The Theology of Doctor Who. CONCLUSIONS

Conclusions

Doctor Who’s cultural significance makes it appropriate material for theological study, particularly for those concerned with cultural exegesis or popular apologetics.

It has been shown that Doctor Who adopts the orthodox science fiction attitude towards religion. In this world a Conflict Thesis dominates where religion is characterised as backward and primitive, where belief in gods[1] is ill-founded, and where science represents the only truth. “The scientist doctor as saviour”[2] completes this picture. To take the positives of Doctor Who’s scientism, it is an appeal for intellectual honesty and it always challenges the amoral. Other elements of genuine religious faith are encouraged, such as open-mindedness, moral conviction and sacrifice.

Writer Russell T. Davies brings an atheist-humanist commentary to the programme, and adds to the debate about the attributes of godhood. The Daemons and The Impossible Planet show that, for all its scientism, Doctor Who asks significant questions about belief. Kinda and Planet of the Spiders show Doctor Who’s use of religious allegory and language. Finally, we have seen that, within a mythological framework, Doctor Who tells the enduring story of an other who saves this world, who is a moral absolute, who calls others to come with him and who challenges individuals to better themselves.

With its a-theistic moral framework and its challenges about the nature of evil, courage[3] and what it means to be human, Doctor Who raises questions that theology needs to take seriously.

[1] And God. –Though only ever inferred.
[2] May, Stephen. Stardust and Ashes: Science Fiction in Christian Perspective. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London. 1999. Pg.58
[3] “SF, particularly the Doctor Who kind, is good at presenting the moral challenge to have courage. In The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Campbell asks if the Daleks ‘dare to tamper with the forces of creation’. ‘Yes, they dare!’ the Doctor replies. ‘And we must dare to stop them!’”[3] Thacker, Anthony. A Closer Look at Science Fiction. Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne. 2001. Pg. 275

The Theology of Doctor Who. Chapter 5. BUDDHISM AND 'B'-MOVIES

CHAPTER 5
BUDDHISM AND ‘B’-MOVIES

There are a few instances in Doctor Who where religion is treated positively. 1965’s The Romans features a clandestine Christian, whose morality is confirmed. In the very first Doctor Who story 100,000 AD, the TARDIS crew encounter cave men attempting to rediscover fire. This tribe is divided. One faction recognises fire as a great boon- a representation of progress; the other faction fears this new discovery. In a pleasant reversal of the norm the sun-god, Orb, is on the side of progress.

In The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve[1] the Doctor, posing as his dopplegänger the Bishop of Ambrose, states “We are all God’s children… it is not by war nor bloody deeds that His Kingdom shall be attained, rather we should look to our own hearts.”[2] Is the Doctor not abusing his position, however? -Using the religious beliefs of others to manipulate them? With episode titles like The War of God and The Priest of Death and a plot revolving around a famous sectarian slaughter it is a stretch to consider it ‘pro-religious’. Likewise, Couch et al. see the Doctor’s use of Gwyneth’s faith in The Unquiet Dead[3] as positive[4]. Again, the position is questionable.

The Masters of Luxor is an unmade Doctor Who serial which was intended to be the second story in the series[5]. Thacker states: “Religion in Doctor Who could have developed in a rather different way.”[6] Dealing with highly complex themes of transhumanism and ontological ethics, the TARDIS crew cross the path of a robot liberator god ‘The Perfect One’. Descending into a tomb, the Doctor and Ian awaken Tabon, the old scientific master of the planet. Filled with regret at his past experiments on human beings, he “Insists that they pray… to the God whose existence he once discounted, on the holy books he once burned. “[7]



Gridlock

Initially, the use of ‘The Old Rugged Cross’ in Gridlock could be seen as a classic Russell T. Davies swipe. Trapped on the never-ending road, believing in the myth of a destination that they will never reach, the passengers aggressively defend what they know may be a lie. The tawdry road traffic reports and the communal singing of hymns are an opiate for the people.

The plot twist shows that, though the Doctor thought these people trapped, they were in fact saved from a virus that destroyed the rest of the poulation. The immortal Face of Boe dies, giving his life force to set the people free, opening the roof of the under-city and allowing daylight to flood in. ‘The Old Rugged Cross’, it seems, was a genuine expression of hope, albeit a humanist one.




Dharma

Doctor Who’s strongest links with any religion are with Buddhism. Unlike any other religion, Buddhism is alluded to in almost every era of the show. The wheel of dharma turns throughout the programme’s forty year history. This is not merely a case of Doctor Who’s ideals being vaguely in line with Buddhist teaching. The Doctor is a Zen teacher transmitting dharma. This becomes explicit in the early ‘70s under Buddhist producer Barry Letts, reflecting growing western interest in eastern religions[8]. In The Time Monster[9], the Doctor relates a profound story from his childhood:

Doctor: Well, when I was a little boy, I used to live in a house that was perched half way up the top of a mountain. And behind our house there sat under a tree an old man - a hermit - a monk. He lived under this tree for half his lifetime, so they said, and he learnt the secret of life. So, when my black day came, I went and asked him to help me…

Jo: Well, what did he say?

Doctor: Nothing. Not a word. He just sat there silently, expressionless, and he listened whilst I poured out my troubles to him. I was too unhappy even for tears, I remember. And when I'd finished he lifted a skeletal hand and he pointed. Do you know what he pointed at?

Jo: No.

Doctor: A flower - one of those little weeds. Just like a daisy it was. Well, I looked at it for a moment, and suddenly I saw it through his eyes. It was simply glowing with life, like a perfectly cut jewel…

Jo: And that was the secret of life - a daisy? Honestly Doctor.

Doctor: Oh yes, I laughed too when I first heard it. So later, I got up, and I ran down that mountain, and I found that the rocks weren't grey at all. Well, they were red, brown, purple and gold. And those pathetic little patches of sludgy snow -- they were shining white -- shining white in the sunlight.
Are you still frightened, Jo?

