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...)
Recognized quality articles
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Terror of the Zygons is the first serial of the thirteenth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 30 August to 20 September 1975. The serial was written by Robert Banks Stewart and directed by Douglas Camfield.
The serial stars Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor alongside Elizabeth Sladen and Ian Marter as companions Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan, with the episode featuring Marter's and Nicholas Courtney's (as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart) final regular appearances. The serial is the first appearance of the Zygons, and is set in and around Loch Ness and in London. In the serial, the alien shapeshifters the Zygons plot to use their cyborg sea monster the Skarasen to take over the Earth, after they discover their home planet was destroyed. (Full article...) -
"Love & Monsters" is the tenth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on BBC One on 17 June 2006. It was written by executive producer and lead writer Russell T Davies and directed by Dan Zeff.
The episode is set in London. In the episode, a human called Elton Pope (Marc Warren) joins a group of people who have a shared interest in the alien time traveller the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and his ship the TARDIS. The group is joined and taken over by Victor Kennedy (Peter Kay), an alien who has a darker interest in the Doctor and seeks to absorb his physical body and knowledge. (Full article...) -
"The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. First broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2011, it is the seventh Doctor Who Christmas special since the show's revival in 2005. It was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Farren Blackburn. Internationally, the special was shown on BBC America in the United States and on Space in Canada the same day as the British broadcast, with ABC1 in Australia showing it one day later.
In the special, alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) is the caretaker of recently widowed Madge Arwell (Claire Skinner) and her children Lily (Holly Earl) and Cyril (Maurice Cole) during their holiday vacation in 1941 Britain. The Doctor plans to take them on a treat to a snowy planet through a portal in a present he has placed under the Christmas tree, but Cyril opens it before Christmas and wanders through. While looking for him, the others learn that the trees of the planet are about to be melted down with acid rain for energy. (Full article...) -
"Empire of Death" is the eighth and final episode of the fourteenth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was simultaneously released on BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom on 22 June 2024 and released on Disney+ in the United States on 21 June. It was broadcast on BBC One later on the same day. The episode was written by Russell T Davies and directed by Jamie Donoughue. It is the second part of a two-part story following "The Legend of Ruby Sunday". The combined story was also given a limited theatrical release.
In this episode, the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) attempt to stop the god-like being Sutekh (Gabriel Woolf) from destroying all life in the universe. Filming for the story took place in June and July 2023. General praise was given to the cast's performances, though many critics and viewers criticised the resolution of the series overall story arc, feeling that revealing Ruby's mother to be a regular person was unsatisfactory and underwhelming following the build up in earlier episodes. (Full article...) -
"Boom Town" is the eleventh episode of the first series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 4 June 2005. It was written by executive producer Russell T Davies and directed by Joe Ahearne.
The episode is set in Cardiff in the early 21st century, six months after the 2005 episode "World War Three". In the episode, the criminal alien Slitheen named "Margaret Blaine" (Annette Badland) attempts to gain her freedom after being captured and detained by the alien time traveller the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston). (Full article...) -
The Romans is the fourth serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Dennis Spooner and directed by Christopher Barry, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 16 January to 6 February 1965. In the serial, the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and his new companion Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) investigate intrigue surrounding the death of a lyre player en route to perform at the palace of Nero (Derek Francis) in Rome, while companions Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) are captured by slave traders and sold respectively as a galley slave (later a gladiator) and as a body slave to Nero's wife Poppaea (Kay Patrick).
The Romans was envisioned as the first Doctor Who serial with a humorous tone, originally intended to parody the 1951 film Quo Vadis. The story presents real historical characters in a fictitious manner. The serial was produced in a six-episode block with the preceding story, The Rescue, to introduce new companion Vicki. It features the design work of Raymond Cusick, and the incidental music was composed by Raymond Jones in his first work for the series. The Romans premiered with 13 million viewers, continuing the high viewership of the previous serial, which it maintained across the four weeks. Reviews were generally positive, with praise for the performances and characterisation, though its comedic tone received mixed responses. The serial was later novelised and released on VHS and DVD. (Full article...) -
Rhys Alun Williams, portrayed by Kai Owen, is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. The character is introduced in the premiere episode as the co-habiting boyfriend of the principal character Gwen Cooper. Initially a recurring character, Rhys' role is increased after the second series; actor Kai Owen is given star billing from the show's third series — a five-part serial subtitled Torchwood: Children of Earth — onwards. The character has gone on to appear in expanded universe material such as the Torchwood novels and audiobooks, comic books and radio plays.
