Doctor Who
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.
This article is about the television series. For other uses, see Doctor Who (disambiguation).Doctor Who
- Various
- (as of 2023, Russell T Davies)
- Various Doctors
- (as of 2023, Ncuti Gatwa)
- Various companions
- (as of 2023, Millie Gibson)
- Various
- (as of 2023, Murray Gold)
United Kingdom
English
26 (1963–1989)
13 (2005–present)
- Various
- (as of 2023, Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, and Phil Collinson)
- Multi-camera (1963–1989)
- Single-camera (2005–present)
- Regular episodes:
-
- 25 mins (1963–84, 86–89)
- 45 mins (1985, 2005–17)
- 50 mins (2018–present)
- Specials:
- Various: 50–90 minutes
BBC Studios Productions
Bad Wolf
- BBC Television (1963–1989)
- BBC Worldwide (1996)
- Universal Pictures (1996)
- BBC Wales (2005–2018)
- BBC Studios (2016–2022)
- Bad Wolf (2023–present)
- BBC Studios Productions (2023–present)
23 November 1963 –
6 December 1989
14 May 1996
26 March 2005 –
present
25 November 2023 –
present
Beginning with William Hartnell, fourteen actors have headlined the series as the Doctor; as of 2023, 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. Each actor's portrayal is distinct, but all represent stages in the life of the same character 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[1] and elsewhere; it has gained a cult following. It has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series.[2] 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,[3] as well as the "most successful" science-fiction series of all time, based on its overall broadcast ratings, DVD and book sales.[4]
The series originally ran from 1963 to 1989. There was an unsuccessful attempt to revive regular production in 1996 with a backdoor pilot in the form of a television film titled Doctor Who. The series was relaunched in 2005 and was produced in-house by BBC Wales in Cardiff. Since 2023, the show has been co-produced by Bad Wolf and BBC Studios Productions in Cardiff. Doctor Who has also spawned numerous spin-offs, including comic books, films, novels and audio dramas, and the television series Torchwood (2006–2011), The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011), K9 (2009–2010) and Class (2016). It has been the subject of many parodies and references in popular culture.
Premise
Doctor Who follows the adventures of the title character, a rogue Time Lord with somewhat unknown origins who goes by the name "the Doctor". The Doctor fled Gallifrey, the planet of the Time Lords, in a stolen TARDIS ("Time and Relative Dimension(s) in Space"), a time machine that travels by materialising into, and dematerialising out of, the time vortex. The TARDIS has a vast interior but appears smaller on the outside, and is equipped with a "chameleon circuit" intended to make the machine take on the appearance of local objects as a disguise. Due to a malfunction, the Doctor's TARDIS remains fixed as a blue British police box.[5]
Across time and space, the Doctor's many incarnations often find events that pique their curiosity, and try to prevent evil forces from harming innocent people or changing history, using only ingenuity and minimal resources, such as the versatile sonic screwdriver. The Doctor rarely travels alone and is often joined by one or more companions on these adventures; these companions are usually humans, owing to the Doctor's fascination with planet Earth, which also leads to frequent collaborations with the international military task force UNIT when Earth is threatened.[6] The Doctor is centuries old and, as a Time Lord, has the ability to regenerate when there is mortal damage to their body.[7] The Doctor's various incarnations have gained numerous recurring enemies during their travels, including the Daleks, their creator Davros, the Cybermen, and the renegade Time Lord the Master.[8]
Chronology and canonicity
Since the creation of the Doctor Who character by BBC Television in the early 1960s, a myriad of stories have been published about Doctor Who, in different media: apart from the actual television episodes that continue to be produced by the BBC, there have also been novels, comics, short stories, audio books, radio plays, interactive video games, game books, webcasts, DVD extras, and stage performances. The BBC takes no position on the canonicity of any of such stories, and producers of the show have expressed distaste for the idea of canonicity.[302]