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...)
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Selected story
The Web Planet is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from February 13, 1965 to March 20, 1965.
The TARDIS is pulled off course by a mysterious force and trapped on the barren, desolate low-oxygen world of Vortis in the Isop galaxy. The Doctor, Barbara, Ian and Vicki are soon swept up in the struggles of the butterfly-like Menoptra, the original denizens of Vortis who were forced to flee the planet for the moon Pictos to escape the encroaching Animus and Zarbi. With assistance from the caterpillar-like Optera, the devolved descendants of the planet's original inhabitants, the TARDIS crew and the Menoptra are able to destroy the Animus at the center of its web complex.
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Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that the Doctor Who serial The Chase was to feature the Beatles dressed as old men, performing as part of a fictional 50th-anniversary concert, but the idea was rejected by their manager?
- ... that William Hartnell was the only original Doctor Who cast member who remained by the end of the second season?
- ... that while filming the Doctor Who serial The Myth Makers, William Hartnell was jealous of being upstaged by the other actors?
- ... that three-quarters of Doctor Who's longest story are missing?
- ... that according to writer Russell T Davies, he conceived elements of the Doctor Who episode "Empire of Death" decades before he wrote it?
- ... 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?
Selected quote
“ | Look at me. No plans, no backup, no weapons worth a damn. Oh, and something else I don't have: anything to lose. So, if you're sitting up there with your silly little spaceships and your silly little guns and you've any plans on taking the Pandorica tonight; just remember who's standing in your way. Remember every black day I ever stopped you and then, and then, do the smart thing. Let somebody else try first. | ” |
— Eleventh Doctor, The Pandorica Opens |
Events
Date | Event |
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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 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?
- ... that the entire fourth serial of Doctor Who is missing after being erased by the BBC in 1967?
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