodes!

Those episode are not fun under the best of circumstances and are actively harmful in the current social/cultural context. Black people in the real world are met with fear and suspicion for daring to exist in their own skin. That same fear and suspicion is used to justify their deaths, even when they’ve done no wrong and pose no threat. Black people are told that our anger is too dangerous, that we have to suck it up, or take it, so we don’t scare anyone, so we don’t harm anyone, without regard to what we’ve endured and what we’re constantly battling. Bill, a Black, queer woman, literally becomes and embodiment of that trauma. And what’s worse, the show doesn’t realize it. Ugh.

But, because allies do exist (shout out to @inquiringjoy for organizing), and are apart of this fandom, there is an alternative:

#DoctorWhoBlackout

On June 6th join the #DoctorWhoBlackout! We’re supporting #BlackLivesMatter with this livetweet of THE GHOST MONUMENT and THE HAUNTING OF VILLA DIODATI starting at 6pm BST/1pm EST/10 am PST, and the party continues with THIN ICE and KNOCK KNOCK at 8pm BST/3pm EST/12pm PST.

How to play along: Amplify at least one organization or fund supporting #BlackLivesMatter among your tweets. If you have the means, donate and tweet a screenshot of your receipt! Don’t know where to start? @nerdist has a great list..

The four #DoctorWhoBlackout episodes were chosen for their positive Black representation on and/or off-screen and because they are FUN. Let’s come together to celebrate the show we love AND support #BlackLivesMatter