Police Public Call Box: Introducing Dr Who
Created | Updated Jan 15, 2011
What is 'Who'?
If I said I was going to talk about the popular television show Doctor Who, would you know what I was talking about? Would it ring a few bells and bring back memories of your childhood? Or would you remember Rose Tyler crying on that beach?
I'm going to try and sum up the show for those who don't know, and introduce what I'm doing here on the Post. There are many different and brilliant entries on h2g2 about Doctor Who, so for a more in-depth history and insight into the show I suggest you visit those after you've read this.
Among the fans, the show's history tends to be split into two, the older, 'Classic' series and the 'New' series. The show first aired on 23rd November 1963 and ran until 6th December 1989. The show made a come-back in 2005 and is still running as of 2010. The gap was bridged somewhat in 1996 by the temporary resurrection of the show in the form of the 'TV Movie'. This was, in essence, an unsuccessful pilot for a new British/American series which never materialised.
The Doctor is the show's main character. In the very first episode 'An Unearthly Child' he is shown as a mysterious stranger, an explorer from another world, with strange behaviour and a strange ship. As the show develops, he becomes more of a hero, having the knowledge to overcome threats and dangers and protect his travelling companions. Finally, we found out that he is also an alien and a completely different species from us humans. He is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. He has two hearts and can change his physical form to heal himself.
This 'changing', is more commonly known as regeneration. Time Lords have this inbuilt process to replace all their cells in their body with completely new ones – this occurring, if possible, when the current body is dying. Practically, within the format of the show, this enabled new actors to step into the role of the Doctor when the other left. Apparently because of this, some suspect James Bond to be a Time Lord because he looks different in many of his films with no explanation as to his change of appearance. That may not be true though...
So, how does he travel around time and space? The Doctor's time/space-ship is called a TARDIS – that's 'Time and Relative Dimensions in Space'. It is meant to adapt to its surroundings and disguise itself to fit in the time period, so that people passing do not notice it. Instead, the TARDIS is stuck in the shape of a 1950's Police Box – used to house criminals until the police arrive. The ship isn't noticed because of a perception filter which makes it slightly 'unseen' to people who don't know that it's there.
There have been eleven different incarnations of the Doctor. Each has their own personality and characteristics, but he remains the same at heart and is the same person underneath. The Doctor doesn't just travel by himself though; he's had a lot of companions join him for the ride!
Join me soon as I'll be looking back on the recent journeys of the Time Lord, bringing you bang up to date for the Christmas Special...
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