What if Doctor Who had been created by Americans?

[Tuxedoman]

Honestly, if it had the exact same directors and writers but just in American Culture I imagine its early seasons would be very similar to the british one. However the reboot wouldn't have kept its charm with using low(ish) budget effect and relying on the characters I think. It would have gone on the nostalgia value, run for about 2 seasons then probably die off.

I'm not a Who fan at all, but I can see why people are. Its something very unique in the world of science fiction, and its uniqueness has kept it alive.

 

[FPLOON]

We would of already had the first black doctor already!

OT: *points to own above statement* Also, the budget would be bigger, the stories would be more of a hit-or-miss, and the series would continue to be shown on the SciFi SyFy channel after a certain "other station" tries to cancel it... again... (Seriously, what's this "other station's" fascination on creating SciFi shows, but just cancels them during their earliest high point in popularity????)

 

[Lieju]

Captain Jack would be the main character and the Doctor would be a supporting cast member to exists are a vehicle to take people places.

Like the original series started out?

I'm not sure how it would have turned out in the 60's...
I'm guessing it would have been more kid-friendly. And it would have never appealed to adults as much and we wouldn't remember it.


The original series is good, but would it have found it's audience in the States? Would it have become such a hit in a country where it would have had different competition?

I dunno.

 

[Cybylt]

An American-made 'Doctor Who' probably would have turned out more like 'Quantum Leap' (depending on when it was first started) than anything else. With the only main difference being that Sam/The Doctor would leap through time/space as himself rather than merging (for lack of a better word) with other people and fixing their lives.

That sounds about right.

I'm not sure why everyone thinks it'd be a post-Die Hard summer action flick with heavy and obvious political overtones.

 

[Thaluikhain]

It would be exactly the same except people would be posting on a thread called "What if Doctor Who had been created by the British" or something like that, and all the posts would be weirdlt derogatory things about how could anyone dare to put their beloved show in the hands of those talentless hacks who made Little Britain and Mrs. Brown's Boys and other crappy British TV shows that they don't like.

Heh.

More seriously, though, it's interesting to compare Doctor Who with, say, Star Trek on certain things.

Doctor Who had a lot of stories about mighty empires that had peaked and declined, and maybe weren't a good idea in the first place. Star Trek, OTOH, is a lot more about going out and expanding territory and how this is an inherently good and not problematic thing.

You'll also note that the makers of Star Trek were told that the pilot episode was too cerebral and needed to be less challenging for audiences, likewise the earliest episodes to an extent.

 

[Unsilenced]

"Hurr durr guns baysplosions eagles everywhere"

Do people learn about America via SpikeTV or something?



Seriously though: They show would be a lot more serious. Americans can have comedy and they can have drama, but both at the same time just doesn't click. Having plunger-robots in a setting as stories like "The Waters of Mars" wouldn't fit with the American idea of genre separation. The doctor would lean much more heavily towards his depressing, angsty side, and the stories would be much more (psudo)realistic. Events would also probably be smaller scale, since Americans like having canon basically reset after every episode. The known existence of aliens in the "modern" time period in the series could never be allowed. Whatever happened, things would be back to normal for 21st/20th century America by the end of each episode.

Contrary to... well just about everyone else in this thread, I think they'd make the doctor full pacifist. People seem to forget that the Doctor is not only quite capable of killing people, but has probably killed more than anyone in the history of time. There are moments when he seems downright cold, cruel even, taking vengeance on those who cross him.

An American audience would probably prefer him to be more Batman-like, with a strict no-kill policy, even when it doesn't make sense. We love our violent heros, sure, but when we have one that isn't violent we like them to be completely that way. The American fandom of Dr. Who likes to idealize him, ignoring his obvious history of genocide in favor of the image of a nice charming British guy who'd never hurt a fly. While the dualistic nature of the doctor is a key part of his character, I think it's one a lot of American fans would rather not have to deal with.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

The title says it all.

What if Doctor Who had been an American-made show instead of a British one? What would've the Tardis been like? How would've famous episodes have turned out? What American actors would've been tapped to play the various incarnations The Doctor? You get the gist.

Compare Torchwood to Torchwood: Miracle day.
Now thank whatever deity you believe in that Doctor Who is British.

 

[twistedmic]

"Hurr durr guns baysplosions eagles everywhere"

Do people learn about America via SpikeTV or something?



Seriously though: They show would be a lot more serious. Americans can have comedy and they can have drama, but both at the same time just doesn't click. Having plunger-robots in a setting as stories like "The Waters of Mars" wouldn't fit with the American idea of genre separation. The doctor would lean much more heavily towards his depressing, angsty side, and the stories would be much more (psudo)realistic.

While it's true that American shows tend to be either full on comedy or full on drama, there are times when a little bit of humor is mixed in with the heavy drama and times when a little bit of drama is mixed in with the comedy.
Take 'Castle' for example, it is generally a comedic show but every once in a while you;ll get a dramatic episode with fewer jokes sprinkled in.
Or the American/Canadian version of 'Being Human'. That show is far more dramatic and serious than it's British counterpart yet still manages to work in some comedy (mainly to keep people from being near-suicidally depressed most likely).

 

[Trooper924]

I was looking for that Community clip where they show an American version of Inspector Spacetime and say "that". But I cannot find it.

Actually, it was Inspector Spacetime that first got me wondering about this.

 

[mirage202]

To answer this question we have a real world example.

Top Gear.

Top Gear USA.

One is great, the other an abomination. Simples?

 

[Galletea]

It would have a bigger budget, and thus better stars, and effects.

Effects, yes, but there's no reason the quality of the acting would have been better.

(For that matter, you could argue that letting writers know they'll be having expensive effects isn't always a good idea)

True enough, I was thinking more in terms of make up and outfits, but then monsters that look like kids made them with kitchen paper and pva glue might be part of the appeal.

 

[Thaluikhain]

It would have a bigger budget, and thus better stars, and effects.

Effects, yes, but there's no reason the quality of the acting would have been better.

(For that matter, you could argue that letting writers know they'll be having expensive effects isn't always a good idea)

True enough, I was thinking more in terms of make up and outfits, but then monsters that look like kids made them with kitchen paper and pva glue might be part of the appeal.

Actually...Star Trek was made around the same time, and it seemed to have worse effects and monster costume.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Americans have already made versions of the show. Quantum Leap and Sliders, for example, are remarkably similar shows.

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

I imagine it would be more or less the same but set in America, but the Doctor takes on a more Han Solo kind of role. Shooting aliens first with his sonic blaster, asking questions later.

He definitely would have gone back in time and killed Hitler in at least one episode, but no doubt he would return to fill the Davros role. Making Hitler creator of the Daleks.

His companion would have to be a valley girl, because.

And then some other stuff happens, I kinda ran out of steam for ideas.

 

[RaNDM G]

It wouldn't have lasted five episodes if it started here. Twilight Zone and Outer Limits were dying down, Lost in Space and Star Trek were coming in. Not much air space for a quirky Doctor with a screwdriver.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

They would interview old people about it who would say it's too confusing.

They would then proceed to remove the time and the space elements.

The only companion would be a busty blond with a tennis racket.

Truly, horrifying stuff.

 

[lord.jeff]

That's hard to answer as it could of been any number of things as America has thousands of writers/directors/actors of different styles and talent levels.

 

[j0frenzy]

Probably the only major differences I could think of is that we wouldn't be talking about regenerations because I doubt we would've made it that far. Instead we'd probably be talking about the Doctor as a title that gets passed down and we'd be watching various inheritors of the title. Also, we'd have no delusions that the Doctor must be a non-violent character and there would probably be a bit more violence.