My favorite quote is "Demons run when a good man goes to war." I like it when the Doctor shows his dark side.
Isn't that a light side? Or is he the demon in the quote?
Ahh, one other reason I'm hesitant to jump on the bandwagon is that I have heard some terrible things about Moffat's writing. Like, rampant sexism? So there's that. I should ask my friend what she thinks of more recent episodes/seasons. She was a fan before. Not sure if she still is. I'm pretty sure some of the Moffat criticism I've seen was passed through her blog, but I'm not sure it got bad enough that she stopped following.
Well.... To be fair, for much of the show's history it's been "The Doctor and his Female Companion(s)", with the occasional male companion thrown in (granted, some of the best characters where men traveling with him). Still, it's always fired on all cylinders best when it's been "Alien Male lead that the viewer doesn't associate with, accompanied by Human Female that could be Jane anygirl from down the street". And that's not to say that "sexism" is the driving motive, it's just how it's been.
Now, before the reboot, while there were at times SOME gender tension, it was never really the focus. RTD really brought about the fawning female in Rose, and followed that right up with Martha. Donna then, was a breath of fresh air as her attraction to the Doctor was VERY non-physical.
That's when Moffat took over, and yes, in Amy's character there was a lot of... "I'm a woman, and you will recognize this!", from her clothes, to her attitude. I think that's why a lot of people appreciated both the inclusion of River and Rory, because they softened the tension between Amy/Doctor that was, at times, a little uncomfortable (not just for the characters, but for the viewers).
Clara, the newest companion, also brings an aura of sexuality with her, but it's vastly different to Amy's. Whereas Amy was, in many ways, a "boy toy", Clara seems to flirt right along with whatever gender/species/whatever she happens to be talking to. However, it's a much more subdued flirting, and isn't as obtrusive on the storyline of the episodes.
In many ways for Moffat, I think he approaches Doctor Who a little bit TOO much like Coupling (Wonderful show, btw. Although you need to enjoy sexual tension for the sake of sexual tension. Still, well written and fun all the way around). He's trying too hard to make a Sci-Fi show into a drama/romp. That said, if a season is 13 episodes long, the head writer is usually responsible for MAYBE 5 of them (Opening/Ending, possible 2-parter, maybe 1 more). The rest are by other writers (Neil Gaiman, Neil Cross, Chris Chibnall, Mark Gatiss, etc are all current - and phenomenal - writers).
Anyway, long story short, "Sexism" isn't rampant, per se, but is a little bit of an underlying thread since the show began 50 years ago. Certainly I think Rose & Amy have been the "worst" cases of it since the show was created (well, if we're not judging JUST on outfits anyway. Some of the outfits back in the 70's... whew boy.), but overall it's not a huge detraction from what the show is really all about.