‘How does post-2005 Doctor Who use nostalgia and references to it’s history?

‘How does post-2005 Doctor Who use nostalgia to keep audience interest?’

‘How does post-2005 Doctor Who use assets from the classic series and nostalgia to
keep audience interest?’

‘How do post-2005 Doctor Who showrunners use nostalgia to affect the

narrative/viewership?’

(The Relationship between the classic series and the reboot)

Nostalgia is defined as ‘a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past’
which in a capitalist-led society leaves entertainment media in a strange flux. ‘Retro’ video
games and classic films are hugely popular but almost as soon as new media is released it’s
outdated and onto anticipating the sequel. It’s the same with the value of these products as
given enough time, the value starts to increase after the initial decrease. Using Nostalgia in a
media sense is commonly seen as the producers of a product, be it creative or corporate,
using previously established elements, which could be characters, location or story, from a
previous title to either remake or add into a newer product. It’s thrown around like a dirty
word when it comes to film and television in the current age of cinema with lots of releases
being recycled in some way. The RadioTimes crunched the numbers and found that in the
top twenty grossing films of 1998, five of these films were either a remake, sequel or spin-off
of a pre-existing intellectual property. Which contrasts humongously to the sixteen films in
the top twenty by jumping ahead two decades in 2018.

Source: ​https://www.radiotimes.com/news/film/2019-09-19/hollywood-sequels-remakes/

It could appear that corporations like Disney and other studios remake classics more for
money than actually having a new story to tell creatively. Did we really need a photo realistic
Lion King? What else did it really bring to the table? There’s almost this disdain amongst film
critics and lovers as they hold this attitude that as the audience they are being exploited. In
2013 famous film critic Mark Kermode posed the question to his audience ‘Are remakes
always rubbish?’ Obviously the answer is entirely subjective but it highlights the reputation
that they hold, yet they rarely fail at the box office because nostalgia sells. This craze of
remakes isn’t new either, often praised as one of the first narrative films ​The great train
robbery ​(1903 Dir. Porter) was remade the very next year by director Siegmund Lubin as
while the law prohibited duplication of film reels, there was not yet a copyright law on
intellectual property. Remakes aren’t the only use of nostalgia in film. Adaptations from
books and comic books have always been a popular trend. Certain Television shows are
built up on the foundation of nostalgia and homage, with Netflix’s hit ​Stranger Things​ Being a
clear example of this. Not only with direct shots mimicking classic 80s cinema but even down
to the deep-synth music as well as the dynamic between the main characters being more in
line with ‘Stand by me’ & ‘It’ among other Stephen King works. In particular moments, there
could be an argument that Stranger Things relies too heavily on this intertextuality with
pre-existing media.

Doctor Who is a different thing entirely. The show itself started in 1963 and when there’s that
much fictional mythology and just the sheer amount of stories that have been told in the 55+
years, there are of course going to be returning characters and villains. In 1989, the BBC
axed the show and it was off air until Russell T Davies helmed the rebooted series as head
writer in 2005. Story wise, Davies had a clear line in the sand between the original series
and the new, while it has been off-air the ‘Time Lords’ have been at war with the ‘Daleks’ in
the ‘Time War’ which resulted in the Doctor having to be the one to press the button and kill
everyone on both sides. His punishment was survival, he has to live on knowing he comitted
genocide and it’s the arc for the Ninth Doctor in the first of the revived series with him
coming to terms with this and then progressing from there. Davies drew this line in the sand
to say no, this is definitely different to what you already knew and it was to make sure that it
didn’t get too bogged down in pre-existing lore and having it from the outset as inaccessible
to new viewers. Similar to why he made the Pilot episode ‘Rose’, from the perspective of the
companion having this amazing traveller coming into her life. He used a classic villain, the
‘Autons’ shop window dummies as they do what Doctor Who does best, make the everyday
scary! But in a subtextual way, saying to older fans of the show that it’s heritage wouldn’t be
forgotten about or completely thrown to the wayside. It used this nostalgia to perfectly fit into
the plot and not come across as pandering. A way it could have done, is if it confidently
strided forward and opened on a Dalek story; what everyone would have presumably
expected. It would have made marketing a lot easier but with ‘Rose’ it put the characters
front and centre saying if you follow these characters it’ll be a trip of a lifetime. In the famous
advert for the first series it quickly introduces the staples of the show such as the new
TARDIS and Doctor but leaves the clip of the Dalek’s until later showing that primarily they’re
focusing on the new characters. It is through Rose’s eyes the audience are gradually
introduced to the classic elements and staples of the show like the ‘TARDIS’ & ‘sonic
screwdriver’ for example. It’s this that allows Davies as the writer to give this exposition to
the new audience. Even the Police Box was redesigned. The way the episode treats the
Doctor as a myth and legend itself shows he’s been travelling around for a while, it was the
same Time Lord to keep the interest of old fans but a new incarnation to not need the
previous knowledge. Having him as a myth highlighting that yes this show was on the telly
when your parents were kids and if you like this, then there’s so much more to explore. A
perfectly balanced reintroduction.

