In the Doctor Who season premiere episode ‘Deep Breath’ nearly a million Australian ABC viewers via BBC simulcast, repeat evening viewing and iView, were treated to an intimate lesbian kiss between Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh) and wife Jenny (Catrin Stewart), that created quite a stir based on its primetime “family viewing” time slot.
Ok, they may have been “sharing oxygen” to avoid detection by cybernetic sword-wielding breath detectors, and one may have been a reptile and therefore not human, and despite being married they may live out their roles as master and servant to be seen as socially acceptable, but that’s beside the point. It was a beautiful moment that had me grinning from ear to ear and my ultra-conservative sister itching for the remote control.
This wasn’t the first time Whovians were treated to a same-sex relationship. Doctor Who’s spinoff show Torchwood incorporated a love affair between its male lead Captain Jack (John Barrowman) and Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd). Ok again, technically Captain Jack may have been a temporal paradox from the 51st century who never truly expressed his feelings to Ianto, and more or less an omnisexual slut who has got it on with the Time Lord himself. Not that the latter is a bad thing though, not at all.