For those of you who’ve seen the season finale of Doctor Who, I have a column up at Fantasy about the Doctor:

This year at WisCon, the feminist science fiction convention, I was on a panel called Martha Jones: Made of Awesome or Disappointing Stereotype? I had hoped we would explore the different fan reactions to the way the writers handled Martha’s character, story arcs, and race. The panel didn’t turn out as I expected, but something Chris Hill said sparked a thought. He mentioned feeling that the Doctor’s character was uneven–sometimes he’s incredibly cruel and judgmental and other times he’s compassionate and reluctant to do harm. My response was that I didn’t see this as unevenness, I saw it as purposeful part of his character. I truly feel… that the writers want us to think that the Doctor is a complicated and deeply flawed person. He is, to be blunt, a jerk.

Read the rest here (again, only if you’ve seen the final episodes).

I know a bunch of you are more active in Who fandom than I am and hang out in fan communities and such.  I’d appreciate it if you spread the link around, as I am anxious to get other people’s take on my theory.