Doctor Who

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For more information, see: [[Doctor Who (classic series)|Doctor Who (classic series)]].


Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme (and 1996 television movie) produced by the BBC about the adventures of a mysterious time-traveller known as "the Doctor", who explores time and space with his companions, solving problems and righting wrongs.

The programme is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running science fiction television series in the world[1] and is also a significant part of British popular culture.[2][3] It has been recognised for its imaginative stories, creative low-budget special effects during its original run and pioneering use of electronic music (originally produced by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop). In Britain and elsewhere, the show has become a cult television favourite on a par with Star Trek and has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series. It has received recognition from critics and the public as one of the finest British television programmes, including a BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series in 2006.

The programme originally ran from 1963 to 1989. A television movie was made in 1996, and the programme was successfully relaunched in 2005, produced in-house by BBC Wales. (Some development money for the new series is contributed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which is credited as a co-producer, although they do not have creative input into the show.) Doctor Who has also spawned spin-offs in multiple media, including the current television series Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

The relaunch of the programme has seen Christmas Day special episodes broadcast between series, the most recent being The Runaway Bride.[4] Series three of the programme, starring David Tennant as the Doctor and Freema Agyeman as his companion Martha Jones, will follow in spring 2007 on BBC One.

History

As a television programme Doctor Who remained dormant until 2003. In September of that year, BBC Television announced the in-house production of a new series after several years of unsuccessful attempts by BBC Worldwide to find backing for a feature film version. The new incarnation of the series is executively-produced by writer Russell T. Davies and BBC Wales Head of Drama / BBC Television Controller of Drama Commissioning Julie Gardner.

The new series debuted with the episode Rose[5] on BBC One on 26 March 2005 and the show has since been sold to many other countries (see Viewership). Due to an initial lack of interest by United States networks, it only debuted on the Sci Fi Channel on 17 March 2006, one year after the Canadian and UK showings. The BBC subsequently commissioned two more series and Christmas specials. Series 2 has finished its run in the UK and was followed by The Runaway Bride in December. Series 2 began airing in the US on the Sci-Fi Channel on 29 September 2006, followed by the CBC on 9 October.

Format

The serial format changed for the 2005 revival, with each series consisting of thirteen 45-minute, self-contained episodes (60 minutes with adverts on commercial channels overseas). This includes three two-parters and a loose story arc per season whose elements are brought together in the season finale. Like the original serial format, two-part episodes have separate titles.

Doctor Who, having already completed 724 episodes, will surpass the number of individual instalments of the Star Trek franchise (726 episodes over five programmes) during the 2007 series.

The current series is filmed in 576i25 DigiBeta widescreen format and then filmised to give a 25p image in post-production using a Snell and Wilcox Alchemist Platinum.

Public consciousness

The Doctor

For more information, see: Doctor (Doctor Who).
File:10dr19.jpg
The ten faces of the Doctor. Clockwise from top-left: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant
  1. Ninth Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston (2005)
  2. Tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant (2005–present)

Other actors have also played the Doctor, though rarely more than once (see the list of actors who have played the Doctor for details).

Despite these shifts in personality, the Doctor has always remained an intensely curious and highly moral adventurer, who would rather solve problems with his wits than through violence.

In the 2006 episode Fear Her,[6] it was revealed that he was once a father. The 2005 series revealed that the Ninth Doctor had become the last known surviving Time Lord, and his planet had been destroyed.

Companions

File:Marthajones.jpg
Freema Agyeman appears as the Doctor's newest companion, Martha Jones.

The Doctor almost always shares his adventures with up to three companions (the only exception in the original series being The Deadly Assassin, in which he travels alone). The idea of the companion is to provide a surrogate with whom the audience can identify and to further the story by asking questions and getting into trouble. The Doctor regularly gains new companions and loses old ones; sometimes they return home or find new causes — or loves — on worlds they have visited. Some have even died during the course of the series. For further details, see the notes in List of Doctor Who supporting characters.

