tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/doctor-who-8018/articlesDoctor Who – The Conversation2023-11-30T14:17:51Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183892023-11-30T14:17:51Z2023-11-30T14:17:51ZDoctor Who: what the show gets wrong about climate change and energy justice − new research<p>Fans across the globe have been celebrating 60 years of Doctor Who – the world’s longest-running science fiction series. It may at times seem silly and childish, but people’s ideas of how the world works, could work and should work are informed and shaped by popular culture – and Doctor Who still influences this.</p>
<p>The time lord has waged his (and for a few years her) fight for justice from the moment of the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1607759/">Big Bang</a> that created the universe to the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000259/">heat death</a> that ended it. </p>
<p>As children, all three of us cowered behind the sofa as monsters and mad scientists were foiled by the Doctor. We grew up to be a historian, an expert in science policy and a researcher in sustainability who have come to together, as fans of the show, <a href="https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1iAl57tZ6Z-Fkf">to research</a> what it tells us about popular ideas of climate and energy justice. These issues are now critical in the real world, to find ways to combat climate disaster fairly. </p>
<p>Looking in detail at five episodes across the show’s 60 years, we found that it doesn’t really advocate for climate or energy justice. Instead, the writers offer the Doctor – and those he inspires to fight oppression – a metaphorical big red button that says: “Press here to reset your society.” </p>
<p>The series continually fails to back ideas that are <a href="https://www.storre.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/23236/1/Energy%20Justice%20A%20Conceptual%20Review%20-%20final%20pre-pub%20version.pdf">at the core</a> of energy justice critique: that people should be able to advance their own interests through political power and legal process. </p>
<p>Rather, once the Doctor arrives, anyone who is oppressed can just sit back and relax, waiting for the Doctor to fix everything.</p>
<h2>Doctor Who and the environment</h2>
<p>The five episodes we looked at include stories about “savages” on an unnamed planet fighting for fair access to resources, tax inspectors on Pluto, mad scientists drilling the Earth’s core, miners’ strikes on an alien planet, and attempts to halt the industrial revolution in the 19th century.</p>
<p>In these stories, like many others, the Doctor arrives, encounters injustice, then almost magically overcomes evil and resets society. </p>
<p>What’s missing is the involvement of the oppressed people. Whether they are “savages”, oppressed miners, workers in outer-space worlds or 19th-century labourers, the Doctor solves all their problems for them with a quip and a wave of the sonic screwdriver. He fights oppression but only on behalf of, or in a superficial way with, the oppressed. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Clips from The Savages episode.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In the 1966 episode <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0562949/">The Savages</a>, for example, an unjust society is toppled in a matter of minutes. In <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0562936/">The Monster of Peladon</a> (1974), exploited miners are easily reconciled to their overlords and masters because the queen, guided by the Doctor, asks everyone to get along. And in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0562931/">The Mark of the Rani</a> (1985), the workers’ fear that new technology will take away their jobs is explained away as just an alien plot.</p>
<p>Sympathy for exploited people is expressed in a way that does not treat them as equals. The Doctor fights their battles for them, while they are depicted as needing fair access to resources but unwilling or unable to lift a finger to get them. This is hardly an empowering or inspiring narrative. </p>
<h2>What can we learn from science fiction?</h2>
<p>As our planet warms, more than ever we need to find ways to overcome persistent and systemic climate injustice. That includes understanding there are no saviours who will do it all for us – we have to tackle these things ourselves. Thinking about the messages that popular culture sends is <a href="https://fwls.org/uploads/soft/210603/10479-2106031IH3.pdf">one way to understand</a> action or inaction on climate change. </p>
<p>Sixty years of Doctor Who is a special anniversary. Over the decades, the programme has presented incredible adventures and thought-provoking ideas. </p>
<p>If the current showrunner, Russell T Davies, were to remake Monster of Peladon, we would hope to see the miners, with help from the Doctor, saving themselves. No reset buttons, just the hard grind of organising, resisting and winning social and environmental justice. </p>
<p>As we watch and celebrate Doctor Who at 60, it can help us understand the reality that there will never be an external saviour arriving in a Tardis. As climate justice gets ever more important, we can learn from Doctor Who that it’s time we started to fight our own battles. </p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our study of five episodes across its 60 years shows Doctor Who has failed to support the idea that people should be able to advance their own climate interestsMarc Hudson, Visiting Fellow, SPRU, University of Sussex Business School, University of SussexMarcus Harmes, Professor in Pathways Education, University of Southern QueenslandRichard Douglas, Research fellow of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, Goldsmiths, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2182702023-11-24T13:36:34Z2023-11-24T13:36:34ZDoctor Who at 60: what qualities make the best companion? A psychologist explains<p>Over the past 60 years, we have witnessed the Doctor’s adventures in time and space with a multitude of companions by his side. From his granddaughter <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Susan_Foreman">Susan</a> and her teachers, <a href="https://olddoctorwho.com/companions/first-doctors-companions-ian-barbara/">Ian and Barbara</a> to <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Ryan_Sinclair">Ryan</a>, <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Graham_O%27Brien">Graham</a> and <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Yasmin_Khan">Yaz</a> – the Doctor has had many travelling companions. </p>
<p>But what makes a person leave their everyday life and leap at the chance to join Team Tardis with a brilliant, yet at times unpredictable, Time Lord? What does it take to not only survive but to thrive as the Doctor’s companion? A degree of physical fitness is certainly needed for running up and down corridors, but the Doctor’s companions also need to be open to new experiences, keep going in the face of adversity and be resilient.</p>
<p>One thing that <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Doctor_Who_Psychology/rq0sjwEACAAJ?hl=en">all successful companions share</a> is a <a href="https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/growth-mindset-vs-fixed-mindset">flexible, or growth, mindset</a>. People with a flexible mindset are more likely to believe that they can deal with new situations and can gain the knowledge and skills needed to succeed. </p>
<p>One example of a companion with a flexible mindset is the fourth Doctor’s (Tom Baker) travelling companion, <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Leela">Leela</a> (Louise Jameson). Leela belonged to a tribe of regressed humans, known as the Sevateem, who were descended from a survey team which crash-landed on the planet Mordee where they founded a colony. A great warrior, Leela demanded that the Doctor took her with him in the Tardis. </p>
<p>Before her travels with the Doctor, Leela had had no experience of technology or societies outside her own. But during her time with the Doctor she was always quick to adapt to new situations and saw all the new experiences she was exposed to as an opportunity for learning. </p>
<p>Linked to the flexible mindset, companions also tend to score highly on the trait of openness, when measured on the <a href="https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/personality-question-habit">Big Five personality scale</a>. Companions need to have a strong sense of curiosity and a willingness to embrace their experience of alien worlds or distant historic or future eras. The personality trait of openness has been linked to better <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886918300576">resilience to challenging situations</a>.</p>
<p>The Doctor’s travelling companions often have a high level of optimism. In other words, they are likely to expect the best in difficult situations – being able to overcome the Daleks or foil the evil plans of the Cybermen, for example. </p>
<p>People who have high levels of optimism have been found to be <a href="http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/60531/1/146.pdf#page=418">physically healthier and more psychologically resilient</a>. It is very important that companions adopt optimistic thinking as they often need to keep going in tough situations, whereas pessimists are more likely to just give up. </p>
<p>One of the Doctor’s most optimistic companions is <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Martha_Jones">Martha Jones</a> (Freema Agyeman), who <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000258/">escapes to Earth</a> after the Master takes the Doctor, Jack and Martha’s family hostage on the Valiant Spaceship. </p>
<p>The Doctor asks Martha to travel the world for a year, telling everyone on Earth that she meets to think of the Doctor at a specific time on a certain day will this secure his release. Martha keeps her faith in the Doctor and it is her belief that everything will be alright in the end which helps her to keep going and fulfil her mission.</p>
<h2>Post-traumatic growth</h2>
<p>Travelling with the Doctor is never dull. Alongside all the amazing experiences companions will also be exposed to traumatic and dangerous situations. </p>
<p>Many researchers have focused on the negative psychological consequences that can follow traumatic events (such as the development of disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder). However, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Suma-Chebiyyam/publication/302504970_Posttraumatic_Growth_Positive_Changes_Following_Adversity_-An_Overview/links/5730c36708ae6cca19a1f321/Posttraumatic-Growth-Positive-Changes-Following-Adversity-An-Overview.pdf">recent research</a> has acknowledged that some people can report positive changes following exposure to challenging life events, which is referred to as “post-traumatic growth”.</p>
<p>The suggestion is that traumatic experiences can act as a catalyst for some people and trigger positive cognitive and emotional changes. For example, although Graham (Bradley Walsh) suffers the trauma of both having cancer and losing his wife, he joins the Doctor as a positive way of coping with loss. </p>
<p>Post-traumatic growth is also more likely to happen when a person has a good social support network. Companions never face danger alone – they always have the Doctor by their side. The social support that companions have from the Doctor may be one of the reasons why they are more likely to positively benefit from their travels in the Tardis and return to earth <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-20536-001">changed for the better</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A scene bringing together several of the Doctor’s companions.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Many leave the Doctor when they stop being able to cope with the continuous danger. For example Dan (John Bishop) decided to return to his home town of Liverpool after his near-death experience during his encounter with the <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/CyberMaster">CyberMasters</a>.</p>
<p>If I was to select one standout companion it would be Ace (Sophie Aldred), who travelled with the seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy). Ace suffered a difficult childhood but embraced the study of chemistry (especially when it involved blowing things up). She was fearless, and independent as well as being handy with a baseball bat and her canisters of her homemade Nitro-9 explosive. </p>
<p>When she found herself unexpectedly on the Iceworld of Svartos, she adapted quickly to her new situation, becoming a waitress and forming new friendships. Even though her relationship with the Doctor (or Professor as she fondly called him) was complex, she is one of the companions who shows the most growth, developing a strong moral compass, as a result of her travels in the Tardis. </p>
<p>The Time Lords are highly selective of their travelling companions. It is clear that those who do accept the invitation to travel are likely to have an open minded, optimistic and resilient mindset. </p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Sarita Robinson works for the University of Central Lancashire. Sarita also does consultancy work via Nick Robinson Computing Ltd trading as DrSurvival. She is affiliated with the British Psychological Society</span></em></p>Doctor’s companions need to be open to new experiences, keep going in the face of adversity and be resilient.Sarita Robinson, Associate Dean of School for Psychology and Humanities, University of Central LancashireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2181572023-11-24T12:15:36Z2023-11-24T12:15:36ZDoctor Who 60: show has always tapped into political issues – but never more so than in the 1970s<p>Doctor Who hit television screens at a key period in British television history. It launched on <a href="https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b03jprm9">Saturday November 23, 1963,</a> at 5.15pm, being somewhat overshadowed by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/jfk-assassination-60-years-on-seven-experts-on-what-to-watch-see-and-read-to-understand-the-event-and-its-consequences-216203">assassination of US president John F. Kennedy</a> the previous day. </p>
<p>Set firmly within the BBC’s public service broadcasting ethos of informing, educating and entertaining, Doctor Who quickly became a mainstay of Saturday-evening viewing. <a href="https://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php">By 1965</a>, it was drawing in around 10 million viewers. </p>
<p>Throughout its history, Doctor Who has tapped into political, social and moral issues of the day – sometimes explicitly, other times more subtly. During the 1970s, when the Doctor was played by Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, there were a number of examples of this.</p>
<h2>Doctor Who in the 1970s</h2>
<p>The 1970s were a period of political and social divisions: relationships between the government the unions in the first part of the decade was strained, exemplified by the <a href="http://www.agor.org.uk/cwm/themes/events/1972_1974_strikes.asp">miners’ strikes of 1972 and 1974</a>. The political consensus that had dominated since 1945 was under pressure with talk of a break-up of the UK in the form of Welsh and Scottish Assemblies.</p>
<p>In his cultural history of Doctor Who, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=znJkigd6PIQC&q=doctor+who&redir_esc=y">Inside the Tardis</a>, television historian James Chapman argued that the 1970s painted “an uncomfortably sinister projection of the sort of society that Britain might come”. </p>
<p>It was never clear if Doctor Who storylines during this time were set in the present or at some point in the future. The fact that one of the lead characters, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart of the United Nations Intelligence Task Force (UNIT), calls the prime minister “Madam” in a telephone conversation in one episode suggests the latter.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The opening credits for Doctor Who in the 1970s, with Jon Pertwee as Doctor.</span></figcaption>
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<p>As for some of the more politically engaged stories, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VKNM1lyWY8">The Green Death</a> (1973), or “the one with the giant maggots” as it is known by fans, certainly pulled no punches. Described by Chapman as an “eco disaster narrative”, it pitted corporate greed and capitalism against environmental activists (portrayed here as Welsh hippies) and their concerns for the planet. </p>
<p>In the episode, Global Chemicals, run by a faceless machine, is tipping waste from its petrochemical plant into a disused mine in the south Wales valleys (cue awful Welsh stereotypes). The green sludge not only kills people, but creates mutant maggots which also attack. As fears grew and the green movement gained momentum in the early 1970s, this story would have resonated with large parts of the audience.</p>
<p>When the Doctor visits the planet Peladon in <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Curse_of_Peladon_(TV_story)">The Curse of Peladon</a> (1972), the planet is attempting to join the Galactic Federation. There are those on the planet who argue for joining, while opponents are just as vociferous, arguing that joining the Federation would destroy the old ways of the planet. </p>
<p>Sound familiar? This is the time that Britain was negotiating to join the European Economic Community, as it did in 1973. Interestingly, the serial was broadcast during the time of the 1972 miners’ strike (leading to many viewers missing later episodes due to power cuts).</p>
<p>The follow-up story, <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Monster_of_Peladon_(TV_story)">The Monster of Peladon</a> (1974), is set against a backdrop of industrial strife and conflict involving miners.</p>
<h2>Tom Baker’s Doctor</h2>
<p>In what many consider to be one of the best classic serials, <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Genesis_of_the_Daleks_(TV_story)">Genesis of the Daleks</a> (1975) Tom Baker’s doctor continued the tradition of raising complex political, social and moral issues. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Jon Pertwee’s Doctor regenerates to become Tom Baker’s.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Sent back in time by the Time Lords to change the course of history, the Doctor at one point has an opportunity to destroy the mutations which form the “body” of the Dalek (inside their metal casing) and destroy the Dalek race forever. Holding two wires close to each other, about to create an explosion in the incubation room, he asks himself and his companions: “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PXdwqlJ19U">Have I that right</a>?” </p>
<p>Having the ability to see the future, he says that future planets will become allies in fighting the evil of the Daleks. Had he the right to change the course of history? Given the symbolism used in the story (salutes, black outfits, references to a “pure” race) this was a clear reference to the rise of the Nazis. </p>
<p>The political allegories didn’t end in the 1970s. One of the most blatant can be seen in the 1988 serial, <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Happiness_Patrol_(TV_story)">The Happiness Patrol</a>. The main antagonist, Helen A (played by Sheila Hancock), a ruthless and tyrannical leader is said to be modelled on Conservative prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. The fact that Hancock appears to be impersonating Thatcher lends a certain degree of credence to this belief.</p>
<p>Anybody who argues that the revival of Doctor Who in 2005 saw a more political edge to the storylines need only look back over 60 years. Now that we can do this thanks to the BBC uploading more than 800 episodes onto iPlayer, it will become clear to all. </p>
<p>Doctor Who – especially during its Golden Age in the 1970s – <a href="https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/doctor-who-has-always-been-political-and-it-has-the-right-to-be">has always been political</a>.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamie Medhurst has received funding from The Leverhulme Trust, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the British Academy.</span></em></p>Set firmly within the BBC’s public service broadcasting ethos of informing, educating and entertaining, Doctor Who quickly became a mainstay of Saturday evening viewingJamie Medhurst, Professor of Film and Media, Aberystwyth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1933102022-10-27T02:04:13Z2022-10-27T02:04:13ZWithout free-to-air, we wouldn’t have Doctor Who in the archives. What will we lose when it moves to Disney?<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/oct/26/doctor-who-bbc-deal-disney-plus-outside-uk-ireland-abc-australia-loses-rights">announcement</a> the BBC will move the global streaming of Doctor Who from free to air channels to Disney+ will change the viewing habits for millions of people internationally. </p>
<p>In Australia, Doctor Who will be removed from the ABC, in New Zealand from TVNZ, and in America from BBC America. </p>
<p>According to reports, the BBC and Disney+ are thrilled with the deal. The show’s chief writer Russell T. Davies <a href="https://www.pedestrian.tv/entertainment/doctor-who-disneyplus/">has said</a> this new relationship will allow the show to “launch the TARDIS all around the planet, reaching a new generation of fans while keeping our traditional home firmly on the BBC in the UK.”</p>
<p>But what about the traditional homes Doctor Who has in other countries, which often kept rare Doctor Who episodes safe which the BBC discarded in the 1970s, before the BBC began archiving the videotapes of their old black and white programs. Now the BBC keeps everything, but once wiped or threw out tapes when they thought the programs had no further value.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/60-years-and-14-doctors-how-doctor-who-has-changed-with-the-times-and-ncuti-gatwas-casting-is-the-natural-next-step-182677">60 years and 14 Doctors: how Doctor Who has changed with the times – and Ncuti Gatwa's casting is the natural next step</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>Black and white broadcasting for the world</h2>
<p>The first people anywhere in the world to see Doctor Who were British viewers of the BBC’s television service on <a href="https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/8f81c193ba224e84981f353cae480d49">November 23 1963</a>. Any one with a television licence could have watched and several million people did, having just learned of President John F Kennedy’s assassination. </p>
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<p>The rest of the world did not have to wait long. In the mid-1960s television was mostly black and white and the BBC’s 405 line productions could be broadcast by technicians in television stations around the world. </p>
<p>West Australians first saw Doctor Who in January 1965. Shortly after, the ABC in other capitals began to broadcast the series. </p>
<p>The global broadcasting of Doctor Who has created different viewing patterns for diverse audiences. </p>
<p>Famously in Britain, Doctor Who was part of a Saturday evening “tea time” experience for school children: a line-up of football, light entertainment and drama from early afternoon to late night. Doctor Who kept its place as the mainstay of the BBC’s Saturday line-up almost without interruption from 1963 to 1989. </p>
<p>But for Australians like me, Doctor Who was viewed in a different way. As a child of the 1980s, Doctor Who was in an unmissable weekday afternoon line-up on the ABC. </p>
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<p>Australians weren’t watching exactly the same episodes as their counterparts watching the BBC. Early Doctor Who is startlingly violent, and early on the show gained its enduring reputation as so scary kids watched from <a href="https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-whos-scariest-episodes/">behind the sofa</a>. These black and white episodes feature mass killings, hangings, shootings, attempted and actual rape, psychotic attacks by a scissor wielding woman, and more.</p>
<p>Doctor Who episodes broadcast in Australia in the 1960s and 1970s had many of these juicy moments were edited out by the <a href="https://doctorwhomindrobber.com/tag/australian-film-censorship-board/">Commonwealth Film Censorship Board</a>.</p>
<p>Oddly, this means Australian television archives contain snippets of 1960s episodes still missing from the BBC archives, among them the existentially dreadful attack from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXt4AEMzYgY">Mr Oak and Mr Quill</a>, humanoids made of gas who advance on a helpless woman breathing poison gas out of gaping black holes in their faces. These small moments of violence are all that’s left of some classics stories.</p>
<h2>Global audiences from the 1960s to present</h2>
<p>These snippets of missing episodes exist because, prior to the late 1970s, the BBC did not routinely archive its shows – including Doctor Who. Indeed, a global network of television archives has been crucial in maintaining the nearly 50 year history of the show.</p>
<p>Doctor Who episodes missing from the BBC archives have been recovered from <a href="https://www.whattowatch.com/features/doctor-who-missing-episodes-why-are-there-so-many">Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Africa</a>. They were found there because the BBC sent them there, as exports for showing on local free to air channels. </p>
<p>As recently as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TinWhmgU9p0">2013</a>, a large number of missing episodes were found in a remote television relay station in west Africa. </p>
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<p>Much academic research into the viewing and reception of Doctor Who is about British audiences. How fascinating it would be to know more about the first global audiences and the viewing reactions and audiences from Hong Kong to Nigeria. </p>
<p>Modern Doctor Who’s global audience is no less diverse. <a href="https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/cult/a589559/doctor-who-peter-capaldi-greets-fans-in-korea-as-world-tour-continues/">In 2013</a> the incumbent Doctor, Peter Capaldi, embarked on a world tour and fans in Seoul, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, New York and Sydney clamoured to meet him. </p>
<p>But these fans, like others elsewhere in the world, watched their favourite show free to air. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/my-time-as-a-scary-girl-on-doctor-who-81175">My time as a 'scary girl' on Doctor Who</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Streaming the 60th anniversary and beyond</h2>
<p>The BBC’s announcement changes everything for fans around the world. </p>
<p>It puts Doctor Who on par with programs from the streaming giants which are the most talked about in popular culture, like House of the Dragon or The Crown.</p>
<p>But Doctor Who has always been an accessible commodity on the ABC, TVNZ and their like. </p>
<p>In Australia, Doctor Who on the ABC was simply a fact of life. This announcement will not only be a disappointment but a concern about access. </p>
<p>It also means Doctor Who will be judged against lavish programs with immensely larger budgets, different storytelling approaches and multinational casts. </p>
<p>In 2021, the Guardian writer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jul/20/exterminate-exterminate-why-its-time-for-doctor-who-to-die">Martin Belam</a> suggested the time had come to exterminate Doctor Who for precisely these reasons, but back then the show was still safe on global free to air. </p>
