| I don’t think my children watch enough TV. It is not a complaint I ever thought I would make. But, these days, my daughters seem to spend every waking moment on their computers, mostly chatting to their friends on the social-networking site, Bebo.
The thing about watching TV is that, at its best, it can be great family time. This is why I so love Doctor Who. Whatever gripes and tiffs there might have been during the day, all is forgiven, as we jostle for space on the sofa when that eerily compelling signature tune calls us all together.
In The Sunday Telegraph recently, Jonathan Wynne-Jones reported on a Church Army conference in which Doctor Who was being used as a way to raise themes in theology. I am not at all surprised: the programme is stuffed with Christian references.
The central figure is a nameless man (messianic secret?) — and a “Lord”, no less — set in an epic struggle of good against evil. He is always saving humanity from disaster, with little more than a device that opens doors. And, unlike any other superhero I can think of, he never uses violence. Indeed, the Doctor’s final triumph over his archenemy, the Master, ended with the words: “I forgive you.”
My favourite Christian reference is the kenotic storyline in the episode called “The Chameleon Arch”, which is a machine that takes away all the Doctor’s powers and renders him human. It is a clear nod towards Philippians 2.6-11, where the incarnation is described as God “emptying himself”. It is not at all surprising that the Archbishop of Canterbury is said to be a fan.
The main writer for the new Doctor Who — the brilliant Russell T. Davies — is an atheist, and not at all in the business of wanting to promote the Church. This makes the whole thing all the more interesting. We are always being told that we live in a post-Christian society. Yet when atheists come to write about the battle between good and evil, even they reach for a Christian grammar.
This is why I think Doctor Who says something about the extent to which the gospel has been successful in Britain, the extent to which it has shaped our moral and cultural imagination. “I think it’s inevitable because of Britain’s heritage that a long-running programme about the fight between good and evil will have some Christian themes as a backdrop,” said Barry Letts, a former producer of Doctor Who.
Of course, people may not like going to church. And they get put off by our reputation for judgemental narrow-mindedness. But what Doctor Who reveals is that Christianity is still there, deep in our cultural marrow. |
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