Doctor Who Portrayed As Modern Day Noir
The television show Doctor Who, (2005-present), can be seen as modern day noir to some extent. Doctor Who can be seen as modern day noir because it has multiple elements that are used to characterize the genre of noir. Some characteristics of noir that are portrayed in Doctor Who are a morally ambiguous protagonist, a fatalistic viewpoint of the protagonist, the femmes fatales. The Doctor is a morally ambiguous character that struggles with making the correct choices at times even though he is basically good. Since the Doctor is a time traveler, he also has a fatalistic viewpoint on life and believes that a person’s destiny cannot be changed. The television show also portrays multiple femmes fatales, the Doctor’s companions. His companions are often shown as love interests
…show more content…
in the show who sometimes get the Doctor into deadly situations whenever he has to save them. It is elements such as these that show that Doctor Who can be seen as modern day noir.
In Doctor Who, the Doctor shows that he is a morally ambiguous character through his treatment of the family of blood, his treatment of the master, and his actions in during the time war.
One example of the Doctor’s moral ambiguity is in The Family of Blood, (Charles Palmer, 2007). In this episode, the Doctor is being chased by the Family of Blood who want his time lord lifespan, but he knows that if they obtain it then it will destroy them. Knowing this he turns himself human and hides his powers away to save them, but after seeing all the mayhem they have caused once he turns back he decides to torture them all by trapping them in time. This episode shows a sense of moral ambiguity because at first his actions towards the Family of Blood were good morally, but in the end when he chose to torture them his moral ideals towards the family of blood had changed. Another example of the Doctor’s moral ambiguity is his treatment of the Master in the episode The End of Time, (Euros Lyn, 2009). In this episode, the Master returns from the dead and when the Doctor finds out that he is, he is scared and wishes that he wasn’t back. However, when the Master is killed by the President of Gallifrey, the Doctor is filled with anguish because he
then realizes that he is the last time lord. This shows a sense of moral ambiguity in the Doctor because at first the Doctor didn’t want the Master to still be alive, but in the end when the Master is killed the Doctor wishes he would come back because he doesn’t want to be alone, showing his uncertainty of how he feels about the Master. One more example of the Doctor’s moral ambiguity is evident in The Day of the Doctor, (Nick Hurran, 2013). In this episode the War Doctor is about to use the Moment to end the Time War by destroying his race along with the Daleks, which he believes is the only thing he can do. It is when the War Doctor sees his future selves, however, that he realizes the regret and pain that they feel for having done such a thing. This shows the element of moral ambiguity because after seeing how the future Doctors’ feel about their previous actions, the War Doctor is questioning the moral integrity of destroying his race to end the war. All of these plot points are evidence that the Doctor can be seen as a morally ambiguous character and show that Doctor Who can be seen as modern day noir.
Doctor Who also shows that the Doctor has a fatalistic outlook on life when takes Rose to see her father, when he attempts to save Adelaide Brooke, when he loses Amy and Rory to the Weeping angels, and when he sees his own grave on Trenzalore. One example of the Doctor’s fatalistic outlook is shown in the episode Father’s Day, (Joe Ahearne, 2005). This is shown when the Doctor takes Rose to see her dead father in the past, and he tells Rose that she cannot change what happened to her father. This is an example of a fatalistic outlook on life because the Doctor is telling Rose that she cannot change her fathers’ fate even when she is given the opportunity to. Another example of the Doctor’s fatalistic outlook on life is evident in The Waters of Mars, (Graeme Harper, 2009). In this episode the Doctor Attempts to save Adelaide Brooke when he knows that her fate is death. When he saves her and brings her home, Adelaide ensures that history is not changed by killing herself, which causes the Doctor to realize that no-ones fate can be changed. This portrays the Doctor’s fatalistic outlook on life because even when he tried to change his point of view, Adelaide makes him realize that a persons’ fate cannot be changed. The Doctor’s fatalistic outlook is also shown in The Name of the Doctor, (Saul Metzstein, 2013). In this episode the Doctor finds out that Trenzalore is the place of his death when he sees that the giant TARDIS is his gravestone. This shows the Doctor’s fatalistic outlook because after learning of where he will die, he doesn’t think that he can change the outcome because that is what his fate is. The Doctor’s fatalistic outlook is also evident in The Time of the Doctor, (Jamie Payne, 2013), when the Doctor is on Trenzalore and decides to stay and protect the citizens. This shows that the Doctor has a fatalistic outlook because without trying to change a thing, he decides to give in to his fate and stay on Trenzalore until he dies. These examples show that Doctor Who has a fatalistic outlook and can again be seen as modern day noir to some extent.