Despite the fact that the majority of the Doctor's companions are young, attractive females, the production team for the 1963–1989 series maintained a longstanding taboo against any overt romantic involvement in the TARDIS: the 2005 series played with this idea by having various characters think that the Ninth Doctor and Rose (played by Billie Piper) were a couple, which they vehemently denied (see also "The Doctor and romance").

One former companion, Sarah Jane Smith (played by Elisabeth Sladen), together with the robotic dog K-9, appeared in an episode of the 2006 series more than twenty years after their last appearances in the 20th Anniversary story The Five Doctors (1983).

Beginning in the 2007 episode Smith and Jones, Freema Agyeman will play Martha Jones, the Doctor's next ongoing companion.[7] Apart from her name, the casting of family members and the information that she will be a medical student, no details are currently available about her character.

Adversaries

See also: List of Doctor Who monsters and aliens, List of Doctor Who villains
File:Daleknew.jpg
The Daleks are perhaps the best-known adversaries faced by the Doctor.

When Sydney Newman commissioned the series, he specifically did not want to perpetuate the cliché of the "bug-eyed monster" of science fiction. However, monsters were a staple of Doctor Who almost from the beginning and were popular with audiences.

Notable adversaries of the Doctor include the Autons, the Cybermen and the Slitheen. Of all the monsters and villains, the ones that most secured the series' place in the public's imagination were the Daleks. The Daleks are lethal mutants in tank-like mechanical armour from the planet Skaro. Their chief role in the great scheme of things, as they frequently remark in their instantly recognisable metallic voices, is to "Exterminate!", even destroying the Time Lords in the often described but never shown Time War.


Music

For more information, see: Doctor Who theme music.


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Doctor Who theme excerpt

[click here to play]

An excerpt from the theme music to Doctor Who
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Template:Sample box end For the new series in 2005, Murray Gold provided a new arrangement which featured samples from the 1963 original with further elements added. A soundtrack CD of Gold's music for the new series was released on 4 December 2006 by Silva Screen Records.[8][9].

Viewership

File:3doctardis.jpg
The image of the TARDIS is iconic in British popular culture.

Doctor Who has always appeared on the BBC's mainstream BBC One channel, drawing audiences of many millions of viewers. The BBC One broadcast of Rose, the first episode of the 2005 revival, drew an average audience of 10.81 million, third highest for BBC One that week and seventh across all channels. The 2005 series had an average audience of 7.95 million viewers, and the 2006 series achieved an average audience of about 7.71 million in the context of declining year-to-year viewership for all television channels. The episode Rise of the Cybermen managed sixth place in the charts across the week with 9.22 million viewers.[10]

The revived series has also been shown on ABC and UK.TV.


A wide selection of serials is available from BBC Video on VHS and DVD, on sale in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. Every fully extant serial has been released on VHS, and BBC Worldwide continues to regularly release serials on DVD. The 2005 series is also available in its entirety on UMD for the PlayStation Portable.

As of October 2006, the new series has been, or is currently, broadcast weekly in Australia (ABC), Belgium (één), Brazil (People+Arts), Canada (in English on CBC and in French on Ztélé), Denmark (Danmarks Radio), Finland (TV2), France (France 4), Hong Kong (ATV World), Hungary (RTL Klub-owned COOL TV), Israel (Yes Weekend), Italy (Jimmy), Japan (BS-2, a channel of NHK), Malaysia (Astro Network), the Netherlands (NED 3), New Zealand (Prime TV), Norway (NRK), Poland (TVP 1), Portugal (People+Arts), Russia (STS TV), Spain and Latin America (People+Arts), South Korea (KBS), the United States (Sci Fi Channel and BBC America), Greece (Skai TV), Style UK (part of Showtime Arabia) for the Middle East, North Africa, and the Levant territories. The series has also been sold to, but not yet shown in, Germany (Pro 7), Sweden (SVT) and Romania (TVR). A special logo has been designed for the Japanese broadcast with the katakana "ドクター・フー" (romanised as Dokutaa Huu).[11].

