2. A Small Step for a Man, a New Memory for Humanity: Questing the Historic Documentation in Doctor Who

Erga Heller

From the TV series: Doctor Who

Abstract

This paper studies the representation of a ‘Historical Event’ – e.g. July 20^th, 1969 Apollo 11’s lunar walk – within the plot of the BBC’s Doctor Who episode of “Day of the Moon” (30/4/2011). Doctor Who is a Science Fiction television series, in which time travels to past historical events are common. This episode is exceptional, however, by its use of authentic documentation of the historical event.

Apollo 11’s televised lunar walk is regarded as one of the most watched live events in history. Dr. Who accurately restage the broadcast in order to reflect on history and authenticity. The use of original footage underscores a key theme in the show, the potential paradox of time travel, which is crystalized in the episode’s paradoxical climax: changing the present moment (defeating the hostile aliens) causes a different past (in which the aliens are the only reason to the Space Race), that must be resulted at the same fictional/Historical moment (as the American Moon Landing). The article analyzes the episode’s plot—simultaneously a newly-created Human history and a re-telling of old Historical moment—through the use of Derrida’s conceptualization of ‘Archival Knowledge.’