Titanic Survivor Hates 'Doctor Who' Christmas Special
Milvina Dean, the last still-living survivor of the Titanic (which sank in 1912), has come out passionately against the latest Doctor Who Christmas special, "Voyage of the Damned..." an episode which doesn't actually take place on the historic Titanic at all, but on a spaceship named Titanic.
Despite this, Dean's upset. "The Titanic was a tragedy which tore so many families apart," said Dean. "I lost my father and he lies on that wreck. I think it is disrespectful to make entertainment of such a tragedy." There's a lot wrong with that statement.
Leaving aside whether or not the Doctor Who Christmas special is somehow disrespectful to people who died nearly 100 years ago (and it isn't), the idea that people should not be entertained by tragedy is out-of-touch with reality. Being entertained by tragedy is the basis of drama. And let's not forget that highly respectful films such as Schindler's List may be poignant, moving and sensitive, but those films are also entertaining by token of those very same qualities. Being entertained by a dramatization of a tragedy is not the same as being disrespectful to the survivors.
There is undeniably a certain reverence due to people who survived great calamities. A concentration camp survivor has undergone pain and exhibited bravery the likes of which dwarves the minor calamities of my life. Likewise (although, I think, to a lesser extent), a person who survived the sinking of the Titanic knows something about hardship that I will never understand, no matter how much I shake my fist at the sky and rail against the invisible old man who lives up there. Mrs. Dean has gone through things I can't even imagine. My hat is tipped to her.
But all that being said, when it comes to a nonagenarian Titanic survivor whining about the insensitivity of the latest Doctor Who Christmas special without even having seen it, and apparently without realizing it has nothing to do with the tragedy that ripped her life in half, I'm firmly in the "Cram it , lady" camp.
Christian Groups, Titanic Survivor Target 'Doctor Who' [Sy Fy Portal]
Oh for heaven's sake...
There are movies about all sorts of calamities (real or imagined). If the guy doesn't like an episode of Doctor Who, then he can sit alone at home watching football or Eurovision (and Eurovision really is a tragedy on the tube).
What about Space Battleship Yamato (to many Westerners, "Star Blazers")? That was about a vintage WW2 Japanese warship being turned into a space-ship...and nobody decried THAT.
Give it a rest.
My error; That should be "she."
Knowing Milvina Dean personally and having watched the much publicised Christmas episode of Dr Who, I completely agree with her comments. I was fully expecting to see a story befitting the memory and circumstances surrounding the Titanic, I was surprised and to say disappointed was an understatement.
The BBC clearly forgot this using the Titanic as pure entertainment to attract ratings with little regard or respect for the passengers and crew who lost their lives and the descendents of survivors, but most of all Millvina Dean Titanic’s youngest and only survivor. especially at Christmas when we are supposed to be thinking of others.
The choice of ‘Voyage of the Dammed’ as the episode title was I feel inappropriate
Dr Who is a fine programme with dedicated followers around the world, Titanic has also a worldwide following and I’m sure I was not the only one who was disappointed.
The producers did not need to exploit Titanic in this way, the show can stand on its own.