Doctor Who
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 1:24 pm
It is interesting to note how television shows are affected by different generations, and as Doctor Who has been going on for over 50 years, it spans multiple generational eras. The primary audience for each era is whoever are the rising adults. I have thus divided the different Doctors accordingly:
The "Awakening Doctors", from 1963-1984, spans the careers of five: Hartnell, Troughton, Pertwee, Tom Baker, and Davison. The primary audience are the Baby Boomers. At this time there was a lot more dialogue than action, focusing on the philosophical meaning of the characters' actions. The Doctor himself is the ultimate Prophet type, acting as a wise, old guardian who always know the right thing to do. If his intentions are ever questioned, they always turns out to be good in the end. Villains are usually cold, emotionless robots, mad scientists or secret masterminds.
The "Unraveling Doctors", from 1984-1996, includes only three: Colin Baker, McCoy, and McGann. The target audience here is Generation X. Baker and McCoy would regularly commit grand schemes of almost ambiguous morality, including the assassination of enemies and abandoning of companions. This was also the appearance of the Valeyard, the Doctor's evil personality. Paul McGann's Doctor was the ultimate Nomad type, a humanized personality that helped people in their ordinary lives.
The "Crisis Doctors" since 2005 has included Eccleston, Tennant, Smith and Capaldi, where the target audience has been the Millennial Generation. These Doctors reflected a Heroic, almost messianic type that combines both idealist and pragmatic personalities. The Doctor has uncompromising ideals that guides his effort through each crisis, but he also has a deeper, humanistic side that relates to his companions. His enemies are thoroughly evil and occasionally insane, but have very real power and are realistically dangerous.
Just a random thought,
Nathan G
The "Awakening Doctors", from 1963-1984, spans the careers of five: Hartnell, Troughton, Pertwee, Tom Baker, and Davison. The primary audience are the Baby Boomers. At this time there was a lot more dialogue than action, focusing on the philosophical meaning of the characters' actions. The Doctor himself is the ultimate Prophet type, acting as a wise, old guardian who always know the right thing to do. If his intentions are ever questioned, they always turns out to be good in the end. Villains are usually cold, emotionless robots, mad scientists or secret masterminds.
The "Unraveling Doctors", from 1984-1996, includes only three: Colin Baker, McCoy, and McGann. The target audience here is Generation X. Baker and McCoy would regularly commit grand schemes of almost ambiguous morality, including the assassination of enemies and abandoning of companions. This was also the appearance of the Valeyard, the Doctor's evil personality. Paul McGann's Doctor was the ultimate Nomad type, a humanized personality that helped people in their ordinary lives.
The "Crisis Doctors" since 2005 has included Eccleston, Tennant, Smith and Capaldi, where the target audience has been the Millennial Generation. These Doctors reflected a Heroic, almost messianic type that combines both idealist and pragmatic personalities. The Doctor has uncompromising ideals that guides his effort through each crisis, but he also has a deeper, humanistic side that relates to his companions. His enemies are thoroughly evil and occasionally insane, but have very real power and are realistically dangerous.
Just a random thought,
Nathan G