Doctor Who

The Formula for Doctor Who: City of Death

Doctor Who mission, the complaint by some fans that “the Daemons’ science is effectively magic by a different name, so the Doctor’s insistence that there is no such thing as magic looks pedantic rather than rational” (Clapham, Robson, and Smith 2005, 145) itself looks rather pedantic. It ignores the playful way in which this story, and indeed the whole series, uses improbable science to short-circuit Todorov’s distinction between the uncanny and the marvelous so that Doctor Who sits squarely—but hesitantly—within the domain of the fantastic. The Formula for Doctor Who: City of Death It was the fourth Doctor who became identified with the role for most American viewers. Easily the longest-serving Doctor (from 1974 to 1981), Tom Baker played the character as a 39 The Doctor and Jo race against time in Bessie. Jim Leach longhaired bohemian who wore a ridiculously long scarf and saw the potential for humor in even the most serious situation . Initially, his attitude offered an ironic counterpoint to the Gothic horror that marked the tenure of Philip Hinchcliffe (1975–77) as producer and disturbed moral watchdogs like Mary Whitehouse. The emphasis on humor was even greater when Graham Williams took over as producer (1977–80) and offered the position of script editor to Douglas Adams. Under both producers, audience figures in Britain returned to—and even exceeded—those of the first Doctor, although the ratings did fall off seriously during Baker’s final season when many viewers seemed to feel he was taking too many liberties with the formula. City of Death enjoyed the highest ratings for any Doctor Who story, and for many fans it epitomizes the appeal of the series; although, of 40 The Daemon Azal towers over the Doctor, Jo, and the Master. Doctor Who course, other fans are equally adamant that it violates the formula and point out that ITV was shut down by a strike at the time. By this time, the Doctor Who formula was well established , and while producers sought to find ways to refresh and renew it, fans tried to define its parameters. Other viewers who did not enter into the spirit of the series were already complaining that the formula was exhausted after only a few stories. During the run of The Aztecs (1964), the sixth story, for example, one viewer complained that “this series has gone on far too long: the danger and escape therefrom fall into a never-varied pattern length and repetition” (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 1994, 345). Such complaints about the formulaic qualities of popular culture texts are not uncommon since critics have traditionally privileged originality and the genius of the individual artist. As John Cawelti has pointed out, however, formulas are “principles for the selection of certain plots, characters, and settings, which possess in addition to their basic narrative structure the dimensions of collective ritual, game, and dream,” and, as such, they can lay the groundwork for much more complex effects than many critics allow (2004, 12). Although formulas are, in principle, conservative, since they emphasize the familiar and limit the possibilities for development , this does not mean that formulaic texts are simply complicit with a monolithic dominant ideology, as many critics of “mass culture” would argue. Within the constraints of a formula, small changes can be highly significant, and what matters is how the formulaic elements are used to respond to shifts in the cultural and ideological contexts in which the text is produced and consumed. Like many popular culture texts, Doctor Who is deeply contradictory and open to a wide variety of readings according to the interests and disposition of the viewer. Certain aspects of the formula, such as the need for action and evil monsters, pushed the se41 Jim Leach ries toward fairly simple moral and political oppositions, but these aspects were held in tension with others, such as the Doctor’s aversion to violence and commitment to cultural relativism . Different writers and production teams negotiated these tensions with different emphases, and they could change from story to story, but the final effect depended on the response of viewers, who were themselves shaped by the contradictory tendencies in the culture. Formulas can be more or less restrictive. An extreme example of a restrictive formula is found in The Prisoner (1967–68), another British television series of the 1960s that achieved cult status. Repetition takes on an obsessive quality in this...