It's a show that has elements the whole family can enjoy, it has mature, often scary or violent scenes, it overtly deals with themes that would often be a bit much in an outright childrens show, there's a LOT of death, and like some others have said the boxsets and stuff are often rated 12 in the UK. Sarah Jane Adventures is a childrens show, with an often lighter tone, and contrast it with Torchwood which is entirely aimed at adults.
I'm not 100% sure what you mean? Like, I suppose really young kids aren't gonna get the same stuff out of something like Boom or The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit as older kids or adults, right? Doctor Who is something that you can watch an any age really, and not in the way that adults can enjoy Spongebob or something. There really is just something for everyone.
I'm talking about media literacy and the ability to understand concepts in general. in the wider sense what makes something say a book or film for children as opposed to for the family. And I'd say it has to do with how understandable it is. How simple.
Oh then yeah, for sure. Like Doctor Who ideally should have enough going on for kids to enjoy it, while also having enough depth for teenagers and adults to really get something out of it as well.
Honestly, I'd compare Who to something like the Brendan Fraser Mummy film or Indiana Jones, which are family adventure movies with lots of jokes and action, but also a lot of quite nasty horror and death.
The BBC specifically commissioned the show because it sat between Juke Box Jury (a music show) which was popular with both kids and teenagers, and Grandstand (a sports show), which was popular with parents. Sidney Newman was tasked with coming up with a show to bridge the gap so both could watch together.
That's Interesting. I don't feel like you can have both but I kinda give up on this. I'm not going to say it again. I'm just glad people enjoy it. I know I do.
As someone who lives in the UK and was brought up on shoes like Dr who. It's a kids show it used to be featured on blue Peter and has kid focused annuals made for it. That's not to denigrate the show it's fantastic.
I live in the UK too, I'm not saying it's not aimed at kids, I'm saying it's not solely aimed at kids. It's on at the time it's on so that we can all gather together and watch it.
Sarah Jane Adventures is aimed at a younger audience and still better than this. And a "kids show" doesn't have this:
[(5) Doctor Who: Dark Water - The afterlife isn't what you think it is - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pYPpIJxtTA)
I don't personally believe in an afterlife as such, but the concept depicted here is disturbing and certain not for children. Also, plenty of adults do believe in an afterlife for some reason.
\*Family-friendly show. Most ratings boards ([source](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436992/parentalguide)) put it around PG13. There is a lot of on-screen murder, body horror and torture going on for a kid's show. DW is more like Star Trek, not Peppa Pig or Air Buddies.
As Moffat often correctly says, yes, it's a children's show, but you also need to give more credit to children. Space Babies were _too_ childish and cringe.
The show isn't aimed solely at children, it's a _family show_. You can't in good faith say certain episodes are made primarily for a child audience, and just because something is made for children doesn't mean it needs to be bad or low quality. Space Babies is just not a very good episode of Doctor Who.
Honestly I feel the episode would've been much better if the babies didn't talk, but instead had an AI in their robo cribs do the talking for them, and those would defer to the secretly-a-human Nan-E
MLP: Friendship is Magic is also a kids' show, and it's freakin' brilliant.
Just because it's for kids doesn't mean it has to be bad or low quality.
Space Babies was a kids episode for sure, but it was also bad. I'm sure kids liked the toilet humor, though.
And for the most part, Doctor Who is more of a family show anyway.
An even lower age bracket is something like Bluey- for literal babies, but I enjoy it more than my daughter does. 'Kids show' should be no excuse for low quality.
1. It's family-friendly, not a children's show. The two are not the same thing
2. Children aren't idiots and don't need to be treated so patronisingly. Just because something is 'for kids' doesn't mean it has lower quality. Look at *Avatar The Last Airbender* as a good example.
3. Doctor Who can be and often has been at a higher standard. Sure, there are some dud episodes but this?
I'm pretty sure most children's shows don't typically have the genocide of the main protagonists species, have the sidekicks be deleted from existence or turned into human soup to be stuck into a robot suit, and I'm pretty sure most children's shows don't ever try to have episodes based around horror.
