The Spirit of Mary Whitehouse Test

[ray gower]

In the old days, the litmus test of how scary any Doctor Who episode was, was the number of complaints it received from the Familiy Broadcasting Standards Committee aka Mrs Mary Whitehouse and how quickly the BBC responded (if at all).

The New Doctor has finally achieved its approval by offending the Media Watch committee (Mrs Whitehouse's legacy) not once, but twice with the Unquiet Dead and (apparently) with todays Dalek

BBC Complaints
Doctor Who - Unquiet Dead

Publication date: 11 Apr 2005

Complaint

Episode three of Doctor Who was too scary to broadcast at 7pm

The BBC's response

Doctor Who is famously remembered by adults as being the family teatime programme which they watched from behind the sofa as children. The series has always been shown in the early evening and, while the monsters may be scary, the content is carefully considered for a pre-watershed audience.

The programme sets out to balance the right amount of humour, drama and suspense in each episode. In The Unquiet Dead broadcast April 9th, the comic character of the Welsh undertaker and a larger than life Charles Dickens together with the laughter and bravery shown by the Doctor and Rose in the face of danger were, we believe, vital elements in putting this "ghost story" into the right context for a family audience. This is a balance we will strive week by week to maintain and remain vigilant about.

We leave it to the discretion of parents to ultimately decide what is suitable for their children to watch. The programme is well trailed giving a clear indication of its content.

Other choice responses at:-
http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/sto...=ticker-103704
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertain...io/4443901.stm

[Dave]

My wife thought that 'Dalek' was quite violent. There was a lot of automatic gunfire and electrocution. Twenty plus armed guards were slaughtered. It was still tame in regards to any modern action film, but I guess that those are not meant to be watched by seven-year olds (even if they are in reality.)

[ray gower]

Apparently, according to the source I have, Media Watch were concerned about the use of the word 'canoodle'!

[Dave]

The DVD of Dalek has been rated a 12 certificate due to the torture of the Dalek.

Also, there is an openly bisexual character in the episode this week -- look out for more letters in the post and phone calls to the duty officer at the BBC.

I actually think it's good that the BBC ruffles some feathers. It would sad if it became any more boring than it already is.

I'm not sure exactly where all these shy, retiring, unworldly-wise souls live -- the kind who came out on mass when BBC2 showed 'Jerry Springer the Opera'. It isn't something that I would want to watch myself, but it's been filling a London West End theatre for a year now without a single protest. I'm not sure why, but because it's the BBC, they think it's some kind of national institution that must be protected. It isn't, it's just a TV station, and TVs have an off switch!