The Regeneration of Doctor Who

This article analyses the new series of Doctor Who, now in its third run on BBC Television since its revival in 2005.The approach, which follows the authors’ earlier work on children’s fiction and on drama, is in part psychoanalytic and in part sociological. From a psychoanalytic point of view, the authors investigate the states of mind and feeling evoked in the dramatic action of the episodes, and the ways in which these provide imaginative spaces for the audience – especially children and adolescents – to explore aspects of their own development. From a more sociological point of view, the authors suggest ways in which the show reflects aspects of the society in which it is set, including the ways in which it takes advantage of the opportunities of time and space travel to encourage its viewers to become aware of other ‘possible worlds’, different from their own. Two episodes in particular are used to demonstrate how much the production team has achieved in its regeneration of Doctor Who.

Citation:
Rustin, M., Rustin, M. (2008) ‘The Regeneration of Doctor Who’ Published in: Plastow, J (ed) (2008) Children’s Literature Annual No 2 The Story and the Self: Some Psychoanalytic Perspectives. University of Hertfordshire Press pp 142 – 159..