Doctor Who Spinoff Marketed as “Very Gay, Very Trans”

Television

During the marketing campaign for the upcoming Doctor Who Legend of the Sea Devils Easter Special, an audio drama spinoff project for Doctor Who‘s Jodie Whittaker was announced. In accordance with the extreme BBC diversity and inclusion policy, this spinoff of the beloved British sci-fi drama is being marketed entirely on the sexual identity and orientation of the actors, writers, and characters involved.

Giving us the only real look into this project, the head writer for Doctor Who: Redacted, Juno Dawson, a trans author and activist, had this to say on her Twitter: “I produced and directed a very gay, very trans OFFICIAL @BBCDoctorWho fiction podcast.” Despite this project having a release date of April 17th, this is the only news we have of this audio drama from the project creators.

In addition to Dawson’s comments, the lead character, trans activist and first-time actor Charlie Craggs, had this to say of her role:

“There are no words to express how huge it is, and how grateful I am, being a trans actress playing the lead role in something so special, but more so how significant the fact that my character is trans, and the lead role, too. This is a huge step for the trans community, and I’m so honoured to be part of this moment.”

When the entirety of the marketing and public knowledge of this product has been wholly absorbed by the sexual identity of those involved and those being portrayed, there is nothing to incentivize fans of the franchise burned by the current regime to tune into this project. Especially with the project coming out in less than a week, there should be far more known about it in regards to plot, character, and setting. None of those involved have come out and expressed any love or care for this franchise for which they have been entrusted. All that they have emphasized is that it is “very gay, very trans.”

By marketing it on that simple attribute, the writers and producers have simplified the story into such a 2-dimensional cardboard cut-out that fans cannot expect any more depth from the project itself. This “fiction podcast” will likely be nothing more than an opportunity to virtue signal about how many trans people were involved. It is unlikely that any thought or effort was put into the story or plot beyond that, which would be in keeping with the show’s current history of empty and meaningless stories used as vehicles for political propaganda.

An initial concern voiced by fans at this news was if this would signal a direction forward under the new management of the franchise over at Bad Wolf with Russel T Davies. This concern can neither be supported nor refuted by this audio drama. At this time, Bad Wolf has not taken over stewardship of the franchise, and this drama still falls under Chris Chibnall’s regime.

Additionally, from what is public about Bad Wolf’s and the BBC’s agreement, it looks like Bad Wolf will only have rights over the television production, but not the audio drama rights for the franchise. As such, this project neither signals positive news for the franchise going forward nor negative news. Bad Wolf may still lead the franchise down the dark path it is currently on, or it may make a course correction and save this once incredible story from the very precipice of destruction. For now, nothing is known for sure either way.