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'''''Doctor Who''''' is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[science fiction|science-fiction]] [[television]] series which started in 1963 and was [[Doctor Who/2000s-|relaunched in 2005]] following its [[Doctor Who/1960s-1990s|original 26-year run]] on the [[BBC]], plus a 1996 [[television movie]]. On television and in other media, it features the adventures of a [[time travel|time-traveller]] known as the '[[Doctor Who#The Doctor|Doctor]]', who journeys through [[time]] and [[space]], righting wrongs and fighting injustice, usually accompanied by friends known to [[fan (person)|fans]] as 'companions'.
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The programme has lasted since 1963 partly because the Doctor, who has an [[alien]] physiology, is able to 'regenerate' when badly injured, allowing the lead actor to be recast. As of 2020, thirteen successive actors have played the lead role in the television series, as listed in the panel on the right, with others appearing as additional Doctors and stand-ins in some programmesin and in unofficial or alternative productions. His/her [[time machine]], the [[TARDIS]], is famously disguised as an old British [[police box]]<ref>In an example of how British culture has taken the programme to heart, on the occasion when [[London]]'s [[Metropolitan Police]] challenged the BBC's ownership of the police box design, they lost as the court ruled that people associate such boxes with time machines rather than the police. See ''BBC News'': ''[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2352743.stm BBC Wins Police Tardis Case]'', 23rd October 2002.</ref> and is bigger on the inside than out; some well-known adversaries include the [[Daleks]] - mutants inside pepperpot-shaped casings - and the [[Cyberman|Cybermen]].
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''Doctor Who'' is executive-[[producer|produced]] by [[Chris Chibnall]], who took over from [[Steven Moffat]] (2010-2017) for the 2018 series, with [[Jodie Whittaker]] in the lead role. Whittaker is the first woman to play the Doctor in the official broadcast series. Her predecessor, [[Peter Capaldi]], took over at the end of 2013, and made a short [[cameo]] in the 50th anniversary special, ''Day of the Doctor'', broadcast on 23rd November that year. Capaldi announced in January 2017 that he would step down from the role with the following special Christmas episode.
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Currently, ''Doctor Who'' appears to have won a new generation of followers of varying ages: the UK children's magazine show ''[[Blue Peter]]'', for example, reported that their 'Design a ''Doctor Who'' Monster' competition received the largest number of entries for any such event since 1993.<ref>[[BBC]]: ''[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2005/08/18/23167.shtml Monster Success]''. 18th August 2005. The winning entry appeared in 2006's ''Love & Monsters'' as the fearsome 'Abzorbaloff'. Its creator, 13-year-old William Grantham, reportedly gave the seal of approval to the BBC's interpretation, though remarked that "it was supposed to be the size of a double-decker bus".</ref>
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==History==
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===1960s===
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In the early 1960s, ''Doctor Who'' was the eventual product of a desire within the BBC to bring science fiction to the small screen. Something was also needed to plug a gap in the Saturday early evening schedules of [[sport]] and [[music]] programmes; ''Doctor Who'' was created by [[Sydney Newman]], [[Donald Wilson]] and [[C.E. Webber]], and produced by the BBC's [[drama]] department as a family viewing, intended to be [[education]]al and exciting. With [[Verity Lambert]] at the helm, [[William Hartnell]] was cast as the grandfatherly, enigmatic 'Doctor' and the series was first shown on 23rd November 1963.
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''Doctor Who'' initially endured a rough ride, though audiences seemed positive on the whole. The series was only intended to run for a few episodes, but all that changed with the second serial - ''The Daleks''. [[Terry Nation]]'s script ushered in the mid-sixties 'Dalekmania' craze, with millions of children and not a few older viewers taking the evil Daleks to heart. The Daleks secured the show's future, and over time, appeared more regularly both in the series and in two cinematic productions starring [[Peter Cushing]]. More aliens appeared in the programme as successive production teams took the TARDIS further out into time and space.
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By 1966, changes were afoot as audience ratings began to decline. If the show was to survive, a new lead actor was required; ultimately the concept of a mysterious 'renewal' process, explained as part of the TARDIS, was shown to change the Doctor's physical appearance and, to some extent, his personality. [[Patrick Troughton]] first appeared as the Doctor in 1966; over the next few weeks, it became clear that audiences were warming to his portrayal of the Doctor as a dishevelled figure with a determination to overcome the terrors of the [[universe]], and the series entered its so-called 'Monster Era', with more alien creatures appearing.
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1969 saw Troughton's departure; his final episode saw the Doctor captured and put on trial by his own people, the 'Time Lords', accused of meddling in the affairs of other races. His sentence was exile to Earth and a second change of appearance, heralding another radical change for the series.
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===1970s===
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The early 1970s saw the first episodes of ''Doctor Who'' broadcast in colour - a move which certainly suited the flamboyant third Doctor, played by [[Jon Pertwee]] as something of a dandy. This incarnation would emphasise the Doctor's love of [[technology|technological]] wizardry and high-powered vehicles. Under outgoing producer [[Derrick Sherwin]], the series moved to an [[Earth]]-based background where the Doctor would be aided by a [[military]] organisation known as the '[[United Nations]] Intelligence Taskforce' (UNIT). However, new producer [[Barry Letts]] and script editor [[Terrance Dicks]] found the UNIT format too restrictive, and so gradually steered the Doctor's adventures to ever-lengthier forays back out into time and space. The 1970s were also the years when critics of the programme increasingly labelled the programme as too [[violence|violent]] and unsuitable for children.
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In 1974, Pertwee moved on, and was succeeded by [[Tom Baker]], then the youngest actor to take on the part. At 40, Baker would go on to become the best-remembered Doctor to date, playing the role for a record seven years and depicting the Doctor as a more 'bohemian' figure, usually clad in a long coat, wide-brimmed hat and trademark scarf. By this time, ''Doctor Who'' was a mainstay of Saturday-evening entertainment, regularly pulling in over ten million viewers a week, and towards the end of the decade had become notably more [[humour]]-driven and aimed at younger viewers. Change, as ever, was just around the corner.
