| THE ELEVENTH HOUR |
| The Eleventh Hour (2010) is the 21st century’s second major reinvention of Doctor Who. Jon Arnold looks at how new showrunner Steven Moffat brings long-form storytelling and the influence of fairytale and children’s literature to the Doctor, his companions and their relationships. |
| VINCENT AND THE DOCTOR |
| One of Doctor Who biggest ‘name’ writers, Richard Curtis gives us Vincent and the Doctor (2010), a ‘celebrity historical’ story about mental health – and not just that of van Gogh. Paul Driscoll looks at writers, artists, and the importance of paintings in Steven Moffat’s era. |
| THE PANDORICA OPENS / THE BIG BANG |
| The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang revisits and completes the 2010 season of Doctor Who. Philip Bates interprets it as an immersive fairytale, giving the lie to the idea that audiences cannot deal with complex narratives, and a blueprint for future seasons’ complex treatment of time travel. |
| THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT / DAY OF THE MOON |
| The Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon (2011) draws on the imagery of conspiracy theories to create a secret history of 1960s America. John Toon explores this technique, as well as the story’s subversion, in the figure of Nixon, of the 21st-century ‘celebrity historical’. |
| THE GOD COMPLEX |
| A meditation on faith and fear set in a labyrinthine hotel, The God Complex (2011) draws on sources from Greek myth to George Orwell and Stanley Kubrick. Paul Driscoll’s thorough account disentangles these threads to find what the story tells us about the Doctor himself. |
| THE RINGS OF AKHATEN |
| In the runup to Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary, The Rings of Akhaten (2013) shows a Doctor capable of error and failure. William Shaw argues that the story forms a critique of colonialism, patriarchy and the New Atheist movement, while offering a positive, feminine vision of the future. |
| THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR |
| A spectacular collision of Doctor Who’s past, present and future, The Day of the Doctor (2013) acts as a point of catharsis and celebration as well as an intricate folding-together of the series’ continuity and its discontinuities. Alasdair Stuart, host of the award-winning Pseudopod podcast, investigates. |