Doctor Who: U.S vs. U.K.

Doctor Who is a staple in any sic-fi lover’s watch list.  The long running show has delighted generations of viewers with its amazing stories of the time and space traveling Doctor.  The show just has some universal appeal because in Doctor Who anything is possible.  This is one reason why the show has been garnering gradual popularity here in the United States due in no small part to the revival of the series in 2005.  However, attitudes towards the show differ between its home country the U.K., and in the States.

This difference in attitude is due to the different nature of the show within the countries.  Keep in mind that the show is British in origin, was and continues to be mainly shot in Britain, and all of the actors are British.  As such, the show has a more ingrained feel in Britain as opposed to the U.S where it’s an import.  In Britain, Doctor Who is shown on the BBC and here it’s on, well, BBC America, occasionally SyFy, and if you’re lucky you’ll catch an old rerun on PBS.  In Britain, you basically grow up watching Doctor Who, especially if your parents watched it.  The same is true in the States, but on a smaller scale.  It’s just more of a cultural aspect in Britain.

Because the show is so prevalent, Doctor Who is considered more of a family show or show that kids are fine to watch in Britain.  This explains some of the corny jokes and physical humor as well as the subtle, and occasionally not so subtle, attitude towards sex.  I recently spent some time in Britain and met several people who were fans of the series.  To them, Doctor Who was something they watched as a kid and is something they still watch.  It’s almost like Star Trek but with a wider viewer base.  In Britain, Doctor Who is what you might find while channel surfing.  In the States, it’s something that you have to seek out and look for, especially if you do not get the three channels you’ll find it on, two of which are cable channels.

This brings me to the fandom of Doctor Who.  Like I said, American fans of the series have to make a conscious effort to watch it.  There’s no real polite way to say it, but fans of the show tend to be on the nerdy side.  That is to say if you watch Doctor Who, it’s probably not the only sci-fi show you watch.  In Britain however, if you’re a fan of Doctor Who, you’re not necessarily a nerd, but trust me, there are nerd fans there.  It’s more of a common fandom.

What can change this difference in attitudes towards this great show?  Frankly, not much.  The most that will happen is that it gets more media coverage and is shown on more networks.  The difference is due to the fact that Doctor Who just has more of a cultural presence in the U.K as opposed to the States.  Its popularity has been on the rise here over the past few years, but I doubt that Doctor Who will ever reach the levels of cultural awareness and popularity in the States that it enjoys in Britain.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  I personally would like to see it have a larger presence in the States, but I know that that will come slowly if ever.  For now it seems that Doctor Who will remain the domain of enthusiasts, at least in the States.

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