Wired columnist Scott Brown has an intriguing essay on why the United States may finally be ready to embrace “Doctor Who.”
Having been a fan since the mid-’80’s and seen the show on the verge of breaking out of its cult stutus (until Michael Grade put the show in haitus and ruined the momentum), the article is particularily interesting and worth a look, especially if you’re a long-time fan of the series.
“I suppose US culture simply isn’t advanced enough to appreciate the longest-running, most successful (and, yes, also the cheesiest and chintziest) science fiction series in television history. And by advanced, I mean defeated. Luckily, that may be changing,” he writes.
“Like its not-so-distant cousin American religion, American sci-fi is fixated on final battles, ultimate judgment (particularly on questions of control and leadership), and an up-or-down vote on the whole good/evil issue. Even the most morally restless imaginings — the Losts and Battlestars — eventually prolapse into Bruckheimer-esque excerpts from the Book of Revelation. As an antidote, I turn to the Doctor — a fussy 900-year-old neurotic who’s part Ancient Mariner, part Oxford don, with a whimsical fashion sense, a close acquaintance with defeat and futility, and a tendency to rattle on. He subscribes to no Force-like creed. No enlightened military Federation stands behind him, photon torpedoes at the ready — indeed, his race, the Time Lords, is more or less extinct,” writes Brown.
If you want to read the full article, you can do so HERE.
The one counter argument I can propose to Brown’s theory is the high price tag the BBC has on syndicating episodes of the classic series. Multiple PBS and cable outlets have reported that the price tag to syndicate the classic series is far beyond their budgetary limitations. This could be a stumbling block to new fans who want to experience the classic series but may not want to purchase the stories on DVD (or try to find them on VHS on E-Bay).
Jayson says
I guess I’ve never understood why entertainment should have any kind of border. I love the UK’s “Doctor Who” “Red Dwarf” & “Torchwood” and honestly it doesn’t really occure to me while watching them that they aren’t American. Those shows are just entertaining, period. In the same vain I watch “Babylon 5”, Star Trek (all incarnations) or “Battlestar Galactica” (new) and it never occures to me, that this show is made in Canada.
I can’t speak to the rest of America but I’ve been in love with Doctor since it’s return in 2005.
Kyle Nin says
Didn’t the classic series already get aired on an American channel, back in the 80’s?
I don’t know about the rest of the country, but I remember the classic series getting aired on WTTW Chicago (it’s a PBS channel). From what I can remember, they showed all of the episodes from the 3rd Doctor to the 7th.
Michael Hickerson says
Yes, Kyle, Doctor Who did air on a lot of PBS stations in the mid 80s. During the first year of Colin Baker’s run as Doctor, the show seemed poised to breakout and become more than just a ‘cult’ series. But then the hiatus happened and the momentum was lost. Then with cut backs to the overall number of episodes produced per year and how it broke down into total number of stories, the decline continued.
I’d love to see fans of the new Who discover the original episodes. I think they’d be pleasantly surprised.
Robin says
I can’t speak for the rest of the country, but my family has been Whovians my entire life. It was part of our Saturday afternoon ritual. New Hampshire Public Television imported a lot of content from the BBC in the 80s and 90s, so I pretty much grew up on Doctor Who, Red Dwarf, Monty Python, Blackadder, etc., etc. The only distinctions I can see between American and British programming is a slightly different sense of humo(u)r, disparities in production values, and accents. I will admit to being a bit of an Anglophile, possibly because of so much exposure as a child, but I really don’t see why it’s such a big deal all of a sudden.
K9 says
Speaking as an avid DOCTOR WHO FAN, note avatar, America has been ready for years. I have been watching it since the 70’s here and just about everyone knows at least the name. Yes this is the best and worst of SCI-FI. The best stories the worst effects in the early years. There is a distinctive difference between the US and UK as to style, content, humor, environment and culture. The UK shows are generally betting in all genre’s!!!!.