Doctor Who

New Doctor Who television series logo

This is an overview article on the TV series and franchise. For other uses of the title "Doctor Who", see Doctor Who (disambiguation).

Doctor Who is a science-fiction television programme that originally ran on the BBC from 1963 to 1989. A television movie was co-produced with Universal Pictures in 1996, and a new season was broadcast starting in March, 2005 in the United Kingdom, and in March, 2006 in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel.

Doctor Who is about the adventures of a mysterious time-traveller known as the Doctor. The Doctor travels through space and time in a craft known as the TARDIS, an acronym for "Time and Relative Dimension in Space". The Doctor is usually accompanied by one or more companions, who are often attractive females. The tone of the programme varies from serious to comic, from gothic horror to pantomime camp. The original Doctor Who series is fondly remembered among the general public both for frightening monsters (such as the Daleks and Sea Devils) and pioneering use of both electronic music and low-budget special effects.

Origins

A number of individuals share credit for establishing Doctor Who in 1963, but it is generally accepted that the original impetus for the series, as well as the establishment of certain aspects such as the concept of the TARDIS, the basic character of The Doctor and the title Doctor Who itself belong to Canadian-born Sydney Newman, who is also credited with creating another iconic series, The Avengers. Others involved in piecing together the puzzle that became the series include Donald Wilson, writer C.E. Webber, and the show's first producer, Verity Lambert, the first woman to hold such a position at the BBC. (Decades later, a line of dialogue paid tribute to Newman and Lambert's role in creating Doctor Who, when the Tenth Doctor, in disguise as human John Smith, named his parents as Sydney and Verity in the 2007 episode, Human Nature.)

Two other notable participants in the birth of the series were Anthony Coburn and Waris Hussein, the writer and director, respectively, of the first four-part serial, An Unearthly Child, the first episode of which aired on 23 November, 1963. (The version of the first episode that was broadcast was in fact the second mounting of that episode; an early version (called The Pilot Episode by fans), was taped some weeks earlier, but rejected due to a number of issues. The BBC, however,allowed a second mounting of the pilot to proceed. The first episode aired the day after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and had to be rebroadcast a week later due to power failures disrupting the first broadcast.

After the first episode introduced the characters and concept, the remaining three chapters of An Unearthly Child encompassed a modest storyline involving a group of cavemen in prehistoric times. The series really began to find its voice as a science fiction series with the second serial, The Daleks by Terry Nation, which introduced the Daleks, the single most iconic recurring enemy of the franchise. The series began to really take off in popularity with this serial, which helped launch "Dalekmania" in the UK, leading to toys, the first novelisation book, and a movie adaptation, and, of course, televised sequels.

The next major turning point in the series occurred in 1966 when the original actor to play the Doctor, William Hartnell, decided to leave the series, which was still riding the heights of popularity. Rather than introduce a new leading character or replacing Hartnell without explanation (as was what happened a few years later when the American sitcom Bewitched suddenly changed its lead actor, puzzling its audience), the producers (with input from Sydney Newman) chose instead to establish the Doctor's ability to regenerate when injured or near death (although it would take years to finalize elements of this process). This led to the dramatic - and successful, for the series - transition to Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, followed in 1970 by the introduction of onetime comic actor Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor, a move that also coincided with the series changing to colour production.

The series continued throughout the 1970s, with Tom Baker taking on the role of the Fourth Doctor in 1974. Baker became the most iconic, and arguably most popular, actor to play the role, due in part to the widespread rebroadcasts of his episodes in the United States, which began during his tenure.

Peter Davison followed in 1981 as the Fifth Doctor, and Colin Baker (no relation to Tom) followed as the Sixth Doctor in 1984. Colin Baker's tenure was marked by the first serious threat to the show's survival when the BBC, citing low ratings, announced it was ending the series after the 1985 season; this was soon modified to become an 18-month hiatus, which still led to a prolonged fan outcry. The series returned in 1986, but with greatly reduced screen time. Baker subsequently (and against his will) ceded the role to Sylvester McCoy in 1987. The series had survived the hiatus, but continued ratings declines led to the series finally ending (though it was never officially "cancelled") after the 26th season in December 1989.

