Doctor Who is a global success, starting on November the 23rd 1963 it is one of the most popular television shows of all times. With 814 episodes and counting, the fan base is growing from strength to strength.
The classic era of Doctor Who ran from 1963-1989, it surpassed a lot of political and cultural movements. Doctor Who was originally planned to be a science-fiction show that would have a lot of educational information in it, this was so that they could teach children while they watched it, as well as bringing in the mature adult audience. The first ever producer for the show Verity Lambert, wanted to keep the show frightening so that it would add to the tension and enjoyment of children and adults alike, for its time it was very pinnacle in starting up the Sci-fi genre. The shows creator Sydney Newman wanted to involve history heavily in the show, as he wanted children to learn something while they were watching it. He also stated that he wanted no robots or BEMs, standing for bug eyed monsters.
The classic series of Doctor Who was made in England, at Lime Grove Studios, Studio D. Verity Lambert, was the first female producer for the BBC, and at just twenty seven years of age she was very young for such a high end job. The first director for Doctor Who was Waris Hussein, he was also very young, he was also Asian, and in the UK at the time people still had quite reserved and discriminative views against those who were part of different cultural backgrounds, meaning that Hussein suffered minor prejudice because of his skin colour. This was due to society in the 60s, Lambert also faced sexism, because it was widely seen that at the BBC, that all major roles should be given to men, as they were superior to women, this was one of the negatives to working in Britain, as women still weren't fully seen as equal. However the Feminist movement was taking shape. But it went on a break during World War Two because all the women had to help out at home and they started up were joining in as part of the war effort.
The first ever episode of Doctor Wh, An Unearthly Child was aired at 5.16pm on the 23rd of November 1963. It was watched by 4.4 million viewers, this was average figures for the BBC. The reasons for its average figures was because of the news broadcast announcement of the assassination of the American president John F Kennedy, this was distracted the debut of the show. Lambert
persuaded the creator, Sydney Newman to air it again preceding the next episode the following week. This proved a success, gaining 6 million views. The structure for Doctor Who was done usually with four part episodes, so the same story would run over the course of various episodes.
The second serial of Doctor Who, known commonly as 'The Daleks' was pinnacle in the shows success. It also had strong relations to politics and fear governed in the world. 'The Daleks' was the debut of the infamous robotic aliens that terrified the nation. They were innovative for television as barely anything like it had ever been seen, it was terrifying for children and adults alike and it is often what people refer to as 'behind the sofa viewing'. The Daleks, created by the mind of Terry Nation were based off of the dictatorship movement The Nazis. Considering the effects of World War Two was still quite bitter in the world, a lot of popular culture was referencing the events that took place.
The reason that Terry Nation wanted to base the Daleks off of the Nazis, was because he wanted to create a menacing alien force that would be a relatable threat, giving them very similar idealisms. Both the Daleks and The Nazis wanted to create a unified force, controlling the world via fear. The serial of the Daleks was also about the Daleks taking over different alien territory. Something the Nazis did when invading different countries.
Because of what had happened in World War Two, the BBC were wary of what they could show, they wanted to make sure that the Sci-Fi element of the show wasn't too much of an over bearing threat as they didn't want to lose an audience by upsetting those who still had vivid memories. However as the show was about a time traveller, they still wanted to maintain the historical element of the programme, their first historical serial was about Marco Polo, this was an idea that they were keen for children to learn about. As they wanted to teach children about old historical heroes, so that they would grow up with idealisms of who they should become and wouldn't grow up to become evil dictators, a common fear that society in the 60s was concerned about, hence the building of the Berlin Wall. The Doctor also had similar heroic and grandfather like traits. A figure children could look up to.
The TV Movie was intended as an American pilot for a proposed revival of the series. The reasons for making the TV Movie were more for financial reasons as opposed to artistic ones. The reason for this is because the Americans who were producing it were aware of how successful the show was and they knew that many fans were desperate for it to come back. In the UK it had very successful ratings, getting 9.1 million viewers, the best the show had ver received since Time Flight: Part One. However it was not critically acclaimed and fans were upset about the injustice that the Americans did to the show, the whole production and story was completely what Doctor Who wasn't, it took away the sweetness of this iconic British show.
