Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a BBC science fiction television programme originally created in 1963. It centres around a character named the Doctor, who travels around the universe in a time machine called the TARDIS ("Time and Relative Dimensions in Space"), which resembles a 1940s British Police phone box, but is considerably larger on the inside than it is on the outside.

The programme ran for twenty-six seasons between 1963 and 1989, at which point it was cancelled indefinitely. Various forms of the series continued after the cancellation, with popular series of novels published by Target and then BBC Books, along with audio serials and re-releases of past episodes on VHS and DVD. In 2005, a new series of Doctor Who hit television screens produced by BBC Wales.

The Doctor has the ability to regenerate his body when mortally weakened, a useful plot device that has allowed the role to be played on TV by ten different actors so far.

The Doctors

William Hartnell (1963-66)

The first actor to play the Doctor portrayed him as a cantankerous old man. Initially a somewhat dark character, he became more grandfatherly in later episodes. Hartnell's era introduced the most well-known of the Doctor's foes, the Daleks.

Patrick Troughton (1966-1969)

Troughton's Doctor was an impish figure, whose gimmicks included playing the recorder. In this period, much of which is lost, the program felt the influence of Star Trek somewhat.

Jon Pertwee (1970-1974)

The third Doctor was Earth-bound for much of his tenure, a move that was partly motivated by budgeting constraints in production. In the stories themselves, this was explained by the Doctor's race - the Time Lords - imposing an exile upon him due to alleged crimes prosecuted in The War Games. During this time, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce ("UNIT") was a key element of plots - the Doctor was officially UNIT's scientific advisor, but he frequently attempts to break free of the Time Lords' imposition of exile.

Tom Baker (1974-1981)

Arguably the most well-known Doctor, Baker, with his seven-foot long scarf and fondness for jelly babies played the role for longer than any other actor. Considered to be an "eccentric" character, he was capable both of representing human attributes and being aloof and of being detached from others around him.

Peter Davison (1981-1984)

The fifth Doctor became something of a vulnerable character, which was a conscious decision by the production team (led by John Nathan-Turner) to remove the aura of invincibility that they had felt was becoming part of the Doctor's characterisation with Tom Baker. Shown to be a keen cricket fan, the Doctor was arguably more human than any of his predecessors and often relied more on his companions to assist throughout his missions.

Colin Baker (1984-1986)

The sixth Doctor was premised around being the antithesis of his predecessor, with his garish and colour-mismatched costume reflecting the vast contrast with the mild-mannered fifth Doctor. In terms of characterisation, the Doctor became something of an unstable character, often violently responding to people and events around him.

Sylvester McCoy (1987-1989)

After the departure of Colin Baker, McCoy's depiction of the Doctor saw the series shift mood considerably. Early stories within the era depicted a somewhat comic and light-hearted Doctor, but over time the Doctor's character became steadily darker - a development that has been commonly described as making the Doctor a manipulating, scheming character who influenced events like a chess game.

Paul McGann (1996)

McGann played the role for a television movie, with the creation of a new series by US producers dependent on the success of the movie. This was never made. The Doctor himself was perhaps more human than any other, with the revelation that he was "half-human" on his mother's side and displaying far greater emotional response than in the past.

Christopher Eccleston (2005)

A far more successful attempt to rejuvenate the format came in 2005 from producer Russell T. Davies. Eccleston, already an actor of considerable repute (Shallow Grave, Let Him Have It), brought an edge to the role rarely seen before, whilst sophisticated scripts by such writers as Stephen Moffat and Mark Gattis helped the program to appeal to a wide age range. Although regarded as an instant success, Eccleston had no desire to become tied to the role and left after a single series.

David Tennant (2006-)

The current actor playing the Doctor was also well-known beforehand (Casanova, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). His portrayal is more humorous and vivacious than Eccleston's.

Political and social themes

Several stories in the series have been subtly or overtly political in their themes. For instance, The Green Death (1973) emphasised the dangers of Pollution and big business - while the following year's Invasion of the Dinosaurs featured a contrasting menace -pro-environment extremists. Other stories have taken their themes from current news stories of the time, such as the United Kingdom's entry into the Common Market. In a recent episode, the Daleks - Doctor Who's most dangerous enemy, a race of creatures who are physically shriveled and weak but contained within an armored tank-like body - take over Manhattan. They ruthlessly exploit workers engaged in construction and repair on the Empire State Building. This was reported in the British newspaper The Independent as a metaphor for the rampant abuse of capitalism. Writers on The Guardian have commented that this is evidence of the BBC pumping out "relentless socialist propaganda".

Transmission

Among other countries, Doctor Who can be seen on:

• BBC One in the UK
• CBC Television in Canada
• SciFi Channel in the US
• ABC in Australia

Other countries to receive Doctor Who include the Netherlands, France, Denmark and Russia.