Christian Themes in Dr. Who

As a child I adored Dr. Who. I read a ton of the books, dreamt of having a sonic screwdriver, and even wrote to Jim'll Fix It to see if I could get to meet my favourite Dr. - Peter Davison. When, in one climatic episode, the Dr.'s assistant Adric was killed (to save the others IIRC) there were tears. I was inconsolable.

I enjoyed the Colin Baker and Slyvester McCoy eras too, although never as quite as much. Baker always seemed coarser than Davison (and this was before he was sacked for growing a beard) and by McCoy's time it was more something I watched for my younger brother's sake.

Then there was a long gap and by the time Paul McGann and Christopher Eccleston stepped out of the TARDIS I had lost all but a modicum of curiosity, and was without a TV to satisfy any remaining interest. I could imagine Eccleston being good, however. He always was.

Then, before I'd had time to really get used to the idea he'd gone too and we were onto David Tennant. A Christmas Day special finally gave me the chance to catch a glimpse of the latest incarnation – albeit the end of the episode. I have to admit though I was unimpressed and found Tennant's acting melodramatic at best and in places it was just plain awful.

It seems I'm in a tiny minority however. With Tennant at the helm, and writer Russell Davies on board, the series has gone from strength to strength, topping the ratings, winning a cabinet full of awards and even spawning a spin off series. This week's been no less uneventful. On Monday the Guardian's list of the 100 most powerful media people included both Davies and Tennant at a staggering 16 and 24 respectively.

Then yesterday it made it onto Mark Goodacre's New Testament Gateway. Mark's been a fan for a long time, but has posted an interesting piece on some of the Christian themes that have surfaced particularly in this last series (spoilers):

The subtlety of that imagery from those (previous two) episodes did not prepare me for the remarkably blatant Christian imagery of the final episode, The Last of the Time Lords, a classic good versus evil, super-hero / super-villain match-up between the Doctor and the Master with a clustering of themes that have raised a few eyebrows, defeating evil through "faith and hope", "prayer" (the Master's terms), Martha travelling the world to tell the good news of how the doctor has often saved people without their realizing it, and the Doctor rising from humiliation to defeat evil, and forgive its perpetrator

All of which sounds very interesting. One could argue that Adric's sacrifice for others, Baker's beard, and Eccleston's lead performance in Second Coming (2003) constitute a continuing relationship between Dr. Who and Jesus, but that would probably be pushing things a little too far. It's also notable that the Dr., like (say) Superman, is a "man" come down from the heavens to save humanity.

It's something that's been said before, for example by Sylvester McCoy. I'm not sure it's enough to make me go out and hire the DVDs, but it's certainly something I'll bear in mind should I ever find myself in front of the repeats on Telly.

More on "The Passion: Films, Faith & Fury"

I've been searching keenly for a bit more information on Saturday's Channel 4 programme The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury, which I feature in briefly (at least that's what I've been told). When I discussed it last month there was only a small amount of information available. It was also unclear whether Christopher Eccleston or Robert Beckford would be fronting the programme.

Anyway information is gradually seeping out, and although I've not seen it myself, it apparently has been advertised on TV. It seems clear now that it will be Beckford and not Ecclestone, as I suspected all along. I'm really not sure where the Eccleston association came from, and I suppose it's still possible that he might feature (although I suspect that would be included in the publicity).

The biggest slice of information available so far (away from this site) is now on Channel 4 Sales' Programming and Schedules site

With the success of films such as The Passion of the Christ and The Chronicles of Narnia , and the imminent release of the movie version of The Da Vinci Code , the century-old relationship between Hollywood and the church is being thrust back into the spotlight. In a special two-hour Easter documentary Dr. Robert Beckford examines the complex connections between the two very different worlds and interviews some of the key players who have found themselves at the centre of controversy, including Martin Scorsese, Willem Dafoe, Terry Gilliam and Robert Powell. The documentary charts the rise of cinema and its uneasy relationship with the church, from the early filmed passion plays of the 1890s to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and The Chronicles of Narnia , via The Ten Commandments and The Exorcist , and by way of Jesus Christ Superstar and The Life of Brian .

It is a complex courtship that has moved from control through animosity to a new realisation by studios that there is a huge, and previously untapped, audience to be catered for. The film also includes interviews with leading theologians and Christian figures and asks who really controls the imagery of the bible: the church or the entertainment industry? Prod/ Dir: Rory Wheeler; Exec Prods: Danny Fenton, Jes Wilkins; Prod Co: Zig Zag

Sadly the programme is up against the latest instalment of Doctor Who?, which also won't be starring Eccleston, and starts quarter of an hour later at 7:15. That said, I suspect my bit will probably be towards the start, so you never know your luck!

One thing I am glad about though is that the interviews were recorded months ago, rather than this week. I'm currently sporting 8 stitches in a gash across my forehead from a rugby match on Saturday.

The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury, will be airing from 7 to 9pm on 15th April on Channel 4.

The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury

This Easter, I'm due to be appearing as one of the interviewees on Channel 4's Bible films programme The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury. It's hosted by Dr. Robert Beckford (pictured right), who I met at this summer's Greenbelt Festival. The programme is showing on Easter Eve (15th April 2006) between 7pm and 9pm.

Information about it has just gone up at Channel 4's website, although you have to scroll down quite a bit to get the information on the film, so here's what it says:

The Passion will document how Hollywood and the television industry have dealt with the thorniest of subject matter: the Bible. Taking each decade in turn, the film explores the changing dynamic between the church, and the film and television industries. From the passion plays of the silent era to the blood and suffering of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and onto the supernatural world of Revelations. With interviews from the producers, directors and stars of the films as well as leading religious figures the film investigates how the political climate has often changed the portrayal of the Bible in films. The presenter lead programme (Christopher Eccleston TBC) asks what do these films and programmes tell us about our evolving views of Christianity?

I note that this says Christopher Ecclestone is involved as well / instead. I got an email from Dr. Beckford in January saying he was about to do the voiceover, so I assume he's still involved. I won't get to see it until it airs so I guess I'll have to wait until then to find out. I'm also not entirely sure how much I'll be involved. They have interviewed Martin Scorsese, Willem Dafoe, Terry Gilliam, Robert Powell, Brian Blessed, W. Barnes Tatum and Peter Malone, so I don't imagine I'll get much of a look in, but they have told me that I am in it, so who knows. I also don't know what I'll be saying. They interviewed me for about an hour, but I imagine they'll only use 10 seconds worth, so goodness knows what it will be.

Regardless of my personal involvement, it looks like being an interesting programme. The team that put it together were well researched, and its probably the longest broadcasted programme on this subject. I do remember catching the end of one about 10-15 years ago with Barry Norman (which was the first time I heard of Jesus of Montreal), but I believe that was only an hour. There is also a documentary called The Bible According to Hollywood available at Amazon, with very mixed reviews. I'm hoping The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury will be the pick of the bunch.

The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury, will be airing at 7pm on 15th April on Channel 4.