Portal:Doctor Who
The Doctor Who Portal
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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"Meat" is the fourth episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was first broadcast on BBC Two on 6 February 2008. It was written by Catherine Tregenna, who had previously written episodes for the first series of the show, directed by Colin Teague and produced by Richard Stokes. The episode featured the five initial series regulars John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori and Gareth David Lloyd plus recurring actor Kai Owen in a central role.
Torchwood initially depicts a small team of alien-hunters known as Torchwood, based in Cardiff. In the premiere episode of the first series Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) is introduced as a newcomer to the organisation who keeps her job secret from boyfriend Rhys Williams (Kai Owen). The episode "Meat" depicts the two aspects of Gwen's double life coming into conflict as Rhys finds himself caught up in Torchwood's investigation into a corrupt meat trade stemming from human exploitation of a stranded benevolent alien. Rhys helps Torchwood in their attempts to apprehend the human villains of the episode and his bravery makes Gwen realise that she should no longer keep secrets from him. (Full article...) -
"Day One" is the second episode of the first series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. Directed by Brian Kelly, the episode was first broadcast on the digital channel BBC Three on 22 October 2006 with the series pilot, "Everything Changes", and later repeated on terrestrial channel BBC Two on 25 October. It was the first work in the Doctor Who universe to be written by future Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall.
The episode centres on Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) working her first case with the alien hunters Torchwood in Cardiff, when she lets loose a purple alien gas[broken anchor] that survives on the energy of orgasms. Over the course of the episode, the team hunt for Carys before the gas kills her. (Full article...) -
"Adrift" is the eleventh episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was first broadcast on BBC Three on 19 March 2008, and repeated on BBC Two one week later. The episode was written by series one and two head writer Chris Chibnall, directed by Mark Everest and produced by Sophie Fante and Richard Stokes. The episode featured the five initial series regulars John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori and Gareth David Lloyd plus recurring actors Kai Owen and Tom Price.
The episode begins with the alien hunter Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) being called in to investigate a missing person case by her former colleague in the police Andy Davidson (Tom Price). When bereaved mother Nikki Bevan (Ruth Jones) starts a support group for missing people, Gwen realises the problem is widespread. She pursues the investigation against the wishes of her boss Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and is able to track Nikki's son to an isolation facility. It is revealed that Nikki's son Jonah (Robert Pugh and Oliver Ferriman), like the other missing individuals around Cardiff, was taken by the space-time rift and returned physically and mentally scarred. After realising she cannot have a relationship with her son, Nikki implores Gwen not to reveal the truth to any other bereaved relative. (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...) -
The Edge of Destruction (also referred to as Inside the Spaceship) is the third serial of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by David Whitaker, and first broadcast on BBC TV in two weekly parts on 8 February and 15 February 1964. The first episode was directed by Richard Martin, while Frank Cox directed the second. In the story, the Doctor (William Hartnell), his granddaughter Susan (Carole Ann Ford), and her teachers Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) are in the Doctor's time and space machine the TARDIS when it appears to be taken over by an outside force. The travellers begin acting strangely and turn against each other.
The serial was commissioned as a "filler", in case the show was not renewed beyond the approved 13 weeks. Whitaker wrote the scripts in two days, based on an idea he had developed during the show's formative weeks; he sought to explore the characters in more depth, as well as the facets of the TARDIS. The serial's original director, Paddy Russell, left the project due to other commitments. The serial premiered with ten million viewers, maintaining the figures from the previous story, and received generally positive responses. The BBC Programme Board voiced concerns regarding a scene in which Susan uses scissors as a weapon, noting that it violated code. The serial received print adaptations, as well as home media releases. (Full article...) -
Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is known for playing the Eleventh Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who (2010–2014), Prince Philip in Netflix's historical series The Crown (2016–2017)—for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination—and Daemon Targaryen in HBO's fantasy drama series House of the Dragon (2022–present).
