a question on doctor who

[hermitsrme]

is doctor who science fiction?

i am not sure what to classify it as other than doctor who.
for some odd reason i don't think it is science fiction.
can anyone answer the question and explain why they think what they think.
cheers

Comments

[idavid]

You need a good definition of SciFi. There are definite SciFi elements, and also fantasy. Throw in a good measure of soapy story too. On balance I think there are more SciFi stories than not, so you could probably call it SciFi

idavid

[hermitsrme]

cheers
i think it is the 'you could probably call it SciFi' part that bugs me and makes me wonder.

[wrathchild]

One of the things that keeps Doctor Who going is its versatility. The time travel element is a sci-fi trapping, but any genre can be adapted to fit the show. Many of my favourite stories are either whodunnits in space, gothic horror or period costume drama with a few monsters thrown in.

W

Mmmmmmmm

[hermitsrme]

I wonder if that then means that it isn't science fiction, because it science fiction would in this case be a limiting catergory to put it into. Doctor Who covers a lot of area, so why would people want it to be labled science fiction; would fantasy be a more appropriate label?

Re: Mmmmmmmm

[amazing_topcat]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the BBC itself classify it as Science Fiction..? Well, this along with the fact that the ABC refers to as Sci Fi too, not to mention that the books, DVDs, and audio books of the series/franchise are usually found in the Sci Fi sections of shops and libraries. To me this has always qualified it as a Science Fiction in my eyes. And thus, as a Science Fiction the shows (the new stuff I'm talking about here) very very rarely measures up...

A_T

Re: Mmmmmmmm

[hermitsrme]

I won't correct you, but will say I ignore the BBC and ABC because they in my opinion are STUPID.

You are correct that they advertise and promote the series; the books, DVDs, and audio books as Science Fiction, but that does not mean it is.

I still think it is a genre of it's own and that genre is very loose...

Thanks for your comment.

[kowarth]

As Captain Jack would say 'you guys and your neat little Boxes!'

Yes its Science Fiction, the same way Star Trek TOS was a western.
Isaac Asimov - in realtion to TOS in fact - said that true Science Fiction was any piece of creative writing that had, at its core, actual science or speculation of the extrapolation of modern science.

in short - technobabble does not a scifi show make (if only they'd listened to that during Voyager.)

Thus the Pertwee Era story Inferno IS science Fiction as far as the borehole project goes. and isn't as far as the Primords go.

kowarth

[hermitsrme]

Actually I am trying to unpack it out of that 'neat little Box'; it seems to me to be a restrictive one.

No, I don't think it is Science Fiction.

Isaac Asimov definition is interesting but Science Fiction does seem to be a smaller box than he is defining.
His definition would cover a lot of area and cross over into categories that are not science fiction. with his definition Frankenstien would be science fiction and not horror.

Yep, technobabble does not a scifi; true.

okay.

Re: kowarth

[kowarth]

the bbc in 1963 commissioned an 'educational science fiction adventure series in 13 parts'.

frankenstein IS science Fiction, in precisely the same way as Alien is a Horror film. They aren't mutaully exclusive. to be a successful Sci Fi serial you cant rely soley on Sci fi. hence Trek's western/ cold war trappings and the Huge dollop of ripped off borrowed fantasy mythology in Babylon 5.

Quantum Leap was described as a sci fi series but theres nothing actually scifi about it. if Sam and Al had been ghosts, sentenced to roam the earth putting right what once went wrong before they could continue on to the other side the series would have been identical but labbelled as a horror/ fantasy show

all of course only in my opinion :)

Re: kowarth

[hermitsrme]

your opinions make sense