The 2005 series episodes aired in Canada a couple of weeks after their UK broadcast, a situation made possible by the cancellation of the 2004-2005 National Hockey League season which left vast gaps in CBC's schedule. For the Canadian broadcasts, Christopher Eccleston recorded special video introductions for each episode (including a trivia question as part of a viewer contest) and excerpts from the Doctor Who Confidential documentary were played over the closing credits; for the broadcast of The Christmas Invasion on December 26 2005, Billie Piper recorded a special video introduction. CBC Television began airing the 2006 series on October 9 2006 at 8:00 p.m. local (8:30 NT), shortly after that day's Canadian Football League (CFL) Thanksgiving doubleheader in much of the country. The first series is currently being rebroadcast late Tuesday nights/early Wednesday mornings at midnight. Old episodes of Doctor Who are shown nightly on the Canadian station BBC Kids.

Series 2 is currently being broadcast on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States, starting with The Christmas Invasion on 29 September 2006. Series 1 is also being repeated in the US, this time on BBC America. The re-run began on November 21, 2006.

Series 1 is currently being broadcast on BBC Entertainment in Asia.

Fandom

For more information, see: Doctor Who fandom.

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Doctor Who has amassed a large number of fans from all over the world. For example, The Doctor Who Forum at the website Outpost Gallifrey is ranked within the top 300 most active message boards on the Internet[12]. The series is more a mainstream part of popular culture in its native UK, where it is regarded as a family show and is shown on the main public service broadcasting channel, BBC One.

The term Whovian, (similar to Trekkie for Star Trek) is used by the press to refer to Doctor Who fans, although the term is not often used by fans themselves.

Celebrity fans include comedians Jon Culshaw, David Walliams[13], Mitch Benn, Peter Kay, Mark Gatiss, Stewart Lee and Matt Lucas, cricketers Mike Gatting and Graham Gooch, actors David Hewlett and Eric McCormack[14], singer and actress Toyah Willcox, Cedric Bixler-Zavala of the Mars Volta, singer Meat Loaf,[15] Simpsons creator Matt Groening, graphic novelist and fantasy writer Neil Gaiman, horror novelist Brian Keene, and science-fiction writer and critic Harlan Ellison. William Rees-Mogg, editor of The Times newspaper from 1967 until 1981, publicly declared his enjoyment of Doctor Who on an edition of the BBC's current affairs series Panorama in 1980.[16] Prompted by this, the actor and dramatist Emlyn Williams admitted in the pages of The Times that he too was a keen follower of the series.[16]

List of episodes and serials

For more information, see: List of Doctor Who serials.


Adaptations and other appearances

Spin-offs

For more information, see: Doctor Who spin-offs.


Following the success of the 2005 series produced by Russell T. Davies, the BBC commissioned Davies to produce a 13-part spin-off series titled Torchwood (an anagram of "Doctor Who"), set in modern-day Wales and investigating alien activities and crime. The series debuted on BBC Three on 22 October 2006.[17] John Barrowman reprises his role of Jack Harkness from the 2005 series of Doctor Who. It was shot in Summer and Autumn 2006.[18] Eve Myles, who was in the 2005 Doctor Who episode The Unquiet Dead, also stars.[19]

A new K-9 children's series, K-9 Adventures, is in development, but not by the BBC.[20]

The Sarah Jane Adventures, starring Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, has been developed by CBBC; a special aired on New Year's Day 2007, and a full series will follow later in 2007.[21]

Charity episodes

File:Curseoffataldeath.jpg
Rowan Atkinson as the Doctor and Julia Sawalha as Emma in the parody The Curse of Fatal Death

In 1993, coinciding with the series' 30th anniversary, a charity special entitled Dimensions in Time was produced in aid of Children in Need, featuring all of the surviving actors who played the Doctor and a number of previous companions. Not taken seriously by many, the story had the Rani opening a hole in time, cycling the Doctor and his companions through his previous incarnations and menacing them with monsters from the show's past. It also featured a crossover with the soap opera EastEnders, the action taking place in the latter's Albert Square location and around Greenwich, including the Cutty Sark. The special was one of several special 3D programmes the BBC produced at the time, using a 3D system that made use of the Pulfrich effect requiring glasses with one darkened lens; the picture would look perfectly normal to those viewers who watched without the glasses.