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{{Image|Doctorwho-castandcrew-1983.jpg|left|350px|Cast and crew of ''Doctor Who'' reunited at a 1983 fan convention celebrating 20 years of the programme. Clockwise from top left: [[Tom Baker]] (fourth Doctor), [[John Nathan-Turner]] (1980s producer), [[Patrick Troughton]] (second Doctor), [[Peter Davison]] (fifth Doctor), and [[Jon Pertwee]] (third Doctor); with 'companion' actors [[Sarah Sutton]], [[Mark Strickson]], [[Carole Ann Ford]], [[Elisabeth Sladen]] and [[Janet Fielding]].}}
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===1980s===
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[[John Nathan-Turner]] became the producer of ''Doctor Who'' in 1980, at the time of Baker's final season. 'JN-T' would go on to produce the programme right through the 1980s, and in 1981 cast the well-known actor [[Peter Davison]] as Baker's much younger successor. Nathan-Turner was determined to court the series' fans by bringing back old adversaries, and also introduced more unconventional companions that were a sharp contrast with the mostly female, human occupants that until then had made up the majority of TARDIS travellers.
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Davison would ultimately decide that three years was enough, and Nathan-Turner again had to find a replacement, casting [[Colin Baker]] in 1984. Baker played a loud and unashamedly arrogant sixth Doctor, and would ultimately complete only two seasons. The BBC considered ''Doctor Who'' vulnerable against competition on other channels, and possibly too [[violence|violent]]. Creative differences among the production team reached a low point at this stage. A decision was taken in 1985 to 'suspend' ''Doctor Who'', with effect from early 1986, but a fan campaign backed up by the [[media]] ensured its return in late 1987, with [[Sylvester McCoy]] in the role. McCoy's early clownish seventh Doctor became much darker and manipulative under the direction of script editor [[Andrew Cartmel]]; this era of the show also encouraged young and inexperienced writers, leading to some of the most innovative but controversial stories of the original series. By 1989, however, ratings had declined once more, and this time no media campaign backed the series when it was quietly killed off after 26 years.
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{{Image|Earls-court-london-police-box.jpg|left|150px|[[Police box]] mounted with a modern surveillance camera located outside [[Earl's Court]] tube station in [[London]]. The [[TARDIS]] exterior has been based on this design since the first episode of ''Doctor Who'' in 1963.}}
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===1990s===
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''Doctor Who'' survived throughout the 1990s as a series of original novels produced by [[Virgin Publishing]], and later the BBC. In 1996, the Doctor returned to the small screen in a U.S.-backed TV movie which saw McCoy hand over to [[Paul McGann]]. The production fared well among UK audiences, but was poorly scheduled in [[North America]] and ultimately it failed to go to a series. McGann's Doctor was a gentler figure than his predecessor, and his adventures continued in print, in audio recordings, on [[radio]] and in [[comic]]s into the twenty-first century, before he returned in a short 50th-anniversary production, ''The Night of the Doctor'', in 2013.
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===2000s===
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Following the programme's 1989 cancellation and failure of the 1996 TV movie to secure a new series, the return of the show in 2005 was largely due to the persistence of the then-Controller of BBC One at the time, [[Lorraine Heggessey]],<ref>[http://media.guardian.co.uk/columnists/story/0,,368725,00.html Born in 1956], Heggessey was amongst the first generation of BBC executives and ''Doctor Who'' contributors who had actually grown up with the original programme.</ref> backed by the Controller of Drama Commissioning at the time, [[Jane Tranter]],<ref>''BAFTA'': '[http://www.bafta.org/learning/webcasts/in-conversation-with-jane-tranter,598,BA.html In conversation with Jane Tranter]'. 30th September 2008.</ref> and [[Mal Young]], the Controller of Continuing Drama Series. The lack of support for further films had finally convinced the BBC that an [[in-house]] series was the best way to secure the future of the programme.<ref>''[[Daily Telegraph]]'': '[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/09/26/nwho26.xml Doctor Who ready to come out of the Tardis for Saturday TV series]' 26th September 2003.</ref> The 'new series' retained the TARDIS and other key features of the original 'classic series'. Going into production in 2004, it was executive-produced by writer [[Russell T. Davies]] and [[BBC Wales]] Head of Drama/BBC Television Controller of Drama Commissioning [[Julie Gardner]]. Davies cast the highly-experienced actor [[Christopher Eccleston]] as the Doctor, who declined to appear in a second run of adventures, leading Davies to cast [[David Tennant]] as the tenth Doctor, a role he relinquished in 2009 (his last appearance was broadcast on New Year's Day, 2010, but was of course recorded earlier).
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===2010s===
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After four series and several specials, Davies left the programme in the hands of Steven Moffat, a frequent writer for the series, who was made executive producer from series five onwards. Moffat cast first Matt Smith to play the Doctor,<ref>''BBC News'': '[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7808697.stm New Doctor actor is youngest ever ]'. 4th January 2009.</ref> then Peter Capaldi. Chris Chibnall replaced succeeded Moffat in 2018 and decided to cast the first woman in the role, Jodie Whittaker.
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==Characters==
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===The Doctor===
{{Image|David-tennant-2009-doctor10.jpg|right|200px|From 2005 to 2010, the Doctor was played by [[David Tennant]], who brought a buccaneering and stylish emphasis to the role.}}
The Doctor is the main character in the series: various aspects of his/her character and past have been revealed, but much remains mysterious. Even their name remains an enigma; he has variously introduced himself as Doctor Caligari (''The Gunfighters'', 1966), Doctor von Wer (''The Highlanders'', 1966) and Doctor John Smith (various stories, 1970 on), and signed a letter Doctor W (''The Underwater Menace'', 1967). A fellow Time Lord addresses him as Thete (''The Armageddon Factor'', 1978), which is later explained as derived from a nickname (''The Happiness Patrol'', 1988). In the dialogue he has only once been referred to as Doctor Who (''The War Machines'', 1966). Despite this, the character is usually referred to as 'Doctor Who' in the media, and indeed the programme's end credits included 'Who' for the first four Doctors and the Ninth, with just "The Doctor" for the others. Also on screen appeared the episode title "The death of Doctor Who" (1966) and the serial title ''Doctor Who and the Silurians'' (1970). A few explanations for the title have been presented over the years, such as the Doctor obtaining various [[doctorate]]s (e.g. ''The Armageddon Factor'', 1978). It is unclear whether they are a [[medicine|medical]] [[doctor (physician)|doctor]] or not, and early on he referred to himself as a [[science|scientist]] and [[engineering|engineer]], "a builder of things" (''The Aztecs'', 1964).
 
