Traversing the "Whoniverse": Doctor Who's Hyperdiegesis and Transmedia Discontinuity/Diachrony

Matthew Hills

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter argues that the world building of long-running media franchises cannot be seen purely as a matter of textual attributes and instead partly emerges over time as a result of fans’ reading strategies. Taking Doctor Who (BBC TV, 1963—) as a case study, it is suggested here that fans and of f icial producers have co-created the ‘Whoniverse’ across decades—not simply because small numbers of privileged fans have become producers/writers/showrunners, but also because fan interpreta-tions have been diachronically recognized within the program’s canon. Doctor Who has been marked by textual discontinuity, but fan audiences have playfully reconstructed its diegetic contradictions into coherent accounts of the Whoniverse. As such, fan practices have helped to generate and to conserve an integrated transmedial world.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationWorld Building
Subtitle of host publicationTransmedia, Fans, Industries
EditorsMarta Boni
Place of PublicationAmsterdam
PublisherAmsterdam University Press
Chapter19
Pages343-361
Number of pages19
ISBN (Electronic)9789048525317
ISBN (Print)9789089647566
Publication statusPublished - 13 Sep 2017

Publication series

NameTransmedia
PublisherAmsterdam University Press
Number2

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