In 1999, another special, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death, was made for Red Nose Day and later released on VHS. An affectionate parody of the television series, it was split into four segments, mimicking the traditional serial format, complete with cliffhangers. (The version released on video was split into only two episodes.) In the story, the Doctor (Rowan Atkinson) encounters both the Master (Jonathan Pryce) and the Daleks. During the special the Doctor is forced to regenerate several times, with his subsequent incarnations played by, in order, Richard E. Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, and Joanna Lumley. The script was written by Steven Moffat, who contributed two scripts to the 2005 series and one for the 2006 series.

As noted above, on November 18, 2005, an untitled 7-minute "mini-episode", set in the immediate aftermath of The Parting of the Ways and leading directly into The Christmas Invasion, was shown as part of the Children in Need telethon.

Spoofs

For more information, see: Doctor Who spoofs.


In the comic Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #10—in a storyline dealing with time-travel and alternate universes—the words “Bad Wolf” can be seen written on the wall.


Merchandise

For more information, see: Doctor Who merchandise.

Since its beginnings, Doctor Who has generated many hundreds of products related to the show, from toys and games to collectible picture cards and postage stamps. These include board games, card games, gamebooks, computer games and action figures.

Many games have been released that feature the Daleks. See Dalek computer games.

Awards

The revived series has received particular recognition from critics and the public. In 2005, at the National Television Awards (voted on by members of the British public), Doctor Who won "Most Popular Drama", Christopher Eccleston won "Most Popular Actor" and Billie Piper won "Most Popular Actress". The series and Piper repeated their wins at the 2006 National Television Awards, and David Tennant won "Most Popular Actor".[22] A scene from The Doctor Dances won "Golden Moment" in the BBC's "2005 TV Moments" awards,[23] and Doctor Who swept all the categories in BBC.co.uk's online "Best of Drama" poll in both 2005[24] and 2006.[25] The programme also won the Broadcast Magazine Award for Best Drama.[26][27] Eccleston was awarded the TV Quick and TV Choice award for Best Actor in 2005; in the same awards in 2006 Tennant won Best Actor, Piper won Best Actress and Doctor Who won Best-Loved Drama.[28][29]

Doctor Who was nominated in the Best Drama Series category at the 2006 Royal Television Society awards,[30] but lost to BBC Three's medical drama Bodies.[31]

Doctor Who also received several nominations for the 2006 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards: the programme for Best Drama, Eccleston for Best Actor (David Tennant was also nominated for Secret Smile), Piper for Best Actress and Davies for Best Writer. However, it did not win any of these categories.[32]

Several episodes of the 2005 series of Doctor Who were nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Dalek, Father's Day and the double episode The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. At a ceremony at the Worldcon (L.A. Con IV) in Los Angeles on 27 August 2006, the Hugo was awarded to The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances.[33] Dalek and Father's Day came in second and third places respectively.[34]

The British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA) nominations, released on March 27 2006, revealed that Doctor Who had been shortlisted in the category of Best Drama Series. This is the highest-profile and most prestigious British television award for which the series has ever been nominated. Doctor Who was also nominated in several other categories in the BAFTA Craft Awards, including Best Writer (Russell T. Davies), Best Director (Joe Ahearne), and Break-through Talent (production designer Edward Thomas). However, it did not eventually win any of its categories at the Craft Awards.

