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The Mythological Dimensions of Doctor Who
The Mythological Dimensions of Doctor Who is a volume of essays examining the abundant mythological elements underpinning the 50-year-run of the popular BBC television series Doctor Who. Contributors include a well known Doctor Who novelist, an organizer of one of the largest Doctor Who communities, plus several university scholars and Editors from Myth Ink Books. Explore the universe of The Doctor as seen through the eyes of myth and legend.
Foreword: Dream the Myth Onwards
Simon Guerrier
Preface: The Mythology of a Legend
Barnaby Edwards
Chapter1:
Canon, Myth and Memory in Doctor Who
C.B. Harvey
Chapter2:
Holy Terror and Fallen Demigod: The Doctor as Myth
Neil Clarke
Chapter 3:
I Am Vengeance, I Am the Night, I Am . . . the Doctor?
Leslie McMurtry
Chapter 4:
A Professor’s lesson for the Doctor:
The Doctor’s sub-creative journey toward Middle-earth
Anthony S. Burdge
Chapter 5:
Life During Wartime:
An Analysis of Wartime Morality in Doctor Who
Melissa Beattie
Chapter 6:
“It Turns Out they Died for Nothing”:
Doctor Who and the Idea of Sacrificial Death
Melody Green
Chapter 7:
Doctor Who and the Valkyrie Tradition, Part 1:
The Valiant Child and the Bad Wolf
Kristine Larsen
Chapter 8:
Doctor Who and the Valkyrie Tradition, Part 2:
Goddesses, Battle Demons, Wives and Daughters
Jessica Burke
Chapter 9:
The Doctor or the (post) modern Prometheus (tentatively titled)
Vincent O’Brien
Chapter 10:
“Mythology makes you feel something”:
The Russell T. Davies Era as sentimental Journey
Matt Hills
Afterword:
Anne Petty
Foreword: Dream the Myth Onwards
Simon Guerrier
Preface: The Mythology of a Legend
Barnaby Edwards
Chapter1:
Canon, Myth and Memory in Doctor Who
C.B. Harvey
Chapter2:
Holy Terror and Fallen Demigod: The Doctor as Myth
Neil Clarke
Chapter 3:
I Am Vengeance, I Am the Night, I Am . . . the Doctor?
Leslie McMurtry
Chapter 4:
A Professor’s lesson for the Doctor:
The Doctor’s sub-creative journey toward Middle-earth
Anthony S. Burdge
Chapter 5:
Life During Wartime:
An Analysis of Wartime Morality in Doctor Who
Melissa Beattie
Chapter 6:
“It Turns Out they Died for Nothing”:
Doctor Who and the Idea of Sacrificial Death
Melody Green
Chapter 7:
Doctor Who and the Valkyrie Tradition, Part 1:
The Valiant Child and the Bad Wolf
Kristine Larsen
Chapter 8:
Doctor Who and the Valkyrie Tradition, Part 2:
Goddesses, Battle Demons, Wives and Daughters
Jessica Burke
Chapter 9:
The Doctor or the (post) modern Prometheus (tentatively titled)
Vincent O’Brien
Chapter 10:
“Mythology makes you feel something”:
The Russell T. Davies Era as sentimental Journey
Matt Hills
Afterword:
Anne Petty
248 pages, Paperback
First published May 5, 2010
7 people are currently reading
712 people want to read
About the author
Anthony S. Burdge
8 books14 followersAnthony S. Burdge, an independent scholar, was first introduced to the existence of Secondary Worlds via the work of J.R.R Tolkien at an early age. Since taking that first journey out of Bag End with Bilbo, he has traveled with the Doctor, hitchhiked with Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect, been a crew member aboard the USS Enterprise, walked under an eldritch moon toward R’yleh and entered the realms of the Sandman many times.
