I am a Doctor Who fan and have been for a number of years. I
buy Doctor Who Magazine regularly, I also enjoy reading many of his adventures
in both the Virgin Books and BBC Books series. I also enjoy watching the
classic Doctor Who stories on video with my friends and family.
The Doctor has recently been voted as the 6th Most Popular
Television Character of All Time in a
Channel
4 poll. I was really pleased about this.
Doctor Who also came 2nd in the top 10 Science Fiction
Television Series of all time in a
Channel 4
poll. I was also really pleased about this.
This ever-popular science-fiction show started in 1963 and ran to 1989. Various
actors played the role in this time and they are as follows:
The BBC decided to axe the show despite still remaining
popular with fans worldwide. After much anticipation the show came back
briefly in a UK/USA co-production starring Paul McGann as The Doctor. I
thought Paul McGann would have made a good Doctor and it was a shame he was
not playing the role for longer.
The series returned to Saturday evenings
on BBC1 in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor & Billie Piper as Rose,
The Doctor's
assistant. I think it is excellent as ever and thought the
Dalek episode was particularly good.
Christopher Eccleston has decided to exit the role at the
end of 2005 series and David
Tennant has now replaced him in this iconic role. I am sorry to see Christopher go but
I have been pleased with
David's performances as The Doctor.
Following Christopher Eccleston departure at the end of
first new series, Billie Piper and her character
Rose Tyler, left at
the end of Series Two. David Tennant will be joined by special guest star, the
comedienne Catherine Tate in the 2006 Christmas Special which was seen by
nearly 10 million people.
Series Three started on BBC1 on 31st March 2007. The
first episode entitled Smith & Jones introduced
Martha Jones, played by Freema Agyeman,
to The Doctor. As the Series ended, following a year-long battle with
The Master, the two main characters are currently
separated, Martha is back on Earth whilst The Doctor has just had the
Titanic collide with the Tardis.
Since Series Three ended, it has been announced that the
character of Martha Jones will be appearing in some episodes of Series Two
of Torchwood. However, Martha will appear from
mid-way through Series Four. It has also been publicised that Catherine Tate
will be returning throughout Series Four as Donna Noble, first seen in the
2006 Christmas Day special.
During Series Four
of new Who, The Doctor and
Donna fought against many evil tyrants
including the return of Sontarans, who
reappeared after several years in a two part special. Other reappearances
included Bernard Cribbins, who featured in one of
Peter Cushing's 1960s spin-off films.
Bernard, following a memorable cameo in the
2007 Christmas special, returned
to play Donna Noble's grandfather Wilfred Mott.
Towards the end of
Series Four, it was revealed that the
Daleks had also returned along with their dastardly creator
Davros, who, as usual, was trying to
take over the universe. Needless to say, The Doctor and his several
friends reunited and defeated the deadly
foe.
For Christmas 2008,
The
Tenth Doctor fought the
Cybermen in Victorian England. The Next
Doctor mixed a personal story of a man who thought he was The Doctor with a
larger scale attack of one of his arch nemesis. This story proved be a major
hit on Christmas Day where over 11 million watched the show in it's 6.00pm
slot.
Little is also known about the 4 specials
The
Tenth Doctor will be appearing in
throughout 2009. It has been speculated that this small series will end with
a regeneration from the current Doctor to a new different Who. Many people
have suggested this as head writer and series producer Russell T Davies is
standing down this time for Steven Moffett to take over this post.
In October 2006, a new spin-off series was launched
called Torchwood featuring John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness. The
series features Jack and his associates solving alien crime in modern-day
Cardiff. The name of the show is based on an anagram of the original
programme's title. Click Here to visit my special
Torchwood section.
The Third and Fourth Doctor's companion, Sarah Jane
Smith, played by Elisabeth Sladen is returning to our screens in 2007. The
first episode of this show which was aimed at younger viewers was shown on
New Year's Day 2007. A full series will follow later on in the year. In
celebration of this programme, plus Sarah Jane's previous adventures with
The Doctor, I have created a special area within this website. Please Click Here to visit my special Sarah
Jane Adventures section.
On 29th October 2008,
live on TV and during a
break from playing the title role in Hamlet
for the RSC, David Tennant announced
he would leave the series in 2010. Many people have speculated that the
Christmas Day special called The Next Doctor,
which stars David Morrissey will be next to play
The Doctor.
On 3rd January 2009, it was announced in a
Doctor Who Confidential special broadcast at 5.35pm on BBC1 that The
Eleventh Doctor would be played by
Matt Smith. Matt will be playing the much-coveted role from Spring
2010 onwards.On Easter Saturday,
the 11th April 2009, the first special starring David Tennant as The
Tenth Doctor was broadcast. This special featured comic actor Lee Evans,
plus former Bionic Woman
Michelle Ryan as The Doctor new temporary
assistant. The show, as ever, proved to be popular and
Planet Of The
Dead was seen by a massive 8.41 million people.
In late May 2009, it was announced that the
relatively unknown actress Karen
Gillan would be portraying The Doctor's next assistant. This
Scottish 21 year old has already appeared in the show, in the Series
Four episode The Fires Of Pompeii. Karen will appear next to
Matt Smith, The Eleventh Doctor, in
the Series Five when it airs from Spring 2010 onwards.
I own DVDs of the classic series plus I also
own the the complete Series One, Series
Two, Series Three and
Series
Four of modern Doctor Who.
Being a great fan of Doctor Who, I have been lucky enough
to go to some events locally celebrating the classic and new series. For
each event I have been to, I have created sections within this website all
about my various days out. Click Here to find out more.
Please visit my Gallery
to see various pictures of Doctor Who stars, and much more.
I would also recommend visiting my Doctor
Who Favourites section where I list what elements of the show I like the
best.
