The long-running popular TV series Doctor Who is, Piers Britton
argues, a 'uniquely design intensive text': its time-and-space-travel
premise requires that designers be tirelessly imaginative in devising
new worlds and entities and recreating past civilizations. While Doctor
Who's attempts at worldbuilding are notorious for being hit-and-miss -
old jokes about wobbly walls and sink plungers die hard - the
distinctiveness of the series' design imagery is beyond question. And
over the course of six decades Doctor Who has produced designs which
are not only iconic but, in being repeatedly revisited and updated, have
proven to be an ever-more important element in the series' identity and
mythos.
In the first in-depth study of Doctor Who's costumes, sets and
graphics, Piers Britton offers an historical overview of both the
original and the revived series, explores theoretical frameworks for
evaluating Doctor Who design, and provides detailed analysis of key
images. Case studies include the visual morphology of Doctor Who's
historical adventures, the evaluative character of cosplay, and the
ongoing significance for the Doctor Who brand of such high-profile
designs as the Daleks and the TARDIS interior, the 'time-tunnel' title
sequence, and the costumes of the Fourth and Thirteenth Doctors.
