1. 50 Years
of Media
Convergence:
Doctor Who?
SAE Institute Ljubljana
Hrvoje Hrsto
Student number: 10280
Date of submission: 28 January 2014
BAP 1113
Word count: 2,200

2. Abstract
On 23 November of 1963, one show emerged on the BBC programme that
eventually became one of the most recognized british pop culture icons. “Doctor
Who” revolves around humanoid alien from the race of Time Lords, that have an
ability to completely regenerate themselves, with new looks and a new
personality. Our hero, called the Doctor, is a time-traveller, and often takes
companions to travel with him in his sentient time-traveling machine called
TARDIS. His real name is never revealed and the question “Doctor Who?”
became one of the main mysteries.
Initially it was aimed at a family audience with an educational note. While
traveling to the past, education would be focused on history. During travels to
the future or outer space, show would explore the world of science. Over time,
show developed its own mythology, expanded beyond education and it evolved
into fantasy, science-fiction and story telling series.
Today, Doctor Who is considered one of the cult television shows. There were
times when franchise had huge audience and it was unstoppable juggernaut on
television and in media. But there were also times when the television show
was off the air, and franchise lived only because of the hard-core fans in right
places. In this paper I will show what actions and how exactly media
convergence shaped Doctor Who.
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3. Table of contents
Abstract! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! I
Table of Contents!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! II
1. Introduction! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 1
2. Beginning and the Expansion of the Story! ! ! ! 2
3. Convergence and Years Without Television Series! ! ! 3
! 3.1. Cancellation of the Television Show ! ! ! ! 3
! 3.2. Licensing! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 3
4. Failing to Relaunch! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 4
5. Modern Who and Transmedia Storytelling! ! ! ! 5
! 5.1. 2005 Relaunch! ! ! ! ! ! ! 5
! 5.2. Meta-textual Sites! ! ! ! ! ! ! 5
! 5.3. Short Movies!! ! ! ! ! ! ! 6
! 5.4. Memes!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 6
! 5.3. Spin-offs! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 7
6. Conclusion! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 8
References!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 9
Bibliography ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 11
II

4. 1. Introduction
Media convergence was and still is a big part of Doctor Who. Show’s main
character changes and regenerates, which is a clever way to incorporate
recasting of a new actor in the Doctor’s role. In a similar way, the narrative
changes and yet stays the same with spreading over to the books, internet,
mobile platforms, spin-off shows, radio dramas, memes and other media.
Throughout this paper, I will showcase how, where and when did Doctor Who
as a franchise developed and utilized transmedia storytelling, sometimes to its
benefit, sometimes not. Its 50 years long history is excellent example of how a
specific program aimed at a certain fan-base can become loved part of the
mainstream media. I will also show that loyal and involved fan base can be both
an advantage and a disadvantage for a franchise, and that not all media
convergence strategies are always successful.
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5. 2. Beginning and the Expansion of the Story
It took only one year, during the series original run (further in the text: Classic
Who) for franchise to begin expanding to other media outside the television.
Doctor Who Annual was published under three different names and in three
different time frames (1964-1986, 1992-1996 and 2005-present). Also
novelizations of the television episodes were published (1973-1991), that often
expanded on the episodes. There were also several comic strips, radio
adventures, audio records and two feature films, but all of these could not be
put in the convergence sphere because they simply repeated stories with
minimal expansion or strayed a lot form the narrative. They cannot be
considered canon.
The problem was that there was little or no collaboration between BBC and
other publishers. Non-BBC media often contradicted the television show or
heavily distorted the narrative. These stories are often placed outside the canon
universe, but they cannot be referred as illegal or fan fiction. Lines between
cannon and non-cannon are blurry when it comes to Doctor Who Universe
(further in text: DWU). Franchise is primarily owned by BBC. However, certain
elements within it are owned by individual authors, for example characters like
the Brigadier, or the Doctor’s enemies the Daleks. Tim Martin et al. (2013)
reported that Daleks almost did not appear in the 2005 revival because of the
copyright dispute, that was later settled. BBC never officially marked what
elements are cannon, so in short, DWU cannot have canon.
