Is Dr. Who Kid-Friendly? [possible spoilers]

[CanadienneBacon]

People do die in it, though the doctor (and most of his companions) seem to not be actively killing people.

This seems to be the consensus not only here, but among my FB friends list as well. That the show has the Doctor find solutions other than by violence. Worth a preview on YouTube, I reckon. Thanks!

 

[Quartz]

Why are you denying your children the pleasure of hiding behind the sofa?

 

[Umbran]

Oh, silly me!

If you decide Doctor Who is a bit mature (especially for your youngest), you can try them on the Sara Jane Adventures, which is most certainly a kid's show.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sarah_Jane_Adventures

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0862620/

 

[sabrinathecat]

Doctor Who when it was originally started was a "Saturday Tea-Time" show. Translation: meant for the whole family. Over time it changed and matured. And changed more. And Matured more. Since the current producer took over, it has devolved down to a mostly kids show. It was always family "safe", but now it is targeted at kids (mores the pity), to the detriment of the long-time fans. Season 5 of the new show was so bad (plot holes, general illogic, piss-poor stories) that I almost abandoned the (new) show entirely (and I've been watching for almost 30 years, so yeah, it was really, really, really bad).
Watch a few episodes and decide for yourself.
If you like it, and want more, there are also audio programs (full stories--all original with original cast--done as radio-type plays) by Big Finish Productions that are frequently superior to the new show.

 

[Herschel]

Some people apparently like their corn flakes with pee.

It's generally a solid kid show, with blunted violence and sexuality. It doesn't so much avoid them as not call attention to them.

 

[Umbran]

It's generally a solid kid show, with blunted violence and sexuality. It doesn't so much avoid them as not call attention to them.

Which is not to say that romance doesn't happen. Most of the female companions fall for the Doctor in some sense or other. They just don't show skin, or speak much about physical acts of intimacy.

 

[JediSoth]

Craig Ferguson summed up the show's appeal pretty well: "It's about intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism."
[video=youtube;M9P4SxtphJ4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9P4SxtphJ4[/video]

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Some people apparently like their corn flakes with pee.

It's generally a solid kid show, with blunted violence and sexuality. It doesn't so much avoid them as not call attention to them.

if I were you I would pre watch every episode, because sometimes they are great, and sometimes very adult...

 

[Bagpuss]

So. Is it?

My daughters are 13, 12 (twins), and 8. They enjoy fantasy, cartoons, and pop fiction. My spouse and I are fairly conservative in what we permit them to view.

My six year old watches it with me. There are things he sometimes find scary (usually thanks to the music, and suspense rather than what something looks like), but kids should be allowed to be scared. He occasionally gets nightmares, but nothing he has seen has kept him up all night, he normally falls straight to sleep after waking. More often he pretends to be the monsters, his current favourite is pretending to be the monster under the bed and grabbing my ankle (from the most recent season). He likes to point out weeping angels when we walk past churches. We recently went to the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff.

There are occasionally things that some more conservative parents might object to, for example two occasional characters are lesbians married to each other (one of who is a lizard creature the other human), in the latest season they were seen to kiss. This lead to a total of six complaints in the UK. One returning character from earlier seasons was bi-sexual, really only reflected in how he would flirt with anyone attractive he came across. However most of the time this stuff doesn't come up that much in the series, and there is no on screen nudity.

Deaths tend to be bloodless, bodies turned to ashes on occasions, saying that the most recent season, did show a badly burned hand at one point.

They're allowed to read whatever they wish, but we limit what they see. We didn't, by way of example, permit them to see Firefly.

Yeah that sort of raised issues about prostitution every episode thanks to one of the characters.

I've never seen Dr. Who, but it sounds like something my spouse and I would enjoy. If it's kid-appropriate, we can watch with the girls and enjoy it as a family. If it's not, ok, but my husband and I will have to watch after hours.

It is intended as family viewing but I imagine you are getting it through some sort of on demand service? I suggest you watch a couple of episodes first to see what you think.

 

[Nellisir]

It is intended as family viewing but I imagine you are getting it through some sort of on demand service? I suggest you watch a couple of episodes first to see what you think.

It is available through Netflix, usually a season or so behind (I don't think they have Capaldi yet); current episodes air on BBC America. I'm not sure if they still air PBS stations or not.