Day 305: Day of the Daleks Episode 2

One of the things that happens in this episode is the Doctor picking up a gun and shooting one of the alien Ogrons in cold blood as he saunters up to the Doctor. It should be noted that the Doctor shot first, and that this is certainly a moment where the Doctor killed someone with a gun.

This is wrong. It doesn't matter that it fits into the tone of how other programmes of the ilk would handle similar situations, or that the Ogrons are clearly working for the bad guys. It still is remarkably out of character for the Doctor. The Doctor is a character who will ask questions instead of shooting. Who will use aikido as a martial art because there are no offensive moves within it, only defensive moves. Who will act for peace in a universe of war. This action by shooting an Ogron is so aggressively out of character for the Doctor that it leaves a disgusting taste in the mouth for blatant disregard for how the series works, and takes away much of what makes Doctor Who a unique and fun property. I'm not saying that it's one of the worst decisions ever made in the series (that will be discussed when we get to around August 2015), but it certainly remains an uncomfortable part of Doctor Who history.