Steven Moffat: Misogynist or Genius?

Steven Moffat: Writer or ex-term-in-ator of "Doctor Who"?

When the words "strong female character" are uttered aloud, the imagery one might produce might be that of a young woman with a couple of battle scars holding a gun and/or some other type of weaponry. At least, that's what Steven Moffat, the current show runner of the BBC's popular sci-fi show, Doctor Who, seems to think of. Many people could argue, "But Steven is a brilliant writer of female characters! Look at Amy Pond and River Song!" While he may be a perfectly talented writer who is capable of stringing together some of the most popular and well-written episodes of the sci-fi giant, that doesn't excuse the sexist and misogynistic writing that has befallen the audiences ever since Moffat has been at the helm of Doctor Who.

For years, female characters have received the same old story lines and roles in film and television; be the "annoying wife", console the male or spend the entire movie chasing after one. Whereas their male counterparts can spend an entire movie saving lives or simply just being with their friends without so much as a whisper from a female. These representations by the media translate over to real life, telling women everywhere that they're not worth anything unless they have a boyfriend or husband. And that's exactly what happened to Doctor Who's seemingly fiesty companion, Amy Pond and her daughter, River Song.

Karen Gillan as Amy Pond.

Both characters start out with a seemingly interesting story ahead, only for the stories to fall flat on their faces. Amy's story, although it starts out with just her and the Doctor's adventures, ends up mainly revolves around her relationship with Rory Williams. She is disguised as a strong woman by throwing quick quips at Rory and being the "dominant" one in the relationship. This is, however, thrown out the window in series seven when Amy decides that she and Rory are over. All because Amy can't give Rory what he wants; children. (Because if a woman can't have children, what good is she, right?! *sarcasm*). This right here is a perfect example of Moffat's misogynistic ways. 

Alex Kingston as River Song/Melody Pond.

River Song is another character who showed great promise only to be stuck in the same story line over and over again.  She first appeared in the series four episode, "Silence in the Library" and came across as a witty, interesting character from the Doctor's future. Unbeknown to the Doctor, she was to be his wife. In the end, that's all she becomes. Throughout the series' she spend numerous amounts of time tracking down the Doctor and flirting with him. Most of that time she is carrying a gun on her person. It is a well-known fact that the Doctor hates violence, in particular guns, and has been quoted on several occasions stating his strong dislike for them. A good example of this is a quote from the sixth episode of the fourth series, “The Doctor’s Daughter”.

THE DOCTOR: Call me old fashioned, but if you really wanted peace couldn't you just stop fighting?

 LIEUTENENT COBB: Only when we have the Source. It will give us the power to erase every stinking Hath off the face of this planet. 

THE DOCTOR: Hang on, a second ago it was peace in our time and now you're talking about genocide!

LIEUTENENT COBB: For us, that means the same thing! 

THE DOCTOR: Then you need to get yourself a better dictionary. When you do, look up genocide. You'll see a little picture of me there and the caption'll read 'over my dead body!' 

(Series 4, Episode 6 – The Doctor’s Daughter)

This character development is, however, thrown away in the later seasons in favour of a quick flirting session with River Song.

THE DOCTOR: Oh and this is my friend River.  Nice hair, clever, has her own gun and unlike me she really doesn’t mind shooting people.  I shouldn’t like that, kinda do a bit.

RIVER SONG: Thank you sweetie. 

Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, channeling "Bad Wolf".

It seems that in Moffat’s eyes, all women can be are smart, sassy and typically beautiful. This is a startling comparison to the companions who were featured in Russell T Daives’ era of Doctor Who. The characters were all relatable and shockingly imperfect (in a good way). Although they had their sass and their intelligence, they also had story lines which allowed them to grow and become better people, rather than just spend two seasons running around chasing the Doctor. Another startling difference between the female characters in Moffat’s era and RTD’s era is the companion’s abilities to be the hero without the Doctor. In the two-part finale of the first series, Rose (with the help of Mickey) opens the heart of the TARDIS and soaks up the time vortex, becomes Bad Wolf and single handedly destroys the Daleks and the Dalek Emperor. Whereas when Amy is faced with danger in “The Girl Who Waited”, she sits and cries whilst waiting for the Doctor to save her. See the difference?

Although there is evidence that Moffat can write (The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances and Blink), it appears that when at the helm of a television show, being in charge of character arcs and plotlines, he is somewhat hopeless as to what real women are actually capable of (other than flirting and being sassy, I mean). This is evident in his shallow portrayal of women on the show Doctor Who, particularly in the characters River Song and Amy Pond. To Moffat, it seems that women are no more than an accessory. Here’s to hoping that Moffat’s writing improves in the coming seasons.