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6. 3. Convergence and Years Without Television Series
! 3.1. Cancellation of the Television Show
During the second half of the 1980s, Doctor Who series experienced a major
decline in viewership and it was cancelled in 1989, during the Seventh Doctor.
There are still debates on why that happened, and it is mostly blamed on
franchise becoming a niche product for had-core fans. End of television show
was the time when the real media convergence of the franchise started. The era
between cancellation of the Classic Who series and relaunching of the modern
series (further in the text: Modern Who) is referred to as Interregnum.
! 3.2. Licensing
During Interregnum BBC decided to license the property of Doctor Who to
Virgin Publishing in 1990. Major difference between other franchises’ similar
attempts of licensing, was that Virgin Publishing had an open submission policy.
That meant that anyone, with or without professional writing background, could
submit stories and contribute to the official DWU. One major advantage was the
collaboration of the authors. Majority of authors were fans of the show and they
connected through different communication channels. That connection grew
stronger with the development and usage of the internet which resulted in
continuity and consistency in the franchise storytelling.
All of that, plus financial success of the novels pushed BBC to another licensing
deal. Rights to original audio dramas was sold to Big Finish in 1999, company
packed with Doctor Who fans who built up on the Virgin Publishing’s stories.
“Fans became the custodians of the Doctor Who legacy, safeguarding it and
expanding it until the time was right for the TV show to reemerge...” (Robb
2010).
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7. 4. Failing to Relaunch
There was an attempt of relaunching television show in 1996 with a televised
movie that was intended as a backdoor television pilot. It was British-American-
Canadian production, but its ratings were not good for USA television
standards, so series was not picked up. Although the movie is canonical, it is
also one of the best examples of storytelling controversy. Doctor, an alien, said
that he was half-human. That attempt at literally humanizing him, is considered
as a lie told by Doctor himself. In Modern Who, it is often said that “Doctor lies”,
mostly to protect someone or something, which is another convenient case of
disregarding errors in storytelling. Martin (2013) argued that this relaunch failed
because the producers had little idea of how the show would look beyond the
movie and that it had too much history which was overwhelming for the new
viewers. However, before the second and successful relaunch of television
show in 2005, several things happened.
During the early 2000s, BBC Online devoted time and money to develop its
brand’s products. That included cult television programs among whom was
Doctor Who. At first it only had archive of photographs and production
information, but it quickly developed content. Developed as a play for BBC
Radio 4, Death Comes to Time was repurposed to become a webcast internet
drama. Sylvester McCoy reprised his role as Seventh Doctor, and series of
illustrations were added to it, in attempt to disguise its radio origins. Experiment
was a success, so two more webcasts followed. There were also several
adventures of Eight Doctor, introduced in 1996 television film, both in print and
audio media. In 2003, another webcast was produced, Scream of the Shalka,
but that one featured completely new Ninth Doctor, voiced by Richard E. Grant.
However, relaunch of 2005 series featured Christopher Eccleston as the definite
Ninth Doctor, so Grant’s portrayal of the Doctor is now referred as the Shalka
Doctor and its place in the DWU is unspecified. We can count its errors in
different media, but Doctor Who franchise was everything but dormant during
Interregnum.
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8. 5. Modern Who and Transmedia Storytelling
! 5.1. 2005 Relaunch
In 2005, Doctor Who was successfully relaunched as television series, but this
time franchise went under a small reboot. Unlike the 1996 attempt, 2005
relaunch had a plot device that allowed viewers to watch the new series, without
any previous knowledge about the Classic Who. That was the Time War, a plot
device that explained that all of the Time Lords and Daleks were killed, and the
Doctor was the sole survivor. With time, series reintroduced some of the
elements from the Classic Who era, but that fresh start is often attributed as the
main vantage for attracting new viewers, unfamiliar with the franchise. Show’s
executive producer at the time said it best: “When it blazed back into life on
March 26 2005, an entire generation remembered. ‘Oh yes, we love this,’ they
said, as though coming out of a fog. And a whole new generation said: ‘Wow!’
