Leaving the rest of the world aside, I think the residents of Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland might have a thing or to say about that.
More popular worldwide: Trek or Doctor Who?
- Thread starter TalkieToaster
- Start date
Leaving the rest of the world aside, I think the residents of Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland might have a thing or to say about that.
I don't know. DOCTOR WHO is much more "mainstream" here in America than it used to be. Heck, he's on the cover of TV GUIDE this week, USA TODAY and ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY both covered the big 50th Anniversary hoopla, and the last time I visited a Barnes & Noble (in Wilmington, Delaware) there was tons of WHO merchandise in the aisles.
That's not exactly niche anymore. I think if you're standing in line at a checkout counter at the grocery store and DOCTOR WHO is on a magazine cover right next to the Kardashians and Jennifer Aniston, that's pretty damn mainstream.
I agree with what you say and I now sit corrected! I didn't realize that this was being covered as much as it had been!
Congrats, Dr. Who! I now call you mainstream!
But I still think Trek is the better known brand overall. So I don't know which I would ultimately call more popular.
There is somewhat of waxing and waning to it. When ST was it's peak in the ninties Doctor was off air (aside from 96). So to a certain degree ST was making the headlines, just as DW is now partly because it is on the air.
Sure production values have changed, and the budget has increased but in many respects today's DW is more or less exactly the same show as it was in 1963.
Sure production values have changed, and the budget has increased but in many respects today's DW is more or less exactly the same show as it was in 1963.
I don't know. DOCTOR WHO is much more "mainstream" here in America than it used to be. Heck, he's on the cover of TV GUIDE this week, USA TODAY and ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY both covered the big 50th Anniversary hoopla, and the last time I visited a Barnes & Noble (in Wilmington, Delaware) there was tons of WHO merchandise in the aisles.
That's not exactly niche anymore. I think if you're standing in line at a checkout counter at the grocery store and DOCTOR WHO is on a magazine cover right next to the Kardashians and Jennifer Aniston, that's pretty damn mainstream.
Trust me, you don't have to be living in England to hear about Doctor Who these days!
It's certainly come a long way from the PBS days.I do think the rise of technology has made a difference too. The cross-cultural borders that once existed between media from different countries have arguably become irrelevant in this day and age, now that the internet has become all encompassing, and we live in a 1000+ channel universe.
Might I recommend "Blink" or "The Girl in the Fireplace"?
Well I spent the entire weekend inside (its very cold right now!) catching the Doctor Who stuff on BBC America and SyFy. The history of the show, the actors in the role, etc. I had never seen a second of the show, but all my sci-fi friends love it and the vast history is impressive.
Watching the new movie, I had no idea what the hell was going on but it peaked my interest to go find out more! Turns out there are a ton of the old stuff and all the new stuff on Netflix so I guess I know what I'll be getting into over thanksgiving weekend!
Watching the new movie, I had no idea what the hell was going on but it peaked my interest to go find out more! Turns out there are a ton of the old stuff and all the new stuff on Netflix so I guess I know what I'll be getting into over thanksgiving weekend!
Sci-fi has never been the 'in' thing where I live (sigh)
But between the two,I'd say DW is more popular. I've seen a couple of people in my uni with DW merchandise,and I know people in real-life and online (from my country) who are Whovians. Even with JJ's reboot,I doubt many have gotten into Trek. Fun story:my literature teacher asked my class last year if ST or Star Wars was better,and this girl said that SW was better because she didn't like Spock.
As I said,Sci-fi has never really been hot/mainstream here. I do wonder what it is like in the neighbouring countries though
But between the two,I'd say DW is more popular. I've seen a couple of people in my uni with DW merchandise,and I know people in real-life and online (from my country) who are Whovians. Even with JJ's reboot,I doubt many have gotten into Trek. Fun story:my literature teacher asked my class last year if ST or Star Wars was better,and this girl said that SW was better because she didn't like Spock.
As I said,Sci-fi has never really been hot/mainstream here. I do wonder what it is like in the neighbouring countries though 
Who cares? Besides, Trek is not the be all, end all of Sci Fi, it never was. It's a nice show which has spawned quite a cult of fans, but this lemming desire to see it better than what ever else might be hot in the public mind is to no ones credit or benefit. So, who cares? It's OK to like both, to like one more than another, or to like something else all together in spite of either or to like them all together.
Also, in Korea, Who is much more known these days. Some folks know JJTrek, but little else. They know who the Doctor is, though. BBC Entertainment has done a decent job of that here.
Also, in Korea, Who is much more known these days. Some folks know JJTrek, but little else. They know who the Doctor is, though. BBC Entertainment has done a decent job of that here.
Sci-fi has never been the 'in' thing where I live (sigh)
But between the two,I'd say DW is more popular. I've seen a couple of people in my uni with DW merchandise,and I know people in real-life and online (from my country) who are Whovians. Even with JJ's reboot,I doubt many have gotten into Trek. Fun story:my literature teacher asked my class last year if ST or Star Wars was better,and this girl said that SW was better because she didn't like Spock.