Throughout the first series (2006), Rhys is initially unaware of Gwen's vocation as a Torchwood agent, believing her to work in generic special forces. Gwen's relationship with Rhys languishes while she is unable to communicate fully with him, but in the early part of series two (2008) he discovers the truth, and from then on in their relationship is revitalised; the two enter a marriage based on honesty later in the series. In the third series (2009) Rhys becomes directly involved in assisting the Torchwood team in lieu of a fourth team member. In the show's fourth series — a 2011 BBC/Starz co-production — Rhys again finds himself having to assist Torchwood, though he would rather live a domestic life with Gwen and their daughter Anwen. (Full article...) -
"Asylum of the Daleks" is the first episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, broadcast on BBC One on 1 September 2012. It was written by executive producer Steven Moffat and directed by Nick Hurran.
The episode features the alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) being captured by the Daleks, along with his companions Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill), who are about to divorce. They are sent by the Daleks to the Asylum, a planet where insane Daleks are exiled, to enable the Asylum to be destroyed before the insane Daleks can escape. The Doctor is helped along the way by Oswin (Jenna-Louise Coleman), a woman whose spaceship had crashed on the planet a year ago and has been trapped there since then. (Full article...) -
Jenny, portrayed by Georgia Tennant (credited as Georgia Moffett, her maiden name), is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She appeared in the episode "The Doctor's Daughter", originally broadcast 10 May 2008. Jenny is the daughter of the series protagonist the Doctor, a product of altered DNA extracted from a tissue sample of his tenth incarnation's hand. The character was created by writer Stephen Greenhorn.
Georgia Tennant (then-Moffett) was cast as Jenny after auditioning for a smaller part in the episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp", and impressing the series producers. The character was generally well received by reviewers, with many speculating that she would return to the franchise. Moffett also expressed an interest in this possibility. (Full article...) -
"Victory of the Daleks" is the third episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Andrew Gunn, it was first broadcast on BBC One on 17 April 2010.
In the episode, the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) arrive in London during the Blitz, where Winston Churchill (Ian McNeice) has employed "Ironsides", a scientific creation from Professor Bracewell (Bill Paterson) to be used as weapons in the war effort. However, the Doctor recognises the Ironsides as his archenemies the Daleks, who plan to destroy Earth by activating a device located inside Bracewell, an android. (Full article...) -
The Web Planet is the fifth serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Bill Strutton and directed by Richard Martin, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts from 13 February to 20 March 1965. In the serial, the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and his travelling companions Ian Chesterton (William Russell), Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill), and Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) ally themselves with the Menoptra, the former inhabitants of the planet Vortis, as they struggle to win back the planet from the malignant Animus (Catherine Fleming) and its Zarbi slaves.
When crafting an idea for the serial, Strutton recalled a memory as a child of watching two bull ants fighting, which he linked with his two sons fighting each other. Story editor Dennis Spooner found the narrative to be multilayered, with the Menoptra representing free enterprise and the Zarbi communism. Martin hired a mime artist to develop choreography for the serial, and forwent a traditional score in favour of prerecorded stock music. The Web Planet premiered with 13.5 million viewers, the highest in the series to date; it maintained high viewership across the six weeks. Reviews were mixed, with praise directed at its choreography and action, and criticism towards its costumes and confusing story; retrospective reviews applauded the serial's ambition despite its outdated visuals. The Web Planet was later novelised and released on VHS and DVD. (Full article...) -
Sydney Cecil Newman OC (né Nudelman; April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian producer and screenwriter who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, he was appointed acting director of the Broadcast Programs Branch for the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) and then head of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He also occupied senior positions at the Canadian Film Development Corporation and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and acted as an advisor to the Secretary of State.
During his time in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, Newman worked first with ABC Weekend TV before moving across to the BBC in 1962, holding the role of Head of Drama with both organisations. During this phase of his career, he created the spy-fi series The Avengers and co-created the science-fiction series Doctor Who, as well as overseeing the production of groundbreaking social realist drama series such as Armchair Theatre and The Wednesday Play. (Full article...) -
"Gridlock" is the third episode of the third series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on BBC One on 14 April 2007. It was written by Russell T Davies and directed by Richard Clark.