” (Davies 2009 [online]).
! 5.2. Meta-textual Sites
Production team behind the relaunched series utilized other media to expand
DWU, enabling the audience a two way interaction. One of them was setting up
different websites and blogs. These meta-textual sites were set up by the BBC,
to extend audience’s experience through pictures, information, flash games and
so-called easter eggs. First site that was set up weeks prior to the series’
relaunch was Who is Doctor Who?. It achieved wider popularity after the first
episode when it appeared on-screen. As the show evolved, so did the site that
got renamed and filled with additional information. There were also other sites.
More popular ones are, the site for the the U.N.I.T., abbreviation for United
Nations Intelligence Taskforce, a military organization that the Doctor works for,
and now defunct site for the Torchwood, organization founded to protect Great
Britain from extraterrestrial threats. Fans were encouraged to engage, however,
all of the information and comments left by the fans were filtered by the BBC, so
there is a certain doubt how engaged the fans really were and how much of it
was a BBC production.
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9. One of the major problems that occurred for the official meta-sites was creation
of the unofficial meta-sites by the fans. BBC tried to control that by buying
domains (for example www.torchwood.net) but number of unofficial sites still
grew. Status that the site was or was not produced by the BBC did not have
much influence on site’s popularity. However, information on the official meta-
sites was never crucial for the television show. Viewers could watch the show
and not miss anything essential from the plot, so they can be enjoyed as an
extra content, rather than necessary one.
! 5.3. Short Movies
Other means of engaging the viewers was through producing short movies,
called TARDISodes. They were available online or through the mobile phones,
usually intros or fake reports that lead up to a certain episode. That was the
main transmedia strategy for the series two. They were released about a week
before the episode and made available free on the internet, or for a fee for
mobile phones. While TARDISodes performed well on the internet, they failed
on mobile platforms. Main reason for small number of downloads for mobile
platforms were fees and incompatibility with the certain mobile phones. The
concept of short movies lived behind the second series, for example The Night
of the Doctor, prequel to the 50th anniversary movie special. Paul McGann
reprised his role as Eight Doctor from 1996 television movie, and it was used to
fill the story gap between his, and the Doctor’s next regeneration.
! 5.4. Memes
Main cross-media engagement for fans of Modern Who is presented through
repeated memes. It is one consistently repeated code phrase that will
eventually lead to a over-arching mystery that would be revealed at the end of
each series. Bad Wolf was the first meme from the first series of Modern Who.
Sometimes the phrase would be written or said discreetly, sometimes obvious,
but the question of what or who Bad Wolf is intrigued fans and discussions
raged over the internet. It was revealed in the last episode of the first series that
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10. the Bad Wolf was Rose, Doctor’s companion. It was a paradox and a reminder
for her, from her, that she can use TARDIS to save the Doctor. This revelation
was greeted with mixed reactions from the fans, but it was intriguing enough to
permanently implement memes in the show. Other examples are Impossible
Girl for second part of series seven, Mister Saxon for series three, or Torchwood
for series two.
! 5.5. Spin-offs
Torchwood, anagram of Doctor Who, became more than just a meme. It was
part of an elaborate plan to expand DWU with two more shows that followed
Doctor’s ex companions: Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Torchwood followed Jach Harkness and it was aimed at older viewers with more
gore and sex, while The Sarah Jane Adventures targeted younger viewers and
followed the titular heroine. “This is due to the fact that Doctor Who enjoys a
fairly unique audience demographic, boasting as it does a core audience of 30–
45-year-old fans who watched the original series when they were young, as well
as a large number of children who have discovered the programme during the
2005 relaunch.” (Perryman 2009, p 486.)
Although there were some minor factual errors, none of the shows contradicted
the other. Eventually both spin-offs were cancelled, but during their airing in
2006/7, meme Vote Saxon was spread through all three shows. However, there
was no over arching story for all three shows, because producers thought that it
would be too complicated and impractical to have transmedia storyline
connecting adult Torchwood and prepubescent The Sarah Jane Adventures.
