Classic Doctor Who Star Reveals 1 Big Complaint About the Modern Series

Former Doctor Who star Peter Purves has complained that the modern version of the Disney+ show is “too sophisticated.” Purves played companion Steven Taylor between 1965 and 1966.

Purves’ character was a memorable part of the First Doctor era of Doctor Who, before much of the mythology behind The Doctor had been developed. For example, the concept of regeneration had not yet been introduced during Steven’s travels with the First Doctor, nor had there been much exploration of the Time Lord race.

Peter Purves Shares His Complaints About Modern Doctor Who

According to BBC News, Purves shared his thoughts on the current version of Doctor Who while attending an unofficial exhibit for the show at Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery. He called modern Who “far too sophisticated for [his] simple brain.”

“We used to have stories that were very simple, you went from there to there, you had a cliffhanger at the end of an episode, the following week you picked up from there and went to another cliffhanger, then end of story, on to another one,” he argued. “Very simple, very straightforward, very clear and easy for kids to understand.”

Purves explained that he stopped regularly watching Doctor Who during Jon Pertwee’s earth-bound adventures in the 1970s because he felt the format change hurt the show. The Third Doctor era stranded The Doctor in then-modern day England to work with UNIT as a punishment from the Time Lords.

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While Purves no longer regularly tunes in, he has praised Doctor Who for its longevity following the show reaching its 60th anniversary in 2023.

“I try to make sure I know who’s in it,” he insisted. “If I turn up somewhere [at a convention] and there’s someone I don’t know, it could be quite embarrassing, particularly if they’re a principal character.”

“We used to have stories that were very simple.”

“It is a remarkable thing that a series could continue to hold an audience for so long. And here I am – getting very old – and being able to talk about it 60 years after I first did it,” he said.

Purves made his first appearance as space pilot Steven Taylor in 1965’s six-part serial “The Chase,” where he joined the TARDIS team after helping The Doctor and his companions Ian, Barbara, and Vicki foil the Daleks’ attempts to track them through time. Purves’ Doctor Who era marked a major shift for the show, as his character was far more willing to physically fight enemies than his predecessors.

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