An Awfully Big Adventure - The Parallels between Peter Pan and Doctor Who

[catsfiction]

I've been putting down a bit of meta about the way the story of Peter Pan and his ongoing relationship with Wendy parallels the Doctor and Rose relationship - if you're interested in that kind of thing, follow the link:

What happens when Wendy grows up?

Comments

[melwicker]

The difference between The Doctor and Peter Pan is that the Doctor already IS grown up in certain respects. He has to bear the weight of being the universe's savior. Peter Pan does not do that. Also, the Doctor might LIKE to settle down, but he can't do that because the whole universe needs him. Peter Pan has a choice of settling down, but because Peter WILLINGLY evades all responsibility and chooses to stay as a child he is much less mature than the Doctor.

[catsfiction]

Well, I do expand a bit on that in my next part. I think the problem is there are two fan audiences out there wanting two different Doctors. My argument is that the New Who Doctor is very grown up, and a tragic hero, but a lot of people out there (in England, anyway) expect, and to some extent demand the Peter Pan archetype, because that's what they associate with the books they read and the shows they watched in their own childhood. Doctor Who always has to bear the weight of being the show people remember with affection and nostalgia. And that means quite a lot of the audience are rooting for him NOT to grow up.