DOCTOR WHO: AUDIENCE AND INDUSTRY

 Audience


1) Who is the target audience for Doctor Who? Do you think it has changed since 1963?
Doctor Who is targeted at mainstream family audience-broad appeal as millions of people watch the BBC. Also targeted at audience aged 10-40+. Also targeted on audiences interested on sci-fi.

2) What audience pleasures are offered by Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child? Apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory to the episode. Make sure you provide specific examples from the episode to support your ideas.

Personal Identity:

Teens, personally relating to Susan as teens wants to be free, and they feel like they are being isolated and misunderstood, teenagers feeling rebellious. Interested in about space (space race).

Personal Relationships:

Teachers, they are worried about Susan, and teachers and students had a caring bond in 1960's. 

Diversion (Escapism):

Humans watch Doctor Who as an escapism from our world. And Susan uses school as an escapism from her grandfather/ alien. Different times + different universe.

Surveillance (Information / Facts):

Audience know that aliens like it n the earth. Audience learn time travel, space, and science.

3) What additional Uses and Gratifications would this episode provide to a modern 2020s audience?
  • Relationships: Grandfather - authority figure.
  • Isolated teenagers (misunderstood)
  • New technology, scientific possibility
4) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to An Unearthly Child?
  • Visceral Pleasure can be applied to An Unearthly Child when they took off (TARDIS).
  • Viscarious Pleasure can be applied to An Unearthly Child because of time travel (during the era of space race).
  • Voyeuristic Pleasure can be applied to An Unearthly Child when Susan argues with her grandfather.
5) What kind of online fan culture does Doctor Who have? Give examples.
  • Events
  • Fan-fiction
  • Fan edited
Industries

1) What was the television industry like in 1963? How many channels were there?
  • Only two TV channels in the UK in 1963: BBC and ITV.
  • Videotape had only been in use for seven years.
  • It allowed the BBC to create the space and time travel effect.
  • Considered amazing at the time
-Compared to the digital and streaming TV landscape of today, 1960's television was a different world.

2) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the level of technology in the TV industry in 1963?
An Unearthly Child reflect the level of technology in the TV industry in 1963 as it lacks detailed editing, but it achieves the futuristic technology due to the theme song.

3) Why is Doctor Who such an important franchise for the BBC? 
Doctor Who became an important franchise for BBC because it helped them increase their budget and worldwide distribution.

4) What other programmes/spin-offs are part of the wider Doctor Who franchise?
  • K9
  • Sarah Jane Adventures
  • Torchwood
  • Class
5) Why does the Doctor Who franchise have so much merchandise available? Give examples. 
Doctor Who have loads of merchandise in order to gain mainstream audience this includes:
  • Board games
  • Action figures
  • Costume
  • DVD
  • Books
  • Magazines

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