Jo: No, not as much as I was.

Doctor: That's good.[10]


This intentionally mimics the story of the flower sermon, and the silent transmission of dharma from the Buddha to Mahākāśyapa[11]. Later, we meet the Doctor’s mentor and discover that he has retired to Earth to run a Tibetan meditation centre in England. In this way, the Doctor literally stands in the Zen line of authority.

Planet of the Spiders

In what is arguably Doctor Who’s most theologically resonant story, writer and producer Barry Letts skilfully combines his Zen interests with classic pulp elements such as giant spiders and mind-control to deliver the Buddhist allegory Planet of the Spiders[12]. The Doctor’s mentor exhorts him to face his fear and take up the path of self-denial. The Doctor must overcome his greed for knowledge, represented by the blue Metabilis crystal, (the removal of which from its home-planet set the events of the story in motion.) The Doctor returns the crystal, apparently overcoming his desire, but comes face with a much larger enemy -the Great One, Queen of Metabilis III -a gargantuan, imperious Spider:

"All praise to the Great One. All praise to me. Bow down before me planets, bow down stars, bow down all galaxies and worship the Great One. The Me, the great all powerful Me..."[13]

The Doctor’s greatest enemy is his ego -like the spider- swollen to elephantine proportions under the influence of the crystals. Returning the crystal destroys the Great One, and the resulting radiation wave ravages the Doctor’s body. In perhaps the most moving death scene in the programme’s history, the Doctor achieves the Buddhist ideal of extinguishment. Whether rebirth as the boisterous Fourth Doctor displays successful extinction of ego is open to debate.



Kinda

The 1982 story Kinda also draws heavily on Buddhist imagery amongst other things[14]. Written by Buddhist Christopher Bailey, Kinda has the TARDIS land on the paradise planet Deva Loka (‘celestial region’ in Sanskrit). Falling asleep near some wind chimes, companion Tegan’s mind becomes infected by the demonic Mara[15], personified in Dukkha[16]. Other Buddhist allusions are Anatta[17], Anicca[18], Karuna[19] and Panna[20].

The Buddhist allegory is not complete, however. The Mara takes the form of a giant serpent. This is not Mucalinda who protected the Buddha from the elements; rather it is the Judaeo-Christian tempter invading Eden. Paul Cornell[21] writes “The Buddhist articles also obscure the fact that the story is a Christian parable.”[22] Certainly, Kinda is influenced by Buddhism and Edenic imagery as well as many other things. Ultimately, to claim that it is allegory or metaphor for any one story or teaching is to depreciate its many-layered nature. Kinda is explored in-depth in the first scholarly work published on the subject of Doctor Who: Doctor Who: The Unfolding Text by John Tulloch and Manual Alvarado (1992).



[1] (1966)
[2] cited in Thacker, Anthony. A Closer Look at Science Fiction. Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne. 2001. Pg. 43
[3] (2005)
[4] Couch, Steve; Watkins, Tony; Williams, Peter S. Back in Time: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Doctor Who. Damaris Books, Milton Keynes. 2005. Pg. 152
[5] It was replaced by The Daleks.
[6] Thacker, Anthony. A Closer Look at Science Fiction. Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne. 2001. Pg. 44
[7] Dixon, Cameron. Synopsis: The Masters of Luxor. Doctor Who Reference Guide. http://www.drwhoguide.com/luxor.htm (11/5/2007)
[8] Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was published in 1974, the same year that Planet of the Spiders was broadcast. Likewise, Fritjof Capra’s The Tao of Physics was published in 1975.
[9]Sloman, Robert (writing with Barry Letts uncredited) The Time Monster­ (1972)
[10] Curtis, J. Buddhism in Doctor Who: A detailed analysis. Earthbound Timelords. 1998. http://homepages.bw.edu/~jcurtis/Z1R0_3.htm (05/04/2007)
[11] “It is not expressed by words, but especially transmitted beyond teaching. This teaching I have given to Maha-Kashapa.” Koan. http://www.cafenox.net/vox/koan4.html (11/5/2007)
[12] This story replaces The Final Game in which the Doctor and the Master would have been revealed to be the id and ego of one being.
[13] The Great One in Sloman, Robert (writing with Barry Letts uncredited) Planet of the Spiders (1974) in Plot Soundbite Quotes. Gabriel Chase’s Saturday Teatime Guild. http://members.fortunecity.com/tylorhan/Index.html (11/5/2007)
[14] Carl Jung, Pandora’s box and Alice in Wonderland are a few other major influences.
[15] ‘Temptation’ in Sanskrit.
[16] ‘Pain’ in Sanskrit.
[17] ‘Egolessness’ in Sanskrit.
[18] ‘Impermenance’ in Sanskrit.
[19] ‘Compassion’ in Sanskrit.
[20] ‘Wisdom’ in Sanskrit.
[21] Doctor Who writer and critic, who describes himself as ‘Christian Pagan’.
[22] Paul Cornell, cited in Doctor Who Episode Guide - Kinda - Details. Doctor Who. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/kinda/detail.shtml (10/5/2007)

The Theology of Doctor Who. Chapter 4. THE IMPOSSIBLE PLANET

CHAPTER 4
THE IMPOSSIBLE PLANET

Thirty-five years later, the themes of The Dæmons are reprised in Matt Jones’ two-parter The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit. Set this time on a planetary base impossibly orbiting a black hole in deep space, the story revolves around the crew of explorers, drilling down to the planet’s core, as they fight for survival.

“In the Scriptures of the Veltino this planet is called Krop Tor, the bitter pill. And the black hole is supposed to be a mighty demon who was tricked into devouring the planet only to spit it out because it was poison.”[1]

A malevolent mind takes control of the cthulan[2] slave-race, the Ood. The Doctor journeys to the heart of the planet where The Beast has been imprisoned for eternity by ‘the disciples of light’.

