Is 'Doctor Who' a TV-series reflecting a racist world-view? According to a soon-gona-be published book 'Doctor Who And Race' some scholars seem to think that's the case. To be fair, the book's official page asks people not to judge the book's content before reading it.
The book's editor claims that the recent fuss in the media is caused by one sentence (namely "perhaps the biggest elephant in the room is the problem, privately nursed by many fans, of loving a television show even when it is thunderingly racist") which appears to have "been taken thunderingly out of context". Nevertheless, in my humble unscholarly opinion, that sentence does not leave much room for interpretation. Does it? Sure, the author of that sentence tries to tune things down a bit (see official page for more detail). I can see how episodes like "An Unearthly Child" may appear to be 'racist' today. But then it's us who are taking the show out of context, namely, the context of time. Saying that something that has aired half a century ago on TV gives people a certain impression today cannot be taken as a basic element of an argument about its 'racism'. Because the problem here is pretty much the same as with that never-ending controversy about Mark Twain's 'Huckleberry Finn'. If it had been written today, then I'd be willing to see a problem. Even though its plot tells a completely different story.
The book's editor claims that the recent fuss in the media is caused by one sentence (namely "perhaps the biggest elephant in the room is the problem, privately nursed by many fans, of loving a television show even when it is thunderingly racist") which appears to have "been taken thunderingly out of context". Nevertheless, in my humble unscholarly opinion, that sentence does not leave much room for interpretation. Does it? Sure, the author of that sentence tries to tune things down a bit (see official page for more detail). I can see how episodes like "An Unearthly Child" may appear to be 'racist' today. But then it's us who are taking the show out of context, namely, the context of time. Saying that something that has aired half a century ago on TV gives people a certain impression today cannot be taken as a basic element of an argument about its 'racism'. Because the problem here is pretty much the same as with that never-ending controversy about Mark Twain's 'Huckleberry Finn'. If it had been written today, then I'd be willing to see a problem. Even though its plot tells a completely different story.
So let the 'Doctor Who's stories speak. Are they racist? Well, I guess it depends on how you're interpreting racism. Because the Time Lords are certainly a bit proud of themselves... maybe not the Doctor, though. After all, he is pretty much aware of their mistakes, and he does not seem to be too fond of them, or their rules, given the fact that even before time-locking/destroying Galiffrey he was not too eager to spend much time there. Aww, that sounds harsh. On the other hand, his folks certainly accomplished some remarkable things... and the Doctor is aware of that too. Still, it's made pretty clear that he appreciates them rather for their achievements than their origin.
However, I have to say that there have been scenes, tiny moments, which may not even be part of its canon which seem to be out of place... E.g. in one of the 'Pond Life' minisodes the Doctor apparently invents pasta. And given the fact that the TARDIS translates every language (plus, in one of the classic series we learn that the Doctor actually speaks Mandarin) I don't know why he did not just talk to them*... Well, then we have to take into account that those minisodes are written by Chris Chibnall, and even though he knows how to write crime, he yet has to prove that he can constantly deliver good sci-fi stories. Besides, Chibnall is certainly not too familiar with 'Doctor Who's canon. Actually that's the reason why I'm not sure if 'Pond Life' is even part of it...
At the same time it should be said that the overall idea of 'Doctor Who' is certainly against racism. The people (well, aliens) we see in 'Doctor Who' often come in all shapes and sizes, and it's humans who have usually rather inappropriate reactions to them. The Doctor on the other hand often finds himself embracing differences, and getting ridiculously exited by them. Usually, while everyone is appalled by the alien creature, its him who stands there declaring it to be beautiful ("Tooth and Claws", "The Unicorn and the Wasp"). In "Daleks in Manhattan" he even would have been willing to relocate his arch-enemies, the Daleks, simply because one of them changed its° mind on the Daleks' fundamental idea on differences, which is to 'EXTERMINATE' everything non-Dalek. In fact, if you're looking for racism in 'Doctor Who' then have a good look at the Daleks, to whom genes and origin is everything. And know think about the Doctor, and the fact that he's been fighting them for ages. 'Doctor Who' is about fighting racism and not supporting it. Because if you can't see that, then my friend, you simply weren't paying enough attention.
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* I know, Mandarin is not the only language spoken in China, actually, they may have more languages than we have in whole Europe. But this argument does not change my actual point.
° as far as I know, they do not have a concept of gender, do they?
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