<p>This change means Doctor Who will enter its 60th year with its global broadcasting changed beyond recognition and judged against the giants of streamed television. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-fragmented-streaming-video-market-is-good-for-everyone-but-the-consumer-82367">A fragmented streaming video market is good for everyone but the consumer</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p><em>Correction: An earlier version of this story misnamed the New Zealand broadcaster. It is TVNZ.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193310/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marcus Harmes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Doctor Who episodes missing from the BBC archives have been recovered from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Africa.Marcus Harmes, Professor in Pathways Education, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1826772022-05-10T02:47:17Z2022-05-10T02:47:17Z60 years and 14 Doctors: how Doctor Who has changed with the times – and Ncuti Gatwa’s casting is the natural next step<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462129/original/file-20220510-26-pjijco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C7%2C2485%2C1654&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Netflix</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-61371123">BBC’s announcement</a> that the Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa will play Doctor Who from 2023 is making global headlines. </p>
<p>Even people who <a href="https://junkee.com/sex-education-eric/193181">don’t watch the show</a> have been taking to social media to comment about Gatwa’s casting. The announcement makes his the 14th casting of the show’s lead actor, the 13th to be male and the first ever to be a person of colour. </p>
<p>Despite a few of the usual gloomy voices, there is genuine excitement among both fans and casual viewers, proving that his casting means the 14th Doctor and the show’s 60th year look to be special. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462130/original/file-20220510-15-na1qn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462130/original/file-20220510-15-na1qn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462130/original/file-20220510-15-na1qn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462130/original/file-20220510-15-na1qn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462130/original/file-20220510-15-na1qn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462130/original/file-20220510-15-na1qn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462130/original/file-20220510-15-na1qn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462130/original/file-20220510-15-na1qn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Ncuti Gatwa has been cast as the 14th Doctor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alberto Pezzali/ AP</span></span>
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<h2>Changing with the times</h2>
<p>Necessity is the mother of invention, as the saying goes, and necessity has enabled Doctor Who’s incredible near six decades of (interrupted) production to become the world’s most enduring science fiction series.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0367156/">William Hartnell</a>, a veteran film and stage actor, was announced as the lead in a new science fiction series <a href="https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/november/doctor-who-first-episode/">in 1963 </a>and viewers watched his adventures in space and time over the next three years. </p>
<p>By October 1966, Hartnell was exhausted and unwell, <a href="https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-who-the-behind-the-scenes-causes-of-regeneration/">arteriosclerosis</a> affecting his ability to learn lines. The BBC could cancel the show, or, do something inventive and keep the character and series intact but change the lead actor. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/28/doctor-who-changed-face-and-transformed-tv-for-ever">Patrick Troughton</a>, another respected and prolific actor, became the Doctor. Because the Doctor is an alien Time Lord, the character has the ability to regenerate when his or her body becomes old, ill, or injured. The excellence of Troughton’s performance meant the renewal of the character was a success, now repeated more than a dozen times. </p>
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<p>Thinking of the incredible contrast between Hartnell and Gatwa, is reminder of not only how long Doctor Who has lasted, but how the British acting profession and indeed Britain itself has changed.</p>
<p>Born in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0367156/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm">Edwardian England in 1908</a>, before the invention of television and before films had sound, Hartnell was an established leading man in his mid 50s when cast as the Doctor. Gatwa is a child of the nineties, born 1992. </p>
<h2>From Hartnell to Gatwa</h2>
<p>The black and white Doctor Who of the Hartnell era was also monochrome in more ways than one. An all-white leading cast of the Doctor and his companions reflected the demographics of the British acting profession of the time. </p>
<p>Gatwa’s casting in Doctor Who is owed to what the showrunner Russell T Davies called a <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/russell-t-davies-ncuti-gatwa-audition-doctor-who-newsupdate-exclusive/">brilliant and show stealing audition</a>. His acting credentials are already sky high after the massive success of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7767422/">Sex Education</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/netflixs-sex-education-is-doing-sex-education-better-than-most-schools-170776">Netflix's Sex Education is doing sex education better than most schools</a>
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</em>
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<p>Doctor Who has a history of showcasing not only performers from minority backgrounds but narratives and histories of people of colour. </p>
<p>Besides the casting of <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Noel_Clarke">Noel Clarke</a>, <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Freema_Agyeman">Freema Agyeman</a> and <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Pearl_Mackie">Pearl Mackie</a>, to most recently Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill, the series has made casting choices that insist on the presence of black and minority ethnic people in Britain’s future and past. </p>
<p>The classic Doctor Who (made 1963-1989) did cast actors from minority backgrounds, but not as Doctors or companions. Since the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenth_Doctor">David Tennant</a> era (2005-2010) the show runners have made diversity part of their casting process for leads and guests alike. </p>
<p>Sophie Okonedo played <a href="http://doctorwhoworlduk.com/elizabeth-x">Liz X</a>, a British queen in the far future, while stories set in <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Eaters_of_Light_(TV_story)">Roman Britain</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0974729/">16th</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4545140/">17th</a> century England made casting choices that reflected the historically accurate presence of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18903391">black people in pre-modern and early modern England</a>. </p>
<h2>Gender is not scary</h2>
<p>To say that in 2017 the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor after 12 men in succession caused an epic meltdown is an understatement.</p>
<p>The Australian comedian Mark Humphries hilariously satirised the reactions of mostly older male fans <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMSIe6WfXYE&t=9s">in a sketch</a> offering a helpline for Doctor Who fans unable to cope with the “new reality: a fictional alien that is a woman”.</p>
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<p>Immediately after her casting, Whittaker had to assure male fans not be <a href="https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/doctor-who-fans-defend-jodie-whittaker-over-hate-speech-comments-35936030.html">afraid of her gender</a>. The anger and fear that, from some quarters, greeted her casting also prompted soul searching among <a href="https://inews.co.uk/opinion/comment/doctor-who-season-11-jodie-whittaker-female-fans-205425">fans</a> on the sometimes unwelcoming space that fandom can be for females.</p>
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<span class="caption">Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikipedia</span></span>
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<h2>Towards 60 years</h2>
<p>It is unlikely that Gatwa’s casting will provoke satire based on race the way Whittaker’s did on gender. However with the announcement only days old, already there is counter reaction. </p>
<p>The conservative Telegraph has declared this shows Doctor Who’s producers no longer care about pleasing <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2022/05/08/choice-ncuti-gatwa-proves-bbc-has-given-trying-please-legacy/">“legacy fans”</a>, presumably suggesting that viewers old enough to remember William Hartnell can’t cope with Ncuti Gatwa. </p>
<p>However doomsayers predicted the show would implode with a female lead: clearly it did not. Gatwa not only brings a huge following from Sex Education but a high social media profile. </p>
<p>He will be the lead for the show’s 60th anniversary special. What that special will involve is as yet unknown, but 60 is an astonishing age for a television program to reach.</p>
<p>When played by Hartnell, the Doctor cautioned against pessimism: “there must be no tears, no regrets, no anxieties” he said, a hopeful sentiment worth remembering as we watch a young actor take the TARDIS into a new decade.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182677/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marcus Harmes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa has been cast as the 14th Doctor – a move which shows that Doctor Who is continually adapting in its 60th year.Marcus Harmes, Professor in Pathways Education, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1689102021-10-27T10:21:43Z2021-10-27T10:21:43ZThe best Halloween scares you can watch from the safety of your sofa – recommended by a horror expert<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428282/original/file-20211025-19-s5vlpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=83%2C83%2C6905%2C3363&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/horror-photo-old-black-scary-haunted-1894496482">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Halloween is back and, with it, a whole host of horrors and
ghastly treats to haunt our screens. The horror movie has been around since the earliest days of cinema - with silent classics such as <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0010323/">The Cabinet of Dr Caligari</a> (1920) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0013442/">Nosferatu</a> (1922). And this witching season, the genre’s appeal remains just as strong for audiences across the world.</p>
<p>So whether you’re looking for some classic scares, a spooky cult tale or something a little more intelligent and sinister, they’ll be something to suit, whatever your taste.</p>
<h2>Blockbuster gore</h2>
<p>Zack Snyder’s zombie epic <a href="https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81046394">Army of the Dead</a> is action-packed, funny, entertaining and, although long at two hours and 28 minutes, it doesn’t feel absurdly so. Released in May straight onto Netflix, it’s no <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289043/">28 Days Later</a>, but it’s what <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816711/">World War Z</a> should have been if it hadn’t taken itself so seriously. It’s enthrallingly gory and features some surprisingly sympathetic performances, as well as the dumbest premise for a heist movie (robbing a Las Vegas casino that is crawling with the ravenous undead) since <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3110958/">Now You See Me 2</a>. </p>
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<p>Netflix fans should also check out the recently released, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8150814/">There’s Someone Inside Your House</a>, a teen slasher horror from the makers of the hit fantasy series <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4574334/">Stranger Things</a>.</p>
<h2>Scary sequels</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10342730/">Spiral</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10665338/">Halloween Kills</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9347730/">Candyman</a> are this year’s most prominent Hollywood horror franchise flicks.</p>
<p>Spiral is a rather disappointing reimagination of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw_(franchise)">Saw</a> series, masterminded by Chris Rock, with a decent turn from actor Samuel L Jackson. Halloween Kills sees the return, again, of Jamie Lee Curtis to the role in the movie <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077651/">Halloween</a> that made her famous in 1978. This latest film in the Halloween franchise is disappointing in quality and doesn’t work as well as the 2018 reboot – also called <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1502407/">Halloween</a>.</p>
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<p>Though fear not, for a fine evening of slasher gore, you might try looking into a mirror and invoking the urban myth of the Candyman (the legend has it he appears if you chant his name repeatedly). This is the fifth film in the Candyman franchise, unlike Spiral, which is the ninth, and Halloween Kills, which is the twelfth. It combines the talents of the series veteran actor, Tony Todd, as the infamous Candyman, and screenwriter Jordan Peele, writer and director of both <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5052448/">Get Out</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6857112/">Us</a> – two of the most satisfying horror movies to come out of the US in the last five years.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jordan-peeles-us-black-horror-movies-and-the-american-nightmare-114334">Jordan Peele's Us: black horror movies and the American nightmare</a>
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<h2>Creepy classics</h2>
<p>The UK streaming service Britbox is celebrating Halloween with the release of a set of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/list/ls069104068/">classics</a> from the Hammer Film Productions company, which created those technicolour treats of immortal horror which proved a mainstay of British cinema more than half a century ago. The eight films on offer range from the wonderfully ridiculous <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068502/">Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde</a> to the surprisingly serious, such as <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059496/">The Nanny</a>. There’s also <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061683/">Frankenstein Created Woman</a>, a movie Martin Scorsese once described as <a href="http://staticmass.net/cult/frankenstein-created-woman-movie-1967-review/">metaphysically sublime</a>. </p>
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<p>Meanwhile, actor Christopher Lee returns as the count in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065073/">Taste the Blood of Dracula</a>, a typically robust performance in a relatively uninspiring production – most notable for being the last before Hammer’s ill-fated decision to shift the Transylvanian vampire into the present day. </p>
<p>This selection also features Lee in the lacklustre <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075334/">To the Devil a Daughter</a> and the rather more exuberant <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059635/">Rasputin the Mad Monk</a>. But the pick of 1960s silliness from this motley bunch must be <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060893/">The Reptile</a>, if only for actor John Laurie (famed as Frazer from Dad’s Army) as Mad Peter, the doom-mongering old Highlander he was always born to play. </p>
<h2>Psychedelic forest horror?</h2>
<p>The director-writer, Ben Wheatley, is best known for his adaptation of J. G. Ballard’s novel <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462335/">High-Rise</a>, a dystopian triumph starring Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Irons - as well as for <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375574/">A Field in England</a>, a psychedelic folk horror in which actor Reece Shearsmith has a particularly bad time of it in the English Civil War.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13429362/">In the Earth</a> is his latest masterpiece. Here he deftly combines the hallucinogenic influences of a folktale forest with the dystopia of a world ravaged by a deadly pandemic. </p>
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<p>It’s the first major horror film created in response to COVID-19. The entire movie was written and directed in August 2020. Out for home viewing just before Halloween, Wheatley’s film promises an intelligent alternative to some of the season’s more populist horror fare.</p>
<h2>Small screen screams</h2>
<p>The new season of Doctor Who (sadly, Jodie Whittaker’s last) is set to launch on the evening of Halloween. And fans have been excited to learn of the long-awaited return of the show’s most gothic of horrors, <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Weeping_Angel">the Weeping Angels</a>. These murderous statues are only able to come alive – and kill – when you’re not looking at them. </p>
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<p>Their return to our screens offers an opportunity to revisit their finest hour, in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074gpl">Blink</a>, the tenth episode of the third series of Doctor Who, which aired in 2007. The episode features a pre-stardom Carey Mulligan and is scripted by Steven Moffat. And it’s still available for free in the UK on the iPlayer. So why not treat yourself, and your kids, to some of the cleverest and scariest TV that has ever dared call itself family entertainment?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168910/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alec Charles does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From the indie to the blockbuster, Halloween viewing recommendations whatever your taste.Alec Charles, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of WinchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1488822020-10-27T14:42:52Z2020-10-27T14:42:52ZDoctor Who: travelling in time and space even under lockdown<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365799/original/file-20201027-23-10k7vc4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C1994%2C1320&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Escape capsule: former Doctor Who, David Tennant, has provided entertainment during the lockdown.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC Pictures</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Back in March, as the UK went into national lockdown, popular television’s social media “watchalongs” emerged as a major social phenomenon, bringing together audiences across <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-52050569/doctor-who-fans-unite-with-an-online-viewing">the country</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F16GEOBfALU">the globe</a>. Now, like the virus itself, these watchalongs are back – with, for example, former Doctor Who star David Tennant joining fans on Twitter for simultaneous commentary on <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-10-18/doctor-who-halloween-watchalong-blink/">one of his scariest adventures</a> to mark Halloween.</p>
<p>The BBC’s Doctor Who has proven particularly suited to these online events, many coordinated and produced by superfan and assistant editor of <a href="https://doctorwhomagazine.com/">Doctor Who Magazine</a> <a href="https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/how-the-woman-behind-doctor-who-lockdown-created-a-lifeline-for-thousands-of-fans/">Emily Cook</a>. The show has united its followers in mass viewing events supported by live online commentaries from the show’s stars and writers, including such high-profile figures as <a href="https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2020/04/06/neil-gaiman-to-reveal-the-doctors-wife-secrets-in-next-watch-along/">Neil Gaiman</a>, <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2020-05-13/doctor-who-watchalong-mark-gatiss-sacha-dhawan/">Mark Gatiss</a> and <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-03-27/doctor-who-van-gogh-rewatch/">Richard Curtis</a>. </p>
<p>As well as series regulars Matt Smith, David Tennant, Karen Gillan, Catherine Tate and John Barrowman, former guest stars <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-03-31/bill-nighy-future-doctor-who/">Bill Nighy</a>, <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-04-01/doctor-who-spyfall-watchalong/">Sacha Dhawan</a> and <a href="https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/614857319534215168/doctorwho247-the-next-global-doctor-who">Michael Sheen</a> have also take part in these live “tweet-alongs”.</p>
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<p>These events have expanded not only to include viewings of episodes of Doctor Who itself, but also of its spin-off show <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-03-31/torchwood-captain-jack-harkness-watchalong/">Torchwood</a> and the 2013 biopic of its first star, William Hartnell, <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2020-05-13/doctor-who-watchalong-mark-gatiss-sacha-dhawan/">An Adventure in Space and Time</a>.</p>
<p>Former showrunners Davies and Moffat, and current showrunner Chris Chibnall have produced new online content, short stories and dramatic monologues and even a <a href="https://bleedingcool.com/tv/doctor-who-lockdown-steven-moffat-share-listen-pre-rewatch-poem/">poem</a>. Some of these have been published online as text, and some performed through readings, puppetry and animations voiced by actors involved in the show. </p>
<p>The series’ writers have provided us with prequels to the histories of some of the programme’s best-loved characters, including the immediate back-stories of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/entries/4acfd237-6eee-47b5-93bd-1c16cd065614">ninth</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/entries/97411dd5-13e3-45a8-9ed2-dbf97ef85516">13th</a> Doctors, and supplied a <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-03-21/doctor-who-new-moffat-scene/">new introduction</a> to the show’s epic 50th anniversary special.</p>
<p>So prolific has this new writing been that on November 5 the BBC is publishing a collection of much of this material in aid of its annual Children in Need telethon entitled <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/144/1442911/doctor-who--adventures-in-lockdown/9781785947063.html">Doctor Who: Adventures in Lockdown</a>. </p>
<h2>Support and reassurance</h2>
<p>In character as the current Time Lord, Jodie Whittaker has performed a reassuring <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52038051">video message</a> to families in lockdown and one advising on <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-04-09/doctor-who-jodie-whittaker-lockdown/">social distancing</a>. </p>
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<p>Ten of the actors to have played various incarnations of the Doctor – from Tom Baker in the 1970s to 2020’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/doctor-who-fan-reaction-to-first-black-time-lord-exposes-britains-deep-divisions-on-race-and-gender-130962">Jo Martin</a> – also participated in a <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-05-21/doctor-who-doctors-assemble/">special message</a> in support of NHS workers as part of the BBC’s <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p088xf57">Big Night In</a> fundraising show at the end of April.</p>
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<p>The BBC has created <a href="https://m.doctorwhonews.net/2020/06/doctor-who-twinkl.html">a “Whovian” educational tool</a> to support families with their home-schooling needs. Meanwhile, with production of the 2021 series delayed, it has launched a massive multimedia adventure (in novels, comics, audio plays and online animations) entitled <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-09-10/time-lord-victorious-doctor-who-full-release-list/">Time Lord Victorious</a>. Serendipitously, the corporation had already completed production on its latest <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-10-08/doctor-who-festive-special-pictures/">Doctor Who yuletide special</a> before coronavirus hit – so at least one aspect of Christmas won’t be ruined.</p>
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<img alt="Actress Jodie Whittaker writing on a blackboard." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365800/original/file-20201027-20-1624ng3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365800/original/file-20201027-20-1624ng3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365800/original/file-20201027-20-1624ng3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365800/original/file-20201027-20-1624ng3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365800/original/file-20201027-20-1624ng3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365800/original/file-20201027-20-1624ng3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365800/original/file-20201027-20-1624ng3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Happily the 2020 Christmas special has already been completed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC Pictures</span></span>
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<p>The show’s fans have matched these efforts by organising their <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-03-24/doctor-who-fans-coronavirus-community/">own online events</a>, virtual conventions involving interviews with the programme’s stars and production teams, old and new. Fans have even posted their own versions of their favourite scenes from the series in an online project called “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYgLkAY9jiQ">Homemade Who</a>”. </p>
<h2>BBC proves its value</h2>
<p>This has come at a time when the BBC has been under enormous political and financial pressure: talk of decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee or scrapping it altogether and turning the broadcaster into a <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/tv-licence-fee-bbc-boris-johnson-subscription-service-398815">subscription service</a>. Yet you could say that Doctor Who has played a minor role in the revival of the corporation’s fortunes since the pandemic hit Britain. </p>
<p>In the first week of national lockdown, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53637305">82% of British adults</a> turned to the BBC for their news. During May 2020, its iPlayer service attracted <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53637305">more than half a billion hits</a> – 72% higher than that month in 2019. At a time of national crisis, the BBC has been seen to step up to meet its defining public service responsibilities: to entertain, inform and educate. </p>
<p>The BBC’s content-producers and audiences have come together in ways not seen for decades. Covid-19, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/01/last-chance-protect-bbc-boris-johnson">Polly Toynbee</a> wrote in The Guardian in April, has “turned our national broadcaster into the great unifier”. The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/apr/17/how-covid-19-turned-the-uk-news-and-entertainment-industry-upside-down">same newspaper judged</a> that the pandemic has given the BBC a “chance to prove its value”; to demonstrate – as <a href="https://inews.co.uk/opinion/columnists/coronavirus-analysis-bbc-proving-essential-boris-johnson-announcement-lockdown-2513575">The Independent</a> asserted, “how essential it is”. The public, as its <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52788122">outgoing director-general</a> Tony Hall pointed out in May, have returned to the BBC “in droves”.</p>
<p>There is still pressure on the broadcaster of course. <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/31/bbc-virus-truce-has-already-ended/">Charles Moore</a> – touted as a possible future chairman – suggested at the end of March that the BBC has already used up the limited ration of grudging government goodwill it earned in the early weeks of the crisis. It remains unclear how long the British public’s own loyalties will last.</p>