Naturally, in the classic run of the show it picked up certain iconography that it couldn’t
shake off, nor should it. In the original two Doctor Who films ​Dr Who and the Daleks​ (Dir.
Gordon Flemlyng, 1965) & ​Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.​ (Dir. Gordon Flemlyng, 1966)
the Daleks had only recently been introduced to the public consciousness, yet were already
synonymous with the show. ‘You can’t have Doctor Who without the Daleks’. This made it a
daunting task for the writers when it came to bringing them back in the reboot, to do so they
brought in Robert Sheerman who adapted his own audio story ‘Jubilee’ with the Sixth Doctor
into the now classic episode ‘Dalek’. This use of pre-existing Doctor Who material I wouldn’t
consider an exploitative use of nostalgia, a way that it could have been exploitative is if it
was a remake of ‘Genesis of the Daleks’ for example or another famous serial from the
classic series. Even if there were good creative intentions behind the ‘remake’ it would lean
more into the ‘redundant’ Disney live-action remakes, instead of it being a great
deconstruction of the relationship the Doctor has with the Daleks which made the leap from
audio to on-screen.

It’s not the last time the show has adapted a pre-existing piece of Doctor Who, with series
three’s famous two-part story ‘Human Nature’ & ‘Family of Blood’ being translated across
from a book to the screen by the original writer Paul Cornell. I’d argue that this isn’t a use or
manipulation of people’s nostalgia either as the original stories started off in a rather niche
position with them being expanded universe content, only to be brought to the main show
and shown to a wider audience. In the first revived series, the number of returning villains
was relatively low (the Autons and Daleks) which amped up in the second series with the
Cybermen, Krillitane and returning Daleks and is a trend that continued throughout the
Davies and Moffat eras. It almost became a staple and fans would theorise about who they’d
bring back next, this conversation still occurs between each series because as a viewer it’s
fun to discuss and predict what happens next, it’s just one of the things that makes being a
fan of a show like this so great.
https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2019-10-28/doctor-who-monsters-returning-series-12/​ .
Typically it would be treated as a twist with the Master coming back for example. Certain
stories a returning villain wouldn’t take centre-stage as it would fit in naturally, much like the
Macra in series three’s ‘Gridlock’. Davies was writing an episode about people living their
entire lives in a traffic jam and needed a monster who lurked beneath the flying cars, one
that lived off of the fumes and then he remembered one already existed! He discussed this
in his book ‘The Writer’s Tale’. At first, the returning monsters each series weren’t a question
about nostalgia as it was the first time these villains were being introduced to the new
audience which didn’t make much of a difference to other newer monsters which were
original to the reboot. Although it did bring a pull in on the audience of the old show, even if
just for the intrigue of how they’re going to pull off that creature with modern special effects.
Throughout this era of the show, it shows from a marketing perspective which ones were
there for more of a ratings boost with the more iconic returning foes being featured in the
titles of the episodes. ‘Dalek’, ‘The rise of the Cybermen’ & ‘The Sontaran Stratagem’ and
while I don’t view this cynically as a mismanagement of fans nostalgia, the episodes
themselves treat it as twist reveals or a larger revelation that they’re back, so it does feel like
it’s got the intention of people looking at the TV Guide and then seeing that this week the
Cybermen are returning. With the role of showrunner being a married partnership of head
writer and executive producer, it makes sense to capitilise on this as at the end of the day it
is also a business. You don’t want your show to be cancelled or have abysmal viewing
figures, so these small ways helped Doctor Who throughout the Davies era become one of
the biggest shows on television with the culmination point of ‘The Stolen Earth’ & ‘Journey’s
End’ adding 10.57 million viewers on a cliffhanger as those climactic losing moments are
just as ingrained into the show as the dalek’s themselves.

Something this era of the show did so well was always looking forward. In the June 2020
issue of The Doctor Who Magazine, Davies and Moffat interviewed each other and
something Davies said:

“I wish, with the hindsight of 2020, I’d done a great big proper sequel to a classic story. I’d
have run the old episodes on BBC Three all week, then shown the sequel on the
Saturday...Just once, for the fun of it! I was so determined not to look back too much, I think I
missed a trick there.”

Davies didn’t just want to be writing Doctor Who fan-fiction which only he and a handful of
other people understood, while this was littered throughout the episodes as easter eggs,
they were never the focus of episodes. Returning villains and ideas were more so footnotes
or people’s memory of what it was, a rebirth of the Cybermen for the 21st Century instead of
continuing directly with the beings from Mondas. Even if this would be explored later down
the line. They could never do a full-blown sequel to a classic story without first doing the
groundwork. Arguably the closest we’ve seen of a sequel to an episode done series later is
with the series nine ‘Zygon Invasion/Inversion’ two-parter which directly continued the
plot-thread from the series seven 50th anniversary special ‘Day of the Doctor’. Although,
while ‘Twice upon a time’ is far from a sequel to ‘The Tenth Planet’, it does muddy the
waters somewhat. The quote shows not only Davies' passion for the show and it’s history but
that they were so careful as to not be too over-indulgent and had to be rather strict with
themselves on how and when to use classic elements and bringing in that level of nostalgia
for the audience.

When Steven Moffat was the showrunner (2010-2017) he made the following statement:

"It has to be self-explanatory, it has to be free-standing, it has to be clear for everybody. If I

did the Meddling Monk teaming up with Mavic Chen's daughter and the Krotons then yeah,
that's too much, because no one gives a toss...People always ask me "Do you want to bring
back the Rani?" No one knows who the Rani is. They all know who the Master is, they know
Daleks, they probably know who Davros is, but they don't know who the Rani is, so there's
no point in bringing her back. If there's a line it's probably somewhere there." - Source:
https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/steven_moffat_explains_wh

This statement is something that personally I disagree with, because with the right writing
and story you could make the Rani returning just as impactful as The Master, even for
someone who doesn’t know who that character is. It’s a part of the role of that writer to guide
the audience along and explain who each character is, it’s not about how memorable they
were in the first place. Although, the first Master reveal of the revived series worked so well
because it wasn’t just about pre-existing knowledge of the character and instead the
implications it meant with another Time Lord around. Certain characters returning raises the
whole Jurassic Park argument “So busy thinking you could, you didn’t think about if you
should”. Which is why I’m glad that Moffat did have restraint and didn’t just go for complete
classic Who reworkings. Some characters only have a finite amount of stories to tell about
them or maybe they lose their impact with each return appearance (i.e. The Weeping
Angels). But most importantly, new ideas always drive things forward. You don’t just want to
be playing around with the props that have been in the store cupboard for 50 years. Also,
while we can argue how they could bring a character back and fit them into a story, it comes
to a point to say who are we to try and put a writer into a corner and write exactly what the
fans want. Even if it is alarming that he only thinks of the elements to bring back on how
memorable they are as opposed to what stories he can tell with them, which does allude to
the idea of more running on nostalgia than just telling stories. But I agree it needs to be more
than just past elements, it needs new and fresh ideas to keep it going. With a show such as
this, it needs to be appealing to new audiences, especially children because they’ll become
your future fans as they grow up. Like comments made about the Star Wars Sequels by
actor Ahmed Best who portrayed the infamous Jar Jar Binks in the Prequel Trilogy. ​“It’s very
much for the millennials and gen-Xers like myself ... Kids are kind of left out of these, and the
kids have to go to the animated series in order to get their dose of ​Star Wars,​ or they do like
Phantom Menace​. ​Phantom Menace​ is very much a kids movie.”
Source:​https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/star-wars-jar-jar-binks-
ahmed-best-george-lucas-fans-a9456676.html
That comment was talking about not just the films being ‘darker’ but because the films are so
obsessed with the original trilogy that it is intimidating to newer fans of the series and could
be off-putting by subtextually saying you need the passionate nostalgia of the other Star
Wars stories. Having said this, there is always a fine line between it all as you don’t solely
want every single aspect of a sequel or reboot to be completely different as then why bother
with the previous material? You want to be rewarded for experiencing the previous stories
and having nostalgic and slightly indulgent moments can be rewarding as an audience
member “Chewie, we’re home” without revelling in them too much, you still want something
new brought to the table.

With such strong ground-work by Davies put into the show on moving it forward yet using
elements from the past here and there, the show continued marching on, telling new stories
in a similar way, until it’s now started to become nostalgic for the earlier parts of the rebooted
series. When Chris Chibnall took over as showrunner, his first series - series eleven - was
more stripped back and a ‘fresher’ start from a pre-existing lore perspective. There were no
returning villains, characters or assets other than the Doctor, TARDIS and companion
formula. Which he used effectively in the first two episodes, drip feeding the new takes on
the existing elements that were there. Showing the new Doctor and sonic screwdriver in the
first episode and saying ‘sorry, if you want to see the TARDIS you’ll have to come back next
week’. The new take on the classic elements worked though as the first female Doctor’s
debut brought 10.96 million viewers and clearly shows that there is an audience and general
interest in new ideas and takes on pre-existing elements. This series was designed as a
soft-reboot of sorts and in my personal opinion led to one of the weaker series of the revived
show. Not that a series without the pre-established elements of the show couldn’t work, it did
in the classic show! The Third Doctor went around with no TARDIS. But the first Whittaker
series feels too overcrowded with too many companions and the whole story feels
impersonal. There was a severe lack of emotional attachment to anything, like seeing The
Doctor's reaction to seeing a Dalek for example. Things also tended to happen to the
characters and they weren't very proactive protagonists throughout the series. But now in his
second series as the head boss, he seems to be revelling in all the pre-established Doctor
Who lore. It's a much more emotional story for the Doctor. But it feels a little too much like
it’s nostalgic for the Davies era. To some extent this does make sense as it was the most
popular in terms of viewing figures and Chris Chibnall himself contributed to both Doctor
Who and it’s spin-off Torchwood at that time. Going from no returning villains at all to
suddenly everything and the kitchen sink, was a visible 180. Series 12 in some ways feels
like a retread of series 3, just in reverse. *Here I’ll visually show the separate elements from
the two series coincide from their reversed timelines*. It starts on a Master reveal then
fan-favourite Captain Jack returns followed by the Chameleon Arch which makes Timelords
Human with the Judoon marching around somewhere. Looking in particular with the Captain
Jack reveal, it wasn’t something that was publicised so wasn’t a marketing ploy to get more
viewers in. But his inclusion is more a cameo than anything and even though he’s rumoured
to be in the upcoming ‘Revolution of the Daleks’, in this episode it felt like the nostalgia for
the character was the only reason for his inclusion. He served no narrative purpose, he
came in, said a joke and referenced ‘nanogenes’ which were a part of his first on-screen
story in series one. While the cynical view on this is that it was just using the audience’s love
and nostalgia for this character to earn back ‘trust’ after the critically panned previous series,
as an audience member who grew up with this character on my television from the age of
five… It was brilliant to see him on screen again. I had a pure joy-filled reaction but it was
then his vacancy from the rest of the series which left it feeling empty, although it would be
great to see him if he does come back in the upcoming festive episode. But as a show about
change, it is interesting seeing what pieces are brought back and which ones are left behind.
Take​ The Day of the Doctor​ (Dir. Nick Hurran, 2013) as a prime example. One of the
reasons I feel that it succeeded as an anniversary special is because it stood on it’s own as
a standalone story as well as bringing in all these different pre-existing elements. While I
could watch different incarnations of the Doctor talk to each other all day, Moffat knew that
this would be seen by more than just the Doctor Who die-hards. While it is a shame that the
surviving actors of the classic Doctor’s weren’t utilised, the episode itself still included
moments for all of them in the large-scale climax. It made my whole cinema screening cheer
and it was so infectiously brilliant being a part of something on that scale and in some ways
could only be conjured with the pre-established assets at hand. New ideas are always
needed to keep things fresh, but on an anniversary, looking back can be fun and exciting.
Nostalgia is powerful for an audience. It used the popularity and nostalgia for the Tenth
Doctor to promote the event as a multi-doctor story is rare to come by. Although the ending
of the special looked towards the future, solely eyebrows were enough to send the crowd off,
but it’s the ending that solidified it as a celebration, just as much as a unique episode.

As a creator of entertainment, you never want your returning characters, plot points or
villains to become stale. Sometimes it’s better to retire something for a while for a bigger
impact when they return. Dalek fatigue is something that is discussed a lot within fan
communities as there has been a Dalek story in nearly each series of the revived show.
There is a common misconception that the Daleks need to return every series as otherwise
the rights to them will return to the Terry Nation foundation but in an interview in 2014
Steven Moffat refuted ​it saying​ “You certainly don’t wheel the Daleks out because you’ve got
a contractual obligation to provide Daleks...I think Doctor Who is great when there are
Daleks in it [and] I don’t think you should go too long without Daleks.” They’re an icon of the
show and something that’s expected more than forced. With returning monsters, there is
also an argument to be made that each writer wants their own take on the classics. Not just
writing a story with them in it but a sense of their take on the classic iconography of British
Culture. Take the Paradigm Daleks in Series Five episode Three’s ‘Victory of the Daleks’.
They came in and destroyed the old designs which stated ‘Right, these are the true Daleks’
which as an approach interestingly differs from the Cybermen in series twelve which ​in the
behind the scenes for they said: 'we're just adding our own into the pantheon of them all'.
They showed a few different designs in the episode and it made sense for the narrative,
showing they respect what came before it but taking it in their own direction. Contrasting with
the aforementioned paradigm daleks which were then slowly pushed to one side after the
fan backlash of the redesigns. When discussing writer’s wanting their own takes on certain
elements of the show, nowhere is that more prevalent than the Master. There’ve been four
twist reveals of the Master’s identity in the rebooted series with the first one introducing other
Time Lords back into the series with the twist working beyond having to know the character
in the first place as the shock for new fans of the show was within the ‘You are not alone’
reveal whereas the shock for existing fans was the return of the character. What works about
this is that you don’t need any prior understanding of the Master being The Doctor’s
Moriarty. Whereas in the series eight episode ten story ‘Dark Water’ the twist primarily
focused on the Master’s gender swap into Missy which wasn’t as strong for new audiences
who may or may not know who this pre-established character was. But to some extent most
people watching would understand who that character is and it would just be infuriating to
the audience if every single episode there was exposition with what the TARDIS was for
example. The series twelve twist was a little more fatigued as we’d just gone through Missy’s
character arc which presumably would have laid the character to rest for more than a single
series. Having said this, I did love Sacha Dhawan in the role. None of these reveals relied on
nostalgia more than just knowledge of pre-existing assets in the show. The one that could be
considered to be leaning into nostalgia would be for the John Simm Master reveal in the
series ten finale story. Not only was it great and refreshing to see a multi-Master story but
Simm’s inclusion felt out of place as other than the twist in ‘World Enough and Time’ it didn’t
leave him much to do in ‘The Doctor Falls’ except for a few moments and to truly contrast
with the character development that left Missy truly changed. Similarly to the Master reveals,
how many times has the Master allied with the Cybermen?​ ​They’ve paired up for three
finales in the last five series which isn’t relying on nostalgia as the contexts are very different
between them but in relation to the classic series it does feel like these titans of pop culture
are being used by genuine fans of the show. Not necessarily the idea of playing with action
figures but the love that these creators have for the show is palpable and clear in the
episodes they produce. Much like in the series two two-part finale ‘Army of Ghosts’ and
‘Doomsday’ not only was it exciting seeing the Cybermen and Daleks going head to head
but you could feel Davies glee coming through the script.

From all of this, we can see that nostalgia’s used in a number of different ways with
similarities and differences between the different showrunners and other writers. Nostalgia
has a current almost disdain from certain film critics at the minute with lots of ‘cash-ins’ and
while yes the odd easter egg can be interesting for fans to find. I find Doctor Who’s most
effective use of nostalgia is when it adds onto pre-existing elements to tell it’s own story. An
example of it being thrown in for iconography is in Series 6’s ‘Closing Time’ The Cybermen
are there as the villain of the week to add into a separate story about Craig being worried
about being a Dad. Whereas in Series 10 it shows the ‘Genesis of the Cybermen’ and has a
twist revealing them to be Cybermen and showing the birth of how beings like that came to
be, especially by converting a companion into a Cyberman, it shows it’s more integral to the
story rather than just a tack on.​ It's a self congratulatory show and has been since all along,
look no further than moments like Matt Smith’s first episode with him stepping out of the
previous faces of the Doctor or in the most recent finale ‘The Timeless Children’. The Doctor
uses her previous memories to overload the matrix and it flashes back through the rebooted
series as well as the classic series, a big nostalgia bump.​ But because it references a past
element doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily nostalgia​. Exploring this topic, this took me down
another train of thought, just because nostalgia is utilised by a creative team, doesn’t
inherently mean that it’s a negative thing. As previously mentioned it’s gained this disdain
from the constant abuse it seems to have gotten in the recent trends of cinema. But in actual
fact, when used correctly, nostalgia is another tool in the creatives toolbox. Few other
characters could have garnered the same reaction out of me as Captain Jack did when he
returned, it’s a powerful thing and that’s why it’s painful seeing it so mis-used in so much of
entertainment media. Doctor Who tends to put new spins on old foes but rarely lets it
become stale. From discussing this, it’s highlighted to me that all of the showrunners still
push things forward with new ideas to keep things fresh, but then the line of that gets blurred
when at what point does it become referencing a pre-established element compared to
exploitative nostalgia. Interestingly, Davies and Moffat tended to use the nostalgic elements
or staples of the show for the series openers and finales with most of the series being
dedicated to the newer ideas.

It uses nostalgia to get a response from the audience, it’s fun seeing the Judoon stomp
around again. It’s taught me that while it does use it for marketing purposes, it has always
had a strong focus on the now as well as respecting the then.

------------------------------------------------
Unused ideas:

50th anniversary criticised for only having the most recent doctor’s in it. ‘Classic doctors
exist’. Which is coming from the same fans as the ones who complain about the
over-reliance on returning monsters. I feel like I should have talked a lot more about the 50th
anniversary as it was a massive look back

Hints of it are late into the Moffat era of the show but primarily it’s apparent in series twelve
of Doctor Who, there’s almost a nostalgia or longing for the Davies era again.

Fans of the show are now writing for it. S2 RTD writing Doomsday - Daleks vs the
Cybermen. Can almost feel him playing with his action figure but it still works for the story.
S12 Chibnall writing The Timeless Children, making the Morbius Doctor’s canon and making
them essentially a god. It almost feels like a fan-fiction but rewrites the context of the show.

Although while the show tends to stray away from intertextuality it has flirted with it.
“You have a film called Alien? Quite frankly that’s offensive, no wonder you keep getting
invaded’ - 12th Doctor, Last Christmas (2014).

It doesn’t use music based on other things like the deep synth of Stranger Things, it has
character themes but only uses them when it’s earned for an emotional pay-off, like Clara’s
Impossible Girl theme or even in episodes like ‘Dark Water’ where it has a set-up and
mystery box but it’s answered before the reveal to fans who recognise the different themes
and stings in the music with it playing the Cyberman theme as the doors close. It does use
intertextual music for comedic effect though, Britney Spears in series 1 in the future as a
‘classic ballad’.

Davies is the most interconnected era

Moffat rarely included character/villain names in

the titles of episodes which contrasts to Davies use. This
reflects in the viewing figures as it lacks the show same
mid-series boost in viewership that it was present in the Davies era
when they'd include the villain's name in the title. This is because
narratively, Moffat honoured the 'twist reveal' of these past
elements with more secrecy.

Research/References

TARDIS
Sonic Screwdriver
The Doctor
Companions
Adventures

Series with classic foes returning:

1 - the Autons! The Daleks (adaptation of book)
2 - The Cybermen, Daleks, Krillitane,
3 - The Macra, The Master, Daleks, The Family (Book Adaptation)
4 - The Sontarans, The Daleks, Davros
Specials - The Master, Daleks (cameo)
5 - The Daleks, Silurians, then ALL OF THEM, the finale raids the costume cupboard with
them all forming an alliance to imprison the doctor.
6 - (good sontaran - Strax), Cybermen, Cybermats. Daleks (cameo)
7 - Daleks, The Great Intelligence, Ice Warriors, Cybermen
50th Special - Daleks & Zygons. - The Doctors save Gallifrey and rewrite the Time War.
Time of the Doctor - ALL OF THEM
8 - Daleks, Cybermen, Master
9 - Master, Daleks, Davros (first episode), Zygons, Cybermen (cameo), Sontaran (cameo),
The Time Lords are properly back!
10 - Daleks (cameo), Master, Mondasian Cybermen (exact classic design) & different
variations of Cybermen. Brings back the First Doctor at the end of the series.
11 - ‘Fresh’ start.
Resolution (New Years Day special 2019) - Daleks
12 - The Master, Cybermen (Whole series is series 3 in reverse).
Revolution of the Daleks (2020/21?) - Daleks

The Daleks contractually have to be there each series or the rights go back to the Terry
Nation Foundation (The creator).

While the new show has all these elements from the classic, it still gets criticised in the 50th
special for example for not bringing enough from the classic series.

S2 - ‘School reunion’ deals with the past nicely by reintroducing Sarah Jane Smith and has
her interact with the new companion and at first they’re at odds but find their common
ground

Sarah Jane Adventures, spinoff show bringing classic companions back (Jo Grant &
Brigadier)

Nostalgia is almost the essence of the show. Oh so and so was my doctor. It’s all about
looking back on the history that is relevant for whoever yet not for some. All this backstory
and lore with the expanded universe etc doesn’t mean anything when you could jump in at
the start of the next series. It is what you make of it.

A reason why the spinoffs in comics or audio form are so popular as it lets people
experience new stories with doctor’s that aren’t currently the ones with the keys to the
TARDIS on television at that moment. Look at the announcement of the new David Tennant
and Tom Baker audio adventure. Arguably the two most popular doctors.

Call with Lucy

Uses nostalgia through repetitive devices
So an older audience like it and the new kids love it

Still got a sonic screwdriver has connected the generations

Companions always reacting ‘Bigger on the Inside’.

Nostalgia of the reveal of the new daleks.

Key terms:
Nostalgia, storytelling, audience

How does Doctor Who use nostalgia to keep audience interest?

Direct adaptations from Doctor Who novels - human nature/dalek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZSs7YwLXqY​ - are remakes always rubbish? Mark

kermode

https://allthatsinteresting.com/first-movie-sequel​ - first remake.

http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/moffat-daleks-are-not-a-contractual-obligation-68881.htm​ -
dalek contract

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylQiuHQJEQ​ - new cyberman design

Call with Lucy

Use academic sources, sphetna dom?
Keep it below 20 minutes
Define nostalgia
Keep bringing it back to nostalgia
Recycled culture in contemporary art and film: the uses of nostalgia - vera dika
Amp up the academia.