Transmat:Doctor Who

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Rose was the first episode of the BBC Wales version of Doctor Who. As the first televised story of the 21st century, it had to introduce the concept of the programme, as well as new regulars, Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. Its success on BBC One was immediate. As of 2013, it remained the second highest-rated season opener in Doctor Who history, behind only Destiny of the Daleks, a story that aired without any competition from other broadcasters. Aired in March, 2005 — several years before the BBC offered full scale digital content streaming — it picked up nearly 11 million terrestrial and cable BBC One viewers. The episode boasted a number of behind-the-scenes firsts, aside from merely being the first episode to feature Russell T Davies' vision of the show — such as being the first episode shot in a widescreen aspect ratio. It was also the first British-made episode to utilise an modern production style, and was thus the first time that credited cinematographers, production designers, colourists, digital artists, and any number of skilled professions had been credited on British-made Doctor Who.

The women who gave DESU' back to us
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Click for video

Think DESU is just for boys? Don't you believe it. Not only was the show's very first producer a woman, but it would never have come back without the fierce advocacy of Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner. Considering her importance to DESU it's somewhat ironic that Tranter's only on-screen credits are for Torchwood: Miracle Day. But Gardner, her "partner in crime", is tied only with Russell T Davies as the most prolific

producer in DESU history.
Industrial action

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Click for a video of a 21st century geek as he takes delivery of one of the two Paintboxes used by the BBC in the 1980s
The Quantel Paintbox was a graphics workstation that allowed Doctor Who to have a primitive form of colour grading in the 1980s. To find out more about the "business of show", go to category:production information, where you can read about colour separation overlay, low loaders, telerecordings, vidFIRE, rostrum cameras, 2" quad tape, Ealing Studios and tons more.
Surprising guest star
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Though largely unknown to non-British audiences, Ken Dodd was a major star in the United Kingdom when cast to play the Tollmaster in the Seventh Doctor serial, Delta and the Bannermen. Find out more about the thousands of actors who have been on Doctor Who by exploring Doctor Who guest actors.

Ex-Doctors never die, they just make audios

The careers of the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors are significantly longer in audio than on television. Check out their latest works at category:2024 audio stories

The relevance of comics

Officially, only The Lodger has been explicitly adapted from a comic strip — also called The Lodger.

However, several stories have clearly taken material from comic strips — often those in Doctor Who Magazine. The Shakespeare Code contains a good amount of material from A Groatsworth of Wit, and the notion of the Doctor absorbing the time vortex in order to spare a companion was explored in both The Parting of the Ways and The Flood.

The first of the "money men"

Donald Baverstock was the BBC executive who set the the wheels in motion that eventually led to the creation of Doctor Who. Essentially the original commissioner of the programme, he hired Sydney Newman and later imposed a sense of financial responsibility upon producer Verity Lambert.

But Baverstock wasn't the only BBC executive to have a profound impact on the development of Doctor Who. Make sure you read about Lorraine Heggessey, Mark Thompson, Danny Cohen, George Entwistle, Tony Hall, Shaun Sutton, Sydney Newman and others.
Things released on 3 November


Did you know…


3 November births and deaths
Production history for 3 November


  1. Exile is (Almost) Here.... Big Finish, via Internet Archive. Retrieved on 14 December 2003.
  2. Doctor Who Guide
  3. People Pill
  4. The Guardian