A Half Century of Science Fiction...

Sunday marked a milestone which passed me by entirely. It was the 45th anniversary of the British scifi series Doctor Who.

On the day following John F. Kennedy's assassination, November 23, 1963, the first episode of Doctor Who hit the airwaves. Through its many seasons, spinoffs, and incarnations, it has remained a popular story. It follows the adventures of "the Doctor", a time-traveling alien "time lord" on his journeys throughout time and space, correcting injustices and exploring frontiers in a less-than-reliable archaic time machine known as the TARDIS.

On an interesting side note, the show is featured in one of my favorite movies. In several scenes of Get Real, the lead character's father is watching old episodes. A Doctor Who clock is proudly displayed on the wall and he is dressed as a Cyberman (one of the Doctor's adversaries) as he prepares to attend a convention. On another interesting note, the lead actor (Ben Silverstone) is older than me... by only six days.

The show has seen 751 aired episodes since the 1960s and is featured in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running scifi series in history. Ten separate actors have been cast in the main role over the decades, including Peter Davison ('Tristan' from All Creatures Great and Small) and the most current, David Tennant.

This show marked my first indoctrination into scifi only a few years ago and quickly became a favorite. Its mix of real history, bizarre creatures, philosophical undercurrents, and quirky humor add to its unique charm.

So, happy belated birthday, Doctor Who. Here's to hoping for many more years of fantastical oddities...

But Jesus Didn't Travel in a Tardis...

With a falling teenage attendance in churches throughout the Church of England, clergyman are turning to the television for help.

Namely, the Doctor Who series.

The science fiction program tells the tale of a time traveler journeying through both space and time in a machine designed to look like an old police public call box. He helps people and sometimes attempts to alter history.

According to Church Army spokesman Andrew Wooding, "There are countless examples of Christian symbolism in Doctor Who, which we can use to get across ideas that can otherwise be difficult to explain."

In other words, the Tardis represents a church, the Doctor represents Jesus, Daleks represent demons, and the list goes on. Some of the storylines have even been compared to Biblical tales.

Rather interesting, considering the chief writer of the current series, Russell T. Davies, is an atheist. "I think religion is a very primal instinct within humans," he said, "a very good one, part of our imagination."

Unfortunately, the church fails to realize that storytelling hasn't changed in basic structure in over 2000 years. "The Hero's Journey", a common platform for legends, can be found not only in the Bible but in morality plays, Beowulf, The Wizard of Oz, The Matrix, folklore, and even religious stories from ancient Rome and Egypt. The plot predates the Bible and traces its origins to early man.

Were there intentional Christian undertones in Doctor Who? It's doubtful. But that doesn't mean it can't be exploited like everything else...