_______ The Ever Expanding Universe of Doctor Who
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reason for its initiating armed conflicts. Showrunners see gasoline, and
America’s thirst for it, as a corrupting influence on the world, using
gasoline, not petrol, to bum the body of the world-saving pacifist Time
Lord.
As well as having British characters use a few important
Americanisms to emphasize a point, writers have also done the opposite,
putting a British phrase into the mouth of an American character. Earlier
in the series, Luke Rattigan, the American-sounding genius-billionaire
insists that he’s “clever,” intending simply to mean that he is intelligent
{Doctor Who “Sontaran Stratagem”). He continues to use the word clever
several times throughout the episode, in each instance using the term in a
traditionally British maimer. To Americans, the word clever implies
cunning and even a bit of mischievousness. By choosing this more
British description of knowledge and intellect, writers subtly suggest that
British epistemology is superior to that of Americans.
Another way in which showrunners have defined the Britishness
of Doctor Who has been through the destinations of the traveling Time
Lord. In the first five seasons of the revived series, despite having the
ability to travel in both time and space, the Doctor and his companions
spend the majority' of their time in Great Britain. These earlier episodes
supply audiences with a huge dose of British culture, as the TARDIS
travels to several significant moments in Britain’s past, present, and
future, meeting many cultural and historical figures along the way. From
meeting Charles Dickens in 1860’s Cardiff in “The Unquiet Dead,” to
the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in “The Idiot’s Lantern,” to
the London Olympic Games of 2012 in “Fear Her,” Doctor Who uses
each domestic voyage to remind its home audience of the fabric of its
cultural and national identities. As well as serving as a patriotic portrait
for British viewers, the show also serves as somewhat of a tourism
advertisement for its global audience, featuring shots of the London Eye,
Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and 10 Downing Street. Dr. Alec Charles,
noted this side of the new series as well, commenting that
To some extent this interest in London landmarks can be
explained by a concern for global sales, in that the uniquely
British character of the series may account for the program’s
international success. Davies has admitted that “whenever we
come [to London], we want to maximize it, so you get all the big