Abstract

Taking the recent promotion of the forthcoming season of Doctor Who by BBC America in the United States as its starting point, Green's lecture will examine the development of the series since its creation in 1963. He will discuss the show both in terms of its place within British broadcasting history, and as a British cultural phenomenon.

The lecture will also provide an historical and critical analysis of the show, examining its development and its ability to ‘regenerate’ its appeal for successive audiences via its generic and narrative structure and the unique way in which its titular hero is renewed on a regular basis through the process of regeneration. The lecture will then explore the ways in which the BBC not only created the longest running science fiction series in TV history, but arguably created one of the most popular and enduring fictional heroes of the late twentieth century.

Finally it will close with a discussion on the ways in which, after a significant hiatus, Doctor Who has been successfully re-launched for a 21st century audience, turning fans into producers and producing a new generation of fans.