I am not sure if anyone avidly watches Doctor Who or has seen the episodes, but classic works of literature fit into these series. Doctor Who is simply called "Who" because no one knows his name. His identity needs to remain hidden. Every now and then, the writers will push the issue, but leave it alone for a while.
During the time when the Doctor's name could have been said, it got me thinking, what is his name? The light bulb switched on in my head. After "being cultured" and reading The Odyssey, I thought of the similarities between The Doctor and Odysseus.
Odysseus:
- Travelled on a ship for over twenty years
- Had a crew to help him along his journey
- Battled Poseidon's cyclops
- Crew members had died
- Yearns for adventure
- Will risk his life to get back home or defeat a monster (Scyalla)
Doctor:
- Travels in a time machine called The Tardis.
- Has had many companions throughout the years to help save the world.
- Battled with the daleks, creeping angels, cybermen, slitheens, etc.
- His crew members had either left or eventually died.
- Loves going through time and changing the world.
- Yearns for adventure
I believe that The Doctor's name is Odysseus (or Ulysses) because he has some of the same qualities as Homer's Odysseus. I think the writer's leave us with this cliff hanger to get us thinking and maybe using things that we learned to connect them with the show. Even if this is his name, I don't think that the writers will ever tell because they want us to constantly make connections to stories we have read or possibly the music we have listened to. It will be interesting to see how long and how many times the writers or producers will push this subject on their viewers.
