Americans, how popular is Doctor Who in America?
- Thread starter flux_29
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Doctor Who isn't well-known in the USA, but the ones who do know it tend know it very well and are big fans.
**Southpark Funny Bot Spoilers**
I watched that episode. I kept waiting for them to do an overt Dalek joke but it never came. However, there was definitely a Dalek tribute with the way the Robot looked. And given that the robot was planning to destroy all of humanity, the parallels are drawn there as well. It also fits the very lose message the episode was trying to make about comedy that the fictional robot was inspired from beings that have no grasp of what humor actually is.
I would say that it is a tiny minority in the U.S. that know what Doctor Who is. It pains me to say this, but mainstream popular culture has no idea. A reference may come up in a Simpsons episode perhaps as almost more of an inside joke, but that is due to the creative guys on the writing team having a broad range of interest, not because a lot of viewers are going to get it.
I VERY rarely can make a reference to Doctor Who without then needing to explain everything from square one. Even my friends who enjoy science fiction don't care about it. They saw Tom Baker's Doctor on PBS and think that it is a kid's. Their loss.
In another current thread a fellow from the UK referred to the very popular and well-known American program "The Today Show" as "obscure". That may well be true for "Today Show"'s notoriety in the UK, but I believe that Doctor Who- unfortunately- may be almost as obscure to viewers in the U.S.
Which is good, to some extent-- as America has a way of taking things from other cultures and transmogrifying them into a U.S. version that audiences here are more comfortable with. I really doubt that I would like that.
I VERY rarely can make a reference to Doctor Who without then needing to explain everything from square one. Even my friends who enjoy science fiction don't care about it. They saw Tom Baker's Doctor on PBS and think that it is a kid's. Their loss.
In another current thread a fellow from the UK referred to the very popular and well-known American program "The Today Show" as "obscure". That may well be true for "Today Show"'s notoriety in the UK, but I believe that Doctor Who- unfortunately- may be almost as obscure to viewers in the U.S.
Which is good, to some extent-- as America has a way of taking things from other cultures and transmogrifying them into a U.S. version that audiences here are more comfortable with. I really doubt that I would like that.
Honestly I'm glad it isn't hugely popular in the mainstream. Otherwise you just know one of the networks would want to make an American version.
I'm perfectly happy being a part of general SF fandom. Like Trekkers and Browncoats.
I'm perfectly happy being a part of general SF fandom. Like Trekkers and Browncoats.
I do think Doctor Who is fairly well known as far as American "geek culture" is concerned. But sci-fi shows in general tend to fly under the mainstream radar here. Even some of the Star Trek spinoffs have come and gone with barely more than a blip on the scope...
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