Work in Space: The Changing Image of Space Careers in the TV Series Doctor Who

Work and careers in space have been portrayed in many episodes of the British TV series Doctor Who. By analysing a selection of the 300 Doctor Who stories (made up of almost 900 episodes) being broadcasted since 1963, this chapter clarifies how their representation has changed over time. It uncovers a decline from the research and exploration-focused safe, clean, utopian, technocratic and glamorous space stories of the 1960s to the more labour-focused dangerous, dirty, dystopian, steampunk and unattractive space stories in the 2010s. This trend is remarkable as it potentially affects viewers’ ideas about space careers. Doctor Who is known to influence audiences’ understanding about space; and television—like pop culture in general—is a powerful medium in which collective ideas and meanings about our futures (and future careers) are reflected, shaped and imagined. So, what can we learn from this changing pop cultural image of space careers in Doctor Who?