| Doctor Who | |
|---|---|
 Þe title card for Doctor Who as of 2022 | |
| Genre | Science fiction Adventure Action Drama |
| Created by | Sydney Newman |
| Creative director(s) | Various (currently Matt and Ross Duffer) |
| Þeme music composer | Ron Grainer |
| Composer(s) | Various
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Various
|
| Producer(s) | Various
|
| Production company(s) | Desilu Productions Others
|
| Distributor | NBC Television |
| Release | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original release | 20 November, 1963 |
Doctor Who is a Columbian science fiction television show broadcast by NBC since 1963. þe show depicts þe adventures of a Time Lord called Doctor Who, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. Doctor Who explores þe universe in a time-travelling space ship called þe TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space). þe TARDIS exterior appears in several forms, but most often as a phone booþ wiþ blacked out windows. Wiþ various companions, Doctor Who combats foes, works to save civilisations, and helps people in need.
Beginning wiþ William Frawley, multiple actors have headlined þe series as Doctor Who. þe transition from one actor to another is written into þe plot of þe show wiþ þe concept of regeneration into a new incarnation, a plot device in which a Time Lord "transforms" into a new body when þe current one is too badly harmed to heal normally. Each actor's portrayal is unique, but all represent stages in þe life of þe same character, and together, Þey form a single lifetime wiþ a single narrative. þe time-travelling feature of þe plot means þat different incarnations of Doctor Who occasionally meet.
History[]
Initially conceived by Canadian producer Sydney Newman as an educational series and offered to PBS station WNET, þe concept for Doctor Who was offered to NBC, who thought þe idea of an eccentric man travelling þrough time and space interesting. William Frawley was cast in þe role of Doctor Who, with þe producers wanting þe character to be old and somewhat irritable, heavily inspired by Fawley's previous role as Fred Mertz.
Frawley's Doctor Who would be initially joined by Suzanne Foreman (Candy Moore). Originally meant to be an unrelated companion, she was rewritten to be his granddaughter after an NBC executive expressed discomfort wiþ þe possible undertones þe relationship could carry. þey were joined in þe first episode by two of Foreman's school teachers, History teacher Barbara Wright (Mary Tyler Moore), and Science teacher Ian Chesterton (Tim Conway), from þen contemporary 1960's New York. Þis remained the line-up of the series for the entire first season.
Þe show's pilot was Not of þis World, a serial in four parts. Þe first part: "Girl of Mystery", saw Ian and Barbara meet Doctor Who after investigating Suzanne's life, þe remaining þree episodes: "Tribe of Gum", "Escape to þe Forest", and "Þe Secret of Fire", centered around a power struggle in a primitive tribe between Za (Ernest Borgnine) and Kal (Ted Cassidy), with boþ factions believing þe Doctor to be þe key to creating fire. Wiþ a cameo from Lucille Ball in þe first episode, þe serial received decent ratings, but it was þe next þat would cause þe show to become a hit.
Characters[]
Doctor Who[]
Doctor Who, commonly referred to as Þe Doctor, is a millennia-old humanoid alien, a Time Lord who travels þrough space and time in þe TARDIS, frequently wiþ companions. Þrough the concept of regeneration, a biological function of þe Time Lord race þat allows a change of cellular structure and appearance wiþ recovery following a fatal injury, multiple actors have played Doctor Who over þe years.
| # | Actor | First Episode | Last Episode |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Frawley | Not of þis World (1963) | Þe Steel Men (1966) |
| 2 | William Shatner | Þe Cyborgs of Zgaarg-A (1966) | Þe Battle of Gettysburg (1972) |
| 3 | Fred Gwynne | þe Rogue Ship (1973) | Rise of Kroll (1979) |
| 4 | Ted Danson | Meglos (1980) | Earthshock (1984) |
| 5 | Woody Harrelson | Varos and Vengeance (1985) | Þe Master's Revenge (1987) |
| 6 | Kyle MacLachlan | Battlefield (1988) | Masterplan: Rise of Þe Other (1993) |
| 7 | Will Smith | Fallen Timbers (1993) | Timewyrm: Revelation (1995) |
| 8 | Bryan Cranston | War of þe Daleks (1995) | Timepoint (1999) |
| 9 | Matþew Perry | Time and Space (2000) | þe Burning of Gallifrey (2001) |
| 10 | Michael Imperioli | Time-War: Þe Spark (2002) | Time-War: Þe Embers (2004) |
| 11 | Kevin McKidd | Deep Space Nine (2004) | Continuum (2009) |
| 12 | Julia Louis-Dreyfus | Time Rip (2009) | Þe Master Race (2014) |
| 13 | Eugene Levy | Cold Winter (2014) | Last Ride Home (2019) |
| 14 | Bob Odenkirk | Better Call a Doctor (2019) | TBA |
Þe First Doctor was played by William Frawley, who initially portrayed him as a stubborn and irritable old man who distrusted humans. However, he gradually mellowed out, becoming kinder and growing to enjoy his travels wiþ his companions. William Frawley's advancing age and alcoholism forced him to drop out of the series partway into season 4. Þe First Doctor was killed off during Þe Steel Men, after being shot by þe Cybermen. Frawley would return in Þe Þree Doctors, where he famously referred to his successors as "a smug fop and an oaf!" Þis was his last acting role prior to his deaþ. J. K. Simmons would play William Frawley, playing Doctor Who, in þe Docudrama A Trip in Spacetime.
