Doctor Who and Cosmic Horror: How “The Waters of Mars” explores fears around space colonisation

About the Project

This interdisciplinary essay discusses how the science fiction television show Doctor Who explores human fears surrounding space colonisation through its 2009 episode ‘The Waters of Mars’. The episode utilises the genre of cosmic horror to examine anxieties surrounding native hostility, environmental hostility and human insignificance in our pursuit of space colonisation. The essay compares the episode’s use of cosmic horror to other works in the genre, such as the literature of H.P. Lovecraft. Both literary and visual media criticism are employed to support the analysis.