Doctor Who BRITISH TELEVISION PROGRAM

Doctor Who, British science fiction television series produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The show’s original run lasted 26 years, from 1963 to 1989. Remembered for its primitive special effects and compelling story lines, Doctor Who became a landmark of British popular culture. The series resumed to much acclaim in 2005.

Doctor Who chronicled the adventures of an eccentric time-traveling scientist from the remote planet Gallifrey, home of the Time Lords. The Doctor, a Time Lord himself, traveled through time and space in his unique craft, the TARDIS, an acronym for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. With an interior larger than its exterior, the TARDIS could take on various shapes to blend into its environment. Although capable of whisking the Doctor and his passengers to any time and any place in the universe, the craft was frequently parked on Earth in the form of a blue police box. Whether in England or in the far reaches of space, the Doctor and his colleagues battled a multitude of evils, including robots, monsters, and a twisted Time Lord. Certain adversaries recurred throughout the series, notably the Daleks, genocidal aliens armoured in robotlike suits who sought the extermination of life-forms inferior to themselves.

The original Doctor was played by William Hartnell until 1966, when the show revealed that Time Lords had the ability to regenerate themselves when near death. Their reincarnated forms appeared as different people, although they retained the same memories and skills. This plot twist allowed different actors to assume the title role. The original series eventually featured seven different Doctors, the longest-lasting of which was Tom Baker (1974–81). Over the course of the program, companions of the Doctor included Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney), a commander in an organization that combats extraterrestrials; Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), an 18th-century Scotsman; and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen), an investigative journalist.

The original series was not so much cancelled as postponed. Following a television movie in 1996, the BBC began producing new episodes in 2005, which quickly proved popular. The 10th Doctor, portrayed by David Tennant in 2005–10, became a fan favourite, along with such new characters as Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), his loyal assistant, and the mysterious River Song (Alex Kingston). In 2017 the show made news with the announcement that the 13th Doctor would be portrayed by a woman (Jodie Whittaker). Doctor Who also engendered numerous spin-offs across different media, including the TV series Torchwood (2006–11) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–11).