<p>The loyalties of Doctor Who’s core audience at least remain reasonably secure. As perhaps an unintended flagship for the BBC’s COVID-19 response, the series has demonstrated, through the generosity of its creative contributors and the enthusiasm of its audiences, the positive impacts that such a popular, established and trusted international franchise can bring. </p>
<p>It has acted as a global goodwill ambassador, bearing messages of understanding, hope and tolerance; it has offered itself as a source of modest succour, seeking quietly to play its small part in healing some of those social rifts that this crisis has brought; it has emphasised and extended its values of kindness, courage and resilience. </p>
<p>The show has done what the Doctor herself would have done. In doing so, it has also achieved what the BBC does at its very best, generating dialogues across platforms, nations and divisions – uniting, delighting, empowering and enlightening us in our enforced isolation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148882/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alec Charles does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Writers, actors and fans have been coming up with ways to keep audiences happy during the pandemic.Alec Charles, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of WinchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1309622020-02-03T11:44:17Z2020-02-03T11:44:17ZDoctor Who: fan reaction to first black Time Lord exposes Britain’s deep divisions on race and gender<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313088/original/file-20200131-41527-10zpmx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C0%2C3044%2C2046&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jo Martin as a parallel Doctor Who in the latest series.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC / Ben Blackall</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>BBC audiences were recently introduced to their <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-01-30/doctor-who-first-black-doctor-representation/">first black Doctor Who</a>. In the episode which aired in the UK on January 26, Jo Martin – previously best known for roles in Holby City and Blue Story – played an ostensibly ordinary human who was, towards the end of the episode, revealed as a previously unknown (possibly past, future or parallel) incarnation of television’s most famous Time Lord.</p>
<p>A few weeks earlier the latest version of the show’s recurring super-villain, The Master, had for the first time been portrayed by a person of colour, a role played with manic zeal by Sacha Dhawan in a performance dubbed by The Guardian as the “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jan/05/doctor-who-recap-series-38-episode-two-spyfall-part-two">Hot Camp Master</a>”.</p>
<p>Both events provoked strong responses on social media, from enthusiastic plaudits through to rants from fans ranging from the sincerely “woke” to the reactionary and even racist. The latter response might be considered out of character for the followers of a show whose liberal hero has for more than half a century renounced violence and struggled for peace, social justice and environmental sustainability.</p>
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<p>This is a series whose <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/unearthlychild/detail.shtml">very first episode</a> had a female producer, <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Verity_Lambert">Verity Lambert</a>, and a British Asian director, <a href="https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Waris_Hussein">Waris Hussein</a> – phenomena virtually unheard of back in 1963. (The latter was also played by Dhawan in the BBC’s 2013 docudrama <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01kqt9x">An Adventure in Space and Time</a>.) </p>
<p>It’s a programme which, in 1972, argued passionately (albeit symbolically) in favour of membership of the European Economic Community (or in its own terms <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/curseofpeladon/detail.shtml">the Galactic Federation</a>), and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/greendeath/detail.shtml">a year later</a> railed against the impacts of industrial pollution. </p>
<p>In recent years, it has foregrounded <a href="https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/01/27/doctor-who-captain-jack-harkness-john-barrowman-series-12-fugitive-judoon/">LGBT+ protagonists</a>, issued dire warnings against <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-01-13/doctor-who-jodi-whittaker-climate-change-speech-praise/">climate change</a> and even made <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24848815">reference</a> to the fabrication of evidence to support the invasion of Iraq.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313089/original/file-20200131-41527-ncf86k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313089/original/file-20200131-41527-ncf86k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313089/original/file-20200131-41527-ncf86k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313089/original/file-20200131-41527-ncf86k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313089/original/file-20200131-41527-ncf86k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313089/original/file-20200131-41527-ncf86k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313089/original/file-20200131-41527-ncf86k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Sacha Dhawan as the latest incarnation of Dr Who’s most famous adversary, the (‘Hot Camp’) Master.</span>
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<p>Yet since 2017, when Jodie Whittaker was cast as the first female Doctor Who, arguments have raged between those strange misogynists depicted by the Huffington Post’s Graeme Demianyk as “<a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/doctor-who-menbabies-jodie-whittaker-first-female_uk_596b9412e4b017418628374d?">man babies</a>” and, in contrast, the likes of The Guardian’s Zoe Williams, who heralded Whittaker’s Doctor as representing “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jul/17/female-doctor-revolutionary-feminist-ideal-we-need-doctor-who">the revolutionary feminist we need right now</a>”.</p>
<h2>Outrage in cyberspace</h2>
<p>If, like mine, your social media bubble overwhelmingly favoured the Remain campaign and still can’t get its head around the fact that the majority of people didn’t, then your friends and followers may well have applauded Martin’s appearance. But you might then be surprised if you were to venture into some Doctor Who <a href="https://gallifreybase.com/gb/">fan forums</a>. You’d see quite a backlash against what some perceive as the politically correct direction their favourite show has taken. “This show and all it used to offer has been destroyed by politically correct writing and casting,” opined <a href="https://gallifreybase.com/gb/threads/the-disdain-thread-for-things-in-fugitive-of-the-judoon.276561/">one fan</a>. Another responded: “It’s not ‘woke’, unless your idea of woke is ‘it has a black woman in it’. It’s the blandest form of mainstream liberalism but some internet talking heads treat it as if it was 50 minutes of Jodie Whittaker reciting the Communist Manifesto.”</p>
<p>The outrage of the anti-PC brigade has simultaneously fuelled – and been fuelled by – coverage in the mainstream media. Echoing a populist press narrative that the series has become, in the words of the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6324799/Doctor-sparks-fan-backlash-Time-Lord-branded-TVs-politically-correct-show.html">Daily Mail</a>, “a tiresome ordeal of political correctness” since Whittaker assumed the role, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/10828870/doctor-who-pc-jodie-whittaker-bbc/">The Sun</a> reported this week that viewers baulked at the programme’s “unbearable political correctness” as “another female Doctor” was revealed. </p>
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<p>Also writing in The Sun, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7705458/bbc-giving-jobs-to-women-jeremy-clarkson/">Jeremy Clarkson</a> observed that “angry fans say it’s littered with ham-fisted attempts to ram Lefty dogma down our throats”. </p>
<p>This backlash has sparked an equal and opposite reaction – one which, like the fan who described the series’ current ideological stance as “the blandest form of mainstream liberalism” – is not simply aligned with that stance, but which is concerned that its stance is not radical or robust enough. Writing in the New Statesman, assistant editor <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/tv-radio/2019/01/why-isn-t-jodie-whittaker-s-doctor-who-lead-character-her-own-damn-show">Jonn Elledge</a> has argued that the casting of the first female Doctor has been undermined by the fact that that she has been “given no material as meaty” as that written for the supporting male characters. </p>
<p>Despite having repeatedly argued for the importance of that casting decision in <a href="https://www.peterlang.com/abstract/title/36657">books</a> and articles, both <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-casting-of-the-next-doctor-who-will-tell-us-about-the-bbc-76162">here</a> and <a href="https://medium.com/peter-lang/not-a-moment-too-soon-98ec02fdfeb3">elsewhere</a>, I’ve since expressed concern at the series’ simultaneous <a href="https://www.peterlang.com/abstract/title/65363">weakening</a> of the character. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jan/08/doctor-who-more-offensive-than-ever-jodie-whittaker-pc">Jack Hudson</a> has recently argued in The Guardian that, beneath its guise of progressive politics, the show has in fact grown profoundly conservative in ways which may at once alienate both its progressive and its reactionary fans. </p>
<h2>Whither the liberal consensus?</h2>
<p>In December <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/lenny-henry-doctor-who-black-actors_uk_5df35b36e4b04bcba182acda">Lenny Henry</a> (in the run-up to his recent appearance in the series) was quoted as suggesting that BBC bosses would rather cast a dog than a black actor in the title role. In this context, Martin’s casting as the first black, female Doctor seems particularly significant.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313086/original/file-20200131-41554-1h0ye5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313086/original/file-20200131-41554-1h0ye5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313086/original/file-20200131-41554-1h0ye5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313086/original/file-20200131-41554-1h0ye5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313086/original/file-20200131-41554-1h0ye5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313086/original/file-20200131-41554-1h0ye5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313086/original/file-20200131-41554-1h0ye5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lenny Henry as Daniel Barton and Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC / Ben Blackall</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Yet Martin’s Doctor is not (as yet) the series’ lead. Progressive voices in fandom have sometimes suggested that, when Whittaker eventually leaves the series, her successor will most likely (and most appropriately) be a woman of colour. There may now be those who fear that Martin’s tangential Doctor (whoever and whenever in the Time Lord’s timeline she may turn out to be) has ticked both those boxes – and that the production team may next time once more fall back on casting a white, male lead.</p>
<p>These arguments will doubtless continue to rage, along with much bigger ones. The polarisation of political perspectives among the British public since the Brexit referendum of course remains a matter of ongoing national concern. The current disagreements amongst Doctor Who fans – once a group which unambiguously embodied the liberal consensus – may appeal to the mainstream media precisely because they mirror those larger societal divisions, and may prove of greater significance as indicative of those broader ideological shifts and splits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130962/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alec Charles does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Doctor Who has always been progressive – but now it appears it’s a little too ‘ woke’ for many of its fans.Alec Charles, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of WinchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1230852019-09-06T05:16:49Z2019-09-06T05:16:49ZTimely intervention: how Doctor Who shapes public attitudes to science<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291215/original/file-20190906-175705-1zwngr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=28%2C4%2C3166%2C2098&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Doctor Who is a popular cosplay theme. But some people base more than just their outfit on the Time Lord's exploits.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Scientists and science fans love to discuss the science in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006q2x0">Doctor Who</a>.</p>
<p>We’re interested in how its theories and gadgets stack up against real <a href="https://theconversation.com/doctor-who-vs-real-world-science-who-comes-up-trumps-45183">science</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-doctor-whos-time-machine-measures-up-with-real-instruments-of-space-and-time-75993">technology</a> (<a href="https://theconversation.com/science-facts-behind-dr-who-sonic-screwdriver-are-even-more-exciting-than-fiction-42780">really</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/might-some-of-doctor-who-actually-be-possible-16149">really</a> interested). </p>
<p>We care about gender equity among Doctor Who’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/ahead-of-its-time-doctor-whos-56-inspiring-female-scientists-58491">scientist</a> characters, and the cultural significance of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-doctor-who-picks-up-the-chase-with-a-pace-as-she-crosses-the-gender-barrier-104312">casting Jodie Whittaker</a> as the first female Doctor. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-doctor-who-picks-up-the-chase-with-a-pace-as-she-crosses-the-gender-barrier-104312">The new Doctor Who picks up the chase with a pace as she crosses the gender barrier</a>
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<p>As long ago as 1985, Britain’s Royal Society <a href="https://royalsociety.org/%7E/media/Royal_Society_Content/policy/publications/1985/10700.pdf">wondered</a> whether they could use Doctor Who to promote greater public understanding of science.</p>
<p>Given that we care so much, one might expect to see strong evidence that Doctor Who shapes how its viewers think and feel about science. But there has been no peer-reviewed research in this area, only <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/1885/49358">anecdotes</a> from a few scientist-fans.</p>
<p>Until now. </p>
<p>In my research, <a href="https://doi.org/10.22323/2.18040208">published in the Journal of Science Communication</a>, I surveyed 575 science-interested Doctor Who viewers, asking whether and how the show contributed to their relationship with science.</p>
<p>Many of them said it did. But as it turns out, not in consistent ways.</p>
<h2>Thoughts about science</h2>
<p>I recruited the 575 people via <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ScienceAlert/">ScienceAlert</a>; they were 59% female, 40% male and 1% non-binary or gender-fluid. They were aged 18-73, and were drawn from 37 nations, predominantly Australia (50%) and the United States (24%).</p>
<p>Of the 575 respondents, 398 said Doctor Who influenced their thoughts about science in one way or another.</p>
<p>Just over 300 respondents said the show contributed to their ideas about science ethics, the relationship between science and the rest of society, and/or the place of science in human history.</p>
<p>Most commonly, Doctor Who prompted people to think more deeply about the ethics of science, including its moral ambiguity and potential for doing both good and bad. Second to that, many said Doctor Who demonstrated science’s importance in society and history.</p>
<p>However, individual participants sometimes drew opposite conclusions about the show’s moral messages. For example, one participant said their take-home message from Doctor Who on science ethics was:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Strong ethical guidelines and laws need to exist, and be enforced.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But for another participant it was precisely the opposite:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We should stop putting ethics in the way of scientific research.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Choosing science</h2>
<p>Beyond shaping people’s attitudes, Doctor Who had a material impact on a few people’s life choices too.</p>
<p>It influenced 74 participants’ education choices and 49 participants’ career choices. It sparked interest in pursuing diverse science (and other) fields including physics, astronomy, maths, engineering, computer science, environmental science, chemistry, psychology, science teaching, and science communication.</p>
<p>People said things like:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It made me want to learn more about science. I became a science major [because] of it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I have a degree in Environmental Science specifically because of watching the 4th Doctor deal with oil rigs. That and the Exxon Valdez made me want to change things.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some respondents said Doctor Who simply instilled a love of learning in them or made them proud of achieving academic success.</p>
<h2>Just a TV show?</h2>
<p>The survey responses go far beyond the previous anecdotes from fans about how much they love science and Doctor Who. It gives us lots of new evidence to analyse – some 58,000 words of qualitative data. But the responses were far from unanimously positive.</p>
<p>In the survey group, 107 people answered “no” to all or most of my key questions, indicating Doctor Who had not contributed to their relationship to science in any of the ways I asked about.</p>
<p>They gave a range of reasons. Some came to Doctor Who too late, after their views on science had already formed. Or other factors such as school or family determined their attitudes to science and life decisions, so Doctor Who wasn’t important (gasp!).</p>
<p>Others were more cynical, generally mocking the notion of science fiction influencing them at all, or arguing that Doctor Who’s depictions of science were too inaccurate, fantastical or trivial to have an impact.</p>
<p>Some responses were neither particularly positive or negative, with Doctor Who simply validating or reinforcing people’s existing ideas about science.</p>
<h2>So will Doctor Who create a planet of scientists?</h2>
<p>Part of the job for some science communicators, science teachers and scientists is to inspire people’s interest in science.</p>
<p>My study shows that engaging with a science-rich television program can have a profoundly inspiring effect on a person’s attitudes to science. In fact, their life might be changed because of it.</p>
<p>If that kind of inspiration is your goal, it is worth investing in science-rich television fiction as a science engagement medium.</p>
<p>But don’t get too excited. Not everyone’s science attitudes are affected by the same program. Any positive effects may be minor, rather than life-changing. And two viewers may interpret the science on screen in completely different ways. Also, my participants volunteered to participate, so the numbers don’t necessarily represent statistical patterns among Doctor Who viewers generally.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/doctor-who-vs-real-world-science-who-comes-up-trumps-45183">Doctor Who vs real world science: who comes up trumps?</a>
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<p>This backs up what <a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/13669870903136068">science</a> <a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2011.610134">communication</a> <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/0963662518808729">researchers</a> have been saying for years. Television audiences aren’t ignorant dupes brainwashed by what they watch. People watch television fiction critically, aware it is fiction. All of us bring our existing knowledge, beliefs, fears and ideals to the viewing experience and make our own meanings from it in light of them.</p>
<p>What science-rich fiction can do, though, is set an <a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2014.947349">agenda</a>. It can offer people new frameworks for pondering science questions and provoking conversations about them.</p>
<p>So despite the caveats, if we want to nurture a society of people who think about science more keenly, more critically and more often, we could do worse than plug the next season of Doctor Who.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123085/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lindy Orthia does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The first peer-reviewed survey of Doctor Who fans’ attitudes to science reveals it was literally life-changing TV for some. But the verdicts were surprisingly nuanced and sometimes contradictory.Lindy Orthia, Senior Lecturer in Science Communication, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1129162019-03-05T12:00:56Z2019-03-05T12:00:56ZCan Britbox beat Netflix? It will need to adapt to changing viewing habits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262124/original/file-20190305-48426-1eiogwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=118%2C10%2C805%2C534&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">bbernard via Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The BBC and ITV recently announced a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47383559">new joint venture</a> to create a streaming service that they have called “Britbox”. The focus for Britbox will be to sell British television programmes, old and new, to the UK public, for a subscription of around £5 per month. </p>
<p>BBC director-general, Tony Hall said: “Research with the British public shows that there is a real appetite for a new British streaming service – in addition to their current subscriptions.” ITV boss Carolyn McCall said 43% of British homes with internet connections had indicated they were interested in receiving the service.</p>
<p>Britbox already exists in North America with 500,000 subscribers and the channels’ already have UK streaming platforms iPlayer and ITV Hub. And last year, BBC Worldwide – the international licensing arm – <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/studios-worldwide">merged with BBC Studios</a>, the production arm. Joining these two branches already paves the way for a more cohesive strategy that aligns licensing and streaming established content with producing new shows for TV and online audiences.</p>
<p>But the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/feb/27/britbox-this-bizarre-netflix-rival-will-surely-bomb%5D(https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/feb/27/britbox-this-bizarre-netflix-rival-will-surely-bomb">road will not be easy</a> – streaming is a tough market and there are many challenges ahead. Can these traditional broadcasters take on Netflix on its own territory?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261933/original/file-20190304-92304-gywymq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261933/original/file-20190304-92304-gywymq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261933/original/file-20190304-92304-gywymq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261933/original/file-20190304-92304-gywymq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261933/original/file-20190304-92304-gywymq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261933/original/file-20190304-92304-gywymq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261933/original/file-20190304-92304-gywymq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Britbox UK screenshot.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Britbox</span></span>
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<p>Netflix is a major global player and has <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/899034/top-streaming-and-downloading-services-in-the-uk/">overtaken BBC iPlayer</a> as the UK frontrunner when it comes to streaming. It is not just hugely successful in terms of viewers and revenue, but has become a cultural staple – after all, it’s “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/shortcuts/2015/sep/29/how-netflix-and-chill-became-code-for-casual-sex">Netflix and chill</a>” not “the Beeb and chill”. The breadth of existing and new content on Netflix is impressive. But the BBC and ITV could hold a reasonable amount of power here. There have already been <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/22/17996642/streaming-disney-netflix-competitor-marvel-pixar-time-warner-amazon">problems for Netflix caused by Disney reviewing its licensing agreement</a> – which includes not just children’s animations but also the Marvel and Star Wars franchises – to prepare for its own streaming platform. By removing classic and recent UK shows from Netflix, Britbox could mount a decent challenge.</p>
<p>But times are changing. A recent Netflix <a href="https://www.polygon.com/2019/1/17/18187400/netflix-vs-fortnite-hbo-hulu-competition%5D(https://www.polygon.com/2019/1/17/18187400/netflix-vs-fortnite-hbo-hulu-competition">letter to shareholders</a> stated that its biggest competition is not HBO or other US-based streaming services but the online game Fortnite. The huge popularity of gaming – not just for playing but also in-game live events and watching other people play on live streaming platforms such as Twitch or Youtube – means that even Netflix is moving on from simple streaming. </p>
<p>We are seeing the beginning of a new rise in interactive films such as Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and the various choose-your-own-adventures in children’s content on Netflix (Puss in Boots, for example). Is a British platform simply too late to the game? Britbox will have to think hard about what format its content will be in and how it can innovate the traditional viewing experience. It may not be enough to just put the back catalogue online.</p>
<h2>Potential for success?</h2>
<p>The 500,000 subscribers in North America are already enjoying British sci-fi and fantasy such as classic Doctor Who, Red Dwarf and Merlin, as well as comedy staples such as Fawlty Towers, The Young Ones, Absolutely Fabulous and Blackadder. Crime shows such as Inspector Morse, Prime Suspect and Dalziel and Pascoe are also very popular. There are a few unique selling points of British television that could make Britbox particularly successful at home and abroad:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261932/original/file-20190304-92289-1odpm5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261932/original/file-20190304-92289-1odpm5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261932/original/file-20190304-92289-1odpm5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261932/original/file-20190304-92289-1odpm5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261932/original/file-20190304-92289-1odpm5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261932/original/file-20190304-92289-1odpm5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261932/original/file-20190304-92289-1odpm5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Britbox US and Canada screenshot.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Britbox</span></span>
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<p>Period drama – British period shows and actors already enjoy worldwide popularity and the likes of Victoria (ITV) and Peaky Blinders (BBC) are currently licensed to Netflix, while the BBC’s 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth is already on Britbox. Documentaries – not just David Attenborough’s extensive back catalogue but the large number of quality BBC documentaries on everything from ancient civilisations to Silicon Valley are a resource that will continue to be of repeat interest to old and new viewers alike.</p>