In addition to his academic articles on various topics ranging from Mythopoeic fiction to local lore and legend, Anthony is grateful to be a part of collections such as The J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia, Translating Tolkien, Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature, You and WHO 2, plus working with authors across the planet for the Mythological Dimensions series, The Mythological Dimensions of Doctor Who
In addition to his academic articles on various topics ranging from Mythopoeic fiction to local lore and legend, Anthony is grateful to be a part of collections such as The J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia, Translating Tolkien, Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature, You and WHO 2, plus working with authors across the planet for the Mythological Dimensions series, The Mythological Dimensions of Doctor Who
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 13, 2016
The Mythological Dimensions of Doctor Who is incredibly informative and presents some well researched theories, but do not read this if you are not prepared for some heavy-handed use of academic language. Along with wonderful examinations of the Companions as Valkyries and the significance of Middle Earth to the Whoniverse, you will also experience a great deal of "mimesis," "dialectic," and "semiotics." If this is your cup of tea, carry on; but if you are looking for direct representation of Who and specific mythologies in layman's language, you are barking up the wrong tree. I personally enjoyed this book, although the last essay had just a bit too much academic "jiggery pokery" for my taste.
One particularly clear and concise entry compared Batman and the Doctor, and you will be surprised how well these two universes reflect each other (or at least I was). The two-part examinations of the companions of the 9th and 10th Doctors through the lens of Valkyrie mythos was also very informative, and with the exception of some Nordic/Middle English words, very easy to grasp.
Overall, I found this book entertaining and enlightening, but it does require more attention and mental effort than your average book about Doctor Who.
One particularly clear and concise entry compared Batman and the Doctor, and you will be surprised how well these two universes reflect each other (or at least I was). The two-part examinations of the companions of the 9th and 10th Doctors through the lens of Valkyrie mythos was also very informative, and with the exception of some Nordic/Middle English words, very easy to grasp.
Overall, I found this book entertaining and enlightening, but it does require more attention and mental effort than your average book about Doctor Who.
May 25, 2013
Well, I probably won't consider it as a very reliable source for things I want to write about, but it's quite interesting. Maybe apart from essays trying to convince me that Rose Tyler was a Valkyrie. But these comparing the Doctor and Batman and the Doctor and Prometheus were quite good.
December 31, 2010
Being the Doctor Who nerd that I am, this was my very first purchase on Amazon’s eBook store when I received a Kindle this last week as a Christmas present. As high-falutin’ as the title of this collection of scholarly essays sound, it’s really quite a joy to read, as each of the authors places Doctor Who in context of the (intended or not) mythological trappings in which this long-lived and loved show has been dressed up.
In “Holy Terror and Fallen Demigod: The Doctor as Myth”, Neil Clarke has us consider how our favorite Time Lord is cut from the same cloth as Joseph Campbell’s archetypal hero of a thousand faces, as well as he echoes both early and modern British heroes.
The very idea that the Doctor can be painted in such broad strokes demonstrates his uniqueness as a character, even more so than cultural figures like Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, or even Robin Hood. While definable as heroes in the theoretical sense, the Doctor nevertheless has the advantage, in that the concept of an ever-changing, near-immortal, time traveler lends itself to this kind of scope in a way that Sherlock Holmes’ grounding in a specific milieu cannot compare to.
In “I Am Vengeance, I Am The Night, I Am…the Doctor?”, Leslie McMurty compares and contrast my favorite British hero with my favorite American comic book hero – a likeness that even I noticed, as both borrow heavily from the brilliant deductive mind of Sherlock Holmes.
The key to both Doctor Who and Batman’s longevity is the adaptability of both series, their abilities to rewrite their own mythologies while still using revolving characters and roles, keeping a malleable format with recognizable tenets. While these fictional universes share many qualities, the characters of Batman and the Doctor…show many similarities as well. These include shared characteristics of “cosmic angst”, a notion of interminable loneliness, and a purported nonviolent/nonlethal approach.
He also likens the role of Robin to that of the Doctor’s companions.
…it is long-held wisdom that the Doctor requires his companions (or assistants) so that he can explain the plot to them. Also both roles (Robin and the companion) provide a place for the viewer (originally children) to have some identification.
