Representations of Britishness in the new Doctor Who series

Abstract

BBC’s longest-running science-fiction drama show, Doctor Who, after originally running from 1963 to 1989, was renewed in 2005. The series follows the steps of the Time Lord Doctor, who is accompanied by humans and together they get into adventures and troubles through time and space. In my thesis I analyzed how Britishness is represented in the new Doctor Who series (2005-). The thesis focuses on the family and background of the companions of the Doctor and what those representations say about Britishness. By analyzing the backgrounds, relationships, dispositions of the chosen characters, the present paper argues that the new Doctor Who series aims to represent an inclusive Britishness, where family is the greatest value.