The end of active production led to the launch of a veritable cottage industry of spin-off productions, ranging from the first long-term range of original fiction (the Virgin New Adventures series), to a plethora of independent video productions featuring characters and creatures from the series (but never the Doctor himself) - many of which featured actors, writers and directors who would later become involved in the main Doctor Who series, including Nicholas Briggs and Mark Gatiss. In 1996, an attempt at launching an American-UK co-produced Doctor Who series was made with the production of the telemovie Doctor Who, in which McCoy handed off to Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor. While relative successful (if controversial for taking liberties with the concept) in the UK, it failed to garner sufficient ratings in the US to warrant a new series.

The "second interregnum" that followed saw more novels (now published by the BBC itself under its BBC Books branch), more independent productions, and, in 1999, the start of a prolific series of officially licenced audio productions by Big Finish which, unlike the independent productions, were free to use Doctors and companions from the series; with the notable exception of Tom Baker and earlier Doctors now deceased, the audios featured many of the original actors, and in particular led to a long-running series of programs continuing the adventures of McGann's Eighth Doctor. Many of the writers, directors, and voice actors involved in this project also went on to work on the TV series proper (including a young actor named David Tennant. The BBC also made Doctor Who-related new media projects during this time, creating several original webcast productions in conjunction with Big Finish, and making several Doctor Who novels available as e-books on its website.

In 2005, Doctor Who returned to television with a new series by BBC Wales and produced by Russell T. Davies. Christopher Eccleston took over from McGann as the Ninth Doctor (after some initial uncertainty, it was soon established that the new series was a continuation of the old). The new episodes returned Doctor Who to levels of popularity not seen since the 1970s, and also began to garner awards and nominations the likes the original series never saw. The show stumbled slightly with the announcement that Eccleston was leaving after a single season, but his replacement, David Tennant's Tenth Doctor, has proven to be the series' most popular Doctor since Tom Baker. Subsequently, Doctor Who has become a veritable TV franchise, spawning two successful spin-off series in short succession: Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures (both centered around the adventures of former companions. The conclusion of the fourth new season in 2008 -- which linked all three series together -- saw Doctor Who garner its highest ratings in nearly 30 years.

The series is going on a semi-hiatus for 2009 - in lieu of a regular season, five specials will air instead - after which it is scheduled to return for a full season in 2010.

Accolades

In 2000, in a poll of industry professionals, the British Film Institute voted Doctor Who #3 in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes.

What makes Doctor Who unique

Fans often speak of the "undefinable magic" present in Doctor Who. This can be explained as a combination of several factors:

• The Doctor can change from serious to satirical, young to old, and change back again. He can go from self-doubting anti-hero to exuberant lover of life, all within the same continuity and he can change back again, remaking himself every couple of years.

• The series can range in tone, style and genre, as well as encompassing almost any place and time. The travellers may meet storybook characters in a land of fantasy and the next week land in a credible day-after-tomorrow London.

• No other telefantasy series has, as often quoted, stayed on air for so long. Its longevity enabled it to enthrall (and frighten) new generations of children and teenagers for three decades. Everyone can have "their" own favorite Doctor or period of the series, including those who prefer the novels to the television series.

• The evolution of viewer from fan to maker of the series. As early as 1980, "Full Circle", a script authored by a young fan, Andrew Smith, appeared on the screen. In the same story, another young fan, Matthew Waterhouse, made his debut in the series as series regular. Though not crossing over in large numbers, members of fandom made the odd venture into the production side of the series up until the end of the original series. In 2005, the elders of Doctor Who fandom have grown up into the creators of the new series.
• When there is a different actor playing the Doctor, The Master or Romana, the characters actually notice that they've changed unlike in films like James Bond where only the ones watching notice that Bond has changed.