And let’s not forget likening the Batmobile and utility belt to the Doctor’s TARDIS and sonic screwdriver.
The TARDIS herself could be dismissed as a bit of the Doctor’s kit, much like Batman’s costume, utility belt, or Batmobile…
After the comparison to Batman, it’s only natural for the next author, Anthony Burdge, to compare our Time Lord to the heroics found in another British fantasy institution, Middle-Earth as envisioned by Oxford don J. R. R. Tolkien. He posits that both adhere to hero with a thousand faces as outlined in the eponymous work by Joseph Campbell. But he does have this say about the Doctor and his adventures, which likens it more back to the constant re-mythologizing of Batman here in the States:
The mythology of Doctor Who has built into it the continuation, evolution, and longevity of the character’s mythical qualities through his regenerative process. I have to agree with Lou Anders, when he states: “Doctor Who is the truest expression of Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces ever conceived. The idea of an alien, come down to earth, repeatedly dying and resurrecting for the salvation of other is as close to the perpetual reenactment of the eternal Hero’s Journey as you can hope to find.”
As a mythology show (see the last essay “’Mythology Makes You Feel Something’: The Russell T. Davies Era as Sentimental Journey” for a well-written exposition on this) Doctor Who ranks right up there with The X-Files and the many Star Trek incarnations. And this collection of essays under the banner The Mythological Dimensions of Doctor Who is both a brainy and entertaining look into the heart of what makes Doctor Who so darn fun.
In “Holy Terror and Fallen Demigod: The Doctor as Myth”, Neil Clarke has us consider how our favorite Time Lord is cut from the same cloth as Joseph Campbell’s archetypal hero of a thousand faces, as well as he echoes both early and modern British heroes.
The very idea that the Doctor can be painted in such broad strokes demonstrates his uniqueness as a character, even more so than cultural figures like Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, or even Robin Hood. While definable as heroes in the theoretical sense, the Doctor nevertheless has the advantage, in that the concept of an ever-changing, near-immortal, time traveler lends itself to this kind of scope in a way that Sherlock Holmes’ grounding in a specific milieu cannot compare to.
In “I Am Vengeance, I Am The Night, I Am…the Doctor?”, Leslie McMurty compares and contrast my favorite British hero with my favorite American comic book hero – a likeness that even I noticed, as both borrow heavily from the brilliant deductive mind of Sherlock Holmes.
The key to both Doctor Who and Batman’s longevity is the adaptability of both series, their abilities to rewrite their own mythologies while still using revolving characters and roles, keeping a malleable format with recognizable tenets. While these fictional universes share many qualities, the characters of Batman and the Doctor…show many similarities as well. These include shared characteristics of “cosmic angst”, a notion of interminable loneliness, and a purported nonviolent/nonlethal approach.
He also likens the role of Robin to that of the Doctor’s companions.
…it is long-held wisdom that the Doctor requires his companions (or assistants) so that he can explain the plot to them. Also both roles (Robin and the companion) provide a place for the viewer (originally children) to have some identification.
And let’s not forget likening the Batmobile and utility belt to the Doctor’s TARDIS and sonic screwdriver.
The TARDIS herself could be dismissed as a bit of the Doctor’s kit, much like Batman’s costume, utility belt, or Batmobile…
After the comparison to Batman, it’s only natural for the next author, Anthony Burdge, to compare our Time Lord to the heroics found in another British fantasy institution, Middle-Earth as envisioned by Oxford don J. R. R. Tolkien. He posits that both adhere to hero with a thousand faces as outlined in the eponymous work by Joseph Campbell. But he does have this say about the Doctor and his adventures, which likens it more back to the constant re-mythologizing of Batman here in the States:
The mythology of Doctor Who has built into it the continuation, evolution, and longevity of the character’s mythical qualities through his regenerative process. I have to agree with Lou Anders, when he states: “Doctor Who is the truest expression of Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces ever conceived. The idea of an alien, come down to earth, repeatedly dying and resurrecting for the salvation of other is as close to the perpetual reenactment of the eternal Hero’s Journey as you can hope to find.”