<p>There’s so much good stuff in the BBC and ITV archives – rather than collecting all the different box sets, how convenient would it be to have all your retro viewing on one platform for a few pounds a month?</p>
<h2>Home and away</h2>
<p>British content for British audiences – the particular quirks that define UK TV are also massively popular worldwide. While shows such as The Office and Being Human have been remade for US audiences, the originals often maintain a cult following in English-speaking countries. It seems obvious that Britbox will expand beyond the UK eventually – but it may be more successful if it remains focused on aiming new content at the British market, making new shows that appeal to international viewers exactly because of the unique style of UK television as a selling point.</p>
<p>Another selling point is language: television shows are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1358684X.2012.704584">a good way to learn a new tongue</a> and many people want to learn British English as opposed to the American version they see in Hollywood blockbusters. Making UK television more accessible would help promote language learning all over the world.</p>
<p>If Britbox is to succeed, it needs to balance the need to adapt to online viewing habits with making the most of classic and new British content. The BBC and ITV will also need to negotiate the balance between Britbox and their individual streaming services (iPlayer and ITV Hub), which may impact on the future of television licensing within the UK. There is potentially a streaming goldmine here, but only if Britbox can find their niche against the backdrop of Netflix domination.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112916/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Garfield Benjamin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Half a century of British classic television available online? Sounds good, but will it be enough to take on the Netflix juggernaut?Garfield Benjamin, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Media Arts and Technology, Solent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1117662019-02-18T10:45:28Z2019-02-18T10:45:28ZActors at all levels face pressure to change their appearance, not just stars like Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259072/original/file-20190214-1754-1b81os7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jodie Whittaker.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-ny-october-7-2018-1197364249?src=_X72_kUZTtW8GKGtKnu4Ww-1-0">lev radin/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker has become the latest actor to reveal how she has faced pressure to change her appearance. <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/71e6GISEsYUUwR2t9ijiBX">In a podcast</a>, Whittaker disclosed that early in her career she was told to have a line on her forehead filled and was encouraged to wax her upper lip. </p>
<p>This is not a one-off occurrence, many other actors have spoken of how they have also experienced pressure to make changes to their bodies. In 2015, the late Star Wars actress <a href="https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle/a558228/carrie-fisher/">Carrie Fisher joked</a> that for her role in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2488496/">Episode VII – The Force Awakens</a> the studio bosses didn’t “want to hire all of me – only about three-quarters”. Revealing that she had been asked to lose more than 35lb to reprise the role of Princess Leia, Fisher spoke of her frustration at working “in a business where the only thing that matters is weight and appearance”.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259074/original/file-20190214-1745-xaydm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259074/original/file-20190214-1745-xaydm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259074/original/file-20190214-1745-xaydm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259074/original/file-20190214-1745-xaydm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259074/original/file-20190214-1745-xaydm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259074/original/file-20190214-1745-xaydm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259074/original/file-20190214-1745-xaydm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259074/original/file-20190214-1745-xaydm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The late Carrie Fisher, pictured in November 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/los-angeles-nov-28-carrie-fisher-525676549?src=Qdznwz9xN3jj8XE0IPV41w-1-30">Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>It’s not only female performers who find their appearance under scrutiny. When Simon Russell Beale played Hamlet for the National Theatre in 2000, one review led with the headline “<a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=z2toDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA160&lpg=PA160&dq=Tubby+or+not+tubby,+fat+is+the+question+malvern&source=bl&ots=6IAhrQd2I5&sig=ACfU3U0wlUPeiVLx-eU_fitWXmyc23EHcg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiEuIfb5rngAhWeXRUIHeKTABQQ6AEwCHoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=Tubby%20or%20not%20tubby%2C%20fat%20is%20the%20question%20malvern&f=false">Tubby or not tubby, fat is the question</a>”. More recently, critic <a href="https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/2017/mark-shentons-week-body-shaming-ever-appropriate-reviews/">Matt Trueman was called out</a> for “body shaming” actor Nick Holder in his review of Uncle Vanya. As Holder remarked, “I live in this body – I don’t hang it up like a costume on a rail at the end of the night.”</p>
<p>Holder makes an important point. Acting is embodied work and, as a result, actors carry their work with them at all times. In performance, an actor’s body tells a story through what it does. Whether that’s talking, singing, dancing, crying, shouting, or any other physically expressive act. It also tells a story through what it represents. And this closely relates to the social meaning attached to physical appearance. </p>
<h2>Aesthetic labour</h2>
<p>The physical and emotional effort that goes into making and maintaining an appearance for your work is known as aesthetic labour. It is ongoing work that extends beyond working hours and covers a range of activities, from putting on makeup to developing a six pack. It is not only actors who undertake aesthetic labour. Having “the right look” is a requirement associated with a range of occupations, often in the service industries, from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/feb/20/1701-people-apply-for-eight-barista-jobs">baristas</a> to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/Sexism-in-the-sky-how-do-airlines-get-away-with-it/">flight attendants</a>. For actors, though, the pressures of aesthetic labour are particularly acute because of the way their bodies make meaning in performance.</p>
<p>We’re probably all familiar with stories of actors changing their appearance for a particular role. From Kit Harrington growing a “<a href="https://www.thisisinsider.com/game-of-thrones-kit-harington-shaved-jon-snow-beard-2018-10">Jon Snow beard</a>” for Game of Thrones to Olivia Colman <a href="https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/olivia-colman-found-gaining-weight-for-her-role-in-the-favourite-to-be-quite-fun-37653293.html">gaining weight to play Queen Anne</a> in The Favourite, actors frequently make changes to their own bodies in order to embody their character. </p>
<p>But it’s not only in preparing for a specific role that actors undertake aesthetic labour. It might also be undertaken more generally, to create or maintain a body that fits the expectations of an industry in which, according to Fisher, “the only thing that matters is weight and appearance”. This focus on appearance can take a significant toll on an actor’s well-being. Hunger Games star <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/sam-claflin-the-english-heartthrob-who-is-not-nicholas-hoult-or-eddie-redmayne-20170526-gwe8jv.html">Sam Claflin</a> has spoken of being made to feel like “a piece of meat”, and feeling nervous and insecure about his body as a result.</p>
<p>Celebrities are not the only ones who face these pressures, however. Both male and female performers do at all levels of the industry – though they manifest in different ways. Researcher Roanna Mitchell found that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19443927.2013.868367">drama school students</a> will often try to make changes to their appearance, and that generally female students attempted to lose weight by dieting, while male students were more likely to embark on an exercise regime to build muscle. In this way, actors are responding to the demands of the industry as they see them. </p>
<p>In 2008, associate professor Deborah Dean reported that <a href="http://www.fia-actors.com/uploads/ENGLISH.pdf">48% of female and 35% of male performers</a> believed that attractiveness is important in employment opportunities. This perception can put an enormous strain on actors, as they invest time, money, and emotional energy in generating what they see as a “castable” appearance. </p>
<p>My own current research project, Making an Appearance, examines the role of aesthetic labour within the UK performance industry. Next month, in collaboration with Equity Women’s Committee and the Centre for Contemporary British Theatre at Royal Holloway, I will be launching a survey which asks actors about the kind of changes that they have made to their bodies as part of their work. The aim is to explore the cost of this labour on actors. The research will also consider how issues of gender, ethnicity and age impact on the aesthetic labour actors undertake.</p>
<p>It is not actors alone who experience the consequences of this policing of their appearance. Actors reflect the world back to us, and if all performers are youthful and conventionally attractive, then that’s a distorted mirror we are looking at.</p>
<p>Whittaker rejected the calls for her to alter her body. She expressed a hope that things in the industry might change and that “we will just finally accept that we all look different and that is ace”. That would probably be a very good thing for everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111766/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara Reimers receives funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. She is collaborating with the Equity Women's Committee on the Making an Appearance research project.</span></em></p>As another actor speaks of pressure to look the ‘right’ way, research reveals that this pressure is prevalent at all levels of the industry.Sara Reimers, Creative Economy Engagement Fellow, Royal Holloway University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1090682018-12-26T19:28:42Z2018-12-26T19:28:42ZHannah Gadsby, a royal wedding and a female doctor: in 2018, TV got a shake up<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251429/original/file-20181219-27758-2i45ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hannah Gadsby's Nanette received critical acclaim around the world. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">WENN</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>From ground-breaking to game-changing, rule-breaking to near parliament-breaking – 2018 has been a big year for TV makers and audiences. Here are some of the most memorable moments.</p>
<h2>Doctor Who is finally a woman</h2>
<p>What would the 1963 makers of the BBC’s Dr Who have made of television in 2018? They imagined aliens, other worlds and alternate realities, but it took 55 years to imagine a woman in the show’s title role.</p>
<p>Despite some hesitation from a select group of <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/tv-reboots-are-having-a-great-awokening-it-sucks/">die hards</a> , the 13th Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, took the TARDIS to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/doctor-who-jodie-whittaker-receives-praise-as-first-female-star-1150054">great effect</a> this year. With a fantastic mix of innovation and respect for the show’s legacy, Whittaker and new showrunner Chris Chibnall have allowed Dr Who to explore known worlds from a new perspective. </p>
<p>Standout episodes included Rosa, in which The Doctor and her companions returned to civil rights era USA to meet Rosa Parks, and The Witchfinders, where The Doctor was caught up in the witch hunting season in Lancashire in the era of King James.</p>
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<h2>Hannah Gadsby shakes up stand up</h2>
<p>Comedy specials have been niche television events for decades, especially championed by US cable outlets like HBO and Comedy Channel. With Netflix now in the mix, the scope for comedy has expanded, and through this global “post-television” network, alternative voices like Hannah Gadsby have found their people. </p>
<p>In Nanette, Gadsby rails against self-deprecating jokes, announces she’s quitting comedy, takes on the canon of Art History and exposes her own traumatic sexual abuse. All done while being funny as.</p>
<p>Praised by the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/arts/hannah-gadsby-comedy-nanette.html">New York Times</a>, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, The Guardian and <a href="https://junkee.com/nanette-reviews/166225">many others</a>, Gadsby’s impact can be measured by the feathers she’s ruffled, too. Comedians like Jerry Seinfeld have had to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/arts/television/jerry-seinfeld-interview.html">take note</a> of Gadsby’s ability to go beyond “have you ever wondered why” jokes, and her boldness has also earned her a reputation as a strong voice amid whatever comes after #MeToo. A game changer for comedy, for international on-demand television, and for those who hold power generally. </p>
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<h2>A Honey Badger breaks The Bachelor</h2>
<p>Reality television is, of course, never real, but it’s amazing how many real feelings these shows can evoke. Who knew that a quest for true love, staged in front of a national commercial TV audience, made up of a casting call of pretty young things with little in common might be doomed to fail? </p>
<p>This year’s Australian season of the American franchise The Bachelor added some extra spice with footballer Nick “The Honey Badger” Cummins, who dropped as many ocker sayings as possible while taking his shirt off. After all that, he broke the rules of the game by refusing to choose one of the show’s potential mates – leaving it a case of all sizzle, no steak; and making the show’s producers look like they couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery. Cue outrage. Cue surprise. Cue discussions about the spin off series.</p>
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<h2>Parliament House – the soap opera</h2>
<p>Backstabbing! Affairs! Denials of knowledge about constitutional citizenship requirements! While politicians all over the world have made for extreme television watching this year, Canberra has been particularly spicy in 2018. </p>
<p>There was Barnaby Joyce airing his dirty laundry in the first half of the year for <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-29/australians-disgusted-barnaby-joyce-sold-his-story/9810418">a reported $150,000</a>. Meanwhile the dual citizenship saga, first sparked by Greens senator Scott Ludlam’s resignation in July 2017, <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dual-citizenship-the-constitutional-crisis-that-won-t-go-away-rolls-into-2018">continued</a>. It ate up public funds and airtime.</p>
<p>The show that keeps spinning sequels, “Leadership spill”, continued in August, with Scott Morrison snatching the top job from Malcolm Turnbull. A program that the Australian people are increasingly getting sick of - and it was a shame to see Julie Bishop <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/aug/26/julie-bishop-resigns-as-foreign-minister-after-failed-leadership-bid">leave the show</a>.</p>
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<h2>A royal wedding that’s actually interesting</h2>
<p>The marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was a guilty TV pleasure for many, but also an important historical moment. Television has been a fundamental part of how the British Royal Family is understood (and tolerated) since 1957 when The Queen made her <a href="https://www.royal.uk/christmas-broadcast-1957">first televised Christmas address</a>. The 2018 showstopper was not the bride’s dress or groom’s nod to his still beloved mother, but rather the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdIZpos-ME4&list=PLn2RjxYNpcazW9TJEigBdWrBJHBandSZi&index=6">sermon by Bishop Michael Curry</a> and The Kingdom Choir’s version of Stand By Me.</p>
<p>Here the former oppressed and oppressors met and were brought together by what was an undeniably very sweet event. While there was some <a href="https://www.who.com.au/royal-family-facial-expressions-at-royal-wedding">apparent uncomfortableness</a> from certain members of the Royal Family, it was captivating viewing for those watching at home in tiaras and pyjamas.</p>
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<p>Honourable mentions include the resignation of SBS newsreader and style icon <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-26/lee-lin-chin-career-memorable-moments/10041026">Lee Lin Chin</a>; American actor Roseanne fired from her own sitcom in a show of <a href="https://theconversation.com/commercial-tvs-rare-leadership-on-roseanne-is-a-breath-of-fresh-air-97447">zero racism tolerance</a>; ABC sketch show <a href="https://tendaily.com.au/entertainment/tv/a180903wpv/high-profile-aussies-come-out-in-support-of-axed-abc-comedy-tonightly-20180903">Tonightly</a> coming, growing, then getting cut; (men’s) cricket being “ruined” by a ball tampering scandal and subsequent <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-29/steve-smith-apologises-for-ball-tampering-scandal/9603670">weepy press conferences</a>; and NBC/Netflix’s The Good Place continuing to show that network sitcoms can be clever, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jan/30/the-good-place-how-a-sitcom-made-philosophy-seem-cool">philosophical</a>, and still wonderfully funny.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109068/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liz Giuffre does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From ground-breaking to game-changing, rule-breaking to near parliament-breaking, 2018 was a hell of a year for TV.Liz Giuffre, Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1059312018-11-01T08:08:02Z2018-11-01T08:08:02ZDoctor Who’s timely challenge to racism, hatred and Donald Trump<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243313/original/file-20181031-122165-1r4azag.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker).</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A challenge to racism and hatred in the US – and to Donald Trump himself – has come from an unlikely source: a timelord. In the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bpwm2m">third episode</a> of the latest series of Doctor Who, the timelord travels back in time to ensure <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?destination=%2flifestyle%2fkidspost%2frosa-parkss-little-protest-led-to-big-change%2f2013%2f02%2f01%2fa2cc0746-5e5b-11e2-a389-ee565c81c565_story.html%3f&utm_term=.0e32885bed70">Rosa Parks’ famous bus protest</a> takes place, tackling the issue of racism head on and lauding those who challenge it. Meanwhile, the fourth episode, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqn236">Arachnids in the UK</a>, features a Trump-like character – a self-obsessed and ruthless tycoon with presidential aspirations.</p>
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<p>The new series, which premiered <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/doctor-who/news/a867132/doctor-who-series-11-jodie-whittaker-reviews-round-up/">to rave reviews</a>, stands in stark contrast to Trump’s <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/10/23/president-trump-i-am-a-nationalist/amp/">self-confessed nationalism</a> and contempt for <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2018/07/13/trump-criticism-european-immigration/">multiculturalism</a>, and it embraces <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/doctor-who/news/a867082/doctor-who-chris-chibnall-important-diverse-writing-team/">diversity more than ever before</a>. It stars the first female Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), and her working-class companions include Yaz (Mandip Gill), a young British Asian woman who may be <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1037980/Doctor-Who-season-11-spoilers-Is-Yasmin-Khan-in-love-Doctor-Jodie-Whittkaer-Mandip-Gill/amp">falling in love with the Doctor</a>; Ryan (Tosin Cole), a young British black man; and his white British step-grandfather, Graham (Bradley Walsh).</p>
<p>In a reference to the considerable skills of the scriptwriters, Malorie Blackman and Chris Chibnall, journalist <a href="https://tv.avclub.com/a-powerful-doctor-who-ensures-rosa-parks-is-the-hero-of-1829895227/amp">Caroline Siede writes</a> that episode three could have robbed Rosa Parks of “her real-life agency by presenting the Doctor as some kind of inspirational influence on her actions”. But it is not about the new Doctor and her companions riding to the rescue to change history, but instead their guarding of the timeline against a racist fellow time-traveller who is trying to stop the civil rights movement from ever happening in the first place.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243306/original/file-20181031-122156-ofy7e0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243306/original/file-20181031-122156-ofy7e0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243306/original/file-20181031-122156-ofy7e0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243306/original/file-20181031-122156-ofy7e0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243306/original/file-20181031-122156-ofy7e0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243306/original/file-20181031-122156-ofy7e0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243306/original/file-20181031-122156-ofy7e0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Rosa Parks … as imagined by Doctor Who.</span>
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<p>To press home the point of the nature of racism in 1950s Montgomery, Alabama, Ryan is slapped in the face by a husband after he picks up a white woman’s glove in order to return it to her. “Get your filthy black hands off my wife,” the man says, before threatening him with hanging. Yaz, in that era, is presumed to be a Mexican. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-challenge-racism-in-british-schools-78153">How to challenge racism in British schools</a>
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<p>But the series doesn’t just consider the racism that was prevalent in times past. Later, hiding by the bins outside a motel while a police officer searches their “whites only” room, Ryan and Yaz, herself a police officer, discuss the racism they face in 21st-century England – and how there’s still a long way to go. </p>
<p>“It’s not like Rosa Parks wipes out racism from the world forever,” says Ryan. “Otherwise, how come I get stopped way more by the police than my white mates?”</p>
<p>“Oi, not this police,” Yaz replies. “I get called a ‘Paki’ when I’m sorting out a domestic, or a ‘terrorist’ on the way home from the mosque.”</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/eight-ways-that-islamophobia-operates-in-everyday-life-64444">Eight ways that Islamophobia operates in everyday life</a>
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<p>Both comments resonate today, and are a reminder that the work started by Parks and countless others is far from done. Racism is again on the rise, exacerbated by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/15/opinion/leonhardt-trump-racist.html">Trump’s well-documented racist discourse</a> and policies, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/11/uk-has-seen-brexit-related-growth-in-racism-says-un-representative">Brexit process</a> and the election of <a href="https://theconversation.com/brazil-can-its-poorest-region-call-a-halt-to-jair-bolsonaros-dangerous-politics-104380">Jair Bolsonaro</a> in Brazil’s presidential elections.</p>
<h2>Big business</h2>
<p>Journalist <a href="https://tvline.com/2018/10/28/doctor-who-recap-season-11-episode-4-giant-spiders-donald-trump/">Mandi Bierly</a> might be stretching it a bit when she asserts that the Arachnids in the UK episode, isn’t “really about arachnophobia – it was about the world’s fear of president Donald Trump”. But it does focus on <a href="https://www.inverse.com/article/50294-doctor-who-jack-robertson-arachnids-in-the-uk">ruthless business bigwig</a> Jack Robertson (Chris North) whose main concern is that one of his companies has been cutting corners while disposing of corporate waste in the coalmine-turned-landfill beneath his next luxury hotel – he has 15 hotels around the world on repurposed industrial sites. There are also jokes about Robertson being targeted by the Russians.</p>
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<p>Robertson also can’t understand why the Doctor doesn’t want to shoot the marauding spiders. “Why don’t you do what normal people do?” he asks. “Get a gun, shoot things like a civilised person.” The script even manages to slip in a subtle reference to journalist Michael Wolff’s Trump expose, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36595101-fire-and-fury">Fire and Fury</a>. When Robertson decides to shoot a spider anyway, he says: “How’s this for fire and fury?”</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fire-and-fury-aside-what-can-you-read-to-understand-trump-89807">Fire and Fury aside, what can you read to understand Trump?</a>
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<p>This is clearly a ruthless individual. Indeed, when the Doctor says that she doesn’t see any mercy in Robertson, he retorts: “I don’t need your approval, Doctor. This is what the world needs right now. This is what’s going to get me into the White House.” As <a href="https://tvline.com/2018/10/28/doctor-who-recap-season-11-episode-4-giant-spiders-donald-trump/">Bierly goes on</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>As an American viewer, especially this week with another mass shooting [in a synagogue] and another round of people (like Trump) calling for armed guards in locations where we shouldn’t need them, it was painful to watch. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Trump-the-Alt-Right-and-Public-Pedagogies-of-Hate-and-for-Fascism-What/Cole/p/book/9781138607545">my new book</a>, one of many on Trumpism, I discuss at length the racism of Trump, as well as the calls for a new fascism from the alt-right. I also address anti-racist, anti-fascist and pro-socialist discourses in the US.</p>
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<span class="caption">Doctor Who’s Rosa Parks: she must catch that bus …</span>
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<p>With its huge <a href="https://www.blogtorwho.com/rosa-viewing-figures">viewing figures in the US</a>, <a href="https://tellymix.co.uk/ratings/381147-ratings-doctor-who-strictly-come-dancing-and-x-factor-viewing-figures-4.html">UK</a> and globally, the new Doctor Who series provides an unexpected boost for pro-diversity politics and the battle against racism around the world.</p>