Smith initially aspired to be a professional footballer, but spondylolysis forced him out of the sport. After joining the National Youth Theatre and studying drama and creative writing at the University of East Anglia, he became an actor in 2003, performing in plays including Murder in the Cathedral, Fresh Kills, The History Boys and On the Shore of the Wide World in London theatres. Extending his repertoire into West End theatre, he has since performed in the stage adaptation of Swimming with Sharks with Christian Slater, followed a year later by a critically acclaimed performance in That Face. (Full article...) -
"The Impossible Astronaut" is the first episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Toby Haynes. It was first broadcast on 23 April 2011 in the United Kingdom on BBC One, the United States on BBC America and in Canada on Space. It also aired in Australia on ABC1 on 30 April 2011. The episode features alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), and is the first of a two-part story, which concluded with "Day of the Moon" on 30 April.
In the episode, the Doctor, Amy, Rory and the archaeologist River Song (Alex Kingston) are summoned together by a version of the Doctor from 200 years in his future. Trying to understand the enigmatic hints about "Space 1969" the older Doctor mentioned and a man they meet in 2011 called Canton Everett Delaware III (Mark Sheppard in 1969 and William Morgan Sheppard in 2011), they travel to the United States in 1969 and discover a scared girl (Sydney Wade) who is trapped inside a spacesuit. The team deals with the Silence, a religious order of aliens which has members who can make people forget their encounter with them when they look away. (Full article...) -
The first series of the 2005 revival of the British science fiction programme Doctor Who began on 26 March 2005 with the episode "Rose". This marked the end of the programme's 16 year absence from episodic television following its cancellation in 1989, and the first new televised Doctor Who story since the broadcast of the television movie starring Paul McGann in 1996. The finale episode, "The Parting of the Ways", was broadcast on 18 June 2005. The show was revived by longtime Doctor Who fan Russell T Davies, who had been lobbying the BBC since the late 1990s to bring the show back. The first series comprised 13 episodes, eight of which Davies wrote. Davies, Julie Gardner and Mal Young served as executive producers, Phil Collinson as producer.
The show depicts the adventures of a mysterious and eccentric Time Lord known as the Doctor, who travels through time and space in his time machine, the TARDIS, which normally appears from the exterior to be a blue 1950s British police box. With his companions, he explores time and space, faces a variety of foes and saves civilizations, helping people and righting wrongs. (Full article...) -
"The Girl Who Waited" is the tenth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One and BBC America on 10 September 2011. It was written by Tom MacRae and was directed by Nick Hurran.
In the episode, the alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) takes his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and her husband Rory (Arthur Darvill) to the planet Apalapucia for a holiday, but they find that the planet is on quarantine as the two-hearted natives are susceptible to a deadly plague. Amy accidentally gets separated from the Doctor and Rory but, when they try to rescue her, they arrive 36 years later in her timeline. The older Amy does not trust the Doctor, who is forced to remain on the TARDIS as he also has two hearts, and will not allow the Doctor and Rory to leave and rescue her at the correct point in her timeline. (Full article...) -
"Rose" is the first episode of the first series of the revived British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The episode was directed by Keith Boak and written by Russell T Davies, who was also one of three executive producers. It was first broadcast in the UK on BBC One on 26 March 2005. "Rose" was the first Doctor Who episode to air since the Doctor Who television film in 1996.
In the episode, the London department store worker Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) gets caught in the middle of the alien time traveller the Doctor's (Christopher Eccleston) plot to prevent an invasion of the Earth by the Nestene Consciousness (voiced by Nicholas Briggs) and the Autons after the Doctor destroys Rose's workplace. (Full article...) -
"Voyage of the Damned" is an episode of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. First broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2007, it is the third Doctor Who Christmas special since the show's revival in 2005. The episode was written by Russell T Davies and directed by James Strong.
In the episode, the alien businessman Max Capricorn (George Costigan) seeks revenge on his company after it votes him out. He sets a starship replica of the RMS Titanic on a collision course with Earth to frame the board of directors for killing the humans on Earth. The episode features the only performance in Doctor Who by the Australian singer and actress Kylie Minogue, who plays the waitress Astrid Peth. Davies described her casting as a "very exceptional case", having written the part of Astrid specifically for Minogue. (Full article...) -
The fourteenth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who premiered on 11 May 2024, and aired through to 22 June. The marketing for the series refers to it as "Season One", following the production changes and the acquisition of Doctor Who's international broadcasting rights by Disney+. It is the fifth series led by Russell T Davies as head writer and executive producer and the first since his return to the show, having previously worked on it from 2005 to 2010. This series is the fourteenth to air since the programme's revival in 2005, and the fortieth season overall. The fourteenth series was announced with Davies' return for its 60th anniversary in 2023 and beyond, with Bad Wolf becoming a co-producer.