In ''The Timeless Children'' (2020), much back-story was apparently revealed. It now starts with the discovery of a little girl of unknown alien origin with the power of regeneration, known as the Timeless Child. This power is transplanted into inhabitants of Gallifrey. The Child had many incarnations before his first appearance in the series as the Doctor but his memory was wiped and his regeneration as a boy therefore thought himself the first. This suggests that the family he grew up in, and mentions various "facts" about, is not his real one. His statement that he was half-human on his mother's side seems to be corroborated by the Master's finding that his DNA is half human, however.
 
It has been confirmed on a number of occasions that the Doctor had children and grandchildren, including his grand-daughter, Susan (''An Unearthly Child'', 1963), who was travelling with him in the TARDIS in the start of the series. Although a previous marriage might be considered implicit in the existence of a grand-daughter, it is not explicitly mentioned until ''Blink'' (2007). Since that episode, the Doctor says, he has been married to Queen Elizabeth I of England (''The End of Time'', 2009; confirmed in ''The Day of the Doctor'', 2013), and taken part in a legally invalid marriage ceremony with Marilyn Monroe (''A Christmas Carol'', 2010), and he is the bridegroom in the episode ''The Wedding of River Song'' (2011). In ''Death in Heaven'' (2014), his companion Clara, trying to convince a Cyberman that she is the Doctor, says she (he) has been married four times and had children and grandchildren.
 