As a mythology show (see the last essay “’Mythology Makes You Feel Something’: The Russell T. Davies Era as Sentimental Journey” for a well-written exposition on this) Doctor Who ranks right up there with The X-Files and the many Star Trek incarnations. And this collection of essays under the banner The Mythological Dimensions of Doctor Who is both a brainy and entertaining look into the heart of what makes Doctor Who so darn fun.
July 25, 2011
Doctor Who, from its use of myths as the basis of story's to its own internal continuity, has never shied away from mythology across its nearly fifty years of life. The question to ask might be this though: how has mythology influenced Doctor Who itself? The Mythological Dimensions Of Doctor Who explores that very question.
It does so across eleven very different essays, covering topics are as widely varied as the show itself. Quite a few of the essays cover the internal world of the series such as C.B Harvey's look at working of cannon (the series own internal mythology) within the series, Neil Clarke's look at the mythic status of the titular Time Lord from the latter stories of the old series right up to the new series, an exploration of the Doctor's morality by Melissa Beattie for example or Melody Green's fascinating exploration of self-sacrifice in the series. In particular, Green's exploration of the New Series episode Midnight might just make the reader watch that 2008 episode with a different eye. These essays that focus on the mythology within the show are
The best essays of the book, arguably, are those that look at exactly what the title says: the mythological dimensions of the series. The essays range from a fascinating look at the unlikely connections between the last of the Time Lords and the Dark Knight from Leslie McMurty, Anthony S. Burdge's essay on Tolkien influences on the series, two essays (one each by Kristine Larson and Jessica Burke) that explores the Valkyrie-esque nature of New Series companions, Vincent O'Brien's exploration of the Doctor as a post-modern Prometheus before ending with an essay by Matthew Hills exploring Doctor Who as a "mythology" show. Each of these essays explores the series through a different lens and, like looking through a kaleidoscope, gives the reader a different image of a familiar television show.
The essays cover a lot of ground and they do so splendidly. One might be concerned that the essays, due to their subject matter, might be a bit heavy for the average fan of the series to read. Thankfully the essays are written in a style that is highly accessible. Certainly one will find terms they might not understand but thankfully each of the writers takes the time to explain in terms that just about anyone should be able to comprehend. There are instances, particularity in the essay by Matthew Hills, where this doesn't quite work and the average reader might be left scratching their head a bit but for the most part the book works wonders.
The Mythological Dimensions Of Doctor Who explores just that. With the internal mythology of the series itself, the book presents an intriguing exploration of the series we know so well. Yet when the book looks at how mythology has touched the series and shaped it, the results are nothing short of intriguing with the possibilities at times being fascinating. Written in a style that is for the vast majority of the book welcoming to the average reader, the book is an intriguing look at what lies just beneath the world's longest running science fiction series.
It does so across eleven very different essays, covering topics are as widely varied as the show itself. Quite a few of the essays cover the internal world of the series such as C.B Harvey's look at working of cannon (the series own internal mythology) within the series, Neil Clarke's look at the mythic status of the titular Time Lord from the latter stories of the old series right up to the new series, an exploration of the Doctor's morality by Melissa Beattie for example or Melody Green's fascinating exploration of self-sacrifice in the series. In particular, Green's exploration of the New Series episode Midnight might just make the reader watch that 2008 episode with a different eye. These essays that focus on the mythology within the show are
The best essays of the book, arguably, are those that look at exactly what the title says: the mythological dimensions of the series. The essays range from a fascinating look at the unlikely connections between the last of the Time Lords and the Dark Knight from Leslie McMurty, Anthony S. Burdge's essay on Tolkien influences on the series, two essays (one each by Kristine Larson and Jessica Burke) that explores the Valkyrie-esque nature of New Series companions, Vincent O'Brien's exploration of the Doctor as a post-modern Prometheus before ending with an essay by Matthew Hills exploring Doctor Who as a "mythology" show. Each of these essays explores the series through a different lens and, like looking through a kaleidoscope, gives the reader a different image of a familiar television show.
