'Trailer television': Peter Davison slams Doctor Who
Peter Davison has criticised Doctor Who for relying too much on special effects and leaving "huge gaps in the narrative".
Peter Davison has criticised Doctor Who for relying too much on special effects.
The 74-year-old actor - who was the Fifth Doctor from 1982 to 1984 - is worried the programme has relied too much on pushing for constant action, which has left "huge gaps in the narrative" of the show.
Speaking on The Lewis Nicholls Show, he said: "As the special effects got even better, there's a danger that it becomes just about special effects."
Comparing Doctor Who to superhero movies, he added: "They're terribly worried now about people’s attention spans. If something isn’t happening every two minutes, they think people are going to turn off, which I don’t believe is true."
Peter praised modern crime dramas for having a slower pace, but hit out at the sci-fi genre for not doing the same.
He said: "For some reason, in science fiction, they feel like they need to go at 100 miles per hour and that makes it, to me, like trailer television.
"There are huge gaps in the narrative because they're just leaping onto the next bit and your brain is meant to fill in the [gaps].
"Maybe if you're young and healthy, you can do that, I don't know. I just find it almost like you're watching a trailer for a Doctor Who show you'd like to watch later."
However, Peter offered praise to showrunner Russell T. Davies for "curing" issues the show had faced over the years, including complaints that the companions were previously underused, whereas now the likes of Billie Piper's Rose Tyler are "great characters" who have a lot to do.
Ncuti Gatwa's stint as the Time Lord came to an end during the recent season finale, in which he regenerated into Billie, but with the actress not credited as The Doctor, Peter isn't convinced she is the next incantation of the iconic character.
He recently told Starburst magazine: "I don’t know what Billie Piper is doing. I have just read about it, and I don’t know what it’s about. It’s a completely mad idea.
"I don’t think she is the Doctor. I think it’s kind of just a hand grenade thrown into the final episode to try and go, 'Whoa, what’s this?' And then it’s almost like, 'Get out of that.'
"I thought she was a fantastic companion, but she’s got a great career, and she’s got options galore. I don’t know why she would voluntarily choose to go back to Cardiff for a year."