2013 marked fiftieth anniversary, and special called The Day of the Doctor was
aired. It was first story shot in stereoscopic 3D. Sweney (2013) reported that it
was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as largest ever simulcast
of a television drama. It was aired on television and cinemas in 94 countries
worldwide at the same time, proving that different time zones do not mean
much to the audience, just like they do not mean much to the time traveling
Doctor.
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11. 6. Conclusion
Doctor Who is a franchise that embraced media convergence since its early
days, but it is best shown in the Modern Who era. In most cases that
convergence was successful, but sometimes it was not. In many instances it
produced many factual errors and inconsistencies in the storytelling. However,
most of the time, it succeeded in providing satisfactory content for both
mainstream audience and hardcore fans. It embraced cultural and technical
evolution, providing immersive and extended multimedia experiences for active
participants, and at the same time not taking away anything crucial for passive
viewers of the television show.
As for BBC, it showed that transmedia storytelling can be very effective in terms
of production costs, and audience involvement. It became sovereign example of
transmedia storytelling that is also economically viable for manufacturers of the
Doctor Who products. The only question that remain is: will media convergence
prevent franchise from becoming a niche product for had-core fans like it did in
the 1980‘s or will it merely speed up the process?
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12. References
BBC Online (2005) Defending the Earth! Because friends stick together.
Available at: http://www.whoisdoctorwho.co.uk (Accessed: 26 January 2014).
BBC Online (2007) TOP SECRET: Unit. Available at: http://www.unit.org.uk
(Accessed: 26 January 2014).
Davies, R.T. (2009) “‘Doctor Who’s given me the time of my life’ - Russell T
Davies on leaving Doctor Who”, The Telegraph, 18 December [online]. Available
at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/seasonal-culture/6840859/Doctor-Whos-
given-me-the-time-of-my-life-Russell-T-Davies-on-leaving-Doctor-Who.html
(Accessed: 26 January 2014).
Martin, D. (2013) “The TV movie: Doctor Who classic episode #17”, The
Guardian TV&Radio Blog, 6 November. Available at: http://
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/nov/06/paul-mcgann-
doctor-who-classic-episode (Accessed: 26 January 2014).
Martin, T. et al. (2013) “Doctor Who: 50 things you didn’t know”, The Telegraph,
23 November [online]. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/
tvandradio/doctor-who/10468029/Doctor-Who-50-things-you-didnt-know.html
(Accessed: 26 January 2014).
Perryman, N. (2009) “Doctor Who and the covergence of media: a case study in
‘transmedia storyelling’”, in Storey, J. (ed.) Cultural theory and popular culture: a
reader, 4th edn. Dorchester: Routledge, pp. 474-489
Robb, B. (2010) Timeless Adventures: How Doctor Who Conquered TV,
Amazon [online]. Available at: http://www.amazon.com (Accessed: 26 January
2014).
9

13. Sweney, M. (2013) “Doctor Who: Day of the Doctor takes $10m at the box office
in three days”, The Guardian, [online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/
media/2013/nov/27/doctor-who-50th-day-doctor-box-office-hit (Accessed: 26
January 2014).
10

14. Bibliography
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11

15. Martin, T. et al. (2013) “Doctor Who: 50 things you didn’t know”, The Telegraph,
23 November [online]. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/
tvandradio/doctor-who/10468029/Doctor-Who-50-things-you-didnt-know.html
(Accessed: 26 January 2014).
Perryman, N. (2009) “Doctor Who and the covergence of media: a case study in
‘transmedia storyelling’”, in Storey, J. (ed.) Cultural theory and popular culture: a
reader, 4th edn. Dorchester: Routledge, pp. 474-489
Robb, B. (2010) Timeless Adventures: How Doctor Who Conquered TV,
Amazon [online]. Available at: http://www.amazon.com (Accessed: 26 January
2014).
Sweney, M. (2013) “Doctor Who: Day of the Doctor takes $10m at the box office
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