Doctor Who and the Art of Adaptation: Fifty Years of Storytelling (Science Fiction Television)

Doctor Who is one of the most enduring British programs over the last 50 years and its success has translated to the U.S., where it has been shown for decades, first on PBS stations and currently on BBC America. This book looks at how the writers and producers of Doctor Who have adapted-and will no doubt continue to do so-various texts to create many episodes throughout the show's history. Although it started as a British television show with a small but devoted fan base, Doctor Who has grown in popularity and now appeals to audiences around the world. In the fifty-year history of the program, Doctor Who’s producers and scriptwriters have drawn on a dizzying array of literary sources and inspirations. Elements from Homer, classic literature, gothic horror, swashbucklers, Jacobean revenge tragedies, Orwellian dystopias, Westerns, and the novels of Agatha Christie and Evelyn Waugh have all been woven into the fabric of the series. One famous storyline from the mid-1970s was rooted in the Victoriana of authors like H. Rider Haggard and Arthur Conan Doyle, and another was a virtual remake of Anthony Hope’s The Prisoner of Zenda—with robots! In Doctor Who and the Art of Adaptation: Fifty Years of Storytelling, Marcus Harmes looks at the show’s frequent exploration of other sources to create memorable episodes. Harmes observes that adaptation in Doctor Who is not just a matter of transferring literary works to the screen, but of bringing a diversity of texts into dialogue with the established mythology of the series as well as with longstanding science fiction tropes. In this process, original stories are not just resituated, but transformed into new works. Harmes considers what this approach reveals about adaptation, television production, the art of storytelling, and the long-term success and cultural resonance enjoyed by Doctor Who. Doctor Who and the Art of Adaptation will be of interest to students of literature and television alike, and to scholars interested in adaptation studies. It will also appeal to fans of the series interested in tracing the deep cultural roots of television’s longest-running and most literate science-fiction adventure. Periods via lead actorAcknowledgmentsEditorial NoteIntroduction Chapter One: In the BeginningChapter Two: What Gets Adapted?Chapter Three: Who Was Adapting?Chapter Four: Motives for AdaptingChapter Five: A Classical Education- Adapting History in Doctor WhoChapter Six: Victorian Worlds in Doctor WhoChapter Seven: Gothic Themes and Creative TensionsChapter Eight: British Westerns, American Frontiers, and a Marketing StrategyChapter Nine: Who-dunit? Agatha Christie in Time and SpaceChapter Ten: Tragedy, the Jacobeans... and Evelyn WaughConclusionFilmographyBibliographyIndexAbout the Author In The Beginning -- What Gets Adapted? -- Who Was Adapting? -- Motives For Adapting -- A Classical Education: Adapting History In Doctor Who -- Victorian Worlds In Doctor Who -- Gothic Themes And Creative Tensions -- British Westerns, American Frontiers, And A Marketing Strategy -- Who-dunit? Agatha Christie In Time And Space -- Tragedy, The Jacobeans' And Evelyn Waugh -- Conclusion. Marcus K. Harmes. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Doctor Who is one of the most enduring British programs over the last 50 years and its success has translated to the U.S., where it has been shown for decades, first on PBS stations and currently on BBC America. This book looks at how the writers and producers of Doctor Who have adapted and will no doubt continue to do so various texts to create many episodes throughout the show s history."$1