Doctor Who has the distinction of being the longest running science fiction television series in world history, with
the first episode of the cult classic program airing on the BBC One in the United Kingdom on November 23, 1963. Though the show was initially cancelled in 1989, after
more than two and a half decades of production, it resurfaced all too briefly in 1996 in the form
of a North American telefilm.
The title card from the very first Doctor Who series
The 1996 telefilm was a long awaited leap forward for many fans who had greatly missed
the beloved scifi program. Unfortunately however, the production faltered in the ratings and was subsequently not picked
up as a regular series by the Fox Television Network.
Despite this setback, the core fan base for the show, not at all surprisingly, never completely
waned and Doctor Who finally returned triumphantly to the airwaves in March of 2005, picking up right where the intergalactic
tale of the lone time and space traveling adventurer known simply as "the Doctor" had previously left off.
What's the secret of Doctor Who's longevity and consistent multinational popularity? Action and adventure?
Pulp science fiction monsters, robots and dastardly villains galore? Perhaps the best answer to that question is
the many fine actors who've played different incarnations or "regenerations" of the famous "Time Lord"
from the planet Gallifrey over the years.
As any serious Doctor Who fan ("Whovian") well knows, the Doctor is actually a
mysterious extraterrestrial life form (known as a Time Lord) from the planet Gallifrey. He is a traveler in both time and space and to date, audiences around the world
have glimpsed him through the prism of many periods in intergalactic history.
The Doctor has also been seen in
quite a number of guises, and been played by an even longer list of actors than can be seen above. In fact, even notable
screen great, Peter Cushing played the Doctor in not one, but two theatrical films (Doctor Who and the Daleks and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., respectively).
One thing is certain: Doctor Who, as an often super heroic, though sometimes tragically
lonely and complex cerebral protagonist, has hewn himself a well deserved
place in pop culture as an outstanding figure of action and adventure. His ever unfolding epic story transcends
his decidedly British origins, giving him mass appeal and earning him fans from all around the world. Long
live the legendary traveler Doctor Who - no matter WHO may be filling his well worn intergalactic shoes at any given
moment in space and time.
Check out this awesome Doctor Who timeline from Cable TV.com!
Eleven Doctors in 2011
Check out Doctor Who Toys.net to have a look at the history of toys and action figures based on the shows many incarnations throughout the years.
Below is an image of the complete eleven Doctor figure set that hit the market in 2011. All eleven figures come packaged in a beautiful box designed to
look like the Doctor's famous time and space faring vessel, the TARDIS.
I finally got this set & now there's a 12th Doctor! Oh well.
The following video is of course already dated
(since the show celebrated its 50 anniversary in 2013), but the guys at Fine Brothers Productions certainly did a nice job of utilizing the Doctor Who action figures from the Eleven Doctors Figure
Set. Naturally, each figure pops up at the bottom of the screen as the brothers advance through the first 47
years of Who history. The Fine Brothers have some other really entertaining vids too. I especially enjoy their
Kids React series.
Interestingly enough, according to official Doctor Who lore, the
TARDIS is actually an outdated craft with a faulty "chameleon circuit" which would normally
allow the machine to blend seamlessly into any given environment in time or space. Owing to
this perhaps permanent malfunction, the TARDIS appears to be perpetually stuck in the form of a British Police
Public Call Box from the 1950s.
Doctor Who Through the Years
This is the best Doctor Who TV series title compilation I've seen to date. It was assembled
and edited by Australian Youtuber BrianRimmer. Fantastic job, Brian. I can watch this video again and again and it just never seems to get old.
Adventures in Ninth Scale
The one and only Tom Baker, the 4th Doctor Who
One of my favorite toy blogs by far, is MEGO Time Lords, from the fantastic folks at The MEGO Museum. Now that rising toy company Bif Bang Pow! has begun producing 1:9 scale Doctor Who figures with virtually the same body as an original MEGO action figure (this one supplied by EMCE Toys/Fourth Castle.com), the MEGO Time Lords are definitely on top of just about every aspect of this wonderfully detailed line
of "retro" action figures.
Until Next Time, Sarah Jane Smith
It's incredibly hard to even imagine but lovely Elisabeth Sladen (who played frequent Doctor Who companion, Sarah Jane Smith), passed away from cancer early in the morning on April 19, 2011. What a shame.
I had a big crush on her when I was a kid. May she rest in blissful peace. She will be missed by so
very many.
Even More Doctor Who
Life, Doctor Who and Combom
is a really great site for serious Doctor Who fans interested in the latest information about the
series. Click on the pic below to visit this wonderful blog that features loads of recent intel, links and
fan chat galore. Who Fix is also a really outstanding Who blog with daily updates (two on Tuesdays!), so hop in the TARDIS
and head on over. You'll be glad you did.