Other media

Although Doctor Who originated as a television programme, it has become much more than that. Starting with "Dalekmania" in the 1960s, a great deal of merchandise has sprung out of Doctor Who. Some of that merchandise has continued the story of the Doctor's adventures. Over the decades, Doctor Who has appeared on stage, screen, and radio, in novels, comics, full-cast audio adventures and webcasts. Many of these productions are highly regarded by Doctor Who fans, and all of the writers of the 2005 series previously wrote or scripted adventures for the Doctor in other media.

Pastiches, Parodies, and Adaptations

Adaptations

• The two Doctor Who films produced in the 1960s starred Peter Cushing as Dr. Who, a Human version of the First Doctor.

• The 1970s stage play, "Doctor Who and the Seven Keys to Doomsday" featured Trevor Martin as the Doctor, with Wendy Padbury as his companion.

Parodies

• See Doctor Who parodies.

Pastiches

• See Doctor Who pastiches.

"Doctor who?"

When the series begins, nothing is known of the Doctor at all, not even his name. In the very first serial, An Unearthly Child, two teachers from the Coal Hill School in London, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton, become intrigued by one of their students, Susan Foreman, who exhibits high intelligence and unusually advanced knowledge. Trailing her to a junkyard at 76 Totter's Lane, they encounter a strange old man and hear Susan's voice coming from inside what appears to be a police box. Pushing their way inside, the two find that the exterior is actually camouflage for the dimensionally transcendental interior of the TARDIS.

Susan calls the old man "Grandfather", but he simply calls himself the Doctor. When he fears Ian and Barbara may alert the local authorities to what they've seen, he subsequently whisks them all away to another location in time and space.

In the first episode, Ian addresses the Doctor as "Doctor Foreman," as the junkyard in which they find him bears the sign "I.M. Foreman". When addressed by Ian with this name in the next episode, the Time Lord responds, "Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about?" Later, when Ian realizes that "Foreman" is not his name, he asks Barbara, "Who is he? Doctor who?" Although listed in the on-screen credits for nearly twenty years as "Doctor Who", the Doctor is never really called by that name in the series, except in that same tongue-in-cheek manner. For example, in The Five Doctors when one character refers to him as "the Doctor", another character asks, "Who?" The only real exception has been the computer WOTAN, in the serial, The War Machines, which commanded that "Doctor Who is required."

In The Gunfighters, the First Doctor uses the alias Dr. Caligari. In The Highlanders the Second Doctor assumes the name of "Doctor von Wer" (a German approximation of "Doctor Who"), and signs himself as "Dr. W" in The Underwater Menace. In The Wheel in Space, his companion Jamie, reading the name off some medical equipment, tells the crew of the Wheel that the Doctor's name is "John Smith". The Doctor subsequently adopts this alias several times over the course of the series, often prefixing the title "Doctor" to it. This has continued through to the Tenth Doctor, and was famously referenced to in the 1996 television movie, where even though the Doctor is unconscious a complete stranger knows enough to write John Smith on his hospital admission papers.

In The Armageddon Factor, the Time Lord Drax addresses the Fourth Doctor as "Theet", short for "Theta Sigma", apparently a University nickname. In the 1988 serial Remembrance of the Daleks, the Seventh Doctor is asked to sign a document, which he does by using a question mark, and produces a calling card with a series of Greek letters (or Old High Gallifreyan script) and a question mark inscribed on it. The Eighth Doctor briefly used the alias "Dr. Bowman" in the 1996 television movie. He has also been mocked by his fellow Time Lords for adhering to such a "lowly" title as "Doctor".

In many spin-off comic strips, books, films and other media, the character is often called "Doctor Who" (or just "Dr. Who") as a matter of course, though this has declined in more recent years. From the first story through to Logopolis (the last story of Season 18 and also of the Tom Baker era), the lead character was listed as "Doctor Who". Starting from Peter Davison's first story, Castrovalva (also the first story of Season 19), the lead character is credited simply as "The Doctor".

