Religion and Doctor Who : time and relative dimensions in faith

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McGrath, James F. (James Frank), 1972- Author.

Crome, Andrew, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Television broadcasting--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Television broadcasting.

Doctor Who (Television program : 1963-1989).

Doctor Who (Television program : 2005-2022).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (366 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

[Place of publication not identified] Cascade Books 2013

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Doctor Who has always contained a rich current of religious themes and ideas. In its very first episode it asked how humans rationalize the seemingly supernatural, as two snooping schoolteachers refused to accept that the TARDIS was real. More recently it has toyed with the mystery of Doctor's real name, perhaps an echo of ancient religions and rituals in which knowledge of the secret name of a god, angel or demon was thought to grant a mortal power over the entity.But why does Doctor Who intersect with religion so often, and what do such instances tell us about the society that produces the show and the viewers who engage with it? The writers of Religion and Doctor Who: Time and Relative Dimensions in Faith attempt to answer these questions through an in-depth analysis of the various treatments of religion throughout every era of the show's history. While the majority of chapters focus on the television show Doctor Who, the authors also look at audios, novels, and the response of fandom. Their analyses--all written in an accessible but academically thorough style--reveal that examining religion in a long-running series such as Doctor Who can contribute to a number of key debates within faith communities and religious history.Most importantly, it provides another way of looking at why Doctor Who continues to inspire, to engage, and to excite generations of passionate fans, whatever their position on faith.The contributors are drawn from the UK, the USA, and Australia, and their approaches are similarly diverse. Chapters have been written by film scholars and sociologists; theologians and historians; rhetoricians, philosophers and anthropologists. Some write from the perspective of a particular faith or belief; others write from the perspective of no religious belief. All, however, demonstrate a solid knowledge of and affection for the brilliance of Doctor Who.

Contents:

Intro

Title Page

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. Why Time Lords Do Not Live Forever

2. Pushing the Protest Button: Doctor Who's Anti-Authoritarian Ethic

3. Divine and Human Nature: Incarnation and Kenosis in Doctor Who

4. Breaking the Faiths in 'The Curse of Fenric' and 'The God Complex'

5. The Doctor Working on God's Time: Kairos and Intervention in 'The Waters of Mars' and 'A Christmas Carol'

6. 'You're this Doctor's companion. What exactly do you do for him? Why does he need you?': Doctor Who, Liminality and Martha the Apostle

7. 'Humany-Wumany': Humanity vs. Human in Doctor Who

8. The Monstrous and the Divine in Doctor Who: The Role of Christian Imagery in Russell T. Davies's Doctor Who Revival

9. 'With proof, you don't have to believe': Doctor Who and the Celestials

10. 'Her brain was full of superstitious nonsense': Modernism and the Failure of the Divine in Doctor Who

11. Religion in Doctor Who: Cult Ethics

12. Mediating Between the Scientific and the Spiritual in Doctor Who

14. 'There never was a Golden Age': Doctor Who and the Apocalypse

15. 'Qui Quae Quod': Doctor Who and the History of Magic

16. The Church Militant? The Church of England, humanity and the future in Doctor Who

17. Bigger on the Inside? Doctoring the Concept of 'Religion or Belief' under English Law

18. 'Something woolly and fuzzy': The Representation of Religion in the Big Finish Doctor Who Audio Adventures

19. Doctoring the Doctor: Midrashic Adventures in Text and Space

Epilogue

Appendix: Doctor Who Episodes, Writers and Directors

Notes

Notes on Contributors.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781630874605

1630874604

OCLC:

1088347615