Originating in 1963, Doctor Who has become a staple of British society. From the sole BBC watcher, who only consumes the visual canon to the avid reader of the novelizations, to the disgruntled civilian tired of seeing the Doctor’s face everywhere, one would be hard pressed to find a British citizen unassociated with the cultural phenomenon that is Doctor Who. With an audience base ranging from adults in their 30-50’s, who grew up with the Doctor on their small screens to young children discovering the Doctor for the first time in present day, the presence of the Doctor can be felt everywhere. Although with fifty years of product, the fanbase (known affectionately as Whovians) is as varied as the incarnations of the Doctor. This essay will attempt to compare and contrast the cultural and technological changes seen within the opening episodes of the original pilot serial in 1963, and the continuation pilot episode and consecutive first season aired in 2005.
The original pilot for Classic Doctor Who, entitled “An Unearthly child”, opens with a shot of a police officer strolling through the Foreman junk yard before settling on the first onscreen sighting of the TARDIS. The narrative then begins in a school with two teachers discussing one of the pupils, Susan Foreman, who seems rather odd with an intense knowledge of history and science but "does not know how many shillings there are in a pound." She is described as "a fifteen year old girl who is absolutely brilliant at some things, and excruciatingly bad at others (Doctor Who 1963)." Continuing their conversation, the two teachers, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton, travel to Susan’s given address to find themselves at the junkyard shown in the opening scene and there wait for he...
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...s between the pilot of Classic Who and the revival; however much has changed in technological and formatting between these two eras. The original series of Doctor Who was
Works Cited
Doctor Who 1963, television program, BBC One, United Kingdom, 23 November
Doctor Who 2005, television program, BBC One, United Kingdom, 26 March
Nicola Melhuish. 2011. Compare the opening episode of Doctor Who in 1963 to a recent episode (post-2005) of your own choice. How has it changed? How has it remained the same? What does this tell us about the changing make-up of the audience?. [online] Available at: http://nicolamelhuish.wordpress.com/2011/06/04/compare-the-opening-episode-of-doctor-who-in-1963-to-a-recent-episode-post-2005-of-your-own-choice-how-has-it-changed-how-has-it-remained-the-same-what-does-this-tell-us-about-the-changing-make-u/ [Accessed: 24 Mar 2014].
Good evening and welcome to The History of Television. On tonight’s show we will focus on how and
...ut these show subsequently influenced a generation into a new way of thinking and living. Families moved in rapid numbers to suburbia and wanted to be just like the Cleavers or the Andersons. The American public would never be the same, always reflecting on the perfection played out nightly on television and setting their goals to reaching that level of traditionalism.
Most people compared it to the british Twilight Zone but only Star Trek was the first science fiction series to have a steady cast. But once it was started multiple shows and movies formed. Babylon 5 was a 1990 television series that was at first denied but then was given the chance to air (Star Trek). After three script writers from Trek’s Original Series started writing for Babylon 5. After a lot of feuding between the fans, Roddenberry's widow Majel Barrett Roddenberry, and Star Trek actress decided to do a guest appearance on Babylon 5 to get the feuding to end (Star Trek).
Nelson, R. (2009). Modernism and Postmodernism in Television Drama. In: Creeber, G Televisions: An Introduction to Studying Televsion. 2nd ed. London: British Film Institute . p.90.
In BBC’s episodes of Sherlock, “The Blind Banker”, “The Great Game”, and “A Scandal in Belgravia”, the writers changed some of the source materials of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Dancing Men”, “The Bruce-Partington Plans”, and “A Scandal in Bohemia”, in order to modernize some of the central themes of the stories. The writers of Sherlock kept the material that would continue to resonate with the modern viewers of the show as passionately as Doyle intended to have his novels resonate with his Victorian audience. The changes that were made bring out other, more pertinent themes to modern society, while still keeping most of Doyle’s original messages intact. Naturally, there are some differences that will be present in these works due to the decision of the writers of the television series to bring Sherlock into the modern era in terms of setting. These differences and the changes made to the existing source material are not meant to take away from Doyle’s work, but add to it and encourage the audience to connect to the characters and adventures of the works.
Who would have thought you could grow attached to someone you disliked in the first place? Actors of British Sci-Fi drama series “Doctor Who” have that effect on their fans and never have I thought ever that Matt Smith would have that effect on me after seeing him leave the show on Christmas day. Matthew Robert Smith is a British actor best known for his role as the eccentric Eleventh Doctor in the series and though fans of the show doubted him because of his age and lack of experience and exposure, Whovians had learned to love him after he showed and proved to the world that he epitomized The Doctor.
Engelstad, Audun. "Watching Politics: The Representation of Politics in Primetime Television Drama." NORDICOM Review 29.2 (2008): 309-324. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
Matt Smith’s performance in this episode sowed mastery of both verbal and nonverbal communication when he is playing The Doctor. He is a very direct, polychromic, and denotative individual through this whole episode. He weaves in nonverbal reinforcements from kinesics, proxemics, paralanguage, and to haptics. By doing these things he is not only putting his own twist on the doctor, but also making his acting realistic to bring the watcher into the story of Doctor Who.
...ion, there have been many amazing contributors to help in the evolving of film editing techniques and technology since it all started in the early 1900s. Danny Boyle sets the example for the modern film society about how directors should look at their work. Lev Kuleshov set the bar when he created the Kuleshov Effect of juxtaposing images together, creating a subtext to the audience. In the early1900s, Edwin Porter made the first narrative film which is a type of film that has been used most commonly ever since. The history of film has changed drastically ever since it has started. Changes in technology and styles of film are completely different today than when it all started only a little over a hundred years ago. Though, film is not done changing. It won’t be long until another talented director comes a long and sets the bar higher for how a film should be done.
Everyone dreams of being a hero however the path is narrow. The mantle of responsibility is important aspects and the presence of the heroic traits must be shown in some form. However, there will always be outliers and deemed delusional who attempt to be heroes. In Watchmen, Moore creates an omnipotent hero who lacks humanity in the portrayal of the Dr. Manhattan as a psychopathic anti-hero.
The 1960s was crammed full of many impacting events and important figures. From Hitchcock releasing one of the greatest thrillers of all time, Psycho, to Marilyn Monroe’s untimely death, to the infamous Woodstock festival. This era changed history completely and made the United States think twice about its youth. Events of the 1960s are still impacting our country as we know it today. The sudden pull from the conservative ‘50s changed America’s views on all aspects of life, including fashion, entertainment, and lifestyles.
The second also serves as a comparative glass on which he and the protagonist can be contrasted and compared. For instance, often when Holmes departs into his depressive, lethargic states, Watson becomes increasingly upbeat and can “elevate [his] simple art, which is but systematized common sense, into a prodigy” (Doyle ‘BS’ 8). Interestingly, whenever “Holmes puts his extraordinary ability into action, Watson is reduced to a slow, incapable, absentminded but always faithful disciple” (Caprettini 334). Doyle intentionally dims Watson’s abilities with the goal that they do not overshadow Holmes, however it is evident that Watson becomes increasingly multi-faceted and dimensional as these abilities are brought forth.
Vande Berg, L.R., Wenner, L.A., & Gronbeck, B. E. (1998). Critical Approaches to Television. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
CQ Press. Web. 26 Jan 2012 Thompson, Robert. " As the TV World Turns. " Interview.