{{Image|Matt-smith-2010-doctor11.jpg|left|150px|[[Matt Smith]] portrayed the Doctor as a professorial eccentric from 2010 to 2013.}}
Over the course of the series' first few years, it becomes clear that the Doctor is not a human being, though in the 1990s and later, it was shown that he may have some human roots (''Doctor Who'', 1996), and that he is also able to become human (''Human Nature'', 2007). From 1969's ''The War Games'', the Doctor's own people, the Time Lords, appeared regularly in the show, but in the 2005- series it was suggested that they had been destroyed in a 'Time War' with the Daleks, the Doctor's greatest adversaries. However, the series elaborates that the War exists 'time-locked' in another realm from which it is possible to escape.
 
The Doctor's physiology is rather different from humans: most spectacularly, as first shown at the conclusion of 1966's ''[[Doctor Who/Video#'First Doctor regenerates'|The Tenth Planet]]'', is his ability to 'regenerate' - what he calls a "renewal" (''The Power of the Daleks'', 1966) or a trick for "cheating death" (''The Parting of the Ways'', 2005). In the latter story, for example, the viewer witness a tremendous burst of energy released from his body, and his features melt into those of a new individual - the Doctor's tenth incarnation, portrayed by David Tennant. It is quickly established that this new person is the same character, physically different and with some new personality quirks, but still the same adventurer (''The Christmas Invasion'', 2006). The process occurs again in the final episode of the tenth Doctor's era, this time shown capable of actually damaging the TARDIS as the Doctor regenerates into the form of Matt Smith (''The End of Time'', 2010). The programme established in 1977's ''The Deadly Assassin'' that only twelve regenerations are possible, giving thirteen incarnations, but both ''The Five Doctors'' (1983) and ''The Time of the Doctor'' (2013) show that the Time Lords can bestow a fresh cycle of regenerations. The Capaldi incarnation was the first in a new cycle for the Doctor, since [[John Hurt]]'s was revealed to have been the ninth incarnation in ''Day of the Doctor'' (2013) and David Tennant's used a regeneration while managing to keep the same persona in ''Journey's End'' (2008).
 
