Series 1 (Doctor Who 2005)

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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.

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 (see below).

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 and also provided the first major 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. The last episode to be produced for series 1 was The Christmas Invasion which would air as 2005's Christmas Special and is generally considered -- and treated by the BBC and BBC Video - as part of Series 2.

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 voiceovers 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

Notes

The BBC official site lists the Children in Need Special and The Christmas Invasion as Series 1, rather than Series 2 stories. However, they are on the series 2 DVD box set, not the series 1 DVD set and outside of the UK The Christmas Invasion airs as the premiere to series 2. They are also generally considered by fans to be part of series 2.