<p>Better still, it does so from within people’s homes. Families watch it together and discuss the issues it raises. Children can ask questions and learn about the injustices of past and current times. There are many ways to tackle racism. But by normalising diversity and multiculturalism and calling out racists, the latest series of Doctor Who reveals how shows like it can educate as well as entertain. Perhaps they can even help, in some small way, to change the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105931/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Cole does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>By normalising diversity and and calling out racists and fascists, the latest series of Doctor Who reveals how shows like it can educate as well as entertain.Mike Cole, Professor of Education, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1043122018-10-08T06:15:49Z2018-10-08T06:15:49ZThe new Doctor Who picks up the chase with a pace as she crosses the gender barrier<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239234/original/file-20181003-52681-zaeq99.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker).</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436992/">Doctor Who</a> is back on our TV screens with the first episode of the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/doctor-who/">new series airing on the ABC</a> here in Australia today, staring <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2092886/">Jodie Whittaker</a> as the first female regeneration of this particular Time Lord.</p>
<p>Anyone who has been watching the long-running BBC series over the past few years should not find a female Time Lord surprising.</p>
<p>The Doctor’s arch enemy <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/55584DPj9h9RyxV6hXWhcKV/the-master">The Master</a> has most recently been brought to life as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/xCgpqKWg8nj5BS2LJ6DRV0/missy">Missy</a>, in a <a href="http://awards.bafta.org/award/2016/television/supporting-actress">BAFTA-nominated</a> performance by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0327056/">Michelle Gomez</a> that easily ranks as my favourite incarnation of the evil Time Lord.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/science-fact-vs-fiction-in-star-wars-and-other-sci-fi-movies-relax-and-enjoy-the-entertainment-52977">Science fact vs fiction in Star Wars and other sci-fi movies: relax, and enjoy the entertainment</a>
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<p>We have also been shown an actual regeneration of a male Time Lord into a female body, when a character known as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/TWpMP7M35fQhyJ6X9Qbcbb/the-general">The General</a> regenerated in the Series 9 episode <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06s609f">Hell Bent</a>.</p>
<p>The fact that a Time Lord can periodically regenerate into another body was itself only invented to allow the show to sidestep the failing health of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0367156/">William Hartnell</a>, who played the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/4Mdptd1P1gyJ61H1qkgzLQm/the-first-doctor">first Doctor on TV</a>.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, to deny that the decision to cast a woman as the Doctor is a historic moment is to understate the bravery of the new production team, led by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1163823/">Chris Chibnall</a> (of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0485301/">Torchwood</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2249364/">Broadchurch</a> fame), and of Whittaker in particular.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239236/original/file-20181003-52666-xfa8ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239236/original/file-20181003-52666-xfa8ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239236/original/file-20181003-52666-xfa8ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1022&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239236/original/file-20181003-52666-xfa8ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1022&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239236/original/file-20181003-52666-xfa8ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1022&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239236/original/file-20181003-52666-xfa8ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1284&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239236/original/file-20181003-52666-xfa8ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1284&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239236/original/file-20181003-52666-xfa8ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1284&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The new Doctor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC</span></span>
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<h2>A regeneration reboot</h2>
<p>The latest episode, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7542168/">The Woman Who Fell to Earth</a>, picked up where the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6968542/">2017 Christmas special</a> left off, but teasingly didn’t offer us a view of the new Doctor for several minutes.</p>
<p>Indeed, with its Northern England setting and outstanding shots of Yorkshire scenery, I could be forgiven for confusing it with an episode from the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0147760/">Dalziel and Pascoe</a> boxset that I’m still working through. </p>
<p>We were soon on familiar ground, as Whittaker’s Doctor chased a mysterious, Predator-inspired alien through the streets of Sheffield. It is way too early to gauge where Whittaker fits in the pantheon of Doctors, but her hyperactive, clever and funny performance brought to mind a greatest hits package of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001172/">Christopher Ecclestone</a> (the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/4qjMzzbrvvnyncBKH5mwZ4D/the-ninth-doctor">Ninth Doctor</a>) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0855039/">David Tennant</a> (the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/k9n6zLh6fywLs0RxrPn47L/the-tenth-doctor">Tenth Doctor</a>), with less of the darkness that has been favoured of late.</p>
<p>She delivered the requisite post-regeneration comedy with ease, and expertly portrayed a Doctor who knows everything and knows nothing at the same time. I predict great things as the season develops.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WIs7QfAHwN0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">“Half an hour ago I was a white-haired Scotsman.”</span></figcaption>
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<h2>The production changes</h2>
<p>The Doctor’s gender was not the only thing that felt new. The show <em>looked</em> noticeably more fantastic than it has at any point in its history, aided by properly cinematic landscapes and an alien that still looked scary in close-up.</p>
<p>It also <em>sounds</em> better, with composer <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5115202/">Segun Akinola</a>’s score proving more contemporary and less obtrusive than the previous work of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0325050/">Murray Gold</a>. I assume much of this was terrifying for children, and thank goodness for that!</p>
<p>But my favourite change in the show is in the writing. The new companions were fleshed out to such an extent that a particular shock late in the episode felt genuinely tragic, a feat that is particularly impressive for a script that also had to dump enough Who-lore to pull in new viewers.</p>
<p>In crafting a self-contained ensemble drama, there is evidence that Chibnall’s team will avoid the overly-intricate plotting of the outgoing <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0595590/">Steven Moffat</a>-led era. </p>
<p>My only complaint is that we were cruelly taunted with the demise of that laziest of plot devices - the sonic screwdriver - only to have it dramatically reinvented later in the episode.</p>
<p>Best of all, the show ended on a massive cliffhanger, the likes of which we have not seen since the classic era. Fans of the reboot have thus far been robbed of this experience, and I hope that we can expect more ludicrous finales as the weeks roll by.</p>
<h2>The Doctor as a role model in science</h2>
<p>The Doctor is a rare figure in popular culture, being a person devoted to solving problems with little more than curiosity and an immense scientific knowledge. </p>
<p>A couple of years ago, I was part of a group that toured Australian theatres in a Royal Institution of Australia production that <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/the-science--of-doctor-who/5337704">explored whether that scientific gobbledegook has any basis in fact</a>.</p>
<p>This allowed us to explain the science of time travel (yes, <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2009/05/14/rules-for-time-travelers/#.W7cTZBR9hFQ">it is possible</a>), regeneration (you do this roughly every <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqJWSyUbmkw">seven years</a>, with exceptions) and extra dimensions (yes, <a href="https://phys.org/news/2016-09-scientists-effects-extra-space-dimensions.html">they are possible</a>!) to an audience of more than 6,000 people who would never knowingly attend a science lecture.</p>
<p>Most importantly for the children in the audience, we were able to communicate both the excitement of scientific research, and the feasibility of becoming a professional scientist regardless of your background. This really is the closest you can get to being the Doctor without having a TARDIS.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/study-of-1-6-million-grades-shows-little-gender-difference-in-maths-and-science-at-school-101242">Study of 1.6 million grades shows little gender difference in maths and science at school</a>
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<p>In a country where over <a href="https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/articles/the-research-files-episode-38-girls-in-stem">three times</a> as many boys as girls study high school physics, and a 2014 <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/education/physics-is-too-hard-for-women-according-to-female-physics-students-20141208-122p2n.html">survey</a> revealed that some girls do not take physics because they think that boys are better with numbers, I find it hard not to see the selection of a female doctor as the greatest science communication opportunity of my lifetime.</p>
<p>In an age of binge watching, the coming generation will be awed by both the Doctor’s male and female incarnations. Can there be any better role model for budding young scientists?</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239235/original/file-20181003-52684-1hzefkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239235/original/file-20181003-52684-1hzefkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239235/original/file-20181003-52684-1hzefkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239235/original/file-20181003-52684-1hzefkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239235/original/file-20181003-52684-1hzefkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239235/original/file-20181003-52684-1hzefkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239235/original/file-20181003-52684-1hzefkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239235/original/file-20181003-52684-1hzefkc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker, centre) with (left to right) Grace (Sharon D. Clarke), Yasmin (Mandip Gill), Ryan (Tosin Cole) and Graham (Bradley Walsh).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC</span></span>
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</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104312/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin White does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Jodie Whittaker finally takes over as the first woman to play the Doctor in the long-running TV series. But that’s not all that’s new as the show make a welcome return to our screens.Martin White, Senior lecturer, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1045152018-10-07T19:18:29Z2018-10-07T19:18:29ZDoctor Who: Jodie Whittaker excels and inspires as the BBC’s Time Lord<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239582/original/file-20181007-72113-19vvugx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>SPOILER ALERT: this review assumes you’ve seen the first episode of the Doctor Who series starring Jodie Whittaker, and includes detailed plot and character information from the outset.</em></p>
<p>The 13th Doctor Who, <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinks-in-the-world-machine-on-the-casting-of-the-13th-doctor-who-81116">played by Jodie Whittaker</a>, falls into this story in the middle of the action, crash landing on a train where her new companions are trapped. </p>
<p>In case you’ve been hiding on Mars (or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallifrey">Gallifrey</a>), her first appearance is given a pulse of the famous theme music for identification purposes – not that anyone in the massive earthbound audience will need much persuading that Whittaker <em>is</em> the Doctor. </p>
<p>She plays an absolute blinder throughout, ranging from quietly amusing moments such as asking to have a police car’s “lights and siren on”, through to smelting her own sonic screwdriver. There’s also some convincing stunt action on show – and a moving account of long-lost family thrown in for good measure. </p>
<p>But the classic BBC series’ new showrunner, <a href="https://twitter.com/bbcdoctorwho/status/1046733512043302912">Chris Chibnall</a> (the writer of smash-hit drama series <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2249364/">Broadchurch</a>), is preoccupied with overturning expectations in “The Woman Who Fell To Earth”. The episode begins with 19-year-old warehouse worker Ryan (Tosin Cole) vlogging about the “greatest woman” he’s ever met – but just who is she? Before long, Ryan’s grandmother Grace (Sharon D Clarke), her second husband Graham (Bradley Walsh) and a former schoolmate of Ryan’s, police officer Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill), are united on a train that’s under attack near the city of Sheffield, England. </p>
<p>Ryan assumes that an unknown entity moving through the train carriages has killed someone. A classic Doctor Who set-up, you might think, only for the Doctor to counsel that, no, this death was more likely from shock – while linked to the alien incursion, it wasn’t intended or executed by a traditional monster. The expected storyline is quickly overturned.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinks-in-the-world-machine-on-the-casting-of-the-13th-doctor-who-81116">'Chinks in the world machine' – on the casting of the 13th Doctor Who</a>
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<p>Later, the Doctor comes up with an “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0370263/">Alien vs Predator</a>”-style explanation of events, only to accept that unusually she too has got things wrong – this isn’t one alien against another, instead it’s a hunt for human trophies. And Chibnall wrong-foots viewers by depicting the character of Karl Wright, another passenger caught up in the train attack, as classic monster fodder – only to make him rather more “randomly” central to the narrative than standard conventions might dictate. </p>
<h2>Shock of the new</h2>
<p>“New can be scary”, the Doctor cautions her latest friends – while reflecting on the fact that – post-regeneration – she’s temporarily become “a stranger to myself”. And there’s a mission statement of sorts put front-and-centre, as she hails “Tim Shaw” – her name for the alien warrior chasing around Sheffield – with an inspirational account of transformative self-identity: “We’re all capable of the most incredible change. We can evolve, while still staying true to who we are. We can honour who we’ve been and choose who we want to be next.”</p>
<p>“The Woman Who Fell To Earth” is preoccupied with gender – but probably not the one you were expecting. It is sometimes less about the Doctor’s newfound femininity (which gets some great one-liners) and more about wayward masculinity, represented by both Karl and “Tim Shaw”. The former is obsessed with inspirational quotes (“I am brave”, “I am confident”, “I am special”) while lacking many of these positive qualities, and the latter is an intergalactic cheat, insecure about his ability to become a leader. </p>
<p>There is, also, a stronger sense of male vulnerability in this tale than ever before: we have the story of Ryan’s dyspraxia to follow in coming episodes and it seems unlikely that Graham O'Brien’s cancer remission will be mentioned just this once (Graham is Ryan’s step-grandad as well as Grace’s partner, and is superbly played by Walsh). </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239584/original/file-20181007-72133-ky0tha.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239584/original/file-20181007-72133-ky0tha.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239584/original/file-20181007-72133-ky0tha.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239584/original/file-20181007-72133-ky0tha.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239584/original/file-20181007-72133-ky0tha.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239584/original/file-20181007-72133-ky0tha.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239584/original/file-20181007-72133-ky0tha.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Who are you? Grace, Yasmin, the Doctor, Ryan and Graham.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC Pictures</span></span>
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<p>Indeed, the decision to include these real-world problems – the energetic Grace having been Graham’s chemo nurse when they first met – strikes me as a genuinely brave move for a family entertainment show, and one to be applauded. This is a grounded, challenging view of Doctor Who – one which displays its humanity not via reassuring neoliberal tales of self-celebration, but instead through a (public service) sense of needing to “work through” difficulties.</p>
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<p>However, given recent <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StuffedIntoTheFridge">debates around “fridging”</a> – the trope where a female figure (often a girlfriend) has to be killed in order to motivate a male character’s angst-filled storyline – the demise of courageous Grace feels like a misstep. Her loss leaves a symbolic gap for the Doctor to fill, perhaps – as well as a reason for Ryan and Graham to become time travellers rather than wanting to return to Sheffield, 2018. But she’s the one character who instantly feels as if she should have been a “companion” to this Doctor. </p>
<h2>Brave new Who-niverse</h2>
<p>“The Woman Who Fell to Earth” is sharply directed by Jamie Childs (His Dark Materials) and benefits from some impressive incidental music from Segun Akinola (Dear Mr Shakespeare: Shakespeare Lives). Whittaker doesn’t put a foot wrong and – with a convincing group of new friends, a brilliant cliffhanger and a showrunner unafraid to incorporate mentions of cancer, chemo and dyspraxia – this looks to be a show in safe hands. </p>
<p>Male heroics will no doubt earn an ongoing place in the new “Who-niverse” – if Ryan and Graham can be shaped, inspired and remade by the transformational zest of Whittaker’s Doctor. In time, they will have an opportunity to properly learn the lessons of human rather than Time Lord regeneration, and how “we’re all capable of the most incredible change”. </p>
<p>This is a strong opening to a new phase in Doctor Who’s history: it is accessible, bravely grounded and inspiring in its own right. The Doctor is in.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104515/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matt Hills does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Embracing change is the theme of Doctor Who’s fizzing series opener.Matt Hills, Professor of Media and Film, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/880612017-11-27T12:06:43Z2017-11-27T12:06:43ZEight surprising things it’s time you knew about Gulliver’s Travels<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196221/original/file-20171123-17988-1vwsyta.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Gotcha!</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Happy 350th birthday, Jonathan Swift. Widely recognised as the leading satirist in the history of the English language, Swift found his way into the world 350 years ago on November 30, 1667. Celebrations of his life and legacy have been underway across the globe – not only in his home city of <a href="https://jonathanswiftfestival.ie">Dublin</a> but also <a href="http://www.library.upenn.edu/exhibits/swift_papers.html">Philadelphia</a>, <a href="http://www.uni-muenster.de/Anglistik/Swift/Library/Events/7th_Symposium.html">Münster</a>, <a href="http://www.city.yokosuka.kanagawa.jp.e.rb.hp.transer.com/2490/event/15kannnonnzakifes.html">Yokosuka City</a>, <a href="https://beinghumanfestival.org/events/series/jonathan-swift-350-lost-found/">Dundee</a> and beyond.</p>
<p>Gulliver’s Travels is Swift’s most famous work. Since it first appeared in 1726, it has captivated readers, authors and artists alike. But many people’s engagement with this astonishing book tends to get lost in fantastical images of scampish little people and baffled giants. So here is your cut-out-and-keep guide to all things Gulliver. </p>
<h2>1. Not really a children’s book</h2>
<p>Most readers will fondly remember Gulliver as a children’s book, but the <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/classics//catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780679405450">unexpurgated version</a> is full of brutality. The ruthlessly logical Houyhnhnms – highly intelligent horse-like creatures – plan to wipe out the bestial humanoid Yahoos by castrating them all. This plan is inadvertently inspired by Gulliver’s description of how horses are treated in England.</p>
<p>There is a particularly unsavoury scene in the Lilliput voyage where Gulliver urinates on the queen’s home to quench a devastating fire. This is routinely included in the children’s edition, albeit in sanitised form. And then there’s the scene in one of Gulliver’s final adventures where our hero has to fend off a highly libidinous female Yahoo who appears intent on raping him. </p>
<h2>2. Coining new words</h2>
<p>Gulliver’s Travels has given the English language a number of notable words, not least Houyhnhnm (move your lips like a horse when saying it). There’s also Yahoo, an uneducated ruffian; brobdingnagian, meaning huge, after the giants in the second voyage; and lilliputian, meaning small, after the miniature humans of the first voyage. </p>
<p>Swift also loved puns. Lindalino, a most unusual place, is another name for Dublin (double “lin”). The flying city of Laputa is a harsh allegory of England and its colonial dominion over Ireland – the name means “the whore” in Spanish (la puta). As for the kingdom of Tribnia, it is an anagram of Britain. Its residents call it Langden, an anagram of England. </p>
<h2>3. Roman à clef</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196222/original/file-20171123-17982-6d64gn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196222/original/file-20171123-17982-6d64gn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196222/original/file-20171123-17982-6d64gn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=775&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196222/original/file-20171123-17982-6d64gn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=775&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196222/original/file-20171123-17982-6d64gn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=775&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196222/original/file-20171123-17982-6d64gn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196222/original/file-20171123-17982-6d64gn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196222/original/file-20171123-17982-6d64gn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Robert Walpole.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Walpole">Wikimedia</a></span>
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<p>Like any successful satirist, Swift had many enemies. Britain’s first prime minister, Robert Walpole, is recreated as Flimnap, who as the pompous Lord High Treasurer of Lilliput has an equivalent role in their society. Either the Duke of Marlborough or Earl of Nottingham is the inspiration for his war-hungry governmental counterpart Skyresh Bolgolam, the Lord High Admiral of Lilliput. </p>
<p>Other authority figures are roundly mocked throughout the book. The pettiness of politicians – Whigs and Tories alike – is compellingly conveyed by rendering them small. That moment where Gulliver urinates on the palace is <a href="https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/gullivers-travels/summary-and-analysis/part-i-chapter-5">sometimes interpreted</a> as a reference to the <a href="http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/History-of-Gibraltar/">Treaty of Utrecht</a> of 1713, which ceded Gibraltar to the UK – and by which the Tories put out the fire of the War of Spanish Succession with some very ungentlemanly conduct.</p>
<h2>4. Big in Japan</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g298174-d1238912-Reviews-Kannonzaki_Park-Yokosuka_Kanagawa_Prefecture_Kanto.html">Konnonzaki</a> in Japan, just south of Tokyo, is a tourist delight. In addition to stunning mountains and beautiful beaches, it is thought to be where Gulliver first set foot in Japan – represented as the port of Xamoschi. </p>
<p>Local tourist associations in neighbouring Yokosuka City hold a Gulliver-Kannonzaki Festival every November. American sailors from the Yokosuka Naval Base dress up as Gulliver and parade around the district. In the first Godzilla movie, the monster also lands at Kannonzaki, then heads toward Tokyo – just like Gulliver. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196224/original/file-20171123-17988-1qk8jmi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196224/original/file-20171123-17988-1qk8jmi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196224/original/file-20171123-17988-1qk8jmi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196224/original/file-20171123-17988-1qk8jmi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196224/original/file-20171123-17988-1qk8jmi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196224/original/file-20171123-17988-1qk8jmi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196224/original/file-20171123-17988-1qk8jmi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196224/original/file-20171123-17988-1qk8jmi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">He gets around.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>5. Gulliver goes Martian</h2>
<p>The book jokingly mentions the presence of moons around Mars. After Phobos and Deimos were discovered by astronomers in 1872, <a href="http://www.irishphilosophy.com/2015/08/17/swifts-crater/">Swift crater</a> on Deimos was named in the Irishman’s honour. </p>
<h2>6. Swifter things</h2>
<p>Before the advent of film, Gulliver appeared in stage adaptations, musical rearrangements, visual caricatures – and on fans, pots and various other knick-knacks. Pioneering French illusionist Georges Méliès directed and starred in the first cinematic adaptation in 1902, the spectacular Le Voyage de Gulliver à Lilliput et Chez les Géants. </p>
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<p>Yet it’s the <a href="https://youtu.be/nzdon9kK5-k">live-action version</a> from 1977 with its Disneyfied Lilliputians that tends to stick in our minds. That film features an ebullient Richard Harris as Gulliver, but many other actors have portrayed him – including <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1320261/">Jack Black</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115195/">Ted Danson</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026793/">Vladimir Konstantinov</a>. Gulliver even appeared in a 1968 Doctor Who serial (<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/mindrobber/detail.shtml">The Mind Robber</a>) and in the first volume of Alan Moore’s comic <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/league-of-extraordinary-gentlemen-volume-1-alan-moore/1102302221">The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen</a> (1999-2000).</p>
<h2>7. Inspiring other writers</h2>
<p>Writers expressly influenced by Gulliver’s Travels include HG Wells (most obviously in The Island of Dr Moreau and The First Men in the Moon) and George Orwell (Animal Farm). Margaret Atwood’s adventure romance Oryx and Crake takes a quotation from Swift for an epigraph. Atwood has also written an <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10356713-in-other-worlds">important essay</a> on the mad scientists depicted in Gulliver’s third voyage. </p>