The episode is set five billion years in the future on the planet New Earth, one of the many planets humanity had settled on. In the episode, alien time traveller The Doctor (David Tennant) and his new travelling companion Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) discover the remainder of humanity on the planet live in perpetual gridlock within the Motorway, a highway system beneath the city state of New New York. When Martha is kidnapped, the Doctor races to find her before she enters the dangerous "fast lane". (Full article...) -
Gwen Elizabeth Cooper is a fictional character portrayed by Welsh actress Eve Myles in the BBC science-fiction television programme Torchwood, a spin-off of the long-running series Doctor Who. The lead female character, Gwen featured in every episode of the show's 2006–2011 run, as well as two 2008 crossover episodes of Doctor Who. Gwen appears in Expanded Universe material such as the Torchwood novels and audiobooks, comic books and radio plays.
Within the series narrative, Gwen is a South Wales Police officer who discovers the mysterious Torchwood Institute, into which she is recruited by Jack Harkness (John Barrowman). Gwen initially operates as a field agent, bringing a humane and rounded approach to the team's investigations of the extraterrestrial. Gwen's work begins to take a toll on her personal life in the first series (2006), but her marriage to Rhys (Kai Owen) keeps her grounded, even as her responsibilities increase in Series 2 (2008). In Children of Earth (2009) and Miracle Day (2011), after Torchwood is destroyed to conceal a government conspiracy, a much hardened Gwen operates under her own mandate as the world undergoes crises linked with unprecedented alien threats. (Full article...) -
The Sensorites is the seventh serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Peter R. Newman and directed by Mervyn Pinfield and Frank Cox, the serial was first broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts from 20 June to 1 August 1964. In the serial, the First Doctor (William Hartnell), his granddaughter Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford), and her teachers Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) visit a planet known as the Sense-Sphere to find the cure to a disease afflicting the alien race the Sensorites.
Newman's story for the serial was inspired by 1950s films set during World War II, exploring the notion of soldiers who continued to fight after the war. Pinfield was chosen to direct the first four episodes due to his directing style, while Cox directed the final two episodes. Designer Raymond Cusick avoided the use of right angles in his set designs, recalling Antoni Gaudí's work on the Sagrada Família. The serial premiered with 7.9 million viewers but failed to maintain these figures due to the holiday sports season. Retrospective response for the serial was generally positive, and it later received several print adaptations and home media releases. (Full article...)
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Selected story
The Daleks' Master Plan is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The twelve episodes (the most of any Dr Who serial, excluding the four 1986 stories that were together called The Trial of a Time Lord) were aired from November 13, 1965 to January 29, 1966. This serial marks the final appearance of Adrienne Hill as companion Katarina, the only appearance of Jean Marsh as Sara Kingdom and the first ever death of a companion.
The episode is set in the year 4000, the Daleks conspire to conquer the Solar System. Their scheme involves treachery at the highest levels, and a weapon capable of destroying the very fabric of time. The Doctor and his companions are forced to travel throughout time in order to stop them.
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Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that after being wiped by the BBC, all four episodes of the Doctor Who serial The Time Meddler were discovered in Nigeria in 1984?
- ... that "The Christmas Invasion" led to Christmas specials becoming a staple for Doctor Who?
- ... that working broadcast journalists were used as extras for the portions of the Doctor Who episode "73 Yards" that were filmed at the BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House?
- ... that the Beep the Meep puppet created for "The Star Beast" took six people to operate?
- ... that the Doctor Who episode "The Devil's Chord" references the events of an episode that aired more than sixty years before?
- ... that the 2024 Doctor Who episode "Dot and Bubble" was first conceptualized in 2009?
Selected quote
| “ | On my travels to Cathay, Ian, I have come to believe many things I'd previously doubted. For instance, when I was a boy in Venice, they told me that in Cathay there was a stone that burned. I did not believe, but there is such a stone: I have seen it. And if stone burns, why not a caravan that flies? Birds fly; I have even seen fish that fly. You are asking me to believe that your caravan can defy the passage of the sun? Move not merely from one place to another, but from today into tomorrow, today to yesterday? No Ian, that I cannot believe. | ” |
| — Marco Polo, Marco Polo | ||
Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 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 the Doctor Who episode "The Stolen Earth" features cameo appearances by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and comedian Paul O'Grady?
- ... that "The Fires of Pompeii", an episode in the British TV show Doctor Who, is the first appearance of Karen Gillan as the Soothsayer?
- ... that Roald Dahl Plass, a plaza in Cardiff Bay, has been used as the setting for both Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood?
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