In the thirty-sixth episode of The Pop Culture Lens podcast, Christopher Olson and I welcome friend of the podcast, Paul Booth of DePaul University, to discuss the venerable British science fiction series, Doctor Who.

In this episode, the three discuss what has led to the longevity of the series, which started in 1963. This discussion considers how the series’ fans helped sustain the show during a long hiatus, and how the series’ very nature offered many things to many different people as it adapted to changing times, and changing actors portraying the titular character. While the three do not agree completely on the usefulness of fan service in the series, they do all agree that being able to reach a diverse audience has helped maintain the franchise over the decades.

You can learn more about the upcoming Harry Potter pop culture conference at DePaul University via this link: http://www.mcsdepaul.com/depaul-pop-culture-conference.html

You can learn more about the work Christopher and I did on the historical trajectory of Doctor Who via this link: https://playingwithresearch.com/2013/11/18/i-am-doctor-historical-trajectory-doc/  You can also read an abridged version of that paper published at In Media Res: http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/imr/2013/12/16/i-am-doctor-polysemic-rhetoric-and-non-traditional-audiences-doctor-who

As always, you are encouraged to become a part of this conversation by visiting any of the podcast’s social media sites. You can also talk with Christopher Olson on Twitter (@chrstphrolson) and at his academic blog seemsobvioustome.wordpress.com. And you can talk to CarrieLynn Reinhard on Twitter (@mediaoracle) and at her website www.playingwithresearch.com.