Abstract
Gregg examines how television as a communications medium addresses real social and political influences and attracts and retains viewers in new and novel ways. With the television program Doctor Who, which ran for 26 seasons, he comments that the show expertly balances audience expectations and cultural standards in a way conducive to popular ideological appeal and that its annexation of contemporary standards allows for multiple readings that are both contradictory and welcome to a society fearing its own future.