Dialogue in ''The Doctor's Wife'' (2011) implied that Time Lords can change sex when they regenerate, and this was confirmed by the appearance of a female incarnation of the Master in ''Dark Water'' (2014). At present, the Doctor is female.
 
===Companions===
The Doctor rarely travels the universe alone, and many of their friends or 'companions' have shared their adventures over the years. The very first, Susan, was actually his grand-daughter, with her two human teachers completing the first TARDIS crew. Through curiosity, being rescued or taking up an offer to see the universe, many others followed over the years. In the 1970s, the Doctor was 'exiled' to Earth by his own people for a time, and became a reluctant member of UNIT, a special taskforce set up to counter alien threats. This 'UNIT family' memorably included [[Nicholas Courtney]] as its commanding officer, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Other well-remembered companions of the 1970s included the accident-prone UNIT agent Jo Grant ([[Katy Manning]]), the leather-clad savage Leela ([[Louise Jameson]]), and Sarah Jane Smith, a [[journalism|journalist]] played by [[Elisabeth Sladen]].
 
From 2005 onwards, the Doctor is initially travelling alone, but former London shop assistant Rose Tyler ([[Billie Piper]]) joins him at the close of the opening adventure, with others appearing later, and also characters who fulfilled the companion role for just one story. Steven Moffat introduced Amy Pond, played by [[Karen Gillan]], initially as a young girl whose life was a mysterious time-altered jumble, with an increasing role for [[Arthur Darvill]] as Rory Williams, later Amy's husband. 2012 saw the introduction of Clara, played by [[Jenna Coleman]];<ref>The actress was credited as Jenna-Louise Coleman in earlier appearances but has now changed her stage name.</ref> her successor, [[Pearl Mackie]] as Bill, was announced in 2016.
 
{{Image|Dalek-2010.jpg|right|200px|The [[Dalek]]s are terrifying, [[Nazi]]-inspired creatures. Though the design has changed little since their first appearance in 1963, this larger-than-usual and somewhat cartoonish redesigned version of 2010 proved controversial with some fans. The front appendages include an eyestalk, interface device that uncannily resembles a sink plunger, and an exterminating weapon.}}
 
===Villains===
In ''Doctor Who'', the universe is a dangerous place. A frequently occurring theme is that of various alien races attempting to conquer the Earth or otherwise threatening the human race, only to be foiled by the Doctor.
 
Best-known villains in the series and wider UK culture are the '[[Dalek]]s', mutants inside metallic pepperpot-like casings equipped with a gun and an appendage not unlike a [[sink plunger]]. Envisaged as representing the [[Nazism|Nazis]], their best-known characteristic is frequently screaming ''"Exterminate!"'' at anything un-Dalek prior to destroying anything that gets in their way of eliminating all life other than that which is Dalek. They have appeared numerous times in the series.
 
The other villains appearing comparable numbers of times are the Master (a fellow, evil Time Lord; also known as Missy, short for Mistress, in a female regeneration) and the [[Cyberman|Cybermen]].
 
Until recently the Daleks regularly topped the polls for the most "popular" enemy. In recent polls, however, they have been overtaken by the Weeping Angels, who first appeared in 2007.
 