Doctor Who also has the noir element of femmes fatales which can be seen through the relationships between the Doctors’ and Rose Tyler, Amy Pond, and the Doctor’s wife River Song. Rose is shown to be strong and independent in the episode The Parting of Ways, (Joe Ahearne, 2005). In this episode, Rose realizes that the Doctor is in danger, and in order to save him she takes the dangerous power of the time vortex and uses it to destroy the Daleks and save the Doctor, even though that this power could potentially kill her. She is also given to be a love interest at the end of the episode Journey’s End, (Graeme Harper, 2008). At the end of the episode the Doctor brings Rose, who is in another dimension, a human version of himself to live her life with. In doing this it is evident that Rose and the Doctor love each other deeply, which shows that she is a love interest of the Doctor. The two elements of Rose being a strong independent woman in the show and also being a love interest of the protagonist is evidence that Rose Tyler is a femmes fatales in Doctor Who. Amy Pond can be seen as a femmes fatales when she tries seduce the Doctor in the episode Flesh and Stone, (Adam Smith, 2010). After getting back from a dangerous adventure with the Doctor, Amy tells the Doctor that she is getting married in the morning. Soon after she tells him this, she kisses and tries to seduce the Doctor, but with several factors coming into play including the fact that she’s getting married in the morning, the Doctor refuses. Even after his refusal, Amy still gets on the bed and tries to persuade him by getting into a seductive pose. Actions such as these show that Amy Pond is a femmes fatales because a femmes fatales is a seductive woman. One more femmes fatales in Doctor Who is River Song, whom of which is both the Doctor’s wife and his killer. It is shown that River is the Doctor’s killer in the episode The Impossible Astronaut (Toby Haynes, 2011). In the beginning of this episode, the Doctor is shown to be killed by someone in an astronaut suit who is later revealed to be River Song. The elements of River Song being both the Doctor’s wife and his killer show that River Song is a given femmes fatales in Doctor Who. The three femmes fatales Rose, Amy, and River give more evidence to the fact that Doctor Who is a modern day noir to some extent.
This paper shows that Doctor Who is a modern day noir to some extent by showing that the Doctor is the morally ambiguous protagonist, the Doctor has a fatalistic outlook, and that the Doctor’s companions can be considered femmes fatales. Through this observation it can also be seen that the directors and writers of Doctor Who were influenced by classic and neo-noir, and that this version of noir may be a whole new type of noir completely.
in the show who sometimes get the Doctor into deadly situations whenever he has to save them. It is elements such as these that show that Doctor Who can be seen as modern day noir.
In Doctor Who, the Doctor shows that he is a morally ambiguous character through his treatment of the family of blood, his treatment of the master, and his actions in during the time war.
One example of the Doctor’s moral ambiguity is in The Family of Blood, (Charles Palmer, 2007). In this episode, the Doctor is being chased by the Family of Blood who want his time lord lifespan, but he knows that if they obtain it then it will destroy them. Knowing this he turns himself human and hides his powers away to save them, but after seeing all the mayhem they have caused once he turns back he decides to torture them all by trapping them in time. This episode shows a sense of moral ambiguity because at first his actions towards the Family of Blood were good morally, but in the end when he chose to torture them his moral ideals towards the family of blood had changed. Another example of the Doctor’s moral ambiguity is his treatment of the Master in the episode The End of Time, (Euros Lyn, 2009). In this episode, the Master returns from the dead and when the Doctor finds out that he is, he is scared and wishes that he wasn’t back. However, when the Master is killed by the President of Gallifrey, the Doctor is filled with anguish because he
then realizes that he is the last time lord. This shows a sense of moral ambiguity in the Doctor because at first the Doctor didn’t want the Master to still be alive, but in the end when the Master is killed the Doctor wishes he would come back because he doesn’t want to be alone, showing his uncertainty of how he feels about the Master. One more example of the Doctor’s moral ambiguity is evident in The Day of the Doctor, (Nick Hurran, 2013). In this episode the War Doctor is about to use the Moment to end the Time War by destroying his race along with the Daleks, which he believes is the only thing he can do. It is when the War Doctor sees his future selves, however, that he realizes the regret and pain that they feel for having done such a thing. This shows the element of moral ambiguity because after seeing how the future Doctors’ feel about their previous actions, the War Doctor is questioning the moral integrity of destroying his race to end the war. All of these plot points are evidence that the Doctor can be seen as a morally ambiguous character and show that Doctor Who can be seen as modern day noir.
