10 Things Doctor Who Fans Can Never Agree On

The Doctor Who fandom is fairly agreeable and problem-free — that is until viewers get to discussing certain topics that can make their blood boil and cause them to forsake even the people closest to them. When a show lasts over half a century, it is impossible not to have a few storylines that raise some eyebrows here and there, and the BBC’s longest-running sci-fi drama is no exception. Doctor Who may be all about educating children and adults alike, but should one hit another’s nerve with a particularly touchy topic, that someone will get a bonus lesson in the show’s canon history.

Over the course of its 60-year run, Doctor Who has had to stay relevant to survive. While the core concept of a time traveler called the Doctor roaming around the universe in their TARDIS and picking up companions has remained the same, settings, the cast, and some storylines have had to differ a great deal. Showrunners have not been afraid to experiment, but not every attempt at putting a fresh twist on the series has been as popular with audiences as expected. Here are 10 controversial things that Doctor Who fans can’t seem to agree on, even after so many years have passed.

10 Is It “the Doctor” or “Doctor Who”?

That’s a question old as time both in the Doctor Who universe and in the outside world. Since the show is called Doctor Who, some viewers (and cast members) believe that the titular character’s name is the same. The majority of the leads playing the charming Time Lord were referred to as “Doctor Who” in the credits at different points in time, although now the tradition seems to have shifted to “the Doctor.” Other people are convinced that the time-traveling alien should be called “the Doctor” and nothing else, as this is the name the character themselves uses in the show most of the time, although not always.

9 What Is and Isn’t Doctor Who Canon?

Doctor Who is a vast franchise, headlined by the show of the same title, which is universally considered canon. However, there are also Doctor Who comics, novels, games, Big Finish audio dramas, and other types of content for devoted fans to enjoy. Some viewers consider those extra materials to be part of the Doctor Who canon, making the argument that they were released by official representatives. Still, the Doctor’s timeline is a mess as it is, but if all the releases are canon, it just stops making sense altogether, which is why many think that only some bits and pieces that fit into the series should be canon.

8 What Are The Rules Of Regeneration?

Now that is a tough question because no one knows the answer to it, or so it seems. Ever since the classic era and up until the regenerations of Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor, it was believed that a Time Lord had 12 regenerations in total. This was more or less established — nothing is a 100% fact with Doctor Who — and then the time came for the Eleventh Doctor to regenerate, and Steven Moffat came up with the Time-Lords-gifted-another-regeneration-cycle storyline that worked until the Timeless Child popped up. Still, the rules of regeneration are riddled with plot holes if other details, content, and Time Lords and/or hybrids are considered.

7 Is the Timeless Child Arc Genius or Garbage?

From Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor and uneven stories to the Timeless Child arc and broken traditions, Chris Chibnall’s Doctor Who tenure is full of controversy. Speaking of the Timeless Child, after audiences got over the initial shock, some started hating the storyline that transformed the Doctor from a Time Lord into a completely new race, claiming that the showrunner singlehandedly destroyed 60 years of canon. Others prefer to view the arc as a bold move, aimed at continuing what Andrew Cartmel, the script editor during Sylvester McCoy’s era as the Seventh Doctor, started, namely building up the mystery that would keep viewers asking, “Doctor who?”

6 Is Romance in the TARDIS Problematic?

The Doctor is trying hard not to get romantically involved with their companions, but they’ve had a few slips over the years — slips that audiences enjoyed watching. The Doctor’s unseen wives, River, Rose, Madame de Pompadour, Marilyn Monroe, Yasmin, Elizabeth I, Cameca, and Grace are among the people whom the Doctor’s had relationships with, and they definitely haven’t been platonic. While most find the spark and everything that follows fascinating to watch, there are quite a few Doctor Who fans for whom romance in the TARDIS is a no-go for different reasons, with the most often cited being the huge age gap between the Doctor and their love interests.

5 How Old Is the Doctor Supposed to Be?

That question can make anyone’s head hurt. Even within the Doctor Who on-screen canon, the Doctor’s age is a messy mystery. When the show was rebooted, the Ninth Doctor was 900 years old by his own account, and the New Who has stayed more or less consistent with the protagonist’s age, although there’s the question of how the time traveler tracks their age. In the Classic Who, things are much worse — the Second Doctor says that he’s 450 years old in “Earth terms,” the Third claims to have lived “several thousand years,” and the Seventh is convinced that he is 953. If the Doctor can’t decide, how can audiences?

4 Who Actually Is Doctor Who’s Valeyard?

The Valeyard is a name familiar only to those who watched the classic Doctor Who, but even longtime viewers can’t agree on the origins of this enigmatic character. He is supposed to be an amalgamation of the Doctor’s darkest traits from between his Twelfth and Thirteenth incarnations, at least according to the Master. Considering that the series is on the Fourteenth Doctor now, and the Valeyard is still nowhere to be seen in the New Who, there is debate as to who he is. Some think that the Master lied, others have a theory that Doctor Who’s Valeyard is the Dream Lord that the Eleventh Doctor encountered, but no consensus has been reached yet.

3 How Can the Daleks Survive Every Time?

The Daleks are probably the most overused enemies on Doctor Who, comparable only to the Cybermen. The Doctor has defeated the Daleks numerous times, and yet they manage to come back stronger than before every time. The show has provided clumsy on-screen explanations as to how the Daleks are back this or that time, but they have been getting more and more ridiculous with each episode, prompting viewers to take matters into their own hands. Many are perfectly happy believing in the multiverse within Doctor Who, some attribute the Daleks’ survival to the Void, and others prefer to think that they have a built-in time-travel mechanism. No definitive answer is currently available.

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2 What Is the Order of the Master’s Incarnations?

The Master’s rules of regenerations are as confusing as the Doctor’s, especially taking into account Doctor Who‘s extended universe. This time, the Classic Who is actually more consistent than the New Who. Michelle Gomez’s Missy is supposed to come after John Simm’s Master and before Sacha Dhawan’s Master, but Missy’s timeline doesn’t add up. Dhawan’s Master cancels out Missy’s redemption arc and death, which seems baffling, and the existence of Missy and Simm’s Master past season 4 doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s not uncommon for the Doctor to meet people in the wrong order, so there are multiple theories regarding which Master or Missy comes after which.

1 How Does the TARDIS’ Defenses Work?

The Doctor has referred to their TARDIS as the safest place in the universe on plenty of occasions, saying that even the armies of Genghis Khan couldn’t penetrate the TARDIS’ walls. There have also been times when the Doctor’s time-travel machine was so defenseless that people, creatures, and ships ended up onboard without really trying. The TARDIS’ defense mechanisms aren’t the most reliable, as the machine has a mind of her own, which is how some Doctor Who fans explain the TARDIS’ ever-changing shields, but that’s a bit of a stretch in the eyes of other viewers and rightfully so.

Doctor Who has been on air for almost 60 years, so it is completely understandable that the show has run into a few weird storylines and plot holes. Thankfully, the fandom of the show is so creative and pays so much attention to detail that it doesn’t really need official explanations for these inconsistencies — viewers happily come up with them on their own and have fruitful discussions within the community, which only adds to the fun. Doctor Who is a series that has united sci-fi lovers all over the world, and a few debates are a small price to pay for it.

Doctor Who will return with 60th-anniversary specials this November.