==Format==
For most of its 1963-1989 run, ''Doctor Who'' was broadcast in 25-minute episodes, with few exceptions. Initially the programme ran for most of the year, with only a few weeks' break between seasons. Over the decades, the number of episodes each year was reduced; about 26 was the norm for some years, though by the end of the 1980s this had fallen to 14. From 1966, each story had only one title, but originally individual episodes had separate titles, leading to considerable fan debate over what the overall titles for some of these early serials are. The very first story, for instance, is commonly known and marketed by the BBC as ''An Unearthly Child'', which strictly speaking was only the title of the very first episode. Internal production documents have led some fans to conclude that the 'true' title is ''100,000 BC''.<ref>Research publications by David J. Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen J. Walker hold to these behind-the-scenes titles, for example.</ref>
 
Episodes of 'new series' ''Doctor Who'' run for about 45 minutes, except for special (usually Christmas) adventures broadcast between series (or, in one recent case, in the middle of a series). Two- and three-episode stories usually have separate titles for each episode, just as in 1963-6. However, whereas stories from 1963-6 are commonly referred to by overall titles (though as just noted not always the same ones), this is not usually done with the recent stories; instead they are usually named by just concatenating their episode titles, e.g. ''Utopia''/''The Sound of Drums''/''Last of the Time Lords''. The increasingly involuted nature of plot arcs over the course of the new series has resulted in increasing disagreement among secondary sources on the grouping of episodes into stories. Since series two, the regular characters have had a reduced role in one or more episodes so the leads can concentrate on filming others.
 
==Music and titles==
The theme music for ''Doctor Who'' changed little for the first 17 years of the original series's run: composed by [[Ron Grainer]] and realised by [[Delia Derbyshire]] of the [[BBC Radiophonic Workshop]], this example of [[electronic music]] played over the original series titles, which were achieved using a [[howl-round]] visual effect. For the new series, a new arrangement was produced by [[Murray Gold]], whose predecessors on the original series included [[Peter Howell]], who created a faster, more dramatic version for the period 1980-1985; [[Dominic Glynn]] (1986); and [[Keff McCulloch]] (1987-1989). The 1996 film also had new theme music.
 
==International distribution==
''Doctor Who'' was made available for broadcast outside the UK from the outset, and it is thanks to film copies sent to other countries that many early episodes now survive, since the original tapes were wiped for re-use. Some of these episodes were cut to conform with broadcasting standards in other nations, e.g. to remove [[violence]]. Several stories were sold to [[Arabic language|Arabic]]-speaking countries in the 1960s, with Arabic dubbing. Dubbed versions of adventures were also shown in other countries until the end of the programme in 1989, e.g. in [[French language|French]] and [[German language|German]]. The revived series has been distributed globally, and the BBC sought to build on these new markets by launching a 'global tour' to introduce Peter Capaldi's Doctor in 2014. This involved advanced screenings of Capaldi's first story plus Q&A sessions with the main stars, and took in [[Cardiff]], [[Seoul]], [[Sydney]], [[New York City|New York]], [[Mexico City]] and [[Rio de Janeiro]].<ref>''DoctorWho.tv'': '[http://www.doctorwho.tv/worldtour/ Doctor Who: The World Tour]. Accessed 21st August 2014.</ref>
 
==Spin-offs and alternative adventures==
{{Image|K-9.jpg|right|300px|The robot dog [[K-9 (robot dog)|K-9]] [[Doctor_Who/Video#'K9 plays chess'|appeared in ''Doctor Who'']] and several spin-offs.}}
The original series had only one spin-off, which did not survive beyond its 1981 pilot. ''K-9 and Company'' starred [[Elisabeth Sladen]] and [[John Leeson]], reprising their roles as former companions Sarah Jane Smith and [[K-9 (robot dog)|K-9]] (a [[robot]] [[dog]] voiced by Leeson; they had never appeared together in the series, though they did so subsequently). The new series has seen two spin-off dramas, ''[[Torchwood]]'' (2006-), starring [[John Barrowman]], and ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' (2007-2011) starring Elisabeth Sladen with appearances by K9, once again voiced by John Leeson. Like Sladen and Leeson, Barrowman appeared as a 'companion' in ''Doctor Who'' itself, starring as Captain Jack Harkness from 2005's ''The Empty Child'' onwards. ''Torchwood'' sees Harkness leading a team trying to prevent alien incursions via a 'time rift' running through present day Cardiff, while the ''Sarah Jane Adventures'' followed the adventures of investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith. The latter production aired on [[Children's BBC]] with an intended audience of younger fans, while ''Torchwood'' was presented as a post-9 p.m. 'adult' take on the affairs of the ''Doctor Who'' universe. A third spin-off, this time starring K-9 in an independent UK-Australia co-production, ''[[K-9 (TV series)|K-9]]'', first aired in 2010.
 