Doctor Who writer Terrance Dicks often expressed the theory that Time Lord names were "jawbreakers," long and extremely difficult to pronounce, and this was why the Doctor never revealed his true name. Some fans have speculated, taking off from the fact that the full name of the Time Lady Romana is Romanadvoratrelundar, that the first syllable of the Doctor's true name is "Who". It should be noted that, although it is often asserted that "Doctor Who" is not the character's name, there is nothing in the series itself that actually confirms this. On at least one occasion the Doctor is about to give a name after the title "Doctor..." but is interrupted. Interestingly, the BBC novel, "The Infinity Doctors" mentions an ancient Gallifreyan god named "OHM". When this name is turned upside down, the result is "WHO." (This idea originated in early drafts of "The Three Doctors" by Bob Baker and Dave Martin. The character of "Ohm" eventually became Omega.)

Continuity

A common contention among fans and producers of the series is that a large part of the Doctor's appeal comes from his mysterious and alien origins. While over the decades several revelations have been made about his background - that he is a Time Lord, that he is from Gallifrey, among others - the writers have often strived to retain some sense of mystery and to preserve the eternal question, "Doctor who?" This backstory was not rigidly planned from the beginning, but developed gradually (and somewhat haphazardly) over the years, the result of the work of many writers and producers.

Understandably, this has led to continuity problems. Characters such as the Meddling Monk were retroactively classified as Time Lords, early histories of races such as the Daleks were rewritten, and so on. The creation of a detailed backstory has also led to the criticism that too much being known about the Doctor limits both creative possibilities and the sense of mystery. Some of the stories during the Seventh Doctor's tenure, part of the so-called "Cartmel Masterplan", were intended to deal with this issue by suggesting that much of what was believed about the Doctor was wrong and that he is a far more powerful and mysterious figure than previously thought. In both an untelevised scene in Remembrance of the Daleks and the subsequent Silver Nemesis it is implied (to quote an excised line from "Rememberance") that the Doctor "is more than just a Time Lord." The suspension of the series in 1989, however, meant that none of these hints were ever resolved, at least on television. The Virgin New Adventure novel, "Lungbarrow," did resolve these hints and explain the Doctor's origins. However, not all fans regard the spin-off novels as canon, and so do not accept the revelations made in that particular story.

The 1996 television movie created even more uncertainty about the character, revealing that the Doctor had a human mother and he remembered his father. Fans, however, seemed to be more upset about the fact that the Eighth Doctor was shown kissing Dr. Grace Holloway, breaking the series' longstanding taboo against the Doctor having any romantic involvement with his companions.

The relevation in the 1996 television movie that the Doctor was half-human proved controversial among fans, and some have suggested that only the Eighth Doctor was half-human due to the particularly traumatic circumstances of his regeneration, rather than the Doctor having been half-human all along. (The evidence for or against this in the series is, typically, equivocal.) The Time Lord ability to change species during regeneration is referenced by the Eighth Doctor in relation to the Master in the television movie, and is supported by Romana's regeneration scene in the 1979 serial Destiny of the Daleks.

While some fans regard discontinuities as a problem, others regard it as a source of interest or humour (an attitude taken in the book The Discontinuity Guide). A common fan explanation is that a universe with time travellers is likely to have many historical inconsistencies. There has also been much fan speculation centred on exactly which aspects of the television series, books, radio dramatisations, and other sources are considered canon.

Doctor who sites

• www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho
• planetgallifrey.blogspot.com

Logos

See main article

See also

• List of television stories

External links

• Doctor Who at Wikipedia
• The BBC's official Doctor Who site
• Gallifrey One, the most popular Doctor Who fan site
  
• The Doctor Who Reference Guide
• Doctor Who -- Episode List