Poll time! Who was excited for the series 8 premiere/unveiling of new Doctor Peter Capaldi on Doctor Who last week? Great, next question: who found their entire experience completely ruined by one kiss from an intergalatic/interspecies lesbian couple? Now, if you were totally with me for that second poll question, chances are you were one of the six people who tweeted to Ofcom (UK Office of Communications) to complain about that steamy human woman-on-lizard woman action. If you visit Shewired, however, chances are you are not.

Let's back track a little. For those who don't know (or clearly need reminding) Doctor Who is a wildly popular BBC sci-fi show about a centuries old "Time Lord" alien man who jumps around through space and time with various attractive ladies solving mysteries. Most times he saves the day, sometimes a lot of people get killed by gruesome weird alien-type monsters- it's not always pleasant. So, naturally, it makes sense that one same-sex kiss would throw people off. Now who were these culprits? Many consider Jenny and Madame Vastra, two of The Doctor's friends throughout the show's run, to be fan-favorites. They pop up here and there to help The Doctor with his mysteries and alway manage to infuse some wit and wisdom during their time onscreen. The two are also married, often and openly referring to each other as "wife." They're a cute, fun couple who sometimes slip into sexual inuendos and are generally entertaining and adorable.

So what's the problem? There are quite a few LGBT characters on TV these days! Glee's all over that, and no one has a problem with them anymore! Well, the Glee Gays aren't part lizard, as Madame Vastra is. Jenny however, is human, and there begins our controversy. In the series 8 premiere, they happened to be caught in a situation where everyone had to hold their breath, and the situation became so difficult for human Jenny that her wife offered to let her breathe through her lungs that retained oxygen. And so the two lip-locked, saving Jenny's life and corrupting the youth of the world. Yes, it's not socially acceptable in today's society to make out with lizards, but this is a fictional show about an alien man who travels through space and time. Jenny would have died if she and her wife hadn't kissed, and really, it's not like this is the first time something like this has happened. In fact, let's make a list of everyone in cinematic history who's love interest was an alien and/or different species. Actually, let's not. It would take too long. 

So what were some of the complaints raised over what Huffpost called "Lizbianism?" Aside from being deemed "inappropriate" and "unecessary," Pink News reported one viewer accused Doctor Who executive producer Stephen Moffat of being "on some weird, lizard-lesbian perv trip." Another, “Found those characters that liked to display their preferences to be inappropriate for a children’s program, but the BBC seem to want to become a porn channel and are slowly edging into it." Oh yes, it's that one kiss that put this show over the edge (also, Doctor Who may be family friendly, but it is far from a children's program). The Doctor's made out with plenty of people on this show and he's not human, so where was the issue then? Remember that time Belle had to fall in love with the Beast as a beast before he could become human? That WAS a children's program and no one's campaigned to any networks to shut that done. Just wait until a lesbian version of Beauty and the Beast hits theaters. (If only.)

Of course, more people were unphased or defensive over the Jenstra kiss than decided they needed to report it to the UK Office of Communications. Six out of seven million is a pretty uneven figure, but the real issue here is that this was an issue. For a moment on Twitter, sides were taken over this. As a Doctor Who viewer, I was thrilled to see Jenny and Vastra get a little more screentime, and even if the kiss was maybe a bit forced, this is a sci-fi TV show. You've got to have that sweeping, romantic moment where a spark is ignited and a life is saved. Of course, if I had my way, Jenny and Vastra would have an entire damn spin off, but right now, I'll settle for no controversy on the rare occasion that they do share an intimate moment. As Twitter user @toddlerlex put it, "“some parents are okay with their kids watching Dr Who's organ stealing robots & impaled body…Lesbian kiss? Complain to Ofcom! Ridic.” Ofcom seems to feel the same way and will not be persuing any further action on the complaints. 

So let's take a moment for one last eye-roll and put this behind us. I do hope you all continue to enjoy the graphic and corrupting new season Doctor Who!