<p>In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the main character, Guy Montag, alludes to the Big Endian-Little Endian controversy about the proper way to break a boiled egg (“It is computed that 11,000 persons have at several times suffered death rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end”).</p>
<h2>8. Gulliver’s encores</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196225/original/file-20171123-17982-1kj5hq2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196225/original/file-20171123-17982-1kj5hq2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=910&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196225/original/file-20171123-17982-1kj5hq2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=910&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196225/original/file-20171123-17982-1kj5hq2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=910&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196225/original/file-20171123-17982-1kj5hq2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196225/original/file-20171123-17982-1kj5hq2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196225/original/file-20171123-17982-1kj5hq2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
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<p>Our notional hero’s life ends unhappily – by his own account – when he returns home to a wife and children he has come to loathe. Nevertheless, scores of secondary authors keep taking Gulliver on yet more journeys, typically beyond the world Swift created for him, but sometimes back to where it all began.</p>
<p>The earliest of these was the anonymously authored <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Memoirs_of_the_Court_of_Lilliput.html?id=IZTRAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y">Memoirs of the Court of Lilliput</a>, published less than a year after Gulliver took his first bow. More recently, a 1965 Japanese <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059212/">animated film</a> (right) took an elderly Gulliver to the moon – along with a new crew comprising a boy, a crow, a dog and a talking toy soldier. New countries, new planets, new companions, new adventures: Gulliver has had a busy afterlife.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88061/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Cook has received funds from the British Academy, the Levehulme Trust and the AHRC.</span></em></p>Even now, 350 years after his birth, the great Irish satirist Jonathan Swift remains as sharp and relevant as ever.Daniel Cook, Senior Lecturer in English, University of DundeeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/814102017-07-26T09:42:21Z2017-07-26T09:42:21ZCasting a female Doctor Who wasn’t so bold – choosing another white male would have been really risky<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179313/original/file-20170722-28505-j27a6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image courtesy of the BBC</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p058vj2q">casting of Jodie Whittaker</a> as the 13th Doctor has been celebrated by some and condemned by others as overly politically correct – but was the decision by Doctor Who’s latest showrunner Chris Chibnall truly such a risk for the programme? In a recent interview, <a href="https://www.rts.org.uk/article/chris-chibnall-man-who-reinvented-cliffhanger">Chibnall suggested</a> that “the BBC was after … risk and boldness” – something that might tally with Whittaker taking the role after more than 12 men have tackled the job. </p>
<p>Risk rhetoric is part of the BBC’s <em>raison d’etre</em> as a public service broadcaster – the broadcaster should be taking creative risks that the market won’t countenance. But to accept Chibnall’s “risk and boldness” comment is also to accept an auteurist stance – the new showrunner’s vision for transforming the show included bringing the lead actor with him from a previous hit (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/chris-chibnall">Broadchurch</a>). So the casting of Whittaker as the 13th Doctor is apparently not just a feather in the BBC’s cap (feminism-as-public-service) but also in that of Chibnall’s (feminism-as-showrunner-vision). </p>
<p>Viewing Whittaker’s casting outside these strategies, however, it may not be such a risk after all. Following the regendering of <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FwFODQAAQBAJ&pg=PA227&lpg=PA227&dq=Starbuck+regendered&source=bl&ots=cT_bDSVRPd&sig=gm5OYNks0ef5MmDaVrrACVWByHE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjEpPyc-KPVAhUrKMAKHVa5B6QQ6AEIIjAA#v=onepage&q=Starbuck%20regendered&f=false">Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica</a> and <a href="http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/all-female-ghostbusters-provide-big-twist-to-beloved-franchise">the cast of Ghostbusters</a>, Doctor Who is hardly bucking market trends. </p>
<p>It could even be argued that the new team is following the market rather than enacting bold public service programming. The real risk would have been to cast yet another white male, consigning Doctor Who to a sense of being yesterday’s brand.</p>
<h2>Preaching to the choir</h2>
<p>Given the controversy that has swirled around Whittaker’s emergence as the 13th Time Lord there has been a desire for some objective measure of cultural response. The Doctor Who fan forum, <a href="http://gallifreybase.com/forum/">Gallifrey Base</a>, canvassed fan sentiment (80/20 in favour), and the Radio Times <a href="http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-07-17/overwhelming-majority-of-doctor-who-fans-are-looking-forward-to-first-female-doctor-says-poll">ran an online poll</a> which showed that 85% were in favour. Neither generated robust data, but Brandwatch <a href="https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/react-doctor-who-13/">assessed social media trends</a> and <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/opi/surveys/results#/survey/54be73d0-6ad7-11e7-8cde-a6b53c1dce63/question/a523f700-6ad7-11e7-b4bb-5a4b9f5f534f/toplines">YouGov polled 3,616 respondents on July 17</a>, finding that Labour party supporters, ABC1s (the top half of the social classification system) as well as Londoners and people in Scotland were all more positive about a female Doctor than other demographics. Overall, YouGov polling and Brandwatch analysis both showed that negative reaction was restricted to a small minority.</p>
<p>A victory for the Doctor, then? If so, it is one coloured by the #RIPDoctorWho style of responses from some, including one <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Levine">“big name fan”</a> who worked as an unofficial consultant on the 1980s programme. It seems as if certain fans don’t get the fact that the Doctor has always been a “social justice warrior” him/herself. And just as a section of fandom bemoaned an <a href="http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/russell-t-davies-unfairly-criticised-54465.htm">alleged “gay agenda”</a> in the Russell T Davies era in 2005, now some have been vocally against what they seemingly imagine to be a “gender agenda”.</p>
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<p>Sadly, particular press reactions to the news were <a href="http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/entertainment/people/jodie-whittaker-sexism-523798#RJIdaZruoiTyyZby.01">rampantly sexist</a>, with screengrabs of Whittaker from the film Venus appearing on page three of The Daily Star <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jul/17/sun-and-mail-online-irresponsible-for-publishing-nude-new-doctor-pictures-jodie-whittaker">and elsewhere</a>. </p>
<p>Arguably, everyday sexism also made it into some unexpected places: Piers Wenger, controller of BBC Drama, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/jodie-whittaker-13-doctor">said in his press release blurb</a> (reiterated in the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/doctor-who-new-jodie-whittaker-female-bbc-complaints-response-woman-time-lord-peter-capaldi-a7849391.html">BBC’s response to complaints</a>) that Whittaker “aced it in her audition both technically and with the powerful female life force she brings to the role”. I don’t recall the “technical” auditioning of male Doctors ever being dwelt upon as much before, nor their gender-specific life forces. Although Wenger’s comments are celebratory on-brand stuff, they indicate that Whittaker is likely to be represented very differently to the Doctor’s previous incarnations, and not just in the tabloids.</p>
<h2>Institutional sexism</h2>
<p>Doctor Who’s retooling also necessarily leaves untouched the TV industry’s ongoing structural and institutional sexism. This includes issues raised by the BBC’s different pay levels for senior men and women and by the numbers of women working in senior creative roles on Doctor Who itself. Will the days of the 13th Doctor usher in far more female writers and directors? According to recent reports, <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/bbc-s-tony-hall-confirms-doctor-who-s-jodie-whittaker-will-be-paid-the-same-as-peter-capaldi-after-a3592211.html">Whittaker’s salary</a> will have “parity” with Peter Capaldi’s. BBC Worldwide and BBC Studios are exempt from BBC salary reporting though, so this may never be officially verified. </p>
<p>There’s a temptation to celebrate the Doctor’s new identity, but perhaps the change shouldn’t just be seen as an obvious “risk” or a simple “win” (that the Doctor remains white, for instance, has been challenged by those wanting more <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jul/17/anita-sarkeesian-feminist-complains-new-doctor-who/">intersectional</a> and <a href="https://stitchmediamix.com/2017/07/16/ive-got-complicated-feelings-about-the-newest-incarnation-of-the-doctor/">racial</a> awareness). </p>
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<p>What this regeneration is, however, is the opening up of new possibilities. Series 11 of Doctor Who will no doubt inspire new audiences and fans (women and men, girls and boys) <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/tv-radio/2017/07/will-annoy-exactly-right-people-why-casting-jodie-whittaker-doctor-who">while shedding a reactionary minority</a>, along with those remaining wholly averse to cultural regeneration. Even <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2017/07/16/female-doctor-can-help-franchise-regenerate-period-decline/">the Daily Telegraph</a> agreed with Whittaker’s casting, putting commerce ahead of conservative views on gender. </p>
<p>While past actors to have inhabited the role <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/doctor-who/news/a833681/doctor-who-colin-baker-peter-davison-clash-jodie-whittaker/">can’t quite reach consensus</a>, as the Doctor herself might say, it’ll be an audience “change, my dear, and it seems not a moment too soon” for the brand’s revitalisation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81410/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matt Hills does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Showrunner Chris Chibnall has been praised for the courage of his vision. But casting a female lead is very much on trend at present.Matt Hills, Professor of Media and Film, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/811752017-07-18T20:04:24Z2017-07-18T20:04:24ZMy time as a ‘scary girl’ on Doctor Who<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178597/original/file-20170718-21991-182naue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sylvester McCoy was Doctor Who in 1987, when Julie Collins appeared as Leader of the Red Kangs in the TV show.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC films</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1987, I appeared as Fire Escape, the Leader of the Red Kangs, in a Doctor Who tale of dystopian mayhem: Paradise Towers. In a dilapidated Tower Block, colour-coded gangs of “Kangs” - delinquent teenage girls - ran amok, whilst behind closed doors, sweet and endearing old ladies lured unsuspecting visitors into their apartment for tea, so that they could eat them.</p>
<p>The Kangs became allies of the Doctor - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_actors_who_have_played_the_Doctor">number seven</a>, played by Sylvester McCoy - who went on to defeat the Hitler-like totalitarian Chief Caretaker, played by veteran British actor Richard Briers. The fans both loved and hated this story. The acting was at times way over the top. But on the plus side, Paradise Towers, a storyline written by Stephen Wyatt, contained great social commentary, critiquing the social upheaval of Thatcher’s Britain. The Kangs were seriously “scary girls”, and the streets were full of them.</p>
<p>The news this week that a woman - <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40624288">English actor Jodie Whittaker </a>- will be the 13th Doctor Who has got me thinking about my time on the set of this classic show. Whittaker’s appointment to the role has been hailed by many and criticised by some purists. I think that it is about time a Wise Woman took control of the Tardis, even if the Tardis does not always do as it’s told these days. Reflecting on my brief time on the show, it is interesting that while women such as the Kangs were feisty, the Doctor’s female companions were there mostly to help show how clever he was.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178594/original/file-20170718-22034-1kfgd68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178594/original/file-20170718-22034-1kfgd68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178594/original/file-20170718-22034-1kfgd68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178594/original/file-20170718-22034-1kfgd68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178594/original/file-20170718-22034-1kfgd68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178594/original/file-20170718-22034-1kfgd68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178594/original/file-20170718-22034-1kfgd68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178594/original/file-20170718-22034-1kfgd68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The author as Fire Escape in 1987.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>My own personal association with Doctor Who - apart from hiding behind the couch as a very small person - began in the mid 1980s, when my partner at the time, Mark Strickson, was cast as Turlough, companion to the fifth Doctor, played by Peter Davison. I was so jealous! But over the next few years, I probably spent almost as much time on the set as Mark did. This was the era when John Nathan Turner (known as JNT) was the producer and the series was probably at its most economical.</p>
<p>Production was fast and furious. But despite the pressures, I was welcome on location and in the studio. I watched from the sidelines and even from the control room. One day when I entered the studio, the Daleks were there. They were really very scary, even though you knew the voices were coming from four small and elderly gentlemen sitting at a table in the corner with large microphones.</p>
<p>When I eventually got the call to audition for my own story on Doctor Who, it was unlike any audition I’d been to. Instead of sitting across a desk, having a quiet chat and perhaps reading a few lines of script, which was the norm, JNT and the director, Nicholas Mallett, had overturned the furniture and I was asked to improvise a life and death battle. </p>
<p>Working on Paradise Towers was hard work. You had to stay focussed; if at 10pm, your concentration was about to lapse, the production team was unlikely to retake a shot to fix up your performance.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oow4-Wj84QI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">One of the episodes in which Fire Escape appeared.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This was only Sylvester’s second outing as the Doctor, and he was quite nervous at times but his background as a stand up comic helped - and his wry sense of humour came to define his portrayal. </p>
<p>I met many of the Doctors over the years: the quietly dignified Pat Troughton; the charming Jon Pertwee; the ascerbic Tom Baker; the very kind Peter Davison; and the flamboyant Colin Baker.</p>
<p>In recent years, I also met Paul McGann, the eighth Doctor, who appeared in the movie, and he told me a story that shows how the character has evolved over the years. </p>
<p>The Doctor began his existence as a typical white, upper middle class, patriarchal male. While the casting of Peter Davison in 1981 sent shock waves through the BBC - I mean how could you have a young Doctor? - he was still the wise and nicely spoken patriarch. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178598/original/file-20170718-22000-17q99vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178598/original/file-20170718-22000-17q99vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178598/original/file-20170718-22000-17q99vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178598/original/file-20170718-22000-17q99vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178598/original/file-20170718-22000-17q99vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178598/original/file-20170718-22000-17q99vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178598/original/file-20170718-22000-17q99vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178598/original/file-20170718-22000-17q99vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Paul McGann as Doctor Who in 1996.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>McGann told me that when he was cast as Doctor Who, in 1996, he suggested that he play him as a Northerner in a leather jacket. But the producers insisted he play the Doctor as an Edwardian gentleman. </p>
<p>Yet in 2005, Christopher Eccleston became the ninth Doctor - as a Northener in a leather jacket. The Doctor was no longer quite so posh.</p>
<p>Peter Capaldi who played the Doctor from 2013 until now, might be seen as a return to the old model - the mature patriarch - apart from the fact he is Scottish. And yet Capaldi is quite different, more reflective, more self doubting. Ironically, considering the Doctor is not human, this incarnation seems more human and in need of support from his companions. For this reason, he is my favourite Superhero. The Doctor is in a sense Everyman and therefore, Everywoman.</p>
<p>The idea that Time Lords can change genders has already been established, and the Doctors can remember all their previous incarnations, so I do not think the change to a female Doctor will be earth shattering. Maybe Doctor number 14 will be a person of colour, that would be exciting.</p>
<p><em>Postscript: After appearing in four Doctor Who episodes, the author went on to study zoology and do a PhD in ecological humanities … as you do.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81175/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Collins occasionally receives minor royalties from her appearance on Doctor Who.</span></em></p>In the late 1980s, a gang of feisty teenage girls briefly helped the good Doctor. But his female companions were still mostly there to show how clever he was.Julie Collins, Lecturer in Indigenous studies, University of New EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/811162017-07-18T09:35:57Z2017-07-18T09:35:57Z‘Chinks in the world machine’ – on the casting of the 13th Doctor Who<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178409/original/file-20170717-6049-m2run3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/WhovianLife">The Whovian Life via Twitter</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Once upon a time, there was a little girl who dreamed of going into space. She would sit on the floor in the library, cross-legged on the carpet before a big shelf of books and read about a machine that could travel in time and space. She would put on the television, and see the Doctor and the TARDIS, and wish that she could be there too. She wanted to be on the Enterprise, and the Liberator and the Millennium Falcon – and she imagined great adventures, in which she saved the world, the galaxy, and (why not) the universe. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, a Catholic girls’ school in the 1980s was not a great place to harbour such ambitions – and there weren’t many kindred spirits dreaming these particular dreams. They became private stories, told to myself at odd moments, just before falling asleep – but not to be shared. After all, what kind of girl likes Doctor Who? What kind of girl wants to jaunt around time and space?</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178407/original/file-20170717-6052-7kse0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178407/original/file-20170717-6052-7kse0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178407/original/file-20170717-6052-7kse0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178407/original/file-20170717-6052-7kse0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178407/original/file-20170717-6052-7kse0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178407/original/file-20170717-6052-7kse0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178407/original/file-20170717-6052-7kse0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178407/original/file-20170717-6052-7kse0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">At long last!</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC/Colin Hutton</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To say that I am delighted at the news that Jodie Whittaker has been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jul/16/doctor-who-jodie-whittaker-announced-13th-doctor">chosen to play the 13th Doctor</a> is a huge understatement. I enjoyed the whole media build up immensely. I was greatly entertained watching good friends rapidly bring themselves up to speed on the rules of tennis in order to predict how long a Wimbledon final might be – so that they could make sure they were on hand when the announcement was made. I watched the trailer with refreshed wonder and a whoop of glee at the reveal. </p>
<p>I remembered how happy friends had been when <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3552087.stm">Christopher Eccleston was cast</a> as the ninth Doctor back in 2004, how glad they were that now there was a Doctor who seemed like them. I hoped that they would glad now that there was a Doctor who was like me.</p>
<h2>Remaking the world</h2>
<p>For me, science fiction – speculative fiction – is a genre that asks us to think about possibility. All good fiction, of course, asks us to expand our horizons by sympathetically imagining the experience of others. But the apparatus of speculative fiction provides us with particular, useful tools to re-imagine what that “other” might be – and to imagine the kinds of worlds that would be needed in order to make radically different kinds of being possible. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"886608420241117185"}"></div></p>
<p>Alien life, yes; but also the kinds of human life and organisation that might be brought about by technological or scientific advance – or the radical re-imagining of how power, authority and resources <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2092886/">might be</a> e distributed among us. Its best writers, such as <a href="http://www.ursulakleguin.com/">Ursula Le Guin</a>, seem to have the power to remake the world. </p>
<h2>Science fiction grows up</h2>
<p>Science fiction has not, historically, been generous to women. Mothered by Mary Shelley (in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2016/jun/16/what-frankenstein-means-now">Frankenstein</a> and <a href="https://thefinchandpea.com/2014/08/03/end-of-the-world-1826-mary-shelleys-the-last-man/">The Last Man</a>), the genre, throughout the first half of the 20th century, becomes predominantly a form of heroic literature, steeped in fantasies of mastery and conquest. </p>
<p>Women were rarely present in this literature, except as trophies or temptations. We survived, in <a href="http://www.sarahlefanu.co.uk/in-the-chinks-of-the-world.html">the arresting phrase</a> coined by the great science fiction writer <a href="http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/tiptree_james_jr">James Tiptree Jr</a> (aka Alice Bradley Sheldon and Raccoona Sheldon): “by ones and two, in the chinks of the world-machine”. A surge of <a href="https://iansales.com/2011/03/21/the-womens-press-science-fiction/">feminist Utopian writing in the 1980s</a> marks the beginning of a shake-up of the genre, which can now delight and surprise in many ways. </p>
<p>Casting a woman as the Doctor seems like <a href="https://theconversation.com/enough-with-the-doctor-who-gender-debate-its-time-72262">something that should have happened years ago</a>. Television is expensive, success is not assured, and risks with a flagship property can be difficult to justify. The incoming production team should be commended for this decision, choosing in Whittaker an actor of great talent whose presence will surely revitalise this ever-changing, fascinating, <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/08/global-force-doctor-who-what-does-britain-s-biggest-cultural-export-tell-world">British institution</a>. </p>
<p>Having a woman as the Doctor will not solve the conditions of vast and cruel inequality under which millions of women live today. It will not alter the grotesquery of the most qualified woman in history being passed over for the job of US president in favour of an overgrown child who wanted a toy and now doesn’t know what to do with it. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"886897823366733824"}"></div></p>
<p>But representation and visibility do matter. What I have enjoyed most about this casting news is thinking about how this Doctor – a woman Doctor – was going to be the one that my little girl would grow up seeing. She will be her Doctor. The hero, the adventurer, the person to whom the text turns for moral and intellectual authority – that is a woman now. </p>
<p>A little more of the glass ceiling has cracked. A spanner has been thrown into the workings of the world machine. We are reminded that something different is possible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81116/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Una McCormack is a New York Times bestselling author of Star Trek and Doctor Who novels, and, in 2017, is a judge for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, given yearly to the best science fiction novel published in the UK.</span></em></p>Doctor Who author Una McCormack has long envisaged a day when a woman was cast as Doctor Who.Una McCormack, Lecturer, Creative Writing Faculty, Department of English and Media, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/777492017-06-12T14:51:02Z2017-06-12T14:51:02ZPrepare for a new golden age of audio drama as big names flock to podcasting<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173320/original/file-20170612-10236-2earyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> </figcaption></figure><p>News that Amazon’s audiobook arm, Audible, is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/30/theater/audible-creates-5-million-dollar-fund-for-emerging-playwrights.html?mcubz=0&_r=0">investing US$5m (£3.8m)</a> to seek out writing talent for forthcoming new releases, is further evidence of a major revival in the medium. The story in 2016 was the way podcasting had led to an <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-world-in-your-ears-radios-dramatic-rebirth-in-the-digital-age-67881">explosion of new drama serials</a> – this year the focus is on how licensing and links to established media is enabling the creation of glossy, high-profile audio “movies”.</p>
