JK Rowling - Doctor Who fan?
Stuart Burns
seems to me that there are a few similarities between the world of Harry
Potter and the good Doctor:
There's the giant spider
a character called Cho (not a Tibetan monk!)
tents that are bigger on the inside than outside
and if Voldemort in The Philosopher's Stone wasn't inspired by Omega in The
Three Doctors I'll eat my hat!
There was also a reference in one of the books to 22nd November - had it
been a day later, I would have been convinced!!!
oliver.thornton
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In article <72Sk7.178$An4.1206@news1-hme0>, "Stuart Burns"
<stuart...@nutshell.net> wrote:
Next you'll be claiming that Tolkien was influenced by Dr. Who for having a
society of giant spiders! Voldemort, on the other hand, seems completely
different to Omega in 3Docs but possibly in Arc of Infinity by trying to
possess another body. However, the ideas represented in Harry Potter are
much more general archetypal images, and can't be attributed to any
particular source. Enjoy the similarities, but don't try to read anything
causal into them.
Ta,
Snowdrop
Bob's Replacement
Ah but this is the humdinger... In the first book she mentions a broken TV
where Dudley put his foot through it when his favourite TV show was
cancelled.
Being only 17 I cant be sure, but wasnt there a famous incident where
someone did this after one of Doctor Who's cancellations/suspensions?
Shannon Patrick Sullivan
You're thinking of Ian Levine, after the announcement of the postponement
of Season Twenty-Three. That's still an awfully tenuous "Doctor Who
reference". Unless JK Rowling comes out and makes a statement to the
affirmative herself, I think you'll be hard pressed to find anything in
the "Harry Potter" novels to date that's unquestionably a Doctor Who
reference.
Shannon
--
| Shannon Patrick Sullivan | sha...@mun.ca |
+---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
/ Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) go.to/drwho-history \
\__ We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars __/
Griff
I don't know about JKR being a DW fan but I find it amazing that
no-one ever brings up the fact that in the classic "Molesworth" books,
our hero often reluctantly ended up playing football for St.Custards
against a school called "Hogwarts" (IIRC ?).
Hank Tiffany
Please God, don't let Dudley be a Who fan, that's all we need!
As if norms didn't consider us beyond the pale already...
8-{)#
Hank
Stuart Burns
Shannon Patrick Sullivan <sha...@mun.ca> wrote in message
news:9n1tq8$ptm$1...@coranto.ucs.mun.ca...
> It was a dark and stormy night on Tue, 4 Sep 2001 07:41:38 +0100 when
Bob's Replacement said:
>
> > Ah but this is the humdinger... In the first book she mentions a broken
TV
> > where Dudley put his foot through it when his favourite TV show was
> > cancelled.
>
> > Being only 17 I cant be sure, but wasnt there a famous incident where
> > someone did this after one of Doctor Who's cancellations/suspensions?
>
> You're thinking of Ian Levine, after the announcement of the postponement
> of Season Twenty-Three. That's still an awfully tenuous "Doctor Who
> reference". Unless JK Rowling comes out and makes a statement to the
> affirmative herself, I think you'll be hard pressed to find anything in
> the "Harry Potter" novels to date that's unquestionably a Doctor Who
> reference.
>
> Shannon
If it was unquestionable, there wouldn't be any point in asking the question
in the first place! It was supposed to be a light hearted comparison of
certain elements common th HP and DW, not a question for someone's thesis :)
Stephen Wilson
"Stuart Burns" <stuart...@nutshell.net> wrote in message
news:72Sk7.178$An4.1206@news1-hme0...
Rather tenuous to say the least.
But I've read a few books that mention the TARDIS (usually in reference to
something seemingly larger on the inside than the outside). One of them was
in a horror story by Stephen Gallagher who has also written 2 Dr Who
stories...
Richard Nelson
news:d698d3e7.01090...@posting.google.com...
Sounds like JKR is like dozens of other authors these days - ripping off
other things without mentioning it, and because no one would ever think to
associate a phenomenon like Harry Potter with DW, these things weren't
likely to be spotted. No doubt she's stolen ideas from loads of other shows
that have been on and books she's read, disguising them slightly so that
only fans would notice.
Remember, Harry Potter isn't that good - she was turned down six times,
maybe because the publishers noticed loads of rip-offs of kids books they
already published? Harry Potter is a success because children and adults
love the adventures that he has. Why are they so good? Because JKR has taken
all the best bits from everything else to make the "ultimate adventure".
That's just my conspiracy theory anyway :)
Jim Vowles
> Sounds like JKR is like dozens of other authors these days - ripping off
> other things without mentioning it, and because no one would ever think to
> associate a phenomenon like Harry Potter with DW, these things weren't
> likely to be spotted. No doubt she's stolen ideas from loads of other shows
> that have been on and books she's read, disguising them slightly so that
> only fans would notice.
Hell, Shakespeare was a noted plagiarist. It's quite possible that
she's an avid reader and didn't realize someone else had done it. My
own vote is that there are lots of little nods and homages in most
modern literature because we're obsessed with our own culture, and we
enjoy such things. Including those nods makes those "in the know" feel
like their part of a community.
> Remember, Harry Potter isn't that good - she was turned down six times,
> maybe because the publishers noticed loads of rip-offs of kids books they
> already published? Harry Potter is a success because children and adults
> love the adventures that he has. Why are they so good? Because JKR has taken
> all the best bits from everything else to make the "ultimate adventure".
> That's just my conspiracy theory anyway :)
Actually, HP was turned down several times because book publishers
wanted to talk down to the lowest common demoninator. It's easier sales
that way.