The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit offer something of a twist on the von Däniken idea. The Beast is said, like Azal and Sutekh[3] or Quatermass’s Martians, to be the inspiration for mythological demons. Indeed, dialogue from the Dæmons is specifically mimicked:

The Doctor: You get representations of the horned beast right across the universe in myths and legends on a million worlds. Earth, Draconia, Vel Consadine, Dæmos, the Kaled god of war -it’s the same image over and over again. Maybe… that idea came from somewhere… bleeding through. A thought at the back of every sentient mind.[4]

This beast is not merely ‘The truth behind the myth’ [5]. The previous ‘devils’ have been alien in origin: Dæmon, Osiran and Martian. Demonstrating omniscience and claiming ‘impossible’ origins before time[6], the Beast of The Impossible Planet is to be understood as the real devil[7]. The necessary suspension of the viewer’s belief[8], along with the Doctor’s postponing of judgement, allows an exploration of ‘faith’ (here a synonym for a set of religious beliefs).

The Impossible Planet represents a first for Doctor Who, and it is theologically significant. Traditionally, Doctor Who “Reveals its 1960s-80s mindset”[9] when it paints religion as obsolete in the future. While in 2005 Russell T. Davies banned religion in the year five-billion, The Impossible Planet catches up with its contemporaries, painting a picture of a world of many different ‘faiths’.
The Doctor: If you are the Beast then answer me this: Which one, hmm? ‘Cause the universe has been busy since you’ve been gone. There’s more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Arkiphets, Quoldonity, Christianity, Pash Pash, Neo-Judaism, San Claar, the Church of the Tin Vagabond… Which devil are you?[10]

Though it is not without tongue-in-cheek, this is a very significant departure for Doctor Who, coming in line with other science fiction in its answer to the question of ‘What will become of religion in the future?’ Before the 90’s, Sci-Fi’s scientistic answer was that religion would become obsolete[11]. If the conflict thesis is correct, then religion should gradually disappear as science explains more of the universe. The more modern picture shows a diversified, generally pluralistic society where the passage of time has allowed for an explosion of different religious beliefs.

The premise of the origin of all evil having been bound throughout eternity is of course flawed[12]- and even more so when it is seen to be destroyed. As Thacker is fond of asking of the Doctor: “Can he safely retire, all evil being destroyed for ever?”[13] The Satan Pit opens debate as to the origin of evil and, perhaps unsurprisingly under the supervision of Russell T Davies, reaches a humanist conclusion.



The Doctor: I didn’t ask. Have you got any sort of faith?

Ida: Not really. I was brought up Neo-Classic Congregational. Because of my mum, she was… My old mum. But, no, I never believed.

The Doctor: Neo-Classics. Have they got a devil?

Ida: No, not as such. Just, um… the things that men do.

The Doctor: Same thing in the end.[14]


The Nature of Evil

For Russell T. Davies “The things that men do” summates his God-less worldview. Good and evil require no inspiration. This is not so at odds with the Christian view as might be initially assumed. Though there is no room here for a fuller exposition, it is significant to note that the Christian view of good and evil is not, like the Black and White Guardians, equal and opposite. Like The Satan Pit, the existence of a literal devil does not diminish human responsibility. Even Augustinian theology focuses on human choice.

The Doctor’s Beliefs

Ida: What about you?

The Doctor: I believe… I believe I haven’t seen everything, I don’t know.[15]

The most promising feature of The Impossible Planet is asking what the Doctor believes. In a marked contrast to the norm, he is unable to rely on his “Default mechanism” [16]of scientific explanation. Beginning with the scientific impossibility of a planet orbiting a black hole, the Doctor continually comes into contact with things that question his predetermined ‘rules’[17]. Faced with the apparently impossible existence of a creature from ‘before time’, the Doctor seems uncharacteristically unwilling to accept something which is beyond his experience:

The Doctor: That’s impossible; no life could have existed back then.

The Beast: Is that your religion?

The Doctor: It’s a belief.[18]

Here, ‘belief’ seems to take on the postmodern definition of an unassailable personal opinion.

There are a few instances where the Doctor seems to entertain the possibility of things beyond his experience: “All these things I don’t believe in, are they real?”[19], but ultimately he displays a closed mind when it comes to the possibility of the supernatural- perhaps for political reasons.[20]

Face to face with the Beast itself, the Doctor relents only slightly: “I accept that you exist. I don’t have to accept what you are, but you’re physical existence, I’ll give you that.”[21] While this statement is true to the Doctor’s positivism, the stubborn resistance of the new is not in keeping with the Doctor’s inquisitiveness and wonderment. The Doctor himself notes this inconsistency. “Still, that’s why I keep travelling. To be proved wrong.”[22]

Actor David Tennant explains the Doctor’s reaction: “He doesn’t find an explanation, and in the end he chooses not to understand."[23] This is a most unsatisfying conclusion. A ‘scientific explanation’ ending would have been preferable, keeping the Doctor’s integrity.

Rose: What do you think it was, really?

The Doctor: I think we beat it. That’s good enough for me.[24]

Coming from the man who refuses to leave a planet until he has explored it, this sentiment is somewhat unbelievable.

Another uncharacteristic sentiment is the painfully pluralist “Well, if that’s what you want to believe.[25]” This is an obvious reflection of the pseudo-religious zeitgeist. Like The Dæmons, this supports a fideistic concept of ‘faith’, but where the Third Doctor rejected it in favour of scientific explanations the Tenth Doctor seems to condone this laissez-faire pluralism. The Doctor is primarily a ‘truth seeker’ and it seems unlikely that he would adopt such a politely relativist attitude to the truth (or otherwise) of religious beliefs. It would be more in keeping with his character if he were to be openly hostile towards religious claims.

Russell T. Davies says of the characterisation of the Doctor in the new series: “The best thing you can do with the Doctor…is to keep pushing the character”[26]. A character is, however, defined as much by what they do not do as what they do. In an attempt to make a more layered character, we have the Doctor engaged in what we could describe as un-doctorish behaviour.

The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit are perhaps the most memorable episodes of Series Two and are commendable for raising issues of belief and addressing the idea of religion in a way that Doctor Who has not done before. What Thacker sees as “a more nuanced reaction by this Tenth Doctor[27]” is, however, incongruent and unconvincing. The Doctor of The Impossible Planet who refuses to accept what is beyond his experience is irreconcilable with the Doctor who rebukes Dickens’ closed-mindedness in The Unquiet Dead.
“Because he usually is the man with all the answers, to even entertain the fact that there might be something other… It unsettles him to have to even confront those issues, I think. And I think, generally, he avoids doing that."[28]

The Doctor neither speculates as to the truth of religious claims, nor denies them. He simply doesn’t think about them[29]. Of course, having the Doctor adhere to any particular set of beliefs would be crass but this is the worst kind of intellectual blinkeredness - the Doctor actively chooses to remain ignorant. This is anathema in Doctor Who, and is quite at odds with the ‘questioning’ theme of the story.

Ultimately, the resolution is more philosophically agreeable than a von Däniken plot, and whilst it struggles with the Doctor’s position, it challenges the viewer to examine what they believe and why they believe it.

[1] Ida, in Jones, Matt The Impossible Planet 00h 09m 25s
[2] That is, their appearance is reminiscent of popular depictions of Cthulu ‘the old one’ from the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
[3] von Däniken villain of 1975 classic The Pyramids of Mars. Also known as Set, Sadok and Satan.
[4] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 25m 10s
[5] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 08m 13s
[6] Though the evil of The Curse of Fenric (1989) was formed before ‘time was born’.
[7] This is a classic Russell T. Davies device. In The Second Coming (Red Productions, 2003) in order to make an atheist point, Davies encourages the viewer to believe that the Christian God is real.
[8] This position is adopted by Russell T. Davies in his drama The Second Coming. (2003 Red Productions) Here, Davies invites the audience to believe that Stephen Baxter is the Son of God, in order to make his atheist point.
[9] Thacker, Anthony. A Closer Look at Science Fiction. Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne. 2001. Pg. 264
[10] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 08m 13s
[11] The ‘Mercerism’ of Philip K. Dick’s distopian ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’ (Rapp & Whiting. 1969) is a remarkable exception showing a future remained to include religion.
[12] Put simply, if no evil occurs without the inspiration of this creature, then its being bound requires that there is no evil.
[13] Thacker, Anthony. Behind the Sofa: The Satan Pit. Equipping the Church. http://www.equippingthechurch.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=4_37&products_id=2774 (1/4/2007) See also Thacker, Anthony. A Closer Look at Science Fiction. Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne. 2001.263
[14] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 26m 55s
[15] Matt Jones The Satan Pit 00h 27m 33s
[16] David Tennant, in ‘Myths & Legends’ Confidential Cut-Down 00h 04m 39s
[17] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 28m 00s
[18] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 09m 18s
[19] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 35m 30s
[20] Not only would it be crass to give the Doctor a definitive ‘faith perspective’, it would be a dangerous move for the BBC’s flagship show.
[21] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 34m 50s
[22] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 28m 08s
[23] ‘Myths & Legends’ Confidential Cut-Down 00h 06m 49s
[24] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 44m 45s
[25] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 25m 45s
[26] ‘Myths & Legends’ Confidential Cut-Down 00h 05m 25s
[27] Thacker, Anthony. Behind the Sofa: The Satan Pit. Equipping the Church. http://www.equippingthechurch.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=4_37&products_id=2774 (1/4/2007)
[28] ‘Myths & Legends’ Confidential Cut-Down 00h 06m 05sr
[29] At least, not for any longer than one sentence.

The Theology of Doctor Who. Chapter 3. THE DAEMONS

CHAPTER 3
THE DÆMONS

1971’s The Dæmons could be seen as the paragon of anti-religious sentiment in Doctor Who. Following the plot of Quatermass and the Pit, the story revolves around an ancient alien presence on earth, revealed to be the origin of all myths about horned gods and devils. While the role of von Däniken god[1] is fulfilled by insectoid Martians in Quatermass, The Dæmons replaces them with Azal, a demonic figure complete with cloven hooves and horns, who watches over the world. Though not actually creators, the Dæmons’ purpose is: “To help Homosapiens take out Neanderthal man… they’ve been coming and going ever since. The Greek civilisation, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution… they were all inspired by the Dæmons”[2]. The influence of Dennis Wheatley on co-writer Barry Letts also sees the action moved from London to the village of Devil’s End, and the psychic phenomenon of Quatermass replaced with ‘Black Magic’. The Quatermass-influenced theme of ‘scientific explanations’ is prevalent during Jon Pertwee’s tenure, and is at its very strongest here. This is explored mainly in duologues between the rationalist Doctor and either naive companion Jo or eccentric white witch Miss Hawthorne. “Science… not sorcery”[3] is the Doctor’s maxim.


It is interesting that the occultism that would so dominate the classic Holmes-Hinchcliffe era[4] is here synonymous with religion. The sinister hocus-pocus[5] of the Black Magic cult is indistinguishable from the life of the local church, which shares its membership with the coven. The rites take place in a cavern below the church, and are led by the vicar (in reality, the season‘s recurring villain- the Master). Director Christopher Barry comments: “We did have a minor problem with the Black Magic angle in that people were a little bit wary about connecting black magic with ecclesiastical premises. There was a certain amount of trepidation about using the old church…it was always assumed…that this was not consecrated ground.”[6] Further, “Another arguably rather strange limitation dictated by religious sensibilities was that the script could make no mention of God, in case this was considered blasphemous.”[7]

It is significant that the production team were alert to the potential sensitivity of the issues, yet their efforts not to offend seem somewhat at odds with the story. To summarise this anti-religious reading of the plot, we have the rationalist materialist Doctor – the forces of good - set against a superstitious cult, held in the thrall of the local vicar, who meet in the church to worship a god-like entity[8] – the forces of evil. If the anti-religious imagery was not clear, the church is even symbolically destroyed at the end of the story – a recurring image in the history of the programme.[9]

“The opposition between science and magic is indeed one of the strongest themes of the story,” writes Doctor Who historian Stephen James Walker, “ with the Doctor at pains to stress that everything that happens in life “must have a scientific explanation” and that magic is “balderdash” and “nonsense”. “[10] For ‘magic’ we may read ‘the supernatural’, and thus, by unfair association, religion. Again, the two are synonymous here: “The apparently supernatural forces which the Master, posing as a clergyman, summons up in a cavern below the church in Devil’s End are rationalised as a product of “The secret science of the Dæmons.””[11] In his chapter on The Dæmons, Anthony Thacker writes: “Most religion, including occult religion… is presented as primitive and superstitious… The running implication throughout is that it has no basis in reality, except as alien activity. It is certainly presented as having no spiritual reality.”[12]


An Alternative Reading

While the above interpretation is in line with the conflict thesis world-view and anti-supernatural bias of science fiction, there is another, more subtle reading of The Dæmons. The themes outlined below are not oblique by any means and could form part of a holistic viewing of the story. They are somewhat at odds, though, with expectations of the theological picture we have built up. We can see these alternative views most clearly in instances when The Dæmons varies from the classic sci-fi tropes and attitudes exemplified, in this case, by Quatermass and the Pit.

Firstly, the Doctor never fully succeeds in convincing Miss Hawthorne of his ‘scientific’ explanations.

The Doctor: Well, he uses violent emotions- fear, hatred, greed.

Thorpe: How?

The Doctor: Well, the emotions of a group of ordinary human beings generate a tremendous charge of psycho-kinetic energy. This the Master channels for his own purpose.

Hawthorne: But that is magic. That’s precisely what Black Magic is!

The Doctor: No, Miss Hawthorne, I’m afraid not.

Hawthorne: Are you trying to tell me that the invocations, the rituals, even the Sabbat itself, are just so much window dressing?

The Doctor: No, no, no, of course not. No, they are essential to generate and control the psionic forces… and to control the Dæmon himself.[13]

The Doctor, predating Clarke’s third law[14] by three years, states: “All the magical traditions are just remnants of their advanced science.”[15] If we are to believe that this is the case, then the Doctor’s argument is reduced to a somewhat facile insistence on correct semantics. In fact, he tacitly agrees with Miss Hawthorne: “It’s a great pity they didn’t listen to you in the first place.”[16]

Barry Letts is one of the few writers who will use the Doctor as something other than the ‘moral voice’. Since the gradual phasing-out of the First Doctor’s anti-Hero status, the Doctor is always seen to be in the right- at least, morally. Barry Letts returns Doctor Who to a much keener exploration of the flaws of the central character. In short, it is not entirely clear that we are expected to agree with the Doctor’s diagnosis.

Secondly, arguably the most significant clue to an alternative reading of the Dæmons is the resolution. Azal is annihilated when, as he prepares to destroy the Doctor, Jo makes a substitutionary sacrifice:

Jo: “No! He is a good man. Kill me, not him!”

This has been lambasted as ‘risible’[17] but it is no less dissatisfying than the denouement of Quatermass and the Pit and as we shall see it may be more significant. Stephen James Walker writes: “It is arguably one of the story’s few weak points that in the end he [Azal] is defeated relatively easily…Clearly the writers were drawing a religious parallel here.”[18] If nothing else, this indicates that The Dæmons may not be as hostile to religion as the first reading suggests.

Thirdly, the role of Azal is quite different from the almost passive Martians of Quatermass:

Hawthorne: Then these creatures are linked with the Black Arts. They are evil.

The Doctor: Amoral, perhaps. They help Earth, but on their own terms. It’s a scientific experiment to them. Just another laboratory rat.[19]

Significantly, Azal is a scientist, cast in the mould of the many other amoral scientific villains of Doctor Who and allied with the Master’s “rationalist, existentialist priest”[20]. In an impressive subversion of the norm, the monster is used to show the dark side of the Doctor’s insistence on scientific rationalism. Helpful here is Couch et al.’s fine exposition of the etymology of ‘monster’, and their role in mythology:
"The word ‘monster’ can be traced to various Latin roots related to education. The Latin monstrum means ‘that which teaches’, while monstrare means ‘to show’. Both words derive from monere, meaning ‘to warn’… So the role of the monster is to show us something, to warn and to teach us… In this way, monsters often fulfil a prophetic role in society, showing and warning us about uncomfortable truths."[21]
From the perspective of both Freud and Jung, this is true of all the monsters of myth, but the demonstrative monsters of Doctor Who are the result of conscious effort, rather than subconscious action. The Daleks are the fascist right; Cybermen express fears about prosthetics and posthumanism; the Zarbi represent communism; the Sontarans, militarism, and so on.


Jo: This… Dæmon, could destroy the world?

The Doctor: What does any scientist do with an experiment that fails? He chucks it in the rubbish bin.

Jo: The end of the world![22]


If, as in Planet of the Spiders[23], Barry Letts uses the monster to represent the Doctor’s hamartia[24], then The Dæmons can be seen as a cautionary tale against cold, inhuman rationalism which would destroy the world. It is Jo’s humanity that destroys the monster - driven insane by the apparent “illogicality of Jo’s willingness to sacrifice her own life to save the Doctor’s.”[25]

In this reading, while a conflict thesis is still assumed, the monster of the story is not religion but science - or, more correctly - amoral application of science. Jo’s irrational and human act of self-sacrifice saves the Doctor from the over-sized demon of his own positivism. “Science… not sorcery”[26] is the Doctor’s maxim but human compassion is the writer’s.

[1] See appendix 1. Doctor Who’s von Däniken gods.
[2] Letts, Barry; Sloman, Robert Doctor Who: The Scripts. The Daemons. Titan Books, London, 1992. Pg. 93
[3] Letts, Barry; Sloman, Robert Doctor Who: The Scripts. The Daemons. Titan Books, London, 1992. Pg. 138
[4] A ‘golden age’ heavily influenced by Hammer Horror, with Philip Hinchcliffe as producer and Robert Holmes as script editor. This era lasted from 1974 until 1977 and includes seasons 12-14 of the show. Tom Baker starred as the Doctor.
[5] Etymologically, a very appropriate term.
[6] Director Christopher Barry in Stephen James Walker ‘Background’. Letts, Barry; Sloman, Robert Doctor Who: The Scripts. The Daemons. Titan Books, London, 1992. Pg. 11
[7] Stephen James Walker ‘Background’. Doctor Who: The Scripts. The Daemons. Robert Sloman and Barry Letts. Titan Books, London. 1992. Pg. 11
[8] The idea of evil gods is explored in greater depth.
[9] Indeed, it has become something of a joke amongst fans of the show. The Church is destroyed in 1984’s The Awakening
[10]Stephen James Walker ‘Background’. Doctor Who: The Scripts. The Daemons. Robert Sloman and Barry Letts. Titan Books, London. 1992. Pg. 11
[11]Stephen James Walker ‘Background’. Doctor Who: The Scripts. The Daemons. Robert Sloman and Barry Letts. Titan Books, London. 1992. Pg. 11
[12] Thacker, Anthony. A Closer Look at Science Fiction. Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne. 2001.Pg. 264
[13] Doctor Who: The Scripts. The Daemons. Robert Sloman and Barry Letts. Titan Books, London. 1992. Pg 139.
[14]Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. -Arthur C Clarke
[15] Doctor Who: The Scripts. The Daemons. Robert Sloman and Barry Letts. Titan Books, London. 1992. Pg. 93
[16] Doctor Who: The Scripts. The Daemons. Robert Sloman and Barry Letts. Titan Books, London. 1992. Pg. 73
[17] Cornell, Day and Topping, cited in Thacker, Anthony. A Closer Look at Science Fiction. Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne. 2001. Pg. 262
[18] Stephen James Walker, cited in Thacker, Anthony. A Closer Look at Science Fiction. Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne. 2001. Pg. 262
[19] Doctor Who: The Scripts. The Daemons. Robert Sloman and Barry Letts. Titan Books, London. 1992. Pg. 93
[20]Doctor Who: The Scripts. The Daemons. Robert Sloman and Barry Letts. Titan Books, London. 1992. Pg. 42
[21] Couch, Steve; Watkins, Tony; Williams, Peter S. Back in Time: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Doctor Who. Damaris Books, Milton Keynes. 2005. Pg. 116
[22] Doctor Who: The Scripts. The Daemons. Robert Sloman and Barry Letts. Titan Books, London. 1992. Pg. 93
[23] This is examined in Chapter 5 “Buddhism and ‘B’-Movies”.
[24] The fatal flaw of Greek drama.
[25] Stephen James Walker, cited in Thacker, Anthony. A Closer Look at Science Fiction. Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne. 2001. Pg. 262
[26] Doctor Who: The Scripts. The Daemons. Robert Sloman and Barry Letts. Titan Books, London. 1992. Pg 138

The Theology of Doctor Who. Chapter 2. RUSSELL T. DAVIES

CHAPTER 2
RUSSELL T. DAVIES

Aside from Buddhist Barry Letts, whose scripts we will examine later, Russell T. Davies’ atheist and humanist interests make him the closest there is to a Doctor Who theologian. Accused of weaving both Gay and Atheist ‘agendas’ throughout the series, Davies comments: “It’s never didactic; it’s so the opposite of didactic, They’re little grace notes throughout the entire thing” [1]

Before writing for Doctor Who, Davies outlines his atheist manifesto in his 2003 drama The Second Coming. Christopher Eccleston plays Stephen Baxter, a Manchester man who discovers he is the Son of God. Stephen announces that there is to be a Third Testament- this time written by the people. The crux is an atheist reinterpretation of the atonement, where God dies, allowing humanity to ‘grow up’ and take responsibility for itself. “If God is dead… Maybe we’ll become better.”[2]


2005

Cast and crew similarities aside, the 2005 series of Doctor Who shares with The Second Coming both the excellent device of juxtaposing the cosmic with the domestic and Davies’ trademark atheist commentary. As early as the opening scenes of episode two -The End of the World - a computer voice announces: “Guests are reminded that Platform One forbids the use of weapons, teleportation and religion.”[3] Davies comments “If they haven't reached that point by the Year Five Billion, then I give up!”[4] Materialist gibes are put into the mouth of the Doctor: “You’re happy to believe in something invisible, but if it’s staring you in the face- nope, can’t see it! There’s a scientific explanation for that: you’re thick.”[5] In the wider context of science fiction, this is something of a throwback to pre-90s standards. Writing before Doctor Who’s return to the screen, Thacker comments: “There is no real hint in any Doctor Who on TV that there would be any Catholics or Muslims in the twenty-fifth century, but the idea that there will be faith in the future started to become wide-spread in science fiction in the 1990s.”

Alongside his comment about religion having been necessarily banned by the year Five-Billion, Davies says of the ‘omni-sexual’ Captain Jack “He’s from the fifty-first century, so of course he’s going to go out with men and women.” [6] Is Davies’ view of human progress that we shall become increasingly irreligious and increasingly ambiguous towards sexuality? The Doctor’s revelation that humanity’s mission is to “Seek out new life and…”[7] ‘dance’[8] is something of a tongue-in-cheek play on the bright-eyed expeditionary spirit common in sci-fi, but it is surely a rather depressing conclusion.

Humanism

Davies’ anti-religious sentiment is a necessary ingredient of a wonderfully humanistic theme running throughout the series. “Everything has its time. And everything dies”[9] proclaims the Doctor, offering the grim perspective of the near-immortal. This becomes the series’ central axiom, echoed throughout. In the resolution of the series companion Rose Tyler, having absorbed the Time Vortex and gained the Doctor’s god-like perspective of past and futures, declares; “Every thing must come to dust. All things. Everything Dies.”[10] The sentiment is wonderfully ret-conned[11] into the mouth of the Fourth Doctor in Series Two’s School Reunion[12], suggesting that it has always been a motto of the Doctor’s.

This is not a morbid fixation. The inevitability of death is prominent only to accentuate Doctor Who’s life-affirming message. Actor Christopher Eccleston sums up: “The central message of Doctor Who is to love life… you have a short life, make sure it's a happy one, seize every moment.”[13] Again, this agreeable life-affirming theme is rooted in Davies’ atheism and is connected to his conviction that religion is life-denying. The Second Coming’s Judy states: “Right now we’re promised an afterlife so we waste the seventy years we’ve got”[14]. This position has two possible foundations. One is the Marxist interpretation that belief in an afterlife is an ‘illusory happiness’ to numb the misery of the masses. The second is, more simplistically, that belief in an afterlife is life-denying because it presents an unbalanced view - those waiting for an afterlife may lack the urgency of carpe diem.

Response

Here there is only space for a tentative exploration of a possible response from Christian theology. Whilst a life-denying attitude has been adopted by some believers in the name of asceticism, it is at odds with Christ’s teaching. Indeed, Christ’s “Life to the full”[15] and the Doctor’s “Fantastic life[16]” have a common core. “Life in the next world is not where the attention of Jesus was focused[17]” writes Tony Campolo. Recent emphasis on the theology of the Kingdom of God is a reaction to an evangelical theology focussed on the after-life, but it is also at the very core of Jesus mission statement: “The kingdom of God is at hand[18]”
“And God wants this kingdom to become established on earth, now! “Your kingdom come… “ Jesus taught his disciples to pray… Which, of course, contradicts what both evangelicals and neo-Marxists believe about Christianity being an otherworldly, pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die religion that promises us mansions in the next world if only we endure the oppressions, inequities, and injustices of the present socioeconomic order.”[19]

Christ does indeed teach that his followers should “Store up your treasures in heaven”[20], but rather than an afterlife focus this is an anti-materialist exhortation for Christians to focus on activities that have an eternal bearing. This is in agreement with Doctor Who’s theme of “Seize every moment.” [21] The difference is the Biblical nuances of what ‘seizing every moment’ might involve.[22]

The Parting of the Ways

2005’s season finale addresses fears about religious fundamentalism and debates issues of godhood. In a somewhat ill fitting adaptation of the Daleks[23] [24], they are heard to exclaim, “Do not blaspheme!” Giving an explanation, the Emperor Dalek proclaims “I reached into the dirt and made new life. I am the God of all Daleks!”[25] This makes for some interesting dialogue between the Doctor and the Emperor. When the Doctor is faced with the dilemma of destroying both the Daleks and the population of Earth, or allowing the Daleks to convert every human, the Emperor taunts: “If I am God, the creator of all things, then what does that make you, Doctor?”[26]

The resolution juxtaposes the Emperor with companion Rose, now in control of the Time Vortex- The ‘goddess’ Rose versus the self-appointed god of the Daleks. One acts out of compassion, the other out of self-aggrandising belligerence. The Emperor is clearly a “False God”[27], presumably suggesting that Rose is something closer to the genuine article, but the Doctor rebukes her for her power: “This is wrong! You can’t control life and death-!”[28]

Godhood

“I’ve seen a lot of this universe. I’ve seen fake gods and bad gods and demigods and would-be-gods…”[29]
-The Doctor

Series Two takes up the theme of godhood, firstly with the Doctor portrayed as ‘The Lonely God’[30] Even the werewolf of Tooth and Claw is worshipped by the abbot and his acolytes: “Lupus deus est”. God-like beings are something of a staple in Doctor Who, and these are not always von Däniken gods. Before 1976’s The Deadly Assassin, the Time Lords were portrayed as mysterious and god-like[31]. The Key to Time series introduced us to the eternal Black and White Guardians, acting above the Time Lords to maintain the balance of light and dark in the universe.

Overall, Doctor Who has a dispute with the idea of Godhood[32]. In The Daemons (1971)[33], the Doctor says to the Demon-God Azal “I want you to go away and give Man a chance to grow up”[34]- a very Russell T. Davies idea. Godhood is inseparable from the idea of absolute power- an arch-sin in Doctor Who. As the Doctor says of the Time Lords: “Ten million years of absolute power - that's what it takes to be really corrupt!”[35] In School Reunion (2006) the Doctor is tempted to solve the Skasas Paradigm- “The god-maker…Time and space and matter, yours to control.”[36] The Doctor refuses the power that he would use to save countless civilisations. Likewise, in 1979 the Doctor refused god-like potential.

The Doctor :

"We have the power to do anything we like. Absolute power over every particle in the universe. Everything that has ever existed and ever will exist… As from this moment there's no such thing as free will in the entire universe. There's only my will because I possess the Key to Time."

Romana :

"Doctor, are you all right?"

