Tom Baker's Doctor Who - 'a penchant for natty neck wear'. Image by Robert_Ball
Mop of wild yet subtly groomed hair? Check. Statement coat with vintage references? Check. Incongruous choice of footwear? Check. A penchant for natty neck wear? Check. Well done, Sir! You can now go and star in your own action packed BBC comedy drama.
Dr Who, Sherlock and now Dirk Gently: the quirkly dressed male protagonist with ‘unconventional’ methods is taking over our screens.
But why are producers so keen to draw a link between a brilliant mind and a bold wardrobe?
My general rule is that anybody with wacky and outlandish dress sense tends to be a bit of a dick (Gaga included. Oooh! Controversial!). That’s not to pass any judgement on their crime solving abilities or skills at the control panel of a time machine. They always strike me as so eager to ‘express their otherness’ through superficial signifiers that they forget about the important stuff, such as original thought and personality.
Granted; the same rules don’t apply in telly land. It relies on caricatures. An unconventional wardrobe is a handy visual shorthand for an unconventional mind. Yet whilst for wackily dressed women this normally means unbearable and unhinged ditziness, for men it equals brilliance.
This is a relatively recent phenomenon. Any aficionado of mid to late nineties American teen movies will recall that the guy who turned up to prom wearing trainers with his tux was normally a complete ass-hat. Ducky in ‘Pretty in Pink’ is another fine case in point. But I digress.
I blame David Tennent and Jarvis Cocker. Or at least the person who decided to dress David Tennent like Jarvis Cocker in Doctor Who. Cocker is a well dressed chap and Tennent is a total hotty. Thus, Tennent in the wardrobe of Cocker equals amplified hotness. The glasses! The dowdy geography teacher striped suits! The messy hair! The converse peeking out from the well-tailored trousers!
The problem is that Tennent’s and Matt Smith’s subsequent Doctor are just that little bit too ‘zany’. I don’t know how his sidekicks have fought the urge to kick him in his side and in his balls. I know that I’m in the minority here so I won’t press the issue.
When Matt Smith took over there was as much debate about his wardrobe as there was about his acting abilities. It didn’t disappoint – all charity shop tweed jackets and dicky bows.
And so with Doctor Who and his huge sartorial success, the die was cast. Now it seems as if every male lead in an entertaining BBC drama needs to be exuberantly styled within an inch of his life. More worryingly, their ponderous sidekicks have to dress in a nondescript manner that normally involves an anorak – take Martin Freeman’s Watson.
I’m bored. This current fad is bland and predictable. When will people realise that too much of something different makes it all the same? Watching a detective in a suit from M&S solve crimes in an effective yet orthodox manner doesn’t make scintillating telly. I am not asking for that. Just please! Try something different!
Good blog jen. I urge not to seek out pics of me from my uni 2nd yr ball. You’ll see me in a suit, with a white t shirt and yes, converse.
I also like the term ass-hat
Don’t worry Tim, you’re not an ass-hat or even a butt bonnet. The folly of youth makes us all do silly things.
See you soon!
Jenxxx