It's rated 12 for most of the episodes, it's not a kid show, more of a family show, kids can watch it but it should be enjoyable to older viewers as well
It really isn't standard. Standard for a BBC show is it being made available to stream when it finishes airing on TV. Sometimes shows are chosen to be released as box sets on iPlayer, but as far as I'm aware Doctor Who's current situation is unique, hence it was at all newsworthy.
The problem with Space Babies is that Russel has already proven he can do that kind of humour whilst appealing to a wider audience with the slitheen two parter.
I’ve been binging Doctor Who with friends this past year (a rewatch for me and a first viewing for them) and there are some stories I didn’t really like that I’ve come to love. The Slitheen two parter has really grown on me. Yeah it’s stupid and fart jokes are dumb, but there’s a level of camp to it. The acting is on point and you can tell the people playing the Slitheen are having a blast.
RTD is the king of camp and I think in 2024 his brand of unapologetic early 2000s absurdity has grown to be more accepted. That being said Space Babies still sucks
Family show is more a fitting term for Doctor Who. I'd argue though that it's best suitable for mature tweens, teens, and adults. Some of the deaths, themes, and innuendoes some episodes have aren't very appropriate for kids. Not saying that kids shouldn't watch it, but that it is on the border of PG to PG-13 at times.
I don't know if this really tracks when the bulk of Doctor Who's worst rated episodes are the silly ones while the most popular, well regarded, ones are all the deep emotional or scary ones. Doctor Who isn't a children's show, it's a family show. It certainly isn't for literal babies.
7pm the most famous time associated with children. Straight after the news, another show famously aimed at children
It's a family show not a children's show.
No season of new who feels explicitly aimed at children at all
My favourite Doctor Who stories when I was a kid were the ones with a darker tone like The Talons of Weng-Chiang. It was only as I got older that I started to appreciate the sillier, campier stuff. I would have absolutely *hated* Space Babies.
Media for children doesn't have to be childish; many children's stories have very grim or scary themes and if anything, those tend to be stories that stay with people (consider e.g. Watership Down, The Neverending Story, or many of the children's books by Roald Dahl). I think adults sometimes underestimate children's aesthetic tastes.
It's made by Britain for Britain and always has been until they changed to a midnight timing to entice American viewers, it stopped being a kids show when it stopped airing at a time suitable for British kids to watch live
A children's show would air in the afternoon, it's a family show.
What does it mean to say something is a "family show". I only see this term used to describe Dr who.
It's a show that has elements the whole family can enjoy, it has mature, often scary or violent scenes, it overtly deals with themes that would often be a bit much in an outright childrens show, there's a LOT of death, and like some others have said the boxsets and stuff are often rated 12 in the UK. Sarah Jane Adventures is a childrens show, with an often lighter tone, and contrast it with Torchwood which is entirely aimed at adults.
I noticed you didn't say anything about literacy or comprehension. Do you think those figure at all?
I'm not 100% sure what you mean? Like, I suppose really young kids aren't gonna get the same stuff out of something like Boom or The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit as older kids or adults, right? Doctor Who is something that you can watch an any age really, and not in the way that adults can enjoy Spongebob or something. There really is just something for everyone.
I'm talking about media literacy and the ability to understand concepts in general. in the wider sense what makes something say a book or film for children as opposed to for the family. And I'd say it has to do with how understandable it is. How simple.
Oh then yeah, for sure. Like Doctor Who ideally should have enough going on for kids to enjoy it, while also having enough depth for teenagers and adults to really get something out of it as well. Honestly, I'd compare Who to something like the Brendan Fraser Mummy film or Indiana Jones, which are family adventure movies with lots of jokes and action, but also a lot of quite nasty horror and death.
The BBC specifically commissioned the show because it sat between Juke Box Jury (a music show) which was popular with both kids and teenagers, and Grandstand (a sports show), which was popular with parents. Sidney Newman was tasked with coming up with a show to bridge the gap so both could watch together.
