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JoelFan
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30 May 2015, 2:01 pm

Hey guys, I'm watching Dr. Who on BBC America right now for the first I've read various blogs where a few children whom are on the spectrum watch Dr. who almost religiously. Again I'm watching for the frist time and wondering what is the connection between Dr.Who and Autism/Aspergers and why is it so appealing to some children whom are on the spectrum.

Any Ideas....Theories...Thoughts?


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arielhawksquill
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30 May 2015, 4:05 pm

It is about a main character who is literally alien to everybody around him, and is also intellectually superior--but instead of being bullied and powerless, he is a hero who uses his differences as strengths. Kids on the spectrum identify with the Doctor as a positive role model, and can imagine having a mentor like him if they were his companion.



rarebit
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30 May 2015, 4:25 pm

He's eccentric I'll give him that, but the program is woefully poor, what with his magic wand solution for everything after gibbering everyone to sleep... As sci-fi goes 3/10



JoelFan
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30 May 2015, 4:26 pm

Thanks! Again I had some time to kill so I watched the episode which seamed decent but I didn't know too much about the back story and why there was a connection between the show an AUT/AS


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iliketrees
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30 May 2015, 4:27 pm

rarebit wrote:
He's eccentric I'll give him that, but the program is woefully poor, what with his magic wand solution for everything after gibbering everyone to sleep... As sci-fi goes 3/10

Don't anger the whovians 8O If... there are even any on here, I dunno :P



rarebit
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30 May 2015, 4:46 pm

The autism connection is a very very new thing, nothing to do with the original what-so-ever! Basically the main character acts as daft as presenters on little kids shows, jumping around shouting, very engaging. Then because an austistic boy likes it, changes his FB name to the latest (and arguably the worst) Dr, who then sends him a message, whooohoo its an AS thing! Don't buy into the hype!! !

If you think that Dr Who is designed to represent someone with AS / autism then surely virtually any British film / programme developed for export is! So not true! A decade ago it was billed as a gay programme, before that something for nerds and sci-fi buffs.

BTW even most American movies portray all us Brits like that too! Are we a nation of autistic's? Is the rest of the world supposed to believe that the US is full of one man armies who can defeat everyone with only getting a single scratch which heals before the final scene?



sorrowfairiewhisper
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30 May 2015, 7:12 pm

I've heard people mention that Doc Martin the Doctor himself has AS traits
Same with Sherlock Holmes
Doctor who

all the things I watch and tbh I never picked up on it myself.

Do people really think that Brits are all aspies.
If that's the case, i'm a brit and an aspie lol



rarebit
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30 May 2015, 7:18 pm

sorrowfairiewhisper wrote:
...
Do people really think that Brits are all aspies.
If that's the case, i'm a brit and an aspie lol


We are virtually always portrayed as posh speaking, tweed wearing eccentrics, oh and as a recent advert said, villains!



LadyLuna
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31 May 2015, 1:05 pm

arielhawksquill wrote:
It is about a main character who is literally alien to everybody around him, and is also intellectually superior--but instead of being bullied and powerless, he is a hero who uses his differences as strengths. Kids on the spectrum identify with the Doctor as a positive role model, and can imagine having a mentor like him if they were his companion.


I agree with this.

I generally like shows where the main character is an eccentric, especially if other people are accepting of the traits.

I like science fiction and fantasy. A common theme is to have a character who is not human and does not quite fit in. This appeals to me because I sometimes feel like an "other."



EzraS
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01 Jun 2015, 4:11 am

Part of it is him being a quirky person that doesn't fit in. The other part is he's always in control and has power.



The_Walrus
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01 Jun 2015, 5:14 am

rarebit wrote:
He's eccentric I'll give him that, but the program is woefully poor, what with his magic wand solution for everything after gibbering everyone to sleep... As sci-fi goes 3/10

lol OK, either you're trolling or you only have a superficial familiarity with the show. Particularly the bizarre suggestion that Capaldi is the worst Doctor yet.



rarebit
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01 Jun 2015, 7:06 am

The_Walrus wrote:
rarebit wrote:
He's eccentric I'll give him that, but the program is woefully poor, what with his magic wand solution for everything after gibbering everyone to sleep... As sci-fi goes 3/10

lol OK, either you're trolling or you only have a superficial familiarity with the show. Particularly the bizarre suggestion that Capaldi is the worst Doctor yet.


I've watched it since the late 70's.

Do a quick Google search to see how many others hold the same opinion. The whole show is a pantomime!



cellogirl42
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01 Jun 2015, 11:47 am

I love Doctor Who, mainly because it's a ridiculous show. It's almost certainly not science fiction. However, the reason I've struck with it for so long(because yeah, it can get rather silly at times) is mainly because I identify so strongly with the Doctor. I've noticed that a lot of the people I know in the fandom tend to identify with the people he travels with, most often Rose Tyler and Clara Oswald. I'm aware that I'm probably enjoying the show in a completely different way than it is intended to be enjoyed, but I really don't care. My favourite bits of the show are when times the POV makes the Doctor seem remote, frightening, and inhuman, because sometimes I feel like that. And yeah, I repeatedly get the sense that the audience really isn't supposed to be identifying with the Doctor character, but again, I don't care. And it's fun to make the Dalek voice. :D