DOCTOR WHO

Premiered: Saturday 23 November 1963
Final appearance: Monday 27 May 1996

Update: "Missing Episodes" recovered: 10.10.2013

DOCTOR WHO is an iconic television programme

It ranks alongside not only the science-fiction equivalents of STAR TREK, OUTER LIMITS, QUATERMASS and LOST IN SPACE but it compares to the likes of many feature films (STAR WARS, 2001 - A SPACE ODESSY, PLANET OF THE APES and THE TIME MACHINE) in its valued contribution to family storytelling.

Created by BBC DRAMA (from an briefing document written by Donald Wilson) and developed by Sydney Newman, the series focused on the adventures of "a Maturer Man, 35-40" who had "a character twist".

The "twist"?

A space-time traveller (a Time Lord) known as 'the Doctor' from another planet (Gallifrey) who has the ability to change his body (called 'regeneration') if it is mortally wounded or injured. Did I mention that he has two hearts?

He journeys theough time-space in a craft called the TARDIS (an acronym that stands for 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space').

In his space-time craft, the Doctor can travel anywhere - he can move theough space, forward in time, backward in time, sideways and theoughout our current time.

More often than not he is joined by a companion (or companions) on his journeys, and together they meet aliens (some friendly and some thoroughly evil). The most infamous is the Dalek (a mutated humanoid inside an armoured travel-machine). Then there's Cybermen, the Master (also from the Doctor's planet), Sontarans, Autons, 'Sea Devils', Sutekh, Ice Warriors, and the list goes on.

Between 1963 and 1996, there have been 8 actors who have played the Time Lord on BBC1 television (see right).

You can re-live the Doctor's CLASSIC SERIES adventures on BBC DVD (and BBC VHS). 157 stories (over 500 30-minute episodes).

Welcome to DOCTOR WHO CLASSIC SERIES.