You ignored my entire point and tried to twist it into a problem with them being on the show at all. Please don't do that. The issue is quantity.

across the pond as you are you're looking at ~UD$250-750... here it's ~£51-75 depending on quality... The last 4 virgin books are stupidly small print runs due to a fire at the warehouse

Yeah, I sadly know the price, though I may swallow my pride and pay for one if i see one for 200 or less. So long as the book isn't falling apart, I am happy with any copy of the book. Yeah, that's why I love digital editions, it makes over priced books easier to still enjoy. Though I prefer paper versions whenever possible.

Gotta say I disagree with quite a bit here of late, and in many ways fair enough as everyone's tastes will differ, although I am surprised by a few comments on this page. And I love all periods of DW, so it makes me sad to see people disliking big chunks of it! :P

Fear Her was written by Matthew Graham, not Russell Davies :)

Argh! No no no!! This'll be me disagreeing, Snoo, I'm totally with Darling_Jimmy here.

Ignoring the subjective question of the stories (where we also disagree! :), including LGBT characters in many episodes - in a show that often has large casts of characters - simply reflects the real world. Not everybody is straight; get over it ;P

Why should there be some arbitrary quota of 'only x many non-straight characters per series/ story'? There's still a greater number of straight relationships or characters in pretty much any episode you look at (not that there has to be!). The series has a fully enlightened view of other sexualities, who are given the same respect as straight (quite right too, as the Doctor would tell you!) - and they feature in a truer 'real world' ratio than some might wish to acknowledge.

And no, you really can't 'promote homosexuality' to anybody (that bit's in your comment below), it's not something you catch or are brainwashed into, it's just a default and normal preference exactly like straight or bi. Grr...........

For the T, Cassandra tells Rose she was born a male; she must have transitioned at some point before becoming the bitchy trampoline because we see her as a female human in New Earth. And there's a short line from the Doctor early in The Doctor's Wife about the Corsair (another Timelord) once changing his gender to female for one regeneration. There's probably some others!

I don't really feel a desire to continue this debate with you at all because of the way you handled it, let alone do research to do so.

In my experience the show has a lot more gay and interracial couples than other shows, which stands out and can take you out of the show a little bit. You can disagree all you like, but if your quest is to paint me as uncomfortable with them being on the show or against them in general, why should I bother engaging with you about it?

Answer: I shouldn't, so I won't.

Just one thing I would add - and I'm not jumping on your comment, or on you - but bear in mind that actually is pretty representative of modern Britain, at least for many large cities and towns. There is a big ethnic mix other than 'white UK' here and nothing is being over-represented, it's pretty much on the ball. London in DW does a good job of looking like London really does rather than have everyone white. The larger presence is really just closer to real-life normal.

Because I'm bored right now, and want to help your point I am going to make a list from memory / reading wikipedia descriptions of each episode of RTD era Who. I will mention minority characters (other than women) in important roles.

Mickey Smith [important character on own eventually + dating Rose on and off throughout series 1/2]
Jack Harkness
Chloe [the girl in "Fear Her" that is possessed and draws things and whatever]
Donna's fiance in "The Runaway Bride"
Martha Smith
The elderly women couple in Gridlock that the Doctor meets
One of the Hooverville leaders in the "Daleks in Manhattan"/"Evolution of the Daleks", right?
The police officer in "Blink" that flirts with Sally but gets touched by the Angels
Someone in "Voyage of the Damned" maybe?
Dr. Moon in "Silence of the Library"/"Forest of the Dead"
The billionaire/his family who aids the Master's plan to bring back the Time Lords in the finale stuff for Tennant

That really isn't that much in terms of minority representation in important roles in the show. In my mind (other than Jack being pansexual) there is a lot less queer representation in the RTD era than in the Moffat era.

I definitely don't think there is an agenda, at least not one that is purposefully getting in the way of story or the show. Even if RTD and his writers wrote minority characters in for the purpose of diversity that isn't detracting from the story any more than having an all white / non-queer cast.

Is Cardiff a bad word to the English? I found it amusing how the Dr would turn sour when the name was mentioned .

Manic Street Preachers even wrote a song called "Cardiff Afterlife".

I live in one of the biggest melting pots in the world, I get your drift. I'm not at all trying to say London is all White. Again, what I am saying is the quantity of homosexual and interracial couples took me out of the show a bit because, right or wrong, it was massively more than any other contemporary show. It felt like pushing because it was much more aggressive than anything else I watch (though in fairness I don't watch a lot of modern television so this could be my fault).

Since Moffat took over this has been toned down considerably and while those minorities still exist in the show it no longer feels like a club hitting me on the head.

It's kind of like how RockPaperShotgun can do some articles on the very real problem of sexism in the gaming industry and it's fine, but once they do what seems like an article a day, and write articles because women are simply dressed in pajamas, it starts to feel like a club hitting your head and you get annoyed by it.

Squeaky wheels are still annoying when they're right, a lot of the time.

Not compared to contemporary shows here. Not to accuse US TV of being homophobic or racist, but isn't it possible that the programmes you're comparing to feature a less than realistic proportion of minority characters? If that's the case, I don't really see how you can criticise Doctor Who for the failings of other programmes.

It's your own fault for getting emotionally involved. British shows, Dr. Who in particular, are KNOWN for their revolving cast. Think of a British series in the same way you would a broadway show. There are casts, not a cast.

According to your 2001 Census about two or three percent of people in the UK are Black. Most studies but the homosexual population at about 5%, perhaps more if you stretch to anyone who ever had a gay experience.

Those are small numbers. I am not discounting them, I fully believe in equality for all, but they are small numbers.

When I watched RTD Who, it seemed like every other couple was either gay or interracial. I'm not sure what the actual numbers are, I haven't counted the episodes and such, but it happened a lot more than 3% or 5% of the time, I know that for a fact. Every RTD companion has an interracial relationship, for example, and it just seemed to permeate the show.

And this is all kind of silly anyway. Someone said it was distracting and while I'm not sure that's the word I would use I certainly see where he is coming from. I'm not saying it was BAD, I am not saying it's warping brains, I am simply saying it seemed like a sledgehammer instead of a memo. If other UK shows or modern shows do the same thing I would say they're wielding sledgehammers as well.

Anyway... whatever. It's not important, loved the show, own the DVDs, etc.

And cut to shreds by RTD, he declared the original script unfilmable

At least I got away with saying that Midnight was unwatchable.