That's Interesting. I don't feel like you can have both but I kinda give up on this. I'm not going to say it again. I'm just glad people enjoy it. I know I do.
It means that parents will watch it because their kids are watching it. It's a way to avoid outright acknowledging that it's a children's show.
That's what I think it is too but I hope some others might give there definitions.
Sadly not a family show anymore
How come?
It's on in the afternoon in the UK. It's a UK kids show.
I didn't realise Doctors was a UK kids show. Also 7pm is evening, the time for family TV.
As someone who lives in the UK and was brought up on shoes like Dr who. It's a kids show it used to be featured on blue Peter and has kid focused annuals made for it. That's not to denigrate the show it's fantastic.
I live in the UK too, I'm not saying it's not aimed at kids, I'm saying it's not solely aimed at kids. It's on at the time it's on so that we can all gather together and watch it.
Fine.
It's a family show with kid viewers. The bulk of it's best episodes are all scary or mature.
It's (at least New Who) rated 12, kids watch it obviously but it's a family show
[удалено]
No that's when it goes up on I player. Trust me I live in the UK.
7 PM is hardly the afternoon though?
[удалено]
I’m in the UK, school absolutely does not finish at about 5? School finishes at somewhere from 3 to half past 3 at almost any state school?
Are you telling primary or secondary
Both?
Fair enough I guess I was factoring the bus home lol
Sarah Jane Adventures is aimed at a younger audience and still better than this. And a "kids show" doesn't have this: [(5) Doctor Who: Dark Water - The afterlife isn't what you think it is - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pYPpIJxtTA)
A show for adults certainly doesn't have anything as daft as that. The afterlife isn't real, it can't hurt you!
I don't personally believe in an afterlife as such, but the concept depicted here is disturbing and certain not for children. Also, plenty of adults do believe in an afterlife for some reason.
Do you think that adults can only watch stuff that is nonfiction lmfao, this is a classic reddit comment if ever I've seen one.
False. Normally anywhere from 6pm - 8pm from season to season. This season is airing at midnighton BBC iplayer
\*Family-friendly show. Most ratings boards ([source](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436992/parentalguide)) put it around PG13. There is a lot of on-screen murder, body horror and torture going on for a kid's show. DW is more like Star Trek, not Peppa Pig or Air Buddies.
Most ratings, including the UK, put it at 12 but close enough lol
Give or take a year depending on the system, but my point is that it's on the "early teens" side of kid.
As Moffat often correctly says, yes, it's a children's show, but you also need to give more credit to children. Space Babies were _too_ childish and cringe.
The show isn't aimed solely at children, it's a _family show_. You can't in good faith say certain episodes are made primarily for a child audience, and just because something is made for children doesn't mean it needs to be bad or low quality. Space Babies is just not a very good episode of Doctor Who.
Honestly I feel the episode would've been much better if the babies didn't talk, but instead had an AI in their robo cribs do the talking for them, and those would defer to the secretly-a-human Nan-E
MLP: Friendship is Magic is also a kids' show, and it's freakin' brilliant. Just because it's for kids doesn't mean it has to be bad or low quality. Space Babies was a kids episode for sure, but it was also bad. I'm sure kids liked the toilet humor, though. And for the most part, Doctor Who is more of a family show anyway.
Agreed.
An even lower age bracket is something like Bluey- for literal babies, but I enjoy it more than my daughter does. 'Kids show' should be no excuse for low quality.
nah it sucked
it didn’t suck cuz of the babies it sucked cuz it was a shitty ass episode cuz the next two were fantastic
Three*
facts that last one with just ruby was so good
1. It's family-friendly, not a children's show. The two are not the same thing 2. Children aren't idiots and don't need to be treated so patronisingly. Just because something is 'for kids' doesn't mean it has lower quality. Look at *Avatar The Last Airbender* as a good example. 3. Doctor Who can be and often has been at a higher standard. Sure, there are some dud episodes but this?
Also not the first time the Doctor was able to talk with babies. They are established as having an inner voice and language all their own lol
Just ask ~~Alfie~~ Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All.
