Throughout the long running BBC series Doctor Who, the Doctor has rarely been alone, traveling with both female and male "companions." The companion is essential to Doctor Who because he or she is a stand-in for the audience, providing information about the Doctor's ongoing adventures. With the casting of a female actor in the role of the Doctor in 2018, one criticism of the series was finally resolved. After the shift in gender identity, the role of the Doctor and the companion also shifted--or has it? The continued focus on romantic relations between the TARDIS occupants has led to complaints from both male and female fans, reiterating and reinforcing myriad criticisms about the portrayal of the female companions. Essays in this book consider how gender is presented in Doctor Who and how certain female companions have been able to break out of the gendered roles usually assigned to them through the classic and new series.

Stories of time travel have been part of science fiction since H. G. Wells sent his nameless hero hurtling into Earth's distant future in The Time Machine. Time travel enables the storyteller to depict alternate realities, bring fictional characters face to face with historical figures, and depict moral and ethical dilemmas in which millions of lives (or the world as we know it) are at stake. From Doctor Who and Quantum Leap to the multiple incarnations of Star Trek, time travel has been a staple of science fiction television for more than fifty years. Time-Travel Television: The Past from the Present, the Future from the Past surveys the whole range of time travel stories on the small screen. The essays in this collection explore time travel series both familiar (Babylon 5, Stargate SG-1) and forgotten (The Time Tunnel, Voyagers!), as well as time-travel themed episodes and arcs in series where it is not central, such as Red Dwarf, Lost, and Heroes. Contributors to this volume consider some of the classic themes of time-travel stories: the promise (and peril) of "fixing" the past, the chance to experience (and choose) possible futures, and the potential for small changes to have great effects. Exploring time travel as a teaching tool, as a vehicle for moral lessons, and as a background for high adventure, this book offers new perspectives on many familiar programs and the first serious study of several unjustly neglected ones. Time-Travel Television is essential reading for science fiction scholars and fans, and for anyone interested in the many ways that television brings the fantastic into viewers' living rooms.

Throughout the long-running BBC series Doctor Who, the Doctor has rarely been alone-his companions are essential. Male or female, human or alien, young or old, the dozens of companions who have travelled with him over the past 50 years have served as sympathetic proxies for the audience. Through their adventures the companions are perfected, facing danger and thus discovering their strengths and weaknesses. Yet they all pay a price, losing their innocence and sometimes their lives. This collection of new essays examines the role of the companion as an intermediate between viewers and the Doctor. The contributors discuss who travels with the Doctor and why, how they interact, how the companions influence the narrative and how their journeys change them.

This collection of fresh essays addresses a broad range of topics in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, both old (1963-1989) and new (2005-present). The book begins with the fan: There are essays on how the show is viewed and identified with, fan interactions with each other, reactions to changes, the wilderness years when it wasn't in production. Essays then look at the ways in which the stories are told (e.g., their timeliness, their use of time travel as a device, etc.). After discussing the stories and devices and themes, the essays turn to looking at the Doctor's female companions and how they evolve, are used, and changed by their journey with the Doctor.