On Sunday May 7 2006 the main BAFTA award winners were announced, and Doctor Who won both of the categories it was nominated for, the Best Drama Series and audience-voted Pioneer Award. Russell T. Davies also won the Dennis Potter Award for Outstanding Writing for Television.[35]

On April 22 2006, the programme won five categories (out of fourteen nominations) at the lower-profile BAFTA Cymru awards, given to programmes made in Wales. It won Best Drama Series, Drama Director (James Hawes), Costume, Make-up and Photography Direction. Russell T Davies also won the Sian Phillips Award for Outstanding Contribution to Network Television.[36]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Dr Who 'longest-running sci-fi', BBC News, 2006-09-28. Retrieved on 2006-09-30.
  2. ↑ (2006-09-14) "The end of Olde Englande: A lament for Blighty". The Economist. Retrieved on 2006-09-18.
  3. ↑ ICONS. A Portrait of England. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
  4. ↑ Wikipedia: The Runaway Bride (Doctor Who), 2007.
  5. ↑ Wikipedia: Rose (Doctor Who), 2005.
  6. ↑ Wikipedia: Fear Her (Doctor Who), 2006.
  7. ↑ BBC (2006-07-05). Freema Agyeman confirmed as new companion to Doctor Who. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-07-05.
  8. ↑ Who soundtrack soon. bbc.co.uk (2006-07-17). Retrieved on 2006-08-04.
  9. ↑ Silva Screen announces Doctor Who CD release date (2006-11-01). Retrieved on 2006-12-04.
  10. ↑ Spilsbury, Tom (2006-09-13 cover date). "Public Image". Doctor Who Magazine (373): 8.
  11. ↑ Turning Japanese (30 June 2006).
  12. ↑ BigBoards.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  13. ↑ Doctor Who. davidwalliams.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
  14. ↑ Sean, Neil. War on Terror: In It to Win It? (near bottom of page), Fox & Friends, Fox News, 2006-09-13. Retrieved on 2006-09-13.
  15. ↑ MEAT LOAF TO HIT THE TARDIS?. contactmusic.com (2006-08-13). Retrieved on 2006-08-16.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Williams, Emlyn. "Personal Choice", The Times, 1980-11-22, pp. 9. Retrieved on 2007-01-16.
  17. ↑ Torchwood programme information, BBC Three listings. Retrieved on October 15, 2006.
  18. ↑ Doctor Who spin-off made in Wales, BBC News, 2005-10-17. Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  19. ↑ Team Torchwood. bbc.co.uk (2006-02-24). Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  20. ↑ Doctor Who dog K9 gets spin-off. BBC News (2006-04-26). Retrieved on 2006-07-26.
  21. ↑ BBC (2006-09-14). Russell T Davies creates new series for CBBC, starring Doctor Who's Sarah Jane Smith. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-09-14.
  22. ↑ Dr Who scores TV awards hat-trick, BBC News, bbc.co.uk, 2006-10-31. Retrieved on 2006-10-31.
  23. ↑ 2005 TV Moments. bbc.co.uk (December 2005). Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  24. ↑ Drama Best of 2005. bbc.co.uk (December 2005). Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  25. ↑ Drama Best of 2006. bbc.co.uk (January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-01-16.
  26. ↑ Doctor Who wins Broadcast Award. bbc.co.uk (2006-01-26). Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  27. ↑ 2006 Winners. Broadcast Magazine (2006). Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  28. ↑ Street is best soap at TV awards, BBC News, 2005-09-06. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
  29. ↑ Doctor Who lands three TV awards, BBC News, 2006-09-05. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
  30. ↑ RTS Programme Awards - Nominations, The Guardian, 2006-02-21. Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  31. ↑ Bleak House wins TV drama award, BBC News, 2006-03-15. Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  32. ↑ Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2006. Broadcasting Press Guild (March 31 2006). Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  33. ↑ Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners. Locus Online (2006-08-26). Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
  34. ↑ Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. 2006 Hugo Award & Campbell Award Winners (2006-08-26). Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
  35. ↑ Doctor Who is Bafta award winner, BBC News, 2006-05-08. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
  36. ↑ Doctor leads Bafta Cymru winners, BBC News, 2006-04-22. Retrieved on 2006-04-24.


External links

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Official sites

See also: Doctor Who tie-in websites


Reference sites

General information

Doctor Who universe

Images

Production information

Miscellany

General fan sites

Links


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