Several shorter adventures have also appeared as part of charity events and the [[Proms]], a long-standing evening of music at the [[Royal Albert Hall]]. 2005 saw the immediate aftermath of the Doctor's regeneration into the form of David Tennant broadcast as part of the long-running charity event ''[[Children in Need]]''. Similarly, a second short ''Children in Need'' adventure, ''Time Crash'' (2007), contributed to the series' continuity.
 
The Doctor also appeared in ''The Music of the Spheres'' as part of the 2008 Proms, in an 'interactive' adventure which saw the TARDIS linked to the Royal Albert Hall via a hole in time and space through which an evil 'Graske' emerged to threaten the audience. This was the Graske's second appearance in what has become a significant run of extra adventures available on digital channels or the internet, the first being ''Attack of the Graske'' in 2005.
 
===Other media===
In the 1960s, Terry Nation was unable to launch a U.S. spin-off series starring his creations, the Daleks, but they twice appeared on the big screen. Two televised adventures of ''Doctor Who'' were remade for the cinema: ''Doctor Who and the Daleks'' (1965) and ''Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD'' (1966) starred Peter Cushing as 'Doctor Who', an elderly human scientist who had invented a time machine. These two films, which were not part of the television series's continuity, did well at a time when 'Dalekmania' was at its height.
 
Nearly all the stories broadcast up to 1996 have been novelised, and annuals containing new stories appeared in print from early in the programme's broadcast history, as did comic strips. In the 1990s two new stories were broadcast on BBC radio (out of sequence: they featured the 3rd Doctor), though one of them actually appeared after its novelization as a result of delays.
 
A stage play, ''Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday'', starring [[Trevor Martin]], played in the  early 1970s, and another theatrical adventure appeared as ''The Ultimate Adventure'' in 1989. Jon Pertwee reprised his role for the play's first run, and later shows featured [[Colin Baker]] as the Doctor. Baker and his co-star on the original series, [[Nicola Bryant]], also appeared in a ''Doctor Who'' radio drama, ''Slipback'', in 1985. The 1980s also saw a series of [[documentary]] films from [[Reeltime Pictures]], as well as independent productions licensed to use certain characters from ''Doctor Who'', the first being ''Wartime'' in 1987. Among others, ''Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans'' (1994) was a new outing for a classic ''Doctor Who'' race of villains, and this was followed by ''Downtime'' (1995), which saw the return of the Yeti, a 1960s monster.
 
Many of the original stars of the series appeared as different characters in several fan-produced video dramas in the 1990s. More recently, they have starred in officially-licensed audio dramas by [[Big Finish]], some of which have aired on the [[digital radio]] station [[BBC 7]]. The BBC produced original adventures for the Doctor on its website, notably ''The Scream of the Shalka'' (2003), starring [[Richard E. Grant]]. Meanwhile, a series of original novels saw Doctors past and present battling adversaries old and new first for Virgin Publishing in their ''New Adventures'' series (1991-1997), then [[BBC Books]] (1997-). [[Telos Publishing]] produced an award-winning range of [[novella]]s over 2001-2004.
 
===Spoofs===
The BBC itself produced two spoofs of ''Doctor Who'' for charity. In 1993, ''[[Children in Need]]'' featured ''[[Dimensions in Time]]'', which involved a crossover with several incarnations of the Doctor meeting characters from the British [[soap opera]] ''[[Eastenders]]''. This was publicised as a "pantomime" and is not considered 'canon' by fans. In 1999, ''[[Red Nose Day]]'' featured the comedy ''Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death''.

Latest revision as of 16:39, 4 March 2021


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