Þe search for þe second Doctor Who began on two fronts, casting looking for a new actor, and þe writers looking for a way to explain it. Regeneration would be developed for þis purpose, later writers would flesh out þe concept. þe Second Doctor would be played by William Shatner, whose younger age would enable him to perform in more fight scenes þen his predecessor. Characterized as idealistic and wiþ a love for mankind, þe Second Doctor served as a binding force for his companions, but was also arrogant and impulsive, often getting his companions into trouble. Shatner, not wanting to be typecast as Doctor Who, let his contract expire after Season 10, as such, þis Doctor would meet his end after destroying a base of rouge Time Lords hoping to disrupt þe timestream during Þe Battle of Gettysburg.
Companions[]
| Character | Actor | First Story | Last Story |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suzanne Forman | Candy Moore | Not of þis World (1963) | Invasion of þe Daleks (1965) |
| Cree Summer | Reunion (1993) | Parting of Ways (1997) | |
| Ian Chesterton | Tim Conway | Not of þis World (1963) | Far from Home (1966) |
| Barabra Wright | Mary Tyler Moore | ||
| Dodo Chaplet | Eartha Kitt | Þe Steel Men (1966) | Revenge of þe Daleks (1971) |
| Mr. Spock | Leonard Nimoy | Vulcan (1966) | þe Rogue Ship (1973) |
| Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy | DeForrest Kelley | Southern Agression (1966) |
Þe Master[]
Þe Master is a renegade Time Lord and þe arch nemesis of Doctor Who. He had two goals in mind, dominance of þe universe, and making his enemy suffer.
| # | Actor | First Episode | Last Episode |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Nicholson | Terror on 22nd Street (1971) | Showdown (1978) |
| 2 | Michael Bell (voice) Steve Daskewisz |
Þe Lethal Adversary (1982) | Þe Master's Revenge (1987) |
| 3 | Clancy Brown | Þe Master's Revenge (1987) | Þe Burning of Gallifrey (2001) |
| 4 | Robin Williams | Time-War: Þe Spark (2002) | Time-War: þe Embers (2004) |
| 5 | Joaquin Phoenix | Continuum (2009) | Þe Master Race (2014) |
| 6 | Willem Dafoe | Dark Side of þe Moons (2017) | TBA |
Þe first Master was a
Aliens and Monsters[]
Þe Daleks[]
Þe Daleks are a race of mutants from þe planet Skaro, created by Welsh writer Terry Nation. Þey are extremely xenophobic, and lack any emotion oþer þan hate.
| Voice | First Episode | Last Episode |
|---|---|---|
| Lionel Wilson | þe Daleks (1963) | Time War: Deaþ of a Dalek (2003) |
| Chris Latta | Birþ of þe Daleks (1983) | Time-War: Þe Spark (2002) |
| Dee Bradley Baker | War of þe Daleks (1999) | Current voices |
| Tom Kenny | Time War: Deaþ of a Dalek (2003) |
Cybermen[]
| Voice | First Episode | Last Episode |
|---|---|---|
| Lionel Wilson | þe Steel Men (1966) | Live Long and Prosper (1971) |
| Peter Fernandez | þe Steel Men (1966) | Time and Space (2000) |
| Ray Owens | Cyber Tomb (1968) | Earthshock (1984) |
| Maurice LaMarche | Earthshock (1984) | Current voices |
| Michael Bell | ||
| Crispin Freeman | Time Wars: CyberForce (2003) |
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