The Doctor :

"Well of course I'm all right... but supposing I wasn't all right?"[37]

The Doctor refuses to give the Key to either Black or White Guardian. However benevolent a god-figure may be, their power is always viewed negatively as a hegemonic domination. They are rarely, if ever, benevolent, though. The first god-like being we encounter is the Toy Maker[38], who captures mortals and makes them his playthings. Gods in Doctor Who are like the gods of Greek myth, manipulating lesser beings to their own ends. Even the White Guardian is as manipulative as the Black.Doctor Who, which prizes freedom, is naturally fearful of the threat to personal autonomy. John Searle writes: “Acceptance of the current [naturalistic] views [in philosophy of mind] is motivated not so much by an independent conviction of their truth as by a terror of what are apparently the only alternatives.”[39] As the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan said[40] “Why are you Earth people afraid of the word ‘God’?”[41]

[1] Russell T. Davies in Cook, Benjamin The Russell T Davies Interview. Doctor Who Magazine issue 360. 14 September 2005. Pg.18
[2] Davies, Russell T. The Second Coming. Carlton Visual Entertainment. Red Productions. 2003. Ep2 0h 47m 00s
[3] Davies, Russell T. The End of the World in Doctor Who: The Shooting Scripts. BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd, London. 2005. Pg. 53
[4] Russell T. Davies in Cook, Benjamin The Russell T Davies Interview. Doctor Who Magazine issue 360. 14 September 2005. Pg.18
[5] Davies, Russell T. World War Three in Doctor Who: The Shooting Scripts. BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd, London. 2005. Pg. 198
[6] Russell T. Davies in Cook, Benjamin The Russell T Davies Interview. Doctor Who Magazine issue 360. 14 September 2005. Pg.18
[7] Moffat, Stephen. The Doctor Dances in Doctor Who: The Shooting Scripts. BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd, London. 2005. Pg. 378
[8] A metaphor for sexuality in stories written by Stephen Moffat.
[9] Davies, Russell T. The End of the World in Doctor Who: The Shooting Scripts. BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd, London. 2005. Pg. 87
[10] Davies, Russell T. The Parting of the Ways in Doctor Who: The Shooting Scripts. BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd, London. 2005. Pg. 507
[11] Abbreviation of ‘retroactive continuity’ A phrase used among fans meaning to rewrite past events. The best example is how 1975’s Genesis of the Daleks reinterpreted the creation of the Daleks originally described in The Daleks in 1963.
[12] Past companion Sarah Jane Smith tells the Doctor ‘Everything has its time. And everything ends.’ Whithouse, Toby. School Reunion. (2006) 00h 32m 26s
[13] Christopher Eccleston in Doctor Who arrives in the 21st Century. BBC NEWS. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/4329271.stm(3/5/2007)
[14] Davies, Russell T. The Second Coming. Carlton Visual Entertainment. Red Productions. 2003. Ep2 Ch4 00h 04m 40s
[15] “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”. John 10: 9-10 (NIV)
[16] Davies, Russell T. The Parting of the Ways in Doctor Who: The Shooting Scripts. BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd, London. 2005. Pg. 488
[17] McLaren, Brian D. and Campolo, Tony. Adventures in Missing the Point: How the Culture-Controlled Church Neutered the Gospel. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 2003 Pg. 28
[18] Mark 1:15 (KJV)
[19]Campolo, Tony. Adventures in Missing the Point: How the Culture-Controlled Church Neutered the Gospel. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 2003. Pg.43
[20] Matthew 6:20 (NIV)
[21] Christopher Eccleston in Doctor Who arrives in the 21st Century. BBC NEWS. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/4329271.stm (3/5/07)
[22] Other biblical parallels are “Everything has its time and everything dies” echoing Ecclesiastes’ maudlin attitude, particularly 3:v2’s famous “time to die”. Likewise, “Every thing must come to dust” intentionally echoes the language of Genesis 3:19’s “To dust you shall return”.
[23] In many ways it is a great shame that these themes were not reserved for the return of the Cybermen, to whom they are much better suited. There is much room for Davies-esque criticism in terms of fear of conversion, fear of eternal life etc.
[24] It is interesting to note that it is the Daleks’ self-loathing that has apparently driven them to religion. “Worship him!” order the Daleks. The Doctor responds “They’re insane” “Driven mad by your own flesh.” (Davies, Russell T. The Parting of the Ways in Doctor Who: The Shooting Scripts. BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd, London. 2005. Pg. 481)
[25] Davies, Russell T. The Parting of the Ways in Doctor Who: The Shooting Scripts. BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd, London. 2005. Pg. 480
[26] Davies, Russell T. The Parting of the Ways in Doctor Who: The Shooting Scripts. BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd, London. 2005. Pg. 490
[27] Davies, Russell T. The Parting of the Ways in Doctor Who: The Shooting Scripts. BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd, London. 2005. Pg. 507
[28] Davies, Russell T. The Parting of the Ways in Doctor Who: The Shooting Scripts. BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd, London. 2005. Pg. 509
[29] Matt Jones The Satan Pit 00h 39m 20s
[30] The implications of this are addressed in Chapter 6 “Remythologising the Doctor’”.
[31] The Deadly Assassin revealed them to be pretentious indolents organised into a Church of Rome-style patriarchy.
[32] This explored explicitly in the 2001 Big Finish audio story Primeval by Lance Parkin.
[33] This is explored in Chapter 3.
[34] Doctor Who: The Scripts. The Daemons. Robert Sloman and Barry Letts. Titan Books, London. 1992. Pg. 154
[35] Holmes, Robert. The Trial of a Time Lord (1986) cited in ‘Memorable Quotes from “Doctor Who”: The Trial of a Time Lord’. IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0562970/quotes (15/5/2007)
[36] Whithouse, Toby School Reunion (2006) 00h 20m 30s
[37] Doctor Who Episode Guide - The Armageddon Factor - Details. Doctor Who. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/armageddonfactor/detail.shtml (13/5/2007)
[38] Hayles, Brian The Celestial Toymaker. (1966)
[39] John Searle Rediscovery of the Mind, cited in Couch, Steve; Watkins, Tony; Williams, Peter S. Back in Time: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Doctor Who. Damaris Books, Milton Keynes. 2005. Pg. 150
[40] Or ‘would have said’, had this story been produced.
[41] Coburn, Anthony. The Masters of Luxor. (1963) cited in Thacker, Anthony. A Closer Look at Science Fiction. Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne. 2001. Pg. 44