Doctor Who: Audience and Industries blog tasks

1) Who is the target audience for Doctor Who? Has it changed since 1963?

 

 I think the target audience for Doctor Who was male young adults.Yes female audience grew to 22%.

 

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:Teenagers and older people.

Personal Relationships:Comes from being a loyal audience member.

Diversion (Escapism):Futuristic, time travel, space travel. 

Surveillance (Information / Facts):Theory of future, technology, other wurld.

 

3) What additional Uses and Gratifications would this episode provide to a modern 2020 audience?

 

It would be a problem because there are more cultures in the UK.

 

4) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to An Unearthly Child?

 

Vicarious Pleasure – we enjoy seeing lives we wish we could have.  Visceral – we enjoy pleasures that excite us or make us feel.

 

5) What kind of online fan culture does Doctor Who have? Give examples.

 

Adult people. (20 - 35)

 

Industries

 

1) What was the television industry like in 1963? How many channels were there?

 

There were only 2 channels. People didn’t have a big choice, so Doctor Who was a very popular show.

 

2) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the level of technology in the TV industry in 1963?

 

In terms of technology, videotape had only been in use for seven years when An Unearthly Child was made. It allowed the BBC to create the space and time travel effects we can see in the episode which were considered amazing at the time. The low-level of technology shows how the science-fiction genre was relatively new to television at this time.

 

3) Why is Doctor Who such an important franchise for the BBC? 

 

Doctor Who is one of the most iconic franchises that the BBC has.  It has been launched all over the world through BBC Worldwide and generates huge income for the BBC.

 

4) What other programmes/spin-offs are part of the wider Doctor Who franchise?

 

The BBC has maximised the popularity of the Doctor Who franchise by creating a series of spin-offs that build on the same universe or characters as the original show. These include:

1.K9

2.Sarah Jane Adventures

3.Torchwood

4,Class

These spin-offs allow the BBC to target slightly different audiences while still taking advantage of the huge Doctor Who fanbase.

 

 

5) Why does the Doctor Who franchise have so much merchandise available? Give examples. 

 

Because it had a big audience: from kids to adults, boys and girls. Also it’s a family show so parents can buy merchandise for their childrens and for themself. Finally, since the BBC earns no money from Doctor Who airing on TV (since it is not a commercial broadcaster), merchandise represents an important source of income for the BBC.