Sci-Fi or at least TV Sci-Fi can be viewed somewhat negatively. With "how can you watch that" etc... Yet just look at the top grossing films at the Box Office is filled with films from the Sci-Fi/fantasy genre.
At the end of the day it really should be a case of not critising what others watch.
Yeah, ultimately it doesn't matter. I've never understood the point of rooting for sf series as though they were sports teams. There's no trophy for being #1.
On the other hand, I'm finding it interesting to hear how popular Trek and Who may (or may not) be in different countries and parts of the world.
On the other hand, I'm finding it interesting to hear how popular Trek and Who may (or may not) be in different countries and parts of the world.
Doctor Who is currently in production on original episodes, while aside from the two JJ Trek movies, there has been no new Trek since 2005 when Enterprise ended so Who is CURRENTLY the more popular of the two. From a historical perspective, I would give it to Trek since it was more of a world wide phenomenon for the better part of four decades, which Who has been a solid show, just not huge like Trek was during it's heyday.
Given that this is only a "worldwide" forum in the sense that worldwide primarily means "the Anglosphere and Western Europe", this seems like one of those questions one has to hedge on. There isn't really a right answer.
[Tangent]
Although if Who manages to get a real feature film going, I honestly think it'd manage much better (both in budget and box office) than some naysayers tend to guess. It's primarily family friendly, it isn't at all difficult to follow for EASL viewers (of massive importance), it'd make sense and look good in 3D (inflating the box office), it'd be another in a long line of British genre epics (there's no way they'd do it as anything other than an epic) and it has a large enough fan base in the above mentioned markets to drive media hype and box office worldwide (they'd wonder what all the fuss was about, much as happened with LoTR and Harry Potter).
So don't count out a Who feature too hastily.
[Tangent]
Although if Who manages to get a real feature film going, I honestly think it'd manage much better (both in budget and box office) than some naysayers tend to guess. It's primarily family friendly, it isn't at all difficult to follow for EASL viewers (of massive importance), it'd make sense and look good in 3D (inflating the box office), it'd be another in a long line of British genre epics (there's no way they'd do it as anything other than an epic) and it has a large enough fan base in the above mentioned markets to drive media hype and box office worldwide (they'd wonder what all the fuss was about, much as happened with LoTR and Harry Potter).
So don't count out a Who feature too hastily.
I think it depends to some extent on how well the individual PBS stations reached out to their Canadian viewers. I got my PBS from Spokane, and they did a great job of this. They were very friendly to those of us who traveled there when Sylvester McCoy appeared to promote his taking over as the Doctor in 1987. Mind you, it was a bit weird to have the station manager say to my friend and me, "You gals are from Calgary... there's four fellas here from Edmonton, maybe y'all know each other!" My friend started to fume a bit at that, but I told her that maybe we might know them; after all, there were a decent number of Whovians who regularly attended the SF conventions around Alberta and we could have met at some point.
I do think the rise of technology has made a difference too. The cross-cultural borders that once existed between media from different countries have arguably become irrelevant in this day and age, now that the internet has become all encompassing, and we live in a 1000+ channel universe.
They turned out to be four complete strangers, but after a Saturday night at the motel over pizza, American coke, and the Saturday night Doctor Who episode, we made some new friends.
And Sylvester McCoy turned out to be a very friendly person who didn't seem the least bit put out that the fans not only came to meet him but also talk about the other Doctors and enjoy the hands-on exhibits that included the TARDIS control room, K-9, and Bessie.
They're like equivalents of each other. Star Trek is an American institution just as much as Dr Who is a British one. Both have 50 years of history, multiple incarnations, high and low periods, and nearly 800 episodes.
I would say at the MOMENT, Dr Who is more popular, simply because it is more visible. There are regular episodes appearing on TV. Trek has been absent from pop culture since 2005 (in terms of regular television appearances) except for the two JJ movies. They were well received , but I don't think even the goodwill towards the JJ movies (from the mainstream audiences anyway) has created a new breed of hardcore Trekkies.
During the 1990s, when Trek was everywhere, and Who was on hiatus except for one telemovie in 1996, Trek was much more popular
I would say at the MOMENT, Dr Who is more popular, simply because it is more visible. There are regular episodes appearing on TV. Trek has been absent from pop culture since 2005 (in terms of regular television appearances) except for the two JJ movies. They were well received , but I don't think even the goodwill towards the JJ movies (from the mainstream audiences anyway) has created a new breed of hardcore Trekkies.
During the 1990s, when Trek was everywhere, and Who was on hiatus except for one telemovie in 1996, Trek was much more popular
^ Trek is currently in more-or-less the same situation Doctor Who found itself in from 1989 to 2005. It's not an ongoing proposition anymore (the movies are ongoing, but you know what I mean, the Prime universe of Trek isn't currently being added to), and the novels are filling the gap left by the absence of regular TV material. Hopefully television Star Trek doesn't have to wait for as long as Doctor Who did to get another chance.
I would have to say that Doctor Who is, at the moment anyway, massively more popular.
Similar threads