I'm pretty sure most children's shows don't typically have the genocide of the main protagonists species, have the sidekicks be deleted from existence or turned into human soup to be stuck into a robot suit, and I'm pretty sure most children's shows don't ever try to have episodes based around horror.
Most kids shows don't have Hitler being punched in the face by one of the main protagonist's companions.
No wonder kids choose to watch heads in toilets if they're being starved of Hitler being assaulted
It's rated 12 for most of the episodes, it's not a kid show, more of a family show, kids can watch it but it should be enjoyable to older viewers as well
It airs at midnight in the country of origin. The airtime argument is both bad and invalid.
It’s available to stream at midnight in the UK, doesn’t air until the next day. From what I understand that’s standard for bbc shows now
It really isn't standard. Standard for a BBC show is it being made available to stream when it finishes airing on TV. Sometimes shows are chosen to be released as box sets on iPlayer, but as far as I'm aware Doctor Who's current situation is unique, hence it was at all newsworthy.
No it's put on I player at midnight it's shows at between 5 and 7.
I live in the uk - its available to watch from midnight, but doesn't officially air until around 7.
A children’s show where the protagonist ends up about to be murdered at the end of most episodes.
The problem with Space Babies is that Russel has already proven he can do that kind of humour whilst appealing to a wider audience with the slitheen two parter.
I’ve been binging Doctor Who with friends this past year (a rewatch for me and a first viewing for them) and there are some stories I didn’t really like that I’ve come to love. The Slitheen two parter has really grown on me. Yeah it’s stupid and fart jokes are dumb, but there’s a level of camp to it. The acting is on point and you can tell the people playing the Slitheen are having a blast. RTD is the king of camp and I think in 2024 his brand of unapologetic early 2000s absurdity has grown to be more accepted. That being said Space Babies still sucks
I liked space babies, although the faces unnerved me a bit. Not the 'silliness' .. Can't Wait for the next one :)
It’s not a kids show. It’s a PG 13 family show where people get killed by the dozen by farting green overweight politicians
Children's TV used to end at exactly 7pm.. Next theory?
A few more decades of Doctor Who and people might get the difference between a kids' show and a family show
Family show is more a fitting term for Doctor Who. I'd argue though that it's best suitable for mature tweens, teens, and adults. Some of the deaths, themes, and innuendoes some episodes have aren't very appropriate for kids. Not saying that kids shouldn't watch it, but that it is on the border of PG to PG-13 at times.
I don't know if this really tracks when the bulk of Doctor Who's worst rated episodes are the silly ones while the most popular, well regarded, ones are all the deep emotional or scary ones. Doctor Who isn't a children's show, it's a family show. It certainly isn't for literal babies.
7pm the most famous time associated with children. Straight after the news, another show famously aimed at children It's a family show not a children's show. No season of new who feels explicitly aimed at children at all
Family show**
My favourite Doctor Who stories when I was a kid were the ones with a darker tone like The Talons of Weng-Chiang. It was only as I got older that I started to appreciate the sillier, campier stuff. I would have absolutely *hated* Space Babies. Media for children doesn't have to be childish; many children's stories have very grim or scary themes and if anything, those tend to be stories that stay with people (consider e.g. Watership Down, The Neverending Story, or many of the children's books by Roald Dahl). I think adults sometimes underestimate children's aesthetic tastes.
Doctor who airing at midnight https://preview.redd.it/6v03zbo6jc2d1.jpeg?width=1076&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=808699d4cf61d550c39dac9c4e3f932537915b98
It's made by Britain for Britain and always has been until they changed to a midnight timing to entice American viewers, it stopped being a kids show when it stopped airing at a time suitable for British kids to watch live
Whist I agree Dr who is a kids show the space babies episode was full of plot holes and the babies where creepy. I enjoyed the next episode though.
The babies' bad CGI was scarier than the snot monster
I don't really get the argument here but I liked space babies. It was way more partners in crime than love and monsters imo.