In America it received very poor ratings and lacked interest from their audience, so it didn't get a commission for a series. For die hard Doctor Who fans, this looked like it was the last chance for Doctor Who ever returning, as this failed attempt to bring it back just didn't work. So for many of the fandom, Big Finish audio books and Doctor Who magazine were the only continued new Doctor Who they would receive.
Friday the 26th of September 2003 was when news broke out that a six part series of Doctor Who would return to the BBC in 2005. Soon it was decided that the show would take on the structure of 13 episodes. As soon as the announcement was made for the Doctor Who reboot, fan courtship went into meltdown, with the key questions being raised such as, who would play the Doctor? And what enemies would return?
In terms of how the reboot was received by modern audiences, the fans of the Classic series were over the moon about the news that the BBC would do a revival , considering it was being written by long time fan and cult television writer Russell T Davies, a lot of fans knew that the show was in safe hands. The new series was being made in Cardiff, Wales. Davies was keen to show off the capitals potential and help to add to the attraction of Wales. The announcement of Billie Piper as the Doctors companion caused concern amongst fans. This was because, Piper, was known commonly for her career as a pop singer, and was also in a string of poor independent films. Fans thought that she wouldn't fit the part, and an actress with more gravitas and wisdom needed to be onboard. Of course when the time came, Piper who played Rose Tyler was soon loved by a nation and to this day she is considered one of the best companions of all time.
Another controversial issue which upset many fans was that when the huge publicity campaign started for Doctor Who, there was a promo image released of the TARDIS with its doors open outwards and with the Doctor and Rose standing in front of it. Fans of the Classic series were used to the doors opening inwards, so this was already potentially breaking apart the canon of the show. Minus these concerns, the Doctor Who reboot was peaked with anticipation and excitement.
The excitement as well as concern which the Classic fans showed, shows us that the fan base already built up are very loyal to this show and they are desperately hoping for new Doctor Who, as well as it is done right. It says to us that the audience in question are aware that change is needed to make it successful, but as long as it honours the canon of the show then it will be a success and fans alike will be content. It also goes to show that the programme is very much made for the fans, by the fans and that without their support, it would have never retuned.
In terms of the intended audience, the audience for the 2005 reboot was promoted to families, specifically children and newcomers who had never seen or known about the show. The decision to cut out the changeover from Paul McGann to Christopher Eccleston was done so that this new audience could instantly recognise with their Doctor, as opposed to confusing the audience. This was something the TV Movie failed at, because they chose to change the lead role ten minutes into the film. Ultimately a decision which put American audiences off. So the reboot was fully intended to start a fresh for a new wave of fans. Producers can identify these audiences by the responses they get from announcements, to gain a new audience they would be relying very much on the marketing strategies as well as word of mouth that parents who grew up with the show will share with their children.
Doctor Who now as itself is a very strong branded franchise, the Classic series was widely regarded as a cult classic, right up until the mid 1970s, when lead actor Tom Baker turned the show on it's heels and gave it the wide success it still has now. Doctor Who is now very heavily marketed, with the debut episode of Matt Smith in 2010, The Eleventh Hour giving it its wide appeal in America. Since then it has become a global success, with the most recent series going on a worldwide tour to locations such as Rio, New York, Mexico City, Sydney and many locations. In its hiatus years the fans still kept the show alive, with the introduction of Big Finish audio books being produced, as well as books, comic strips and of course the monthly edition of Doctor Who Magazine. Thus proving that with a bit of hope and added work on the side, a franchise can continue in and our of its hiatus years and with a fan base like Doctor Who, a remake or reboot will always be on the cards, as producers and audiences alike can rely on the already loyal fan base awaiting. Allons-Y!
