Steampunk is not even close to
the primary focus of Doctor Who, but it has been reflected in many episodes in
a lot of creative and interesting ways. I have selected three of the episodes
that I believe contain the greatest and most diverse representations of
steampunk: “The Girl in the Fireplace,” “The Next Doctor” and “A Christmas
Carol.”
“THE GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE”
What’s
it about?
In this episode, the Doctor and
his companions Rose Tyler and Mickey Smith find time windows on a
51st-century spaceship leading to 18th-century France and a group of clockwork
androids using them to stalk Madame de Pompadour throughout her life
Where’s
the steampunk?
Clockwork androids
Real-life historical figure Madame de
Pompadour
What else
does it have?
While having its usual dose of
time-travelling-awesomeness, this episode also features a tragic love story
between the Doctor and Madame de Pompadour whereby a mishap with the fireplace
time window causes seven years to pass in de Pompadour’s life and in that time
she dies. When the Doctor returns seven years later he is given a letter from
King Louis XV that confesses her love
The episode also features selfless
heroism indicative of the action-adventure genre when the Doctor rescues Rose
and Mickey from the clockwork droids.
 |
| The Doctor (David Tennant) and a clockwork android |
“THE
NEXT DOCTOR”
What’s
it about?
In this episode, the Doctor and his
companion Rosita end up in London on Christmas Eve in 1851. Without getting
into too much detail, a string of murders causes the Doctor to discover that
his rivals, the Cybermen, have returned. And of course, he has to find a way to
stop them.
Where’s
the steampunk?
The Cyberking is a steam-powered
engine controlled by the energy of working children
The TARDIS turns into a gas balloon
The episode takes place in Victorian
England
What else
does it have?
Once again, this is another
action-packed episode where the Doctor must save the world from the infamous
Cybermen
There is also a strong element of
mystery in this episode as it starts off with the Doctor discovering a man who
claims to be the Doctor (which is possible with time travel and the promise of
future regenerations)
 |
| Miss Mercy Hartigan and a Cyberman |
“A CHRISTMAS CAROL”
What’s
it about?
In this highly popular Christmas
special, newly-wedded companions Amy and Rory are
trapped on a crashing spaceship which has been caught in a strange cloud belt.
They call the Doctor, who lands on the planet below and meets Kazran
Sardick (an allusion to Ebenezer Scrooge), a man who can control the cloud
layer but refuses to help. Inspired by Charles Dickens's A
Christmas Carol, the episode has the Doctor attempting to use time travel
to alter Kazran's past and make him kinder so he will save the spaceship.
Where’s
the steampunk?
The episode takes place in Victorian
England
Kazran uses a machine made of wood
and brass to control the skies
With this machine, there is the
element of the infusion of new technology into the past that steampunk seems to
be fond of
What else
does it have?
There is a romance between Kazran and
Abigail (a woman whom his father has cryogenically frozen as “security” for
loans) in which the doctor uses time travel to assure that Kazran visits her
and releases her every Christmas to be with him
 |
| The Doctor (Matt Smith) with the young Kazran |
Also consider a few fantasy subgenres of Doctor Who, like “alternate
world” (which involves different worlds hidden or parallel to our own) and “historical
fantasy” (which involves blending fantastical elements into periods of
history). What can steampunk, as a subgenre on its own, do that these subgenres
are not already successful in portraying?
Under the science fiction genre, you even have a subgenre
category called “time travel” (which is exactly what it sounds like!).
So why do we need steampunk as a genre or subgenre? Based on
the above episode descriptions and the accompanied pictures, it seems to fit in
perfectly well as merely an aesthetic that works in partnership with other
genres and subgenres. Doctor Who is the perfect example of a work that is
blissfully creative and does not lean on a single genre or subgenre. If Doctor
Who was to become primarily a steampunk show and religiously follow all of its
criteria, or even if it was to become primarily a science-fiction show…it would
not offer its viewers the level of fascination and pure astonishment that each
mind-blowingly unique episode provides.
Though on-and-off, there is a reason why this show is still
being reimagined and reinvented 52 years after its first season in 1963…
It doesn’t let any genre or subgenre bully it into
submission.
Source of fantasy subgenre information: http://www.cuebon.com/ewriters/Fsubgenres.html
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