BBC Bosses Defend ‘Doctor Who’ Cremation Plot

BBC bosses are defending hit sci-fi show Doctor Who after several viewers complained about a scene suggesting the dead can feel pain when cremated.

The controversial moment, featured in a plot surrounding the death of the Time Lord’s sidekick Clara Oswald’s boyfriend in a car crash, came in an episode titled “Dark Water”, which was broadcast on Saturday.

Around 100 complaints are believed to have been lodged by viewers outraged or upset at the suggestion the dead can feel pain, but the corporation is adamant the storyline was important.

A statement from the BBC reads:

Doctor Who is a family drama with a long tradition of tackling some of the more fundamental questions about life and death… We were mindful of the themes explored in “Dark Water” and are confident that they are appropriate in the context of the heightened sci-fi world of the show…

“The scene… was preceded by the same character warning the Doctor and Clara several times that what they were about to hear could be distressing… When the Doctor does hear these claims, he immediately pours scorn on them, dismissing them out of hand as a ‘con’ and a ‘racket’. It transpires that he is correct, and the entire concept is revealed to be a scam…”

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Photo Credit: BBC

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