Doctor Who

1 9 6 3 - 1 9 9 6 (UK)
679 x 25 minute episodes
15 x 50 minute episodes
1 x 90 minute episode

The longest running science fiction series in TV history actually began life as a concept for a children's educational program.  The time travel of the Doctor was meant to be a way of explaining past ages and the physical sciences.  The very first episode aired on the BBC on November 23rd, 1963 - the day after John F Kennedy was assassinated.

Previously turned down by ITV, the adventure began at an ordinary school where the Doctor's granddaughter Susan was a pupil. Her science teacher Ian Chesterton and history teacher Barbara Wright were intrigued by Susan's vast knowledge, and their curiosity led them to the Doctor and his home - what seemed to be a police box. . .

Of course it turned out to be a time machine called the Tardis (which stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) which was also much, much bigger on the inside than the outside.

The first Doctor was played by William Hartnell (from 1963 to 1966) but the Doctor's ability to transmute into another human form has enabled a succession of actors to play the Time Lord Patrick Troughton (1966 - 1969), Jon Pertwee (1969 - 1974), Tom Baker (1974 - 1981), Peter Davison (1982 - 1984), Colin Baker (1984 - 1986) and Sylvester McCoy (1987 - 1992).

Paul McGann reprised the role in the 1996 version and Peter Cushing had played the Doctor in the movies Doctor Who and the Daleks (1965) and Daleks - Invasion Earth (1966). William Hartnell left in 1966, partly because he was suffering from multiple sclerosis and was becoming unsafe on the set, and partly following an argument with the BBC. He thought the series was becoming too evil and unsuitable for children.

The Doctors of great note for me were Jon Pertwee (gadget-crazy and later to become Worzel Gummidge) and Tom Baker who played the doctor for seven years, twirling his scarf all the way. Tom Baker had been working part time on a building site when he was chosen for the part, and later remarked that his workmates couldn't believe 'their cement mixer becoming Doctor Who'. And over the years, the Doctor has faced a grisly assortment of adversaries including Cybermen, Ice Warriors, Sensorites, Voords, Krotons, Autons, Zygons, Sea Devils, Urbankans, Draconians, Silurians, Sontarans, Mara, Yeti, Terileptils, Mummies, and everyone's favourite cruet set, the Daleks.

The Daleks are probably the scariest memory of my childhood with their menacing cries of "exterminate! ex-ter-min-ate!" much imitated by me and my friends with saucepans or laundry baskets on our heads!

There were complaints about the Cybermen being too frightening, and the use of vampire bats in a 1980 episode prompted an outcry from the RSPCA and led to questions being asked in Parliament.

The Doctor had a succession of female assistants, mostly stereotyped as helpless women (such as Jo Grant) who added a bit of sexiness to the show. Most of the doctor's male acquaintances were also stereotypes, most notably Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart who had this immortal line while addressing a soldier in The Daemons; - "Jenkins, chap with the wings there, five rounds rapid fire!".

The show was shot on video and produced on a shoe-string budget and invariably featured scenery which shook visibly when a door was slammed or someone fell backwards into a wall!  The special effects cost just as little - The flashing lights on the Daleks came from the indicators of a Morris car!

These most terrifying adversaries were propelled by stuntmen who sat inside on a stool and pushed the Dalek around on castors. The low budget also unfortunately meant some of the monsters were unintentionally amusing!  While The Cybermen were mildly terrifying, the Sea Devils and others of their ilk, were downright laughable (even as a small child).

Jon Pertwee (who played the Doctor between 1969 and 1974) did not share my deep seated fear of the exterminating salt and pepper shakers . During an interview he said; "You only had to go down two flights of stairs and you had (the Daleks) screwed." Maybe so, but how many TV baddies can claim a place in the Oxford English Dictionary? "Dalek" makes the cut!

Over the years, Dr Who has built up a fanatical following among children and adults alike. There are even Dr Who conventions, and no other TV show has encouraged such 'anorak' behaviour, with the possible exception of Star Trek.