Series 1 (Doctor Who 2005)

For the 1963-1964 season of the original series, see Season 1.

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Series 1 of Doctor Who, also known as Season 27 to differentiate it from Season 1 of the original series, starred Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler. Later in the season it introduced Bruno Langley as the Ninth Doctor's short-lived second companion Adam Mitchell, John Barrowman as companion Jack Harkness and, finally, David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. It marked the return of Doctor Who to weekly television after a sixteen year hiatus. Unlike the Original Doctor Who Series, the revived Series' consist of one adventure episodes and three two-parters, whereas the original series episodes would often have many parts from 3 up to sometimes 8.

Overview

Series 1 aired between 26th March 2005 and 18th June 2005. There is debate as to whether The Christmas Invasion and the Children in Need Special should be considered part of Series 1, though they are more regularly packaged as part of Series 2. The episode guide on the BBC website regards these stories as belonging to neither series, but standing alone as specials.

Although it was a continuation of the earlier series, the BBC chose to restart its series numbering rather than possibly alienate new viewers by branding this the 27th season. This season saw the show return to 45-minute episodes for the first time since 1985. Many episodes serve to reintroduce concepts of Doctor Who to a new generation, with key episodes being Aliens of London, which reintroduced UNIT (albeit in a minor way), Dalek, which reintroduced the Daleks

Series 1 also provided the first major

Promotional postcard for the series

information about the Last Great Time War, and The Parting of the Ways, which featured the revived series' first regeneration. The season also introduced Jack Harkness and laid the initial seed for the later spin-off Torchwood. All 13 episodes are linked by the story arc, Bad Wolf.

Series 1 was later shown (after some initial hesitation) by the American network, Sci-Fi Channel - the first time a nationally broadcast commercial network had shown the series in the US.

Behind the scenes, the program saw the involvement of many writers and actors who had been involved in keeping the Doctor Who brand alive during the 1989-2005 hiatus through original novels, audio dramas and independent video productions. Executive producer and head writer Russell T Davies is counted among them for having written the Virgin New Adventures novel Damaged Goods. Other "interregnum" veterans involved in this inaugural season included Mark Gatiss, Robert Shearman, Steven Moffat and, in particular, actor/writer Nicholas Briggs who provided voices for the Daleks starting this season and whose involvement in Who fandom dates back 20 years.

This first season, and those immediately following, would credit the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for assistance in providing production support. The season aired on the CBC only a few days after the UK broadcast, with Christopher Eccleston appearing in specially shot bumpers. (This practice did not continue beyond this first season.)

Beginning with this season, Doctor Who not only reestablished itself as a popular drama series, it also entered a new era of critical acclaim, being nominated for a number of awards including the BAFTA and writer Steven Moffat began a three-year association with the Hugo Awards by winning one of his The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances two-parter.

Stories

• Rose - First appearance of the Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler, Jackie Tyler and Mickey Smith
• The End of the World
• The Unquiet Dead
• Aliens of London/World War Three - First appearance of the Slitheen
• Dalek - Reintroduction of the Daleks; first appearance of Adam Mitchell
• The Long Game - Final appearance of Adam Mitchell
• Father's Day
• The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances - First appearance of Jack Harkness
• Boom Town
• Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways - Final appearance of the Ninth Doctor and first appearance of the Tenth Doctor; final regular appearance of Jack Harkness

Cast

Primary Cast

• The Doctor - Christopher Eccleston
• Rose Tyler - Billie Piper
• Jack Harkness - John Barrowman

Secondary Cast

• Jackie Tyler - Camille Coduri
• Mickey Smith - Noel Clarke
• Adam Mitchell - Bruno Langley

Guest Cast

• Harriet Jones - Penelope Wilton
• Margaret Blaine - Annette Badland
• Pete Tyler - Shaun Dingwall
• Lady Cassandra - Zoë Wanamaker
• The Editor - Simon Pegg
• Charles Dickens - Simon Callow
• Doctor Constantine - Richard Wilson

Introducing

• Tenth Doctor - David Tennant

Novels

• The Clockwise Man
• The Monsters Inside
• Winner Takes All
• The Deviant Strain
• Only Human
• The Stealers of Dreams

External Links

• BBC website index for Series 1

Previous season: Season 26

Next season:Series 2