The modern series of Doctor Who has featured each companion doing remarkable and sometimes super human things… but in the meanwhile, there are massive cries for returning back to the old paradigm of a perfectly normal ‘regular person’ stepping into those shoes for the next round. We’ll discuss the evolution of the role of the companion, including addressing some of the reasons why people might be over the larger than life companion role (and why there are sometimes sexist notions behind that), and debating why developing the companion back into a supporting player might not be the best thing for the show in 2016.
Joseph Scrimshaw is a writer, comedian, and podcast host based in Los Angeles. He's a writer for Adult Swim's fantasy comedy TV show, Tigtone, and has also written for the movie riffing group RiffTrax, Screen Junkies, and more. Joseph’s plays Adventures in Mating, An Inconvenient... Read More →
Robert Smith? is a professor of disease modelling at the University of Ottawa. Using mathematics, he studies infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria, human papillomavirus, neglected tropical diseases and zombies. He has published 13 books on academia and pop culture (including "Who's... Read More →
Screenwriter, blogger (Ramble On: Nerdy Ponderings), creator of the defunct A Disused Yeti vodcast, geek, and Whovian. My Mental Breakdown vlogger, discussing personal battles with mental illness.
Sage is the co-founder of Head Over Feels, a pop culture blog, and an entertainment journalist with bylines in Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, Nerdist, Refinery29, InStyle, NBCNewsTHINK, and more.
Friday February 12, 2016 1:00pm - 2:00pm PST
Program D