Fifty years in the TARDIS: The historical moments of doctor who

Abstract

How can we explain the longevity of Doctor Who? This article will consider what I refer to as the ‘external history’ of the series, its place in the institutional and cultural histories of the BBC and British television, as well as the development of its ‘internal history’, the content and mythos of the series itself. In particular, it will focus on three ‘historical moments’ that each in their way defined the series at that moment: the mid-1960s, when it embed itself in the British cultural consciousness; the 1970s, when arguably Doctor Who was at the height of its critical and popular success; and its revival since 2005, when Doctor Who became a major global brand.