The series is the first to star Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, a new incarnation of the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in the TARDIS, which appears to be a British police box from the outside. The Fifteenth Doctor was introduced in "The Giggle" (2023) through a "bi-generation", in which he split from his predecessor, the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant), rather than replacing him. The series also introduces Millie Gibson as the Doctor's newest companion, Ruby Sunday. (Full article...) -
"To the Last Man" is the third episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was first broadcast on BBC Two on 30 January 2008. The episode was written by returning series guest writer, Helen Raynor, directed by Andy Goddard and produced by Richard Stokes. As with all episodes of Torchwood's first two series, "To the Last Man" featured series regulars John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori and Gareth David Lloyd, with Mori's character Toshiko Sato given the main focus.
The narrative centres on the intersection of Toshiko's romance with Tommy Brockless (Anthony Lewis), a cryogenically frozen soldier from World War I, and a number of hazardous time slips from 1918. As the impending crisis becomes more severe, Toshiko must choose between the man she has fallen in love with and the world at stake. Tommy eventually elects to return to 1918, where Toshiko knows he will be executed because of his shellshock. (Full article...) -
"The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2005. This episode features the first full-episode appearance of David Tennant as the Doctor. It is also the first specially produced Christmas special in the programme's history, commissioned following the success of the first series earlier in the year, to see how well the show could do at Christmas. It was written by showrunner and executive producer Russell T Davies and was directed by James Hawes.
In the episode, principally set in London, the newly regenerated Tenth Doctor is out of action, leaving Rose, Mickey and Jackie to combat the invasion of an alien race known as the Sycorax. The Sycorax demand that either humanity have to surrender half of themselves as slaves or one third of them will die through the Sycorax's blood control. (Full article...) -
John Scot Barrowman MBE (born 11 March 1967) is a Scottish-American actor, author, presenter, singer and comic book writer. He is known for his roles as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who (2005–10; 2020–21) and its spin-off Torchwood (2006–11), and as Malcolm Merlyn in the Arrowverse (2012–19).
Born in Glasgow, Barrowman moved to the US state of Illinois with his family at the age of eight. Encouraged by his high school teachers there, he studied performing arts at the United States International University in San Diego before landing the role of Billy Crocker in Cole Porter's Anything Goes in London's West End. Since his debut, he has played a number of roles in various musicals both in the West End and on Broadway, including Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, and Matador. After appearing in Sam Mendes' production of The Fix, he was nominated for the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical and, in the early 2000s, returned to the role of Billy Crocker in the revival of Anything Goes. His most recent West End credit was in the 2009 production of La Cage aux Folles. (Full article...)
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Selected story
The Power of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from November 5 to December 10, 1966. It is Patrick Troughton's first full story as the Doctor.
The serial begins with companions Ben and Polly being suspicious of the newly regenerated Doctor. The Doctor brings the TARDIS to the colony of Vulcan where he learns, to his horror, that a scientist has recovered three inert Dalek bodies from a crash and has reactivated them to serve the colony.
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Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that three-quarters of Doctor Who's longest story are missing?
- ... 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 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 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 Romans was the first Doctor Who serial with a humorous tone?
- ... that the 2024 Doctor Who episode "Dot and Bubble" was first conceptualized in 2009?
Selected quote
| “ | The Time Lords are an immensely civilised race. We can control our own environment - we can live forever, barring accidents, and we have the secret of space-time travel. | ” |
| — Second Doctor, The War Games | ||
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 Douglas Adams convinced John Cleese to appear in the Doctor Who serial City of Death after learning the comedian would be working in BBC Television Centre on the same day of filming?
- ... that the titular planet in the Doctor Who episode "Planet of the Ood" is in the same planetary system as the Sense-Sphere, the location for the 1964 serial The Sensorites?
- ... that "The Unicorn and the Wasp" was the first comedic episode in the science fiction television series Doctor Who since the 1966 serial The Gunfighters?
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