ABSTRACT
Research into transmedia storytelling assumes the participation of an active audience, but disagrees on the nature and extent of that participation. Is a participatory audience necessary for transmedia texts? Can fan-created texts apply to transmedia franchises? In this chapter, I outline contemporary research on transmedia storytelling and participatory fandom, and then use content from the BBC’s Doctor Who as a case study to explore the interaction between transmedia texts and fandom. Through a discussion of the relationship between fan texts and professionally produced media texts, I develop a multi-dimensional framework for understanding transmedia fandom as a new media discourse.