<p>Starting in November, the US psychological thriller <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/24/homecoming-podcast-catherine-keener-david-schwimmer">Homecoming</a> was released as a podcast staring David Schwimmer, Oscar Isaacs and Catherine Keener. This was followed by the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/feb/16/bronzeville-glossy-podcast-drama-starring-laurence-fishburne-">Bronzeville</a> serial starring Larenz Tate and Lawrence Fishburn, which brought 1940s underworld Chicago to life.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173345/original/file-20170612-10232-miun4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173345/original/file-20170612-10232-miun4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173345/original/file-20170612-10232-miun4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173345/original/file-20170612-10232-miun4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173345/original/file-20170612-10232-miun4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173345/original/file-20170612-10232-miun4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173345/original/file-20170612-10232-miun4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173345/original/file-20170612-10232-miun4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Big Finish’s The Invisible Man starring john Hurt.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Big Finish</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over in the UK a number of classics have been making headlines as richly imagined audio productions. <a href="http://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/audio-reviews/17535-audio-review-the-invisible-man">The Invisible Man</a> released in February starring John Hurt kicked off a series of high-quality HG Wells releases, for production company Big Finish and in April Wireless Theatre Company produced <a href="http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/listen-new-dramatisation-black-beauty-featuring-harry-potter-actor-618212">Black Beauty with Samuel West and Tamzin Outhwaite</a>.</p>
<p>Doctor Who fans were thrilled to hear that the popular pairing of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39933686">David Tennant and Billy Piper</a> are back, opening the TARDIS door on a new run of audio adventures. Meanwhile, David Duchvony and Gillian Anderson will be reprising their roles, this July, in X-Files: Cold Cases on Audible.</p>
<h2>A new space for creating</h2>
<p>Outside of public radio, podcasters have made the headlines for reviving the medium in the US and building loyal fan followings internationally. Still, it’s a crowded market, that can be a hard-scrabbled existence for producers wanting to put aside the day job. Licensed and commissioned productions are important, as they create new opportunities for skilled producers to invest and attract well-known names on the assurance of either a budget or an existing audience.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173347/original/file-20170612-10199-ktggbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173347/original/file-20170612-10199-ktggbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173347/original/file-20170612-10199-ktggbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173347/original/file-20170612-10199-ktggbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173347/original/file-20170612-10199-ktggbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173347/original/file-20170612-10199-ktggbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173347/original/file-20170612-10199-ktggbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">David Tennant and Billie Piper are reuniting for a podcast version of Doctor Who.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC Pictures</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>News that Tennant and Piper (and recently Catherine Tate) are reprising their roles, will no doubt thrill a new generation of Doctor Who fans. Yet behind the scenes Big Finish have been working with the BBC since 1999 reviving the old classic series and bridging the gap when Doctor Who was temporarily taken off the air (it returned in 2005). This earned the company a loyal group of paying fans and in 2015 it gained the BBC’s permission to start producing audio stories for the <a href="https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/doctor-who-licence-extended-to-2025">new series</a>.</p>
<p>Equally the relationship with media firms can go the other way. Just as the radio series, Hitchhiker’s Guide, spawned a succession of books, TV series and films, well-produced podcast drama can often act as a pilot of future productions. Limetown and <a href="http://www.indiewire.com/2016/12/sam-esmail-develop-homecoming-podcast-tv-series-1201760179/">Homecoming</a> have both received interest from TV companies. Bronzeville was first rejected by TV companies, leading Larenz Tate to develop his full vision in audio, at the fraction of the price of a TV pilot and gaining an international fan following in the bargin.</p>
<h2>Publishers getting in on the act</h2>
<p>A more significant trend in recent years has been the move by publishers to move into full-cast audio drama production. Audible is the biggest player in this sector. Among producers, perhaps the best known name in this field is Dirk Maggs, whose background in BBC drama has given him a reputation for filmic soundscapes and deft adaptations that have earned him a series of commissions from Audible, including the Audie Award-winning Alien franchise (2017) and now X-Files. Indeed, the latest venture was brought about by an international collaboration with <a href="http://pocketuniverseproductions.com/">Pocket Universe Production</a> and <a href="https://www.finalrune.com/">Final Rune Productions</a>) two key organisations in the US audio drama revival and themselves producers of the much lauded Audible epic <a href="http://pocketuniverseproductions.com/projects/locke-key/">Locke and Key</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173348/original/file-20170612-10193-167jdfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173348/original/file-20170612-10193-167jdfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173348/original/file-20170612-10193-167jdfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173348/original/file-20170612-10193-167jdfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173348/original/file-20170612-10193-167jdfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173348/original/file-20170612-10193-167jdfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173348/original/file-20170612-10193-167jdfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173348/original/file-20170612-10193-167jdfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bronzeville: a pitch for the big screen?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">iTunes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Skilled indie producers have also seized on the opportunity. Ten years ago, <a href="https://www.wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk/film-ten-years-wireless-theatre-audio-drama/">Wireless Theatre Company (WTC)</a> was one of the pioneers of downloadable audio drama, providing a national voice to emerging theatre talent in London’s West End. Today the company’s connections to acting talent have given it the credibility to scoop up a bevy of high-profile commissions from Audible including the Audie Award-winning Jungle Book (2016) and Audie nominated Les Liaisons Dangereuses (2017). </p>
<p>For professional actors – even big names – independent audio drama offers something other media can’t. It is fast moving and markedly more flexible than stage or screen. “It can be fit in between other projects easily,” says Mariele Runacre-Temple, founder of WTC – noting that actors can be stolen away to the recording studio in between stage-play performances.</p>
<p>It also expands the horizons of roles actors can play. It “opens up a new world of characters you can play, that you might never get a chance to on stage or film” explains Beth Eyre, a lead actor in the hit podcast <a href="http://www.woodenovercoats.com/">Wooden Overcoats</a> who has achieved a cult following with fans. She goes on to observe “there’s a huge intimacy to being right there in someone’s ears, knowing that the listener can hear every breath.”</p>
<h2>Audible’s gamble</h2>
<p>Audible’s announcement of US$5m to seek out new writers for audio drama is a bold but divisive move. Directed towards playwrights, the fund seems to call up past eras in radio, such as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006tnwj">BBC Radio’s Third Programme</a>, which aired such greats as Beckett, Pinter and Thomas. The preferred format of one or two-person plays is also intended to focus on language and character over plot and neatly bridges the still existing divide between spoken audiobooks and full-cast audio plays, without great cost.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"322750148600008704"}"></div></p>
<p>The decision is not without its downsides. By focusing on playwrights, the fund does seem to exclude the vast majority of podcast and pre-digitial producers who have laboured away to bring the medium to where it is. This is a legitimate criticism – but as the opportunities for the development of professionally produced audio drama continue to grow, it should be regarded as just a new another channel for entering the medium and a welcome expansion of listener choice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77749/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Brooks does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Podcast drama is becoming increasingly big business.Richard Brooks, Research Associate - Centre for Business in Society, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/761622017-04-13T09:50:32Z2017-04-13T09:50:32ZWhat the casting of the next Doctor Who will tell us about the BBC<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165191/original/image-20170413-25894-14l4mg4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Des Willie/BBC/BBC Worldwide/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If, frozen in time in 1989, an old-school Doctor Who fan were roused from cryogenic slumbers, he (and in those days it would almost certainly have been a “he”) would be astonished to see the direction taken by the latest series. He’d note that the hero’s arch-enemy had been reincarnated as both a man and a woman, that his companion was both black and gay, and that the show’s <a href="https://graphicpolicy.com/2013/09/16/facebook-fandom-spotlight-doctor-who-fans-50-women/">audience demographic had broadened</a> (beyond anyone’s wildest expectations) to include women.</p>
<p>But he might be reassured that two things had not changed. The BBC is still beset by government animosity – and the British press still speculate obsessively about the <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/doctor-who/feature/a820476/doctor-who-next-doctor-odds-female-doctor-peter-capaldi/">possibility of a female Doctor Who</a>.</p>
<p>In 1985, Margaret Thatcher’s government had established the Peacock Committee to explore “replacing the BBC license fee <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/British-Television-Policy-Reader-Media/dp/0415198712">with advertising revenues</a>”. This was partly prompted by an antagonism towards the BBC’s perceived liberal bias, a hostility escalated by the BBC’s refusal to adopt jingoistic rhetoric in <a href="http://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9780333409046">its coverage of the Falklands War</a> – which went as far as seeing <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/6756625.stm">allegations of treason</a> being levelled against the broadcaster.</p>
<p>In July 1986, the home secretary, Douglas Hurd, had <a href="http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1986/jul/03/bbc-financing-peacock-report">thus reported</a> his government’s enthusiastic response to Peacock’s proposals to promote a “free broadcasting market including the recommendation to increase the proportion of programmes supplied by independent producers”.</p>
<p>Two years earlier, that champion of popular broadcasting, Michael Grade, had moved from commercial television to become controller of BBC One. Although feared by traditionalists as heralding a “<a href="http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/1057617/">tidal wave of vulgarian programming</a>”, Grade reestablished the BBC’s reputation as a bold and popular innovator. Those who saw Grade’s ascendancy as a sop to Thatcherism would have been reassured by the controversy he sparked in 1988 by broadcasting Tumbledown, a TV play depicting the indifference of the state towards a serviceman wounded in the Falklands. </p>
<p>As a result of Grade’s forceful endorsement, the drama was, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/14/falklands-film-margaret-thatcher">Mark Lawson has observed</a>, “transmitted despite sustained political and military complaints”. So much, then, for the view of Michael Grade as a corporate collaborator. As noted in a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/apr/03/broadcasting.politicsandthemedia3">Guardian profile of Grade</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>To every generation of BBC executive there is the one programme which irritates the government so much it defines the corporation’s relations with Downing Street for a decade and Tumbledown was Grade’s.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6190116.stm">BBC website notes</a> that Grade “was not afraid to make tough decisions – like scrapping sci-fi favourite Doctor Who”. Grade <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2009/jan/05/doctor-who-michael-grade">took the series off air for 18 months</a> and fired its star, Colin Baker – but it was his successors who actually <a href="http://www.radiotimes.com/blog/2012-05-17/doctor-who-is-axed">cancelled the programme</a>. Grade remains demonised by die-hard fans as the executive who dispatched their favourite show. Yet his opposition to Doctor Who was indicative not only of his own confidence, but of the institution’s confidence under his management. It was a bold decision, symbolically important in his bid to modernise the organisation, to put a moribund old favourite out of its misery.</p>
<p>Yet Grade was not dogmatic about Doctor Who. When Russell T Davies resurrected the series in 2005, Grade <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/jun/22/broadcasting.bbc">wrote to congratulate</a> the BBC’s director-general, Mark Thompson on this “classy, popular triumph”. Indeed, Thompson and Davies’s bold move in bringing the series back was only possible as a result of Grade’s bold decision to send it into exile two decades earlier.</p>
<h2>Under pressure</h2>
<p>Let’s fast forward to the present day – 13 years on from when <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3437315.stm">the Hutton Report</a> scarred the BBC’s confidence and <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3441181.stm">led to the resignation of chair Gavin Davies and director-general Greg Dyke</a>. It’s also nine years since the on-air conduct of Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/oct/30/russell-brand-jonathan-ross1">prompted the resignation of the controller of Radio 2</a> and five years since the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/dec/23/jimmy-savile-child-abuse-scandal">Jimmy Savile scandal</a> broke. Just last year, the findings of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35658398">Dame Janet Smith’s investigation</a> emphasised that, in that latter context, the BBC had “missed opportunities to stop monstrous abuse”.</p>
<p>In 2015, a battered BBC dithered in its response to the latest incident involving the presenter of its global franchise Top Gear. The organisation prevaricated for a fortnight between <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-31824040">the suspension of Jeremy Clarkson</a> following a “fracas” with a producer and the presenter’s <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32052736">termination</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165202/original/image-20170413-25901-1fv4tx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165202/original/image-20170413-25901-1fv4tx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165202/original/image-20170413-25901-1fv4tx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165202/original/image-20170413-25901-1fv4tx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165202/original/image-20170413-25901-1fv4tx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165202/original/image-20170413-25901-1fv4tx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165202/original/image-20170413-25901-1fv4tx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The loss of Top Gear was a big blow for the BBC.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IDS.photos via Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The following year, the organisation’s confidence was further dented when <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36707266">Clarkson’s replacement, Chris Evans, quit</a> following poor reviews. Clarkson’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/was-it-worth-the-wait-you-bet-it-was-readers-review-the-grand-tour">successful move</a> that year to Amazon Prime (along with co-hosts Hammond and May) did not bolster the BBC’s morale.</p>
<p>The situation was hardly improved by the arrival of the government of Theresa May and Philip Hammond, and their allies’ claims of the “<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39335904">pessimistic and skewed</a>” BBC response to Brexit – despite the robust defences advanced by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/mar/21/bbc-boss-defends-news-coverage-after-mps-claim-brexit-bias">Lord Hall</a>, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/bbc-brexit-bias-nick-robinson-defend-broadcaster-a7665316.html">Nick Robinson</a>, <a href="http://www.referendumanalysis.eu/eu-referendum-analysis-2016/section-4/bending-over-backwards-the-bbc-and-the-brexit-campaign/">Ivor Gaber</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/21/bbc-brexit-bias-row">The Guardian</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39445745">a sizeable group of MPs</a>.</p>
<p>In 2015, the BBC relinquished <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34756063">The Voice</a>, one of its most successful formats, to a competitor. Late in 2016 – as a result of production processes promoted by Peacock three decades earlier – the institution lost another treasured asset to another competitor, the quintessentially “Beebish” <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37344292">Great British Bake Off</a>. Having lost its Voice, Auntie was now in danger of losing her identity.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165206/original/image-20170413-25898-fxspym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165206/original/image-20170413-25898-fxspym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165206/original/image-20170413-25898-fxspym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165206/original/image-20170413-25898-fxspym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165206/original/image-20170413-25898-fxspym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165206/original/image-20170413-25898-fxspym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165206/original/image-20170413-25898-fxspym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Going, going, gone: another BBC crown jewel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Bourdillon via Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Michael Grade had once fought off bids by rivals to usurp the BBC’s rights to the popular American import Dallas. But today’s BBC lacks Grade’s showmanship. It now bravely clings on to its rights to broadcast such staples as Wimbledon and the Olympics.</p>
<h2>Is there a Doctor in the house?</h2>
<p>That is why the choice of the next star of Doctor Who counts. In its international sales, critical success and popular following, the series ranks alongside such titles as Top Gear, Bake Off and Sherlock. The new series – Peter Capaldi’s last – is scheduled to start on Saturday April 15. It will be the programme’s tenth full season since Davies brought it back. The corporation is clearly keen to retain and regain its success as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/jul/12/doctor-who-bbc-worldwide">a highly remunerative global brand</a>. </p>
<p>The casting of its lead may signal the BBC’s confidence as a bold trendsetter – or not. Who it chooses to play the Doctor may be even more significant than <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/07/ghostbusters-backlash/491834/">the all-female Ghostbusters remake</a> or <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/music-theatre/2017/03/tamsin-greig-s-malvolia-funny-any-malvolio-and-perhaps-more-painful">Tamsin Greig’s Malvolia</a> – or than <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/next-james-bond-idris-elba-finally-says-enough-is-enough-to-those-007-rumours-a6753991.html">Idris Elba’s chances of playing Bond</a>.</p>
<p>(In a show of exquisitely pertinent impertinence, Doctor Who’s new cast member Pearl Mackie has this week declared <a href="http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-04-10/doctor-whos-pearl-mackie-would-like-to-play-james-bond-next">her own desire to play James Bond</a>.)</p>
<p>Lorna Jowett, of Northampton University, has suggested that the relentless white maleness of this pointedly progressive series’ lead has prompted “<a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.7227/CST.9.1.6">increasing criticism</a>”. A 2015 episode provocatively presented the regeneration of <a href="http://mashable.com/2015/12/05/doctor-who-hell-bent-review/#twXahsKFZqqx">a white male Time Lord into a black woman</a>, and this prompted renewed press speculation – speculation rife since the 1980s – that the next actor in the role need not be male or white.</p>
<p>When it was revealed last month that the Time Lord’s new companion would be a lesbian, showrunner Steven Moffat expressed surprise that anyone thought this was a big deal, <a href="http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/05/steven-moffat-says-we-shouldnt-make-a-fuss-about-new-doctor-who-companion-bill-being-gay-6555012/">commenting</a>: “The correct response should be, ‘What took you so long?’” This was, after all, the show that had given us John Barrowman’s glorious <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6069574.stm">bisexual Captain Jack</a>.</p>
<p>The hype around the casting of the series’ next lead may be seen as a barometer of the BBC’s sense of confidence in itself as a cultural driver and leader of social mores. Since Peter Capaldi <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/peter-capaldi-quits-doctor-who-9725084">announced his departure in January</a> there has been much speculation as to who might fill his boots. David Harewood <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39093558">threw his hat into the ring</a>, while <a href="http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-03-29/could-phoebe-waller-bridge-be-the-next-doctor-who-star">Phoebe Waller-Bridge</a>, <a href="http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/12/doctor-who-cant-be-a-woman-no-matter-how-good-the-odds-are-for-game-of-thrones-star-natalie-dormer-6570103/?ITO=SendToAFriend">Natalie Dormer</a>, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/2766762/olivia-colman-broadchurch-ellie-miller/">Olivia Colman</a> and <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/doctor-who-peter-capaldi-replacement-tilda-swinton-kris-marshall-bbc-a7583106.html">Tilda Swinton</a> have all garnered support.</p>
<h2>Confidence motion</h2>
<p>In recent days, however, speculation that the BBC may cast a woman (and/or an actor of colour) in this flagship role has given way to tabloid reports that they may make a rather safer choice. “Hopes of a woman have been dashed,” <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/3251872/doctor-who-bosses-set-their-sights-on-a-male-actor-in-this-thirties-to-play-the-next-time-lord/">reported The Sun</a>, while <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/who-next-doctor-who-likely-10152905">The Mirror announced</a> that TV bosses determined to recapture “the glory days of the David Tennant era have set their sights on finding a dashing male actor”.</p>
<p>If the Mirror is right, we may at least hope that <a href="http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-04-02/sacha-dhawan-already-has-some-strong-ideas-about-his-doctor-who-costume">Sacha Dhawan</a> is in the frame. This strategy would, however, exclude both Thandie Newton and Vicky McLure – despite their thrilling performances in the latest <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/apr/10/line-of-duty-review-an-addictive-minefield-booby-traps-seeting-rivalry">Line of Duty</a> – from the running.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165198/original/image-20170413-25862-1nmz1nl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165198/original/image-20170413-25862-1nmz1nl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165198/original/image-20170413-25862-1nmz1nl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165198/original/image-20170413-25862-1nmz1nl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165198/original/image-20170413-25862-1nmz1nl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165198/original/image-20170413-25862-1nmz1nl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165198/original/image-20170413-25862-1nmz1nl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Thandie Newton and Vicki McClure in Line of Duty.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">World Productions/ BBC / Bernard Walsh</span></span>
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<p>After Hutton, Savile, Top Gear and Bake Off, the question as to whether a BBC rocked by waves of crisis and beset by political hostilities will seek to retrench or renew itself is of massive cultural and political significance. Will the organisation see this critical period as an opportunity to emulate Michael Grade’s modernising chutzpah – aligned with the cultural zeitgeist, yet unafraid of antagonising the establishment? </p>
<p>The impending decisions it takes as to the casting of this particular role may offer a gauge as to its confidence (and dexterity) in negotiating a route towards a post-Brexit Britain. It will certainly be something worth watching for.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76162/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alec Charles does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s time for the BBC to be more adventurous, but will it have the confidence?Alec Charles, Head of the School of Arts, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/757862017-04-11T12:07:34Z2017-04-11T12:07:34ZDoctor Who takes an ethical stance towards alien life – so why isn’t he vegan?<p>Since the Doctor Who series was rebooted in 2005 the television show has consistently presented the Doctor as a moral leader, a key element of which is his respectful relationship with other species. The Doctor expresses admiration and wonder for others, even when they threaten him or his human companions. Christopher Eccleston, who played the first relaunched Doctor, told the BBC that the new show retained “the central message of love for life in all its forms”. If this is the case, <a href="http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/30492/">we have wondered</a>, why isn’t the Doctor a vegan? </p>
<p>Peter Capaldi, who plays the latest incarnation of the Doctor, has not eaten meat on screen. This is a non-human character who does not appear eat other non-humans, and in this regard he differs from his previous three incarnations (Matt Smith, David Tennant, and Eccleston) who were often seen eating dead animals or wearing dead animals’ skins. This is a partial departure from the Doctor’s behaviour during the original series, which ran from 1962 to 1989. The sixth Doctor (played by Colin Baker) became a vegetarian in the 1985 episode <a href="http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Two_Doctors_(TV_story)">The Two Doctors</a> after his companions were almost killed by a species who viewed humans as food animals.</p>
<p>But the Doctor’s vegetarianism was expressly abandoned by head writer Russell T Davies when the show returned in 2005. Davies <a href="https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/toby-hadoke-s-who-s-round-54---russell-t-davies-part-2-1068">explained</a> that he wrote the Doctor’s vegetarianism out of the series because he wanted to make the Doctor more relatable to the audience. But the result is that the Doctor now displays some very confused ethics.</p>
