Why Series 8 Needed Child-Friendly Episodes & Moments

Guest contributor Eddie Thomas explains.

It is safe to say that Series 8 has become one of Doctor Who’s darkest series to date. Yet there have still been some criticisms of the use of childish elements within a series renowned for its (sometimes overly) adult themes.

Doctor Who is no stranger to using playful ideas to appeal to children. After all, younger audiences make up a significant amount of the show’s audience and Doctor Who is designed to appeal to all different types of demographics. It is easy to forget that the show has to hook children as much as it does teenagers and adults.

Personally, I am partial to childish moments in Doctor Who, Series 8 being no exception. These particular highlights often make me squeal with delight and makes watching the show more easy going. However, I understand not all fans are keen on youthful elements within the show, so to assist me in my case study of sorts, I have picked four episodes from Series 8 which have childish moments and will demonstrate their importance.

Flatline

You may recall the moment in this episode in which the Doctor has to manoeuvre the miniaturised TARDIS of a railway line,  style. Something rather comical and appealing to children in a way (not forgetting Capaldi’s jazzy dance.) The imagery in this scene is rather droll, particularly for an episode that, tonally, is quite melancholy throughout. The use of such laughable (in a good way) imagery in an otherwise darkly themed episode helps makes the viewing experience more easy going and less hard hitting and depressing.

Death in Heaven

Another surprising choice I think you’ll agree. However, Death in Heaven is on here for the same reason as Flatline. A rather dark and hard-hitting episode filled with adult themes only to include a rather spectacular skydiving, Superman-esque sequence to appeal to a younger audience and make the viewing experience more comfortable and lighter for the audience. A sequence like this does make the audience’s inner children squee! Admit it, you were excited about this scene.

Robot of Sherwood

Now for the more obvious choice of evidence, so to speak. A light-hearted Robin Hood tale with a sword vs spoon fight thrown for humorous effect and laughable disputes between the Doctor and Robin does make this such a youthfully appealing episode. It is enjoyable and is perfectly placed in terms of broadcast. Robot of Sherwood was scheduled to air after the relatively macabre Deep Breath and Into the Dalek, and was to be succeeded by Listen, a traditional Who horror story. So a story like Robot of Sherwood helps make the series more lighter on its feet and more enjoyable for younger viewers and prevents adding too much emotional weight all at once.

In the Forest of the Night

It is safe to say that In the Forest of the Night has a less than admirable reputation amongst the fans, notably the teenage and adult ones. This may be due to the episode’s tone (which abandons the gothic themes in place of kid’s fairytales and limitless fantasy), or the episode’s placing within the series, considering it is the episode prior to the finale. This can be seen to spoil a consistent adult tone throughout the latter half of the series. This raises the question, will Doctor Who lose the interest of younger viewers should a darker tone be too consistent? This lighter tone does make the story feel less weighty emotionally and it has plenty of child-friendly imagery as well so it is suitable for families, a bonus to be definitely proud of. Also we have more relatable characters in this episode, appealing to more varied age groups and demographics, namely children and carers.

Drawbacks

Considering Doctor Who is a show for everyone, it would be a somewhat ludicrous move to make the show consistently child-like, particularly for Series 8, as it holds back any character progression and limits the freedom for the show to delve into more controversial and everyday themes for the audience to relate to. To make Series 8 persistently riddled with fairytales and fantasy, this will contradict and restrict the Doctor’s progression as a darker character, plus the realism and personal connection with the series will deteriorate.

Conclusion

To summarise, having childish imagery is suitable for Doctor Who as it helps make the viewing more easy going and enjoyable, not to mention it strengthens the appeal for a younger viewership, which makes up a considerable size of the fandom. Though it is also good to consider the drawbacks as well.

In short, when watching an episode filled to the brim with child-friendly content, some fans need to remember that such content is included to appeal a younger generation of fans who don’t want to be persistently frightened, or fans who don’t want to be saddled with heavy depressive emotions when watching their favourite TV Show.