Portal:Doctor Who
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Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterrestrial being called the Doctor, part of a humanoid species called Time Lords. The Doctor travels in the universe and in time using a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS, which externally appears as a British police box. While travelling, the Doctor works to save lives and liberate oppressed peoples by combating foes. The Doctor often travels with companions.
Beginning with William Hartnell, fourteen actors have headlined the series as the Doctor; as of 2024[update], Ncuti Gatwa leads the series as the Fifteenth Doctor. The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of the series with the concept of regeneration into a new incarnation, a plot device in which, when a Time Lord is fatally injured, their cells regenerate and they are reincarnated, into a different body with mannerisms and behaviour, but the same memories, explaining each actor's distinct portrayal, as they all represent different stages in the life of the Doctor and, together, they form a single lifetime with a single narrative. The time-travelling nature of the plot means that different incarnations of the Doctor occasionally meet. In 2017, Jodie Whittaker, as the Thirteenth Doctor, became the first woman to be cast in the lead role.
The series is a significant part of popular culture in Britain and elsewhere; it has gained a cult following. It has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series. Fans of the series are sometimes referred to as Whovians. The series has been listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running science-fiction television series in the world, as well as the "most successful" science-fiction series of all time, based on its overall broadcast ratings, DVD and book sales. (Full article...)
Recognized quality articles
Selected story
Marco Polo is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in 7 weekly parts from February 22 to April 4, 1964. Although audio tracks and still photographs of the story exist, none of the footage of this serial has survived. This is the first "pure historical" Doctor Who story, in that there are no science fictional elements other than the fact that the Doctor and his companions have travelled to the past.
The TARDIS lands in Central Asia in 1289, where the First Doctor and his companions fall in with Marco Polo as his caravan makes its way along the fabled Silk Road from the Pamir Plateau, across the treacherous Gobi Desert and over the Himalayas to end up in Peking at the height of its imperial power.
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Did you know (auto-generated)
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- ... that Irish writer Dave Rudden has written a juvenile fantasy trilogy as well as several stories in the Doctor Who universe?
- ... that the fifteen bags of seaweed used as set dressing for the Doctor Who serial The Web Planet emanated an overpowering vegetable smell under the hot studio lights?
- ... that before writing The Space Museum, Glyn Jones had never seen Doctor Who?
- ... that working broadcast journalists were used as extras for the portions of the Doctor Who episode "73 Yards" that were filmed at the BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House?
- ... that The Romans was the first Doctor Who serial with a humorous tone?
- ... that according to writer Russell T Davies, he conceived elements of the Doctor Who episode "Empire of Death" decades before he wrote it?
Selected quote
“ | Emotions! Love, pride, hate, fear! Have you no emotions, sir? | ” |
— First Doctor, talking to a Cyberman, The Tenth Planet |
“ | I love a Happy Medium | ” |
— Ninth Doctor, The Unquiet Dead |
Events
Date | Event |
---|---|
29 August 2022 | Another SMTV Live crossover episode |
1 January 2022 | 2022 specials |
December 2021 | Big Finish audio play The Year of Martha Jones [1] |
February 2022 | Second volume of the Big Finish audio play The Lone Centurion [2] |
May 2022 | Series 2 of the audio play Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures |
More did you know?
- ... that Rose is the first new episode of Doctor Who to be shown since 1996?
- ... that a rough cut of "Deep Breath", the first episode of the eighth series of Doctor Who, was leaked online six weeks before the episode was due to air?
- ... that the designs for the Doctor Who serial The Sensorites were inspired by Antoni Gaudí's design of the Sagrada Família (pictured) in Barcelona, which has no right angles?
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- Add information about production and reception to all episode and serial pages to do with Doctor Who, Torchwood, and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
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