Doctor Who features The Pope interrupting a lesbian date
Doctor Who stirred controversy on Saturday by showing the Pope stumbling upon a same-sex date, and suggesting a former Pope is a woman.
The latest episode of the long-running BBC sci-fi series, titled Extremis, aired on Saturday, revolving around a secret document at the Vatican.
At the start of episode, out companion Bill (Pearl Mackie) is shown in her house on a date with another woman, Penny.
However, their date is derailed when the Doctor brings the leadership of the Catholic Church to her home in the TARDIS.
When Penny expresses reservations about being on a date with a woman, Bill assures her: “Whatever this is, and it’s not anything yet, it’s absolutely nothing to feel guilty about.”
At this point the Pope bursts in from Bill’s bedroom, shouting at the couple in rapid-fire Italian.
The religious figure shouts: “What’s happening? Who are you two girls? How did I end up here in this house? I thought I was back in the Vatican, this is crazy, Doctor why did you bring me here?”
Needless to say, Penny makes a hasty exit.
Frustrated by the hasty exit of her date, Bill discovers the assembled Cardinals in her bedroom, telling them: “You’re all going to Hell.”
She proceeds to yell at the Doctor: “Here’s a tip. When I am on a date, when that rare and special thing happens in my real life, do not, under any circumstances, put the Pope in my bedroom!”
The Pope was played by actor Joseph Long.
A recurring joke throughout the episode suggests that Pope Benedict IX was a woman, and had an affair with the Doctor.
When a Cardinal explains that his services were requested by a “personal recommendation” from the 11th Century Pope, the Doctor quips: “Pope Benedict. Lovely girl, what a night!
“I knew she was trouble, but she wove a spell with her castanets.”
Later in the episode, as the Doctor enters a secret vault at the Vatican, she is again hinted to have been a woman.
A Cardinal explains: “[This is] the entrance to the Haereticum, the library of forbidden and heretical texts. First instituted by your old friend, Pope Benedict, who still guards the door.”
He gestures to a portrait on the wall featuring an attractive woman.
Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat defended the plotlines, which have so far not been noticed by hardline anti-LGBT Catholic groups.
However, the plot went down well with fans.
“Pope disrupts lesbian date” is, in fairness, a rarely used plot device. #DoctorWho
— John Kirriemuir (@solstraler) May 20, 2017
When you’re on a closet lesbian date and suddenly the pope walks into the kitchen #DoctorWho
— Pete (@TheKingleMingle) May 20, 2017
That awkward moment when you’re trying to get it on with your lesbian lover and then suddenly the pope bursts out of your bedroom XD
— Stinky Hyox in Sox (@TokkyFox) May 20, 2017
Big mood: a black lesbian telling the pope he’s going to hell
— see u space car boys (@jehantxt) May 21, 2017
Related: Reaction to first gay companion on Doctor Who is ‘nonsense,’ says showrunner Steven Moffat
