Dr. Who
Zachary Klajda
Issue date: 8/20/08 Section: Entertainment
Have you ever heard of Doctor Who? Not a large amount of Americans have - yet the longest running science fiction show on television is still out there, continuing to air edge-of-your-seat adventures after 45 years (Dr Who, 2008).
The series follows the character of The Doctor and his various traveling companions. The Doctor, a mysterious alien who is the last of his species, travels through time and across space in his time ship the TARDIS having dangerous and courageous adventures.
Each episode is roughly stand alone, making the show incredibly accessible for new viewers.
A typical episode from the show, such as 2007's "The Lazarus Experiment," usually features a unique villain or monster. Often the antagonist is already far into a sinister plot when The Doctor arrives, in the midst of chaos, and must not only discover the scheme but also put a stop to it before ever-more people die.
The show also borrows from many different genres each season. The feeling of "there's something for everybody" is evident in episodes like last season's "Midnight," a Hitchcock style thriller set aboard a disabled tourist transport. This episode, dripping with suspense, touches on the Heideggerian concept of mob mentality in a situation of deadly paranoia.
Justin Richards, author of the book Doctor Who The Legend, has more to say of the show's theme, "Doctor Who is like the archetypal Western… The Outsider walks into town… has no name… but the town is in crisis and he is exactly the right person to resolve matters before disappearing again," (2003).
Other examples of the breadth of genres the show contains are:
• The 2005 episode "The Unquiet Dead," a new take on zombies.
• The 2007 episode "42," acted out in real-time a'la Fox's show 24.
• The 2008 episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp," a 1920s murder mystery (complete with Agatha Christie).
• 2005's "Father's Day," dealing with the morality and paradox of saving the life of a man who was doomed to die.
The series follows the character of The Doctor and his various traveling companions. The Doctor, a mysterious alien who is the last of his species, travels through time and across space in his time ship the TARDIS having dangerous and courageous adventures.
Each episode is roughly stand alone, making the show incredibly accessible for new viewers.
A typical episode from the show, such as 2007's "The Lazarus Experiment," usually features a unique villain or monster. Often the antagonist is already far into a sinister plot when The Doctor arrives, in the midst of chaos, and must not only discover the scheme but also put a stop to it before ever-more people die.
The show also borrows from many different genres each season. The feeling of "there's something for everybody" is evident in episodes like last season's "Midnight," a Hitchcock style thriller set aboard a disabled tourist transport. This episode, dripping with suspense, touches on the Heideggerian concept of mob mentality in a situation of deadly paranoia.
Justin Richards, author of the book Doctor Who The Legend, has more to say of the show's theme, "Doctor Who is like the archetypal Western… The Outsider walks into town… has no name… but the town is in crisis and he is exactly the right person to resolve matters before disappearing again," (2003).
Other examples of the breadth of genres the show contains are:
• The 2005 episode "The Unquiet Dead," a new take on zombies.
• The 2007 episode "42," acted out in real-time a'la Fox's show 24.
• The 2008 episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp," a 1920s murder mystery (complete with Agatha Christie).
• 2005's "Father's Day," dealing with the morality and paradox of saving the life of a man who was doomed to die.
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