The essays cover a lot of ground and they do so splendidly. One might be concerned that the essays, due to their subject matter, might be a bit heavy for the average fan of the series to read. Thankfully the essays are written in a style that is highly accessible. Certainly one will find terms they might not understand but thankfully each of the writers takes the time to explain in terms that just about anyone should be able to comprehend. There are instances, particularity in the essay by Matthew Hills, where this doesn't quite work and the average reader might be left scratching their head a bit but for the most part the book works wonders.
The Mythological Dimensions Of Doctor Who explores just that. With the internal mythology of the series itself, the book presents an intriguing exploration of the series we know so well. Yet when the book looks at how mythology has touched the series and shaped it, the results are nothing short of intriguing with the possibilities at times being fascinating. Written in a style that is for the vast majority of the book welcoming to the average reader, the book is an intriguing look at what lies just beneath the world's longest running science fiction series.
July 24, 2019
The essays in this collection covered many aspects of all of Doctor Who from 1963- 2010. Several of them keyed on matters particularly pertaining to Russell Davies tenure as show runner, editor and primary writer. I learned much which will enable future viewings to be even more enjoyable.
December 20, 2011
I'm always somewhat bemused by scholarly books on pop culture. Even if the subjects, like "Doctor Who" or "Star Trek," have withstood the test of time, it seems slightly risible to devote such concentrated effort to such ephemera. Still, I guess that's the true definition of "fan" behavior, just like when I was 12 and had memorized all the titles, writers and directors of every original "Star Trek" episode. But, I was 12.
At any rate, the editors of this book, regular attendees of meetings of the JRR Tolkein literary gatherings, managed to find a dozen other academics as enthusiastic about the travels of the Time Lord as themselves and a publisher to indulge their high criticism of low culture and it's actually a pretty fun ride. A couple of the essays are not very well written -- they never seem to make their points and attempt to cover it up with a welter of multisyllabic or foreign words -- and one is so poorly edited as to make me wonder if someone went through and marked words out of the manuscript according to some cryptogram. But the remainder are at least amusing and a couple of them are downright thought provoking.
If you are a Doctor Who fan and enjoy literary criticism, this book is for you. Of course, that's probably a pretty slim target audience.
At any rate, the editors of this book, regular attendees of meetings of the JRR Tolkein literary gatherings, managed to find a dozen other academics as enthusiastic about the travels of the Time Lord as themselves and a publisher to indulge their high criticism of low culture and it's actually a pretty fun ride. A couple of the essays are not very well written -- they never seem to make their points and attempt to cover it up with a welter of multisyllabic or foreign words -- and one is so poorly edited as to make me wonder if someone went through and marked words out of the manuscript according to some cryptogram. But the remainder are at least amusing and a couple of them are downright thought provoking.
If you are a Doctor Who fan and enjoy literary criticism, this book is for you. Of course, that's probably a pretty slim target audience.
April 21, 2015
I suppose my real critique of this volume is that it wasn't longer. Certain concepts could have been developed further and themes milked for longer consideration, as well as more varied topics added - the conjunction of myth and Doctor Who seems near-inexhaustible. However, to be left wanting more is ultimately a compliment to any work. There are a lot of great insights packed into this little collection, and I know I'll be back for reference often.
December 6, 2012
pretty interesting book of essays, although just like the show, not for everyone. I like that I'm not the only person in the world taking Doctor Who WAY too seriously :) and now that I know that being a DW scholar is a thing, I think I may have found my new calling in life!
February 11, 2014
Great review via The Mythopoeic Society
http://www.mythsoc.org/reviews/doctor...
February 3, 2013
Uneven collection of essays by, for the most part, British graduate students. One or two of the essays are insightful; several are just dumb.
September 17, 2015
Interesting but overly academic. There is about a 50/50 split between essays that are decent and engaging and essays that are boring and unnecessary to have been written.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews