{"id":40136,"date":"2023-11-21T13:42:54","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T12:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1930327"},"modified":"2023-11-21T14:07:56","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T13:07:56","slug":"doctor-whos-davros-reinvention-is-crucial-for-disabled-fans","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/doctor-whos-davros-reinvention-is-crucial-for-disabled-fans\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who\u2019s Davros reinvention is crucial for disabled fans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Davies made clear that the change was a conscious decision to move away from troubling tropes. <\/p>

By Melissa Parker\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 21 November 2023 at 12:37 PM<\/p>

\n\n

The decision made by Russell T Davies<\/a> to change the appearance of <\/a><\/span>malevolent evil-doer <\/span><\/a>Davros<\/a> in Doctor Who<\/a> to remove the scarring and wheelchair use<\/a> is so significant for disabled fans across past, present, and future generations.\u00a0 <\/span> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a disabled child growing up with Doctor Who, I was instantly drawn to the mysterious and chilling character of Davros; from the moment he appeared on screen, his presence captivated and unsettled me.<\/span><\/p>\n

But as I matured, an unsettling feeling of unease crept into my consciousness. I couldn\u2019t get rid of the idea that Davros and countless other Doctor Who villains, such as John Lumic (Roger Lloyd Pack), another wheelchair user, fell into a troubling trope that profoundly impacted me and others.<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a character, Davros embodies a particular trope that has been present in storytelling for centuries. It is the notion that a character\u2019s moral and physiological nature are intrinsically linked. This idea is as universal as it is old. It suggests that physical disability is telling of inherently villainous or tragic characteristics, strengthening the harmful notion that disabled individuals are somehow flawed, lesser or tainted.<\/span><\/p>\n

My memories of Doctor Who are of the good sometimes mingled too tightly with the bad.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Colin\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Colin Baker as the Doctor and Terry Molloy as Davros in Revelation of the Daleks. RadioTimes Archive\/Don Smith<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The power of the trope can be felt before it is fully understood or seen \u2013 disabled people feel it in the way we\u2019re taken apart and put back together again. Our experience of the prejudice and stigma such ideas provoke is still fraught and muddy \u2013 a mess of feelings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over time, you could gradually watch the light behind my eyes change from innocent devotion to betrayal. For years, Doctor Who had told me, unwittingly, something was wrong with me.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But recently, Doctor Who returned to screens with a particular scene featuring Davros, who was played once again by Julian Bleach, without a wheelchair or scarring \u2013 and while viewers might have thought that it was simply because this special scene was set before the accident that left the character scarred and needing a support unit and means of mobility, Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has clarified that it was a conscious attempt to consider the sometimes uncomfortable history of the show, and broader society, and how it ought to evolve.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

On the new BBC Three companion series Doctor Who: Unleashed<\/a>, Davies said: \u201cWe had long conversations about bringing Davros back, because he\u2019s a fantastic character, [but] time and society and culture and taste has moved on.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there\u2019s a problem with the Davros of old in that he\u2019s a wheelchair user, who is evil. And I had problems with that. And a lot of us on the production team had problems with that, of associating disability with evil.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I had tears in my eyes as I watched a man I admire utter these words; it was cathartic. But I wish they had been spoken earlier by someone who looked, moved or talked like me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many have now risen to address and denounce these former practices and, as Davies further comments: \u201cI say, this is how we see Davros now, this is what he looks like. This is 2023. This is our lens. This is our eye. Things used to be black and white, they\u2019re not in black and white anymore, and Davros used to look like that and he looks like this now, and that we are absolutely standing by.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n