Doctor Who, airing on the BBC since 1963, has maintained its cult following through many generations. As the Doctor and his companions travel through time via a time-traveling space ship (disguised on the outside as a blue British police box) called TARDIS, they tackle questions of truth, reality, and humanity all while retaining a family-friendly presence. The themes within Doctor Who appeal to a wider audience in part because of its “finely tuned generic hybridity- soap/ satire/ science fiction/ horror/ adventure- [which] enable it to function as Saturday-night ‘family television’ (Creeber 67). This ability, too, has to do with the less “serious” nature of the show when compared to others in the science fiction genre.
In “The Doctor’s Wife” episode of Doctor Who, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory travel to a place outside of the Universe in an attempt to find an endangered Time Lord. Upon their arrival, there is a moment where Rory is confused about exactly where they are, for, “How can one be outside of the Universe if the Universe contains everything?” In response, the Doctor tries to help him understand by explaining how he should, “Imagine a great big soap bubble with one of those little bubbles on the outside… but it’s nothing like that.” The Doctor goes on to explain their current placement outside of the Universe the same way to Amy, noting this time, “If it helps [to think about it this way].” (Doctor Who, 00:05:20-00:05:45) This simple yet powerful exchange of dialogue is notable because it offers an explanation to a concept that otherwise would be difficult to wrap the brain around. The audience (especially the younger audience) asks the same question as Rory because, as science today tells us, all of reality and everything that exists lies within the Universe.
Shortly after arriving, the time-travelers are greeted by the residents who live on the planet outside of the Universe and quickly realize they are in danger. ‘House’ who turns out to be the planet itself, lures Time Lords to him to be eaten and/or used for parts on Aunt and Uncle who want to continue their much past-due life. House “repairs them when they break” by taking other lured Time Lords’ body parts and stitching them on to Aunt and Uncle creating Dr. Frankenstein like monsters. (Doctor Who, 00:14:23-00:15:23) If Aunt and Uncle do not receive the new body parts they need (meant to come from the Doctor) they will die. The same concept of facing death is true for Niece whose soul has been replaced by TARDIS; TARDIS is not meant to live in a human body and cannot survive for much longer. After House fails to outsmart the Doctor and he and his crew make their way safely back into the confines of the Universe, TARDIS’s body dies. Yer, her soul ultimately destroys what is left of House, saving the Doctor, Amy, and Rory.
By displacing the characters outside of any known reality and putting them in a situation where all of the characters are facing life or death (each in their own, unique way), Doctor Who touches on what it means to be human. Appeal to a wide array of audience types is retained through simple explanations and quirky exchanges while the characters move along through their adventure. Though what is on screen is sometimes dark and possibly scary, the Doctor helps to make broad questions about truth, reality, and humanity accessible by all.
Works Cited
Creeber, Glen. (2015). The Television Genre Book (3rd Edition). British Film Institute.
“The Doctor’s Wife.” Dr. Who, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber, and Donald Wilson, presented by Matt Smith, BBC, 2011.
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