One of the most enduring character tropes in SFF fiction is that of the healer or doctor. From the many physician of the Star Trek fantasy, to the ubiquitous wise woman or herbalist in fantasy, there is someone who can cure your ills in a spec fic setting - or end your troubles for good. So what aside from the obvious (the fact that we all need a doctor at some point in our lives) makes the character so appealing? And just how have popular versions of the character affected the archetype as a whole? In triage this week - Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, The Seven Waters Trilogy, Outlander and many more.
Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 126: The Slow Death of Literature - What Readers Really Want
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 125: From a Certain Point of View - Multiple POVs, Dual Timelines and Reader Sympathies in Speculative Fiction.
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 124: Visitations and Forebodings - How Nightmares are used in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 123: From the Deep - Mystery, Suspense and Sea Monsters in Historical Fantasy
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 122: Baby Doom - The Stork Visits in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 121: If We Were Villains - What Shakespeare has to say to a Modern Audience
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 120: Bards, Troubadours and Skalds - The Musician Archetype in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 119: Love Conquers All - Power Couples who destroyed the Story
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 118: You Fancy Me Mad - Renfield, Lear & Ophelia: Madness in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 117: Dinosaurs and Mega Cryptids - Man-made Monsters in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 116: Cliches are Cliche for a Reason - Why Tropes aren't bad, but Some Tropes need to Die
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 115: Clothes Make the Man - Cross-dressing in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 114: Queer Eye for the Straight Story - Reading Speculative Fiction through a Queer Filter
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 113: Decoy Ducks & Red Herrings - Sayings, Urban Legends and Aphorisms
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 112: Spies, Traitors & Turncoats - Informants in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 111: Larger than Life - The Fictional World of Giants
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 110: Saying What You Really Mean - The Importance of Theme in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 109: Into the East - Fantasy Settings Tolkien Never Used
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 108: It Must be the Weather - How Nature Reflects Art in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 107: The Balance of Power - Sexism and Sexual Harassment in the Publishing Industry
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