This is one of the reasons why I always want the show to deal in less spectacle.

Doctor Who is a show with very limited money, time, and resources. While a lot give it credit for punching above its weight (which is true to an extent) the show often needs to be smarter about what it can and can’t achieve. If you can’t do something credibly, don’t do it. Besides, the clever workarounds you need to come up with when you don’t have the budget for something are often more creatively interesting.

Let’s take a look at Classic Who. The stories that I think aged the best are the ones that haven’t really indulged themselves with special effects work. This is why something like Genesis of the Daleks looks so much better than Underworld which came afterwards. One is a production team making the most out of what they had, the other is a team trying and failing to do things they couldn’t.

Same is true for a lot of the modern series. Episodes like Blink are considered classics despite being relatively low budget for the show. And many of the alien designs which relied on comparatively ‘pedestrian’ practical costumes, have held up and awful lot better than those which are comprised entirely of CGI. I’d argue there are a great many alien designs from Classic Who which genuinely look better than some from NuWho.

When the show aims to be an effects extravaganza in an effort to compete with much larger fantasy prosperities, it often falls flat. While I always appreciate experimentation, of often wish those making the show evaluated what they could do and focused on doing it well.

Sorry if this sounds like a rant. It can be difficult trying to introduce new people to the show and getting them to look past the effects work. And it’s all the more difficult when creative decisions are made which unduly age certain episodes.