The longest-running science fiction television show in the world
a fan of clever plots
| Pros |
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MAY
14
2008
It wasn't really a police box at all. In fact, it was a futuristic room that couldn't possibly fit into the police box of which they had seen the outside. It was in fact a ship that could travel in time and space! Susan's grandfather, who called himself the Doctor, then pulled a lever which shut the outside doors and put the space-and-time ship into flight, taking them to a time when cave men were everywhere. For once they'd seen the inside of the ship, the Doctor did not want to let them go back and tell anyone. And so began the travels with the Doctor.
We gradually find out more about the Doctor--that he was actually a Time Lord on the run from his own people, that he'd stolen the ship (TARDIS, for Time and Relative DImension in Space), that he could change his entire appearance when critically injured (he can "regenerate") so that he looked like someone else. This was devised in 1966, when William Hartnell, who played the first Doctor to appear on our screens, became unable to continue in the role, but no one wanted the series to end. However, the original series did end in 1989, when Sylvester McCoy played the role of the Seventh Doctor. By that time, many beings, human and otherwise, had accompanied him. There was a telemovie in 1996 meant to restart the series as a joint production with FOX in the United States, starring Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor, but no series resulted until the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) appeared in a 2005 revival that is still on the air. (He's already regenerated into the 10th Doctor, David Tennant.)
The actors that played the Doctor were: 1st-William Hartnell; 2nd-Patrick Troughton; 3rd-Jon Pertwee; 4th-Tom Baker; 5th-Peter Davison; 6th-Colin Baker [distant cousin to Tom]; 7th-Sylvester McCoy; 8th-Paul McGann [a 1996 telemovie only]; 9th-Christopher Eccleston; 10th-David Tennant. And of course, Michael Jayston played an evil version of the Doctor in the 23rd season--essentially the potential evil of the Doctor, distilled into a character who accused the Sixth Doctor of terrible crimes in order to gain the rest of his lives (regenerations, as they are called). Jayston's character, the Valeyard, is still at large.
Of the original series, the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) is usually the one most people associate with the role, since he played it for seven years, and since that's when the program was syndicated to PBS stations in the United States, but the Third (Jon Pertwee) is my personal favorite. Of the many companions to travel with him, my favorite is Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen), who travelled from 1973 to 1976 and had a role in an 2006 episode of the revived series. My second favorite is Ace (Sophie Aldred), who was the final companion of the original 1963-1989 series.
Doctor Who was entirely unique in 1963--and still is, as there has yet to be another show like it.
Doctor Who is recommended by timano08
Comments about timano08’s Review
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