<p>In episode <a href="http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Boom_Town_(TV_story)">Boom Town</a> from 2005, Eccleston’s Doctor discusses issues about death and mercy with a condemned alien. The scene is set in a restaurant, and the Doctor orders steak and chips. In the episode <a href="http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Age_of_Steel_(TV_story)">The Age of Steel</a> from 2006, Tennant’s Doctor expresses how much he enjoys eating meat hotdogs while acknowledging their similarity to what Cybermen unjustly do to humans. In his <a href="http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Eleventh_Hour">first episode in 2010</a>, Smith’s Doctor famously ate fish fingers and custard to recover from the regeneration process. Yet in the Christmas episode that year he reacts with wonder and compassion when encountering flying fishes, who he seeks to save.</p>
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<p>The Eccleston, Tennant and Smith Doctors have all been shown as enthusiastic consumers of some non-human species while at the same time trying to protect others. When the earth is under threat of destruction, the Doctor only ever seems to care about the loss of human lives that might result, and not the many other species living on Earth. In the episode “<a href="http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Cold_War">Cold Earth</a>” from 2010, Smith’s Doctor becomes involved in negotiations for humans to “share” the planet with Silurians, a species of “homo reptilians” who lived on Earth before humans evolved. In the debate over whether there is room for both species, there is no acknowledgement that any species other than humans already live on the planet, or that they are kept and killed for the convenience of humans. </p>
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<p>Capaldi’s Doctor hasn’t yet been shown eating meat like his predecessors. In his first episode in 2014 he even gently chided his companion Clara’s hypocrisy when she was disgusted by the farming of human body parts by an alien, saying: “You weren’t a vegetarian the last time I looked.” There’s been no overt statement that the Doctor has returned to his vegetarianism, but by conspicuously not eating meat Capaldi’s Doctor has at least brought back the moral consistency of the earlier series’ vegetarian Doctor. Twelve years after Davies’ script decision, it seems the Doctor does not need to eat other species in order for us to relate to the character.</p>
<p>As a primetime show aimed at children and adults with a history stretching back more than 50 years, Doctor Who reflects contemporary cultural and ethical norms through the stories it tells. The post-2005 show has been rightly credited for the diversity of its human characters – the new series about to begin sees the introduction of the Doctor’s first openly gay companion, and tipsters feel that <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39093558">the next Doctor may be a woman, or black, or a black woman</a>. However, the modern series has not been so progressive in dealing with our inconsistent ethical relationship with other species, even if the 12th Doctor has gone further than most of his predecessors to demonstrate that he does indeed “love life in all its forms”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75786/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Cole is affiliated with The Vegan Society. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Stewart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If Doctor Who is supposed to respect members of other species, not all of his incarnations see eye to eye when it comes to dinner.Kate Stewart, Principal Lecturer in Sociology, Nottingham Trent UniversityMatthew Cole, Associate Lecturer, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/759932017-04-11T08:06:28Z2017-04-11T08:06:28ZHere’s how Doctor Who’s time machine measures up with real instruments of space and time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164574/original/image-20170409-29403-paxiug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The TARDIS.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tardis_BBC_Television_Center.jpg">Babbel1996/wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s no denying that we’ve seen some absolutely staggering accomplishments in physics in the past year or so, particularly in our ability to measure space and time with unprecedented levels of detail. But being a lifelong “Whovian” excited about Doctor Who returning to our screens once again, I wondered how these accomplishments stacked up to those of the fictional Time Lords.</p>
<p>The crowning achievement of the Doctor has to be the TARDIS, the blue box from the show that’s bigger on the inside and allows the Doctor and his companions to travel “all of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will” as Matt Smith’s eleventh Doctor once put it. But throughout the history of the show, the Doctor’s TARDIS has shown itself to be rather unreliable, regularly turning up at the wrong place or time. Given these faults we might think that the TARDIS <a href="http://io9.gizmodo.com/5720207/when-did-doctor-whos-time-traveler-get-so-good-at-controlling-his-tardis">isn’t quite what it’s cracked up to be</a>.</p>
<p>While the show has featured many, often conflicting, descriptions of how the TARDIS works, the key to the Time Lords’ time travelling ability seems to be the “Eye of Harmony”, essentially a star in an eternal state of collapsing into a black hole. In terms of real science though, the same theory that predicted black holes – Einstein’s general relativity – has solutions which permit time travel (in fact <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1310.7985">one possible way</a> of doing this has been given the name TARDIS).</p>
<p>Whether nature actually allows such solutions to exist is still an <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-build-a-time-machine-54873">open debate among theoretical physicists</a>, and even if time travel could happen we certainly don’t know how to build a time machine. So we’ll just have to compare the Doctor’s TARDIS with our best instruments of simply measuring time and space.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">How good is the TARDIS?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What we really need to compare here are these instruments’ relative precision. A simple way of thinking of this is as the ratio of the smallest thing you can measure with an instrument to the largest. In the case of a metre ruler that would be 1 millimetre compared to 1,000 millimetres (a metre), or simply one in 1,000.</p>
<h2>Measuring space</h2>
<p>In terms of measuring space our best ruler by far is advanced <a href="https://www.advancedligo.mit.edu/">Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory</a> (LIGO). Gravitational waves are mysterious ripples in the fabric of space and time that travel across our universe at the speed of light – stretching space in one direction and shrinking it in the direction that is at right angles. LIGO was the experiment that last year directly detected the <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-gravitational-waves-and-why-their-discovery-is-such-a-big-deal-53239">minute changes in distances travelled by light beams</a>, caused by gravitational waves. </p>
<p>These changes in distance are some 1,000-10,000 times smaller than the size of the nucleus of an atom, and they’re detected over a four-kilometre distance. That’s a level of sensitivity that’s up to one part in 10<sup>23</sup> – a huge number consisting of a one with 23 zeros after it: 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.</p>
<p>Now, considering the TARDIS’s playing field is “all of space”, it’s staggering that even when it turns up at the wrong place it simply manages to land on the right planet (usually Earth). The observable universe is some 10<sup>27</sup> metres in diameter while the Earth’s is a comparatively tiny 1.3m metres. So simply being able to find our planet within only the observable universe is a feat requiring some one in 10<sup>70</sup> relative precision. And that number only gets bigger when we consider how big the universe might extend beyond what’s actually visible.</p>
<h2>Measuring time</h2>
<p>When it comes to time, scientists have been developing new atomic clocks which are much better than the old Caesium ones that have been used to define what a second is. All these new clocks <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1602.03908">essentially count the number of waves</a> of specific colours of visible light emitted by atoms – a unique property of each element. Our current best clock uses Ytterbium atoms and is stable enough to yield relative precision a little less than one in 10<sup>18.</sup></p>
<p>But how do you compare this to the TARDIS? As it covers everything that ever happened or ever will happen, we need to essentially find out when the universe will die to be able to make a comparison. It’s currently 13.8 billion-years-old, but that’s still a very long way ahead. Given our current understanding of the amount of matter and energy in the universe, it won’t be until some 10<sup>100</sup> years that all of the stars, planets and galaxies will have died, all protons and neutrons will have decayed and even all the supermassive black holes will have evaporated. This is what is known as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-fate-of-the-universe-heat-death-big-rip-or-cosmic-consciousness-46157">heat death of the universe</a>.</p>
<p>Given that in the show, the TARDIS tends to turn up only a few years or a decade or so off the intended target, a ballpark figure for the TARDIS’s precision in time is around one in 10<sup>100.</sup> So despite it seemingly looking a bit rubbish in the show from time to time, we’ve still got a long way to go before we can match it. This is certainly something I’ll be keeping in mind when watching the show.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75993/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Archer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Disappointed about Doctor Who’s TARDIS ending up at the wrong place at the wrong time? Don’t be – it’s incredibly precise.Martin Archer, Space Plasma Physicist, Queen Mary University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/722622017-02-01T03:36:57Z2017-02-01T03:36:57ZEnough with the Doctor Who gender debate – it’s time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155091/original/image-20170201-12649-8ll5zp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Joanna Lumley (briefly) played the Doctor in 1999 Comedy Relief special The Curse of Fatal Death.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Youtube</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Doctor is a 900(ish) year old alien with two hearts, at least 12 different faces and the ability to travel through all of time and space. So why is it so hard to imagine the Doctor as a woman?</p>
<p>Peter Capaldi’s decision to leave Doctor Who at the end of the upcoming season has started speculation about options for his replacement. This is a sport of high stakes for fans – the grief of losing the current lead mixed with the excitement of a new face and new identity.</p>
<p>Doctor Who is now over 50 years old, and over that time television conventions have certainly changed. When the first Time Lord was cast in 1963, the audience and BBC felt an elder statesman and “mad scientist”-type was best to lead the franchise. The Doctor was played by William Hartnell, a proper, older, white Englishman – a grandfather, even – and audiences and the Beeb happily relied on this casting to draw in their desired audience. </p>
<p>Hartnell feel ill soon after he had established the character and the role of “The Doctor” for Doctor Who. Rather than cancel or merely replace him, the show’s creators worked with the science fiction narrative to write in the character’s “renewal,” later to be known as the Time Lord’s process of “regeneration”.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Doctor regenerates.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Since Hartnell, Doctor Who has covered 12 regenerations and featured 13 (male) Doctors – not counting the other “Doctor” castings in audiobooks, comics, offshoots and parodies. Favourites include the incomparable Tom Baker, the undeniable David Tennant, the hipster cool of Matt Smith and the recently deceased, but eternally wonderful John Hurt as “The War Doctor” for the program’s fiftieth anniversary special in 2013.</p>
<p>During at least the last couple of “regeneration” rounds, questions of casting and diversity have been asked. Why has the lead still be taken by a white man? What about actors of colour? What about, shock, a woman? They got away with it once – Joanna Lumley appeared as part of a joke sequence of swift regenerations for a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212887/">Comic Relief special</a> – but never as part of the show proper. As British television scholar Lorna Jowett <a href="https://theconversation.com/trust-me-im-a-time-lord-doctor-who-needs-to-diversify-15066">beautifully put it</a>; </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Doctor Who should push the boundaries of representation in the casting of its title character because it can. It’s a major science fiction series with a protagonist who is an alien. The Doctor need not be bound by social conventions.</p>
</blockquote>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Curse of the Fatal Death - Comic Relief does Doctor Who.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Jowett’s point gets to the heart, beauty, and genius of Doctor Who as a television story. It’s repeatable in almost any way the producers of the day choose. Adaptable and barely bound by timey whimey wibbly wobbly rules – except when it comes to the last (gendered) frontier.</p>
<p>Sorry fellow nerds – I’m straying from one sci fi galaxy here into another – but you know what I’m saying.</p>
<p>A few weeks ago the US-based “inclusive, feminist community” The Mary Sue offered five reasons why it was finally time for a female Doctor, with author Holly Christine Brown <a href="http://www.themarysue.com/the-ladies-of-sci-fi-5-reasons-why-we-need-a-female-doctor-in-doctor-who/">arguing against existing stereotypes of women as villains, romantic distractions or side kicks</a>. Given we know the position will be vacant again soon, we can formally begin regeneration speculation (and campaigns) to have the lucky Doctor number 13 cast by a female actor rather than a male. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/01/peter-capaldi-leaving-doctor-who-female-doctor">Vanity Fair</a> has been one of the first major outlets to raise the issue again, while reports in the iconic British masthead <a href="http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-01-30/peter-capaldi-confirms-hes-leaving-doctor-who-at-the-end-of-series-10">Radio Times</a> have so far tended to avoid recasting talk, instead focusing on the more pressing business of promoting Capaldi’s upcoming (final) series which is still yet to air. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jan/31/doctor-who-new-time-lord-woman-peter-capaldi">The Guardian</a> has also launched a pro-woman Doctor campaign, suggesting actors like the Olivier Award winner Noma Dumezweni as exciting possibilities.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155099/original/image-20170201-12656-10voki7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155099/original/image-20170201-12656-10voki7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155099/original/image-20170201-12656-10voki7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155099/original/image-20170201-12656-10voki7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155099/original/image-20170201-12656-10voki7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155099/original/image-20170201-12656-10voki7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155099/original/image-20170201-12656-10voki7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155099/original/image-20170201-12656-10voki7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Noma Dumezweni, who played Hermione Granger in stage play Cursed Child, has been suggested as a replacement for Peter Capaldi.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied</span></span>
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<p>Strong female leads are now on the rise across television (thankfully), and reports like Screen Australia’s “Gender Matters” and <a href="http://www.womensagenda.com.au/career-agenda/item/6631-reel-action-on-gender-screen-australia-sets-minimum-targets-for-female-led-projects">subsequent initiatives to help address gender in balance</a> are positive steps. Research from The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media also suggests that “<a href="https://seejane.org/research-informs-empowers/data/">Gender balance in casting produces sound financial returns</a>”, and at times, even increased earnings for films that are gender diverse when compared to those that aren’t. So there is some hope that a Doctor Who-like television program lead by an excellent woman could work, and work well. However – are we able to accept the direct replacement of a male actor with a female one?</p>
<p>If <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/05/the-sexist-outcry-against-the-ghostbusters-remake-gets-louder/483270/">reactions to the 2015 Ghostbusters reboot</a> are anything to go by, it seems that any incumbent actor will be in for an uphill battle regardless of how talented she is. Suggestions that the recasting “killed the childhoods” of many angry viewers or was “reverse sexism” were loud, and sadly, got pretty ugly at times. </p>
<p>While all of the cast members received criticism (much of it even before the film was released), the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/20/movies/leslie-jones-star-of-ghostbusters-becomes-a-target-of-online-trolls.html?_r=0">abuse directed at Leslie Jones</a> was downright shameful. It was disappointing that she moved away from the spotlight for a while, but also completely understandable. No one should be subjected to that.</p>
<p>However, we also know that the trolls are not the only people who watched and were influenced – with praise coming from, importantly, new generations of young girls (and boys) who were having some of their <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/this-photo-shows-why-we-needed-an-all-female-reboot-of-ghostbusters_us_5783f409e4b01edea78f0c9d">first screen experiences with funny, fierce and kickarse women</a> in the lead roles.</p>
<p>So – a message to (Queen) Helen Mirren, (Should Be President) Meryl Streep, (Dame) Sarah Millican, (Lady) Miranda Hart, (Glorious) Meera Syal… and any others who might get a knock on the door or have an agent make a call – don’t let the trolls scare you. Same goes for you, incoming Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall. Take a chance, explore all of time and space – and hand the sonic screwdriver over to a woman, hey?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72262/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liz Giuffre does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In a universe of infinite possibility, why is Doctor Who always a man? Peter Capaldi’s forthcoming retirement from the role means it’s surely time to hand the sonic screwdriver over to a woman.Liz Giuffre, Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/707262017-01-01T13:42:15Z2017-01-01T13:42:15ZThe violent, post-truth 2017 predicted in The Running Man? We’re living in it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151395/original/image-20161222-17301-12kgij1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'It's showtime!' </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/moviesinla/7399761058/in/photolist-cgTHad-2ktn69-dTnLks-jiV3CX-obwWtE-e6yxhH-udo1F-aXJQEK-9n113T-cwEJW-6TwWbH-hMzMRb-2ULzvZ-89Ct3N-kPnApu-5tHxfp-bwTk8Y-9xewX8-7kxcPw-eDhBZx-7TWYMD-76q7PE-5ADuT1-4Ej1H6-qPtocn-bawgN-amczfE-odvgVo-7kxcPu-2XUpyT-7KuTZA-4HnQSt-bv9PHm-4oF9nj-5wKuXm-4ozHJ3-4C9Spf-7KuVFL-5YrLTC-9WhgAD-7xZ1yr-5xyBex-7KqVYr-7KqXgM-7xUGiZ-7cVuYH-5yuH7a-5js8NU-kDF2o-6iNDQ">Movies in LA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Welcome to a world where fake news stories are used to manipulate public opinion. Dissent is no longer tolerated and all your communications are monitored; the economy is not functioning and reality TV is used to distract you from harsher realities. Welcome to 2017.</p>
<p>I don’t mean our 2017 but an imagined one from 30 years ago. This was the setting for 1987 movie The Running Man, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bad news? Much of this action-adventure slugfest looks eerily prophetic now that we’re here for real.</p>
<p>In the film, Schwarzenegger plays police helicopter pilot Ben Richards in a 2017 when many people are living on the streets and food, natural resources and oil are in short supply. The movie begins with him refusing to fire on a food riot from his helicopter because the people are unarmed, with women and children caught up in the protest. He gets overpowered by colleagues and the rioters are massacred, with footage of the incident edited to make him the perpetrator – and a useful scapegoat. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151408/original/image-20161222-17321-hxg599.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151408/original/image-20161222-17321-hxg599.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151408/original/image-20161222-17321-hxg599.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151408/original/image-20161222-17321-hxg599.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151408/original/image-20161222-17321-hxg599.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151408/original/image-20161222-17321-hxg599.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1265&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151408/original/image-20161222-17321-hxg599.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1265&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151408/original/image-20161222-17321-hxg599.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1265&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The original.</span>
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<p>Imprisoned for life, Richards is offered the chance to win his freedom by competing in the most popular TV programme in history, Running Man. This state-sponsored show pits contestants against high-profile hunters with extreme weaponry. It’s a Schwarzenegger vehicle from his 1980s heyday, so you can probably guess who wins.</p>
<p>The script by Steven E de Souza loosely adapts a <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11607.The_Running_Man">1982 novel</a> of the same name by Richard Bachman, the pseudonym of horror author Stephen King. The source material is set in 2025 and far less heroic. It ends with Richards hijacking an aeroplane and flying it into the television company’s skyscraper headquarters – stop me if this is sounding in any way familiar.</p>
<p>The film adaptation is a product of its time, with 1980s props that look out of place in the fictional 2017 setting. People carry clipboards instead of tablet computers, use analogue phones rather than mobiles, and store their music on cassette. The Running Man does feature smart home technology, like voice-controlled coffee makers, but the computers are primitive. It’s the satirical touches that stand out most in this film, such as the president of the United States having his own theatrical agent.</p>
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<h2>When in Rome …</h2>
<p>The central conceit of both novel and film – that those in power use mass entertainment to distract the population from reality – is part of a long tradition. It dates all the way back to the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/plebians.html">Roman empire</a> when the masses were appeased with free wheat and arena spectacles, a tactic described as <em>panem et circenses</em> – bread and circuses. </p>
<p>One of the first writers to transplant this notion to television was <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049646/">Quartermass</a> creator Nigel Kneale in his 1968 play for BBC Two, <a href="http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/560006/">The Year of the Sex Olympics</a>. It envisaged a dystopian future where the elite maintains control over the people by broadcasting a constant stream of pornography and trash television. </p>
<p>Kneale effectively predicted the rise of reality TV programmes like Big Brother and I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here; and much other science fiction has drawn on the same theme. It appears, for example, in Doctor Who in the 1985 adventure <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/vengeancevaros/detail.shtml">Vengeance on Varos</a> – set in a totalitarian world where torture and executions are televised to amuse and divert the masses – and more recently in <a href="http://www.thehungergames.co.uk">The Hunger Games</a> trilogy. </p>
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<p>The additional element that makes The Running Man even more resonant right now is fake news. The fake footage of Richards’ helicopter massacre is replayed to the live audience in the gameshow studio to coerce them into believing Schwarzenegger’s character is a liar, a murderer and a threat to everyone. The programmers then do the same thing to his sidekick, Amber Mendez (Maria Conchita Alonso), before later faking their televised deaths during the game itself. </p>
<p>It’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-we-learn-to-reject-fake-news-in-the-digital-world-69706">not unlike</a> how social media and even some broadcasters have been guilty of distributing and promoting fake news in recent months, especially during the US presidential election. When psychotic Running Man host Damon Killian (Richard Dawson) interviews studio audience members in the movie, their simple-minded responses echo footage of real American voters dismissing reality for what they’ve been told on TV or via alt-right news sites. </p>
<h2>Muscular politics</h2>
<p>Meanwhile, The Running Man cast included not one but two men who would improbably become governors of American states. <a href="http://www.ontheissues.org/Jesse_Ventura.htm">Jesse Ventura</a>, then best known as a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHAQvZCQcXU">professional wrestler</a>, appears as gameshow veteran Captain Freedom. In 1999, Ventura was elected governor of Minnesota, serving a full four-year term. </p>
<p>Schwarzenegger, a former bodybuilder, was <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/8/newsid_3659000/3659108.stm">then elected</a> governor of California in 2003 and re-elected in 2006. And having starred in a movie about the potential dangers of reality TV, on January 2 he <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/arnold-schwarzenegger-on-taking-over-apprentice-from-trump-w457096">will become host</a> of Celebrity Apprentice in the US. The person he replaces? A real estate tycoon called Donald Trump who will become the president of the United States in the coming days, despite losing the popular vote.</p>
<p>Trump has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/14/steve-bannon-white-house-racism-fear">appointed</a> as his chief strategist and senior counsellor Stephen Bannon. Until recently, Bannon was executive chair of Breitbart News, a right-wing website accused of massaging facts to promote its agenda and win the election for his new boss. And lest we forget, one key part of Trump’s mandate is to revive an economy that has never recovered from the financial crisis of 2007-08. </p>
<p>Put it all together and the 2017 of The Running Man doesn’t look very far away.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70726/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Bishop does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s 30 years since the 1987 classic foresaw a dark vicious future where reality TV had taken over. Looks like we forgot to pay attention.David Bishop, Lecturer in Creative Writing, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.