History of BBC’s Doctor Who Television Series
BBC’s Doctor Who definitely is one of Great Britain’s contributions to the world of television. For starters, the series aired its pilot episode on November 23, 1963 at precisely 5:15PM (GMT); with a goal of creating a show intended for general public viewing. True to its initial promise, initial episodes from the Doctor Who television series showed the importance of science and history which delighted the parents of the younger audience.
Created by Sydney Cecil Newman, the Dr. Who TV series evolved around the uncanny adventures of an alien time-traveler called The Doctor. He travels through space with his dependable time-warping ship named T.A.R.D.I.S, which is short for Time and Relative Dimension(s) in Space.
Yet, one question lurked – how on earth or how in the parallel universe’s magnanimity could a simple doctor or professor as he really wants to be known, possess such powers if he was just an ordinary person who is just obsessed with the mystery of history and science.
Well, The Doctor is actually a son of an alien Time Lord and a human mother but what makes him more alien than human is his peculiar condition of having two hearts. His exterior appearance is his only human attribute.
The Doctor was accepted at an academy where he began his studies to make him a Time Lord and have a capability to travel and manipulate the course of time through a space machine called TARDIS which appeared to be a blue colored police box on the outside; which he later on stole from his fellow alien community.
Being an alien allowed him to age slowly and if bad things happened, he could regenerate or turn into another person or better yet, swap bodies to be able to continue his mission of protecting his favorite planet called Earth.
He was accompanied by up to three companions – attractive young females, who helped him in his missions. There was just one time when he traveled by himself.
This leads us now to the different forms that Dr. Who assumed, which was played by several actors in the TV series. The fans were always pre-empted at every ending of an episode that showed the news that says Doctor Who is regenerating into another persona with a different personality. This way the loyal viewers will be updated and would not get shocked when another actor replaces the former one.
Here are some of the actors who played the enigmatic role of Dr. Who:
The first actor who played since its pilot episode in 1963 was the aging William Hartnell. He injected his being a doting grandfather type to the character. This became one of the distinct qualities that were also continued by the succeeding actors. His assistants were his schoolgirl grand daughter, who also happens to be an alien who came from Gallifrey, and two of her teachers who found about the TARDIS and went back in time to battle a race of primitive humanoids. As the original doctor, fans immediately considered him an icon of physics to the extent where young kids followed him around like the Pied Piper.
Patrick Troughton played the second Dr. Who in the TV series from 1966-69. He gave a different air to the character with his comic flair for clothes. He was accompanied with an assistant who was rescued via time travel in 1746. Viewers enjoyed several monsters with the likes of the Ice Warriors and the quite popular alien race called Cybermen. The series would not be complete without the famous blood thirsty Daleks, whose cries of Ex-ter-mi-nate became the most popular chant of all the series’ hardcore and loyal fans.
Jon Pertwee’s turn to play the series’ third Doctor Who happened from 1970 to 1974. He brought his fencing skills to the character with swashbuckling skills, but later on mellowed when the news regarding the series’ format changing from having a year-round battle scene to a few ones. His assistants were very beautiful girls in platform-heels.
The most popular actor – in the history of the series to play the role was Tom Baker in 1974 to 1981. He portrayed the role the longest time in the history of the television series. He became the actor who contributed his sense of humor and gothic looks, as well as his unpredictability, which brought back the alien nature of the doctor. This was also the time when he met his new companion who would later become a favorite – K9 together with a warrior princess, which upped the TV series’ ratings since more and more young men watched it due to the revealing clothes she wore.
Peter Davison who played the fifth regenerated doctor from 1981-184 was termed to be the only doctor who did not possess the air of eccentricity. He contributed his straightforward, humorous and wisdom-filled personality to the character. Two lovely assistants were at his beck and call: an airhostess who wandered into the TARDIS and also followed by an American student studying the history and uses of botany.
Colin Baker’s portrayal of the 6th Dr. Who in 1984-1986 has shocked viewers with his temper as opposed with the mild mannered personality of his predecessor, Davison. This daring version scared away some of the fans. The television series’ ratings began to fall during his reign that lasted for 18 months.
Producers cast Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy as the 7th Doctor in 1987 and tried to attract old audience it lost back to the show. Unfortunately, McCoy’s new take on the Doctor didn’t change the fate of the show declining in ratings. In 1989, BBC shut down the production of Doctor Who ending the television series being on the air for two decades. Fans wondered when, if ever, they would see Doctor and his memorable nemesis like Autons, Sontarans, Zygons, Sea Devils, Silurians, Rani and Davros ever again.
In 1996, fans were excited over the news of the return of Doctor Who. However, this time the show returned to television as a 2 hour Fox TV movie starring actor Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor. This was the first Doctor Who story to be filmed outside of Europe. Originally it was planned to be a pilot for a revived Dr Who series, but unfortunately, the movie was not a huge hit with American audiences, postponing its return for another few years.
Come 2003, a revival was announced by BBC, which intrigued televiewers who were new to the series. When it came back in 2005, ratings soared and revitalized the popularity it enjoyed in its former airing. Actor Christopher Eccleston revived the leading character from hiatus as the 9th doctor and won the Best Actor award for the 2005 British National Television Awards. The Most Popular Drama Award was also given to the show itself. The producers made the right pick to take on the role of the Doctor. Eccleston brought back the humor of the Fourth Doctor but lined it with a dark edge due to the story’s plot that Gallifrey was destroyed and he remains to be the last of the Time Lords.
David Tennant, who came to be the most current one to be regenerated as the 10th doctor, received the top vote as Doctor Who by the readers of the magazine with the same name. Tennant contributes his easy-going, witty, and talkative ways to the character of Doctor Who. It was during his reign that the longest-running show won three 2008 Constellation Awards for Best Male Performance, Best Female Performance, and Best Science Fiction Television Series.
The news of the 11th doctor, in the form of Matt Smith to be aired in 2010, appeared to receive some hesitations from the BBC family due to his young age of 26 and lack of experience to supposedly handle the role. Yet his boyish charm and thick English accent together with his rather impressive resume convinced the producers and directors of the famed Doctor Who TV series to make him the newest addition to the doctor’s regeneration. The only worry that the loyal viewers has is that the character could only regenerate 12 times which meant that a 13th doctor would not be possible since the former doctors have used all of its regenerative powers.
What’s in store for the newest chapter of Dr. Who? Apart from numerous hesitations that float around, the show reveals that every regenerated doctor has to appear younger to prolong his lifespan even though he actually has aged ten-folds. Perhaps the quest to protect the universe from alien war lords could still be the goal of the doctor in showing the television viewers what happened in the past as he writes and rewrites history. As a result, he delivers the wonderful news that the future can definitely become peaceful and inhabitable for all the living things he is yet to encounter.