Doctor Who also shows that the Doctor has a fatalistic outlook on life when takes Rose to see her father, when he attempts to save Adelaide Brooke, when he loses Amy and Rory to the Weeping angels, and when he sees his own grave on Trenzalore. One example of the Doctor’s fatalistic outlook is shown in the episode Father’s Day, (Joe Ahearne, 2005). This is shown when the Doctor takes Rose to see her dead father in the past, and he tells Rose that she cannot change what happened to her father. This is an example of a fatalistic outlook on life because the Doctor is telling Rose that she cannot change her fathers’ fate even when she is given the opportunity to. Another example of the Doctor’s fatalistic outlook on life is evident in The Waters of Mars, (Graeme Harper, 2009). In this episode the Doctor Attempts to save Adelaide Brooke when he knows that her fate is death. When he saves her and brings her home, Adelaide ensures that history is not changed by killing herself, which causes the Doctor to realize that no-ones fate can be changed. This portrays the Doctor’s fatalistic outlook on life because even when he tried to change his point of view, Adelaide makes him realize that a persons’ fate cannot be changed. The Doctor’s fatalistic outlook is also shown in The Name of the Doctor, (Saul Metzstein, 2013). In this episode the Doctor finds out that Trenzalore is the place of his death when he sees that the giant TARDIS is his gravestone. This shows the Doctor’s fatalistic outlook because after learning of where he will die, he doesn’t think that he can change the outcome because that is what his fate is. The Doctor’s fatalistic outlook is also evident in The Time of the Doctor, (Jamie Payne, 2013), when the Doctor is on Trenzalore and decides to stay and protect the citizens. This shows that the Doctor has a fatalistic outlook because without trying to change a thing, he decides to give in to his fate and stay on Trenzalore until he dies. These examples show that Doctor Who has a fatalistic outlook and can again be seen as modern day noir to some extent.
Doctor Who also has the noir element of femmes fatales which can be seen through the relationships between the Doctors’ and Rose Tyler, Amy Pond, and the Doctor’s wife River Song. Rose is shown to be strong and independent in the episode The Parting of Ways, (Joe Ahearne, 2005). In this episode, Rose realizes that the Doctor is in danger, and in order to save him she takes the dangerous power of the time vortex and uses it to destroy the Daleks and save the Doctor, even though that this power could potentially kill her. She is also given to be a love interest at the end of the episode Journey’s End, (Graeme Harper, 2008). At the end of the episode the Doctor brings Rose, who is in another dimension, a human version of himself to live her life with. In doing this it is evident that Rose and the Doctor love each other deeply, which shows that she is a love interest of the Doctor. The two elements of Rose being a strong independent woman in the show and also being a love interest of the protagonist is evidence that Rose Tyler is a femmes fatales in Doctor Who. Amy Pond can be seen as a femmes fatales when she tries seduce the Doctor in the episode Flesh and Stone, (Adam Smith, 2010). After getting back from a dangerous adventure with the Doctor, Amy tells the Doctor that she is getting married in the morning. Soon after she tells him this, she kisses and tries to seduce the Doctor, but with several factors coming into play including the fact that she’s getting married in the morning, the Doctor refuses. Even after his refusal, Amy still gets on the bed and tries to persuade him by getting into a seductive pose. Actions such as these show that Amy Pond is a femmes fatales because a femmes fatales is a seductive woman. One more femmes fatales in Doctor Who is River Song, whom of which is both the Doctor’s wife and his killer. It is shown that River is the Doctor’s killer in the episode The Impossible Astronaut (Toby Haynes, 2011). In the beginning of this episode, the Doctor is shown to be killed by someone in an astronaut suit who is later revealed to be River Song. The elements of River Song being both the Doctor’s wife and his killer show that River Song is a given femmes fatales in Doctor Who. The three femmes fatales Rose, Amy, and River give more evidence to the fact that Doctor Who is a modern day noir to some extent.
This paper shows that Doctor Who is a modern day noir to some extent by showing that the Doctor is the morally ambiguous protagonist, the Doctor has a fatalistic outlook, and that the Doctor’s companions can be considered femmes fatales. Through this observation it can also be seen that the directors and writers of Doctor Who were influenced by classic and neo-noir, and that this version of noir may be a whole new type of noir completely.