Portal:Doctor Who

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Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterrestrial being called the Doctor, part of a humanoid species called Time Lords. The Doctor travels in the universe and in time using a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS, which externally appears as a British police box. While travelling, the Doctor works to save lives and liberate oppressed peoples by combating foes. The Doctor often travels with companions.

Beginning with William Hartnell, fourteen actors have headlined the series as the Doctor; as of 2024^[update], Ncuti Gatwa leads the series as the Fifteenth Doctor. The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of the series with the concept of regeneration into a new incarnation, a plot device in which, when a Time Lord is fatally injured, their cells regenerate and they are reincarnated, into a different body with mannerisms and behaviour, but the same memories, explaining each actor's distinct portrayal, as they all represent different stages in the life of the Doctor and, together, they form a single lifetime with a single narrative. The time-travelling nature of the plot means that different incarnations of the Doctor occasionally meet. The Doctor can also change ethnic appearance or gender; in 2017, Jodie Whittaker became the first woman cast in the lead role, and in 2024, Gatwa became the first black actor to headline the series.

The series is a significant part of popular culture in Britain and elsewhere; it has gained a cult following. It has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series. Fans of the series are sometimes referred to as Whovians. The series has been listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running science-fiction television series in the world, as well as the "most successful" science-fiction series of all time, based on its overall broadcast ratings, DVD and book sales. (Full article...)

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Recognized quality articles

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"The End of the World" is the second episode of the first series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. Written by executive producer Russell T Davies and directed by Euros Lyn, the episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 April 2005 and was seen by approximately 7.97 million viewers in the United Kingdom.

In the episode, the alien time traveller the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) takes his new companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) five billion years into the future where many rich alien delegates have gathered on a space station called Platform One to watch the Sun expand into a red giant and destroy the Earth, but the human guest Lady Cassandra (Zoë Wanamaker) is plotting to profit from the event by fabricating a hostage situation. (Full article...)
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"The Vampires of Venice" is the sixth episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was broadcast on 8 May 2010 on BBC One. It was written by Toby Whithouse, who previously wrote "School Reunion", and was directed by first-time Doctor Who director Jonny Campbell.

Following from the end of "Flesh and Stone" where his companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) had kissed him, the alien time traveller the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) picks up Amy's fiancé Rory (Arthur Darvill) and takes the two on a romantic trip to Venice in 1580. There they are intrigued by a girls' school whose students appear to be vampires and discover that they are really alien refugees in disguise, who plot to make Venice their new home. (Full article...)
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Harriet Jones is a fictional character played by Penelope Wilton in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Having worked previously with lead writer and executive producer Russell T Davies, Wilton was keen to involve herself with his 2005 revival of Doctor Who after he sought to cast her. Jones is introduced in the two-part story "Aliens of London" and "World War Three" as a Member of Parliament who aids the Ninth Doctor against an alien invasion of London. The episode establishes a running joke associated with the character which would see her frequently introduce herself by holding up her ID and stating her name and rank; in subsequent episodes this was usually met with the response "Yes, I/we know who you are," even occurring with the Daleks and the Sycorax.

Wilton returned for the series' 2005 Christmas special as Davies wanted to include a familiar character whose presence would ease the transition following a change in the series' lead actor. Despite her character having been introduced as fair-minded and hard-working, Harriet is depicted as an uncompromising Prime Minister, which led to comparisons to real-life politicians. Response to the character's political decisions prompted mixed commentary from the media; some reviewers felt that the character had acted unreasonably whilst others sympathised with her actions and felt her scripted political demise was unjust. (Full article...)
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Morrissey in May 2015

David Mark Joseph Morrissey (born 21 June 1964) is an English actor and filmmaker. He had numerous small roles in films and television series throughout the 1990s before achieving wider recognition for playing Gordon Brown in The Deal (2003), Stephen Collins in State of Play (2003), and The Governor in the third, fourth, and fifth seasons of The Walking Dead (2012–2015). He has also acted extensively on stage with companies such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre.

Morrissey has directed short films and the television dramas Sweet Revenge (2001) and Passer By (2004). His feature-length directorial debut, the television film Don't Worry About Me (2010), premiered on BBC Two. He was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for State of Play and won a Best Actor award from the Royal Television Society for The Deal. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Edge Hill University in 2016. (Full article...)
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The seventh series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who was broadcast concurrently on BBC One in the United Kingdom, and was split into two parts as the previous series had been. Following its premiere on 1 September 2012, the series aired weekly with five episodes until 29 September. The remaining eight episodes were broadcast between 30 March and 18 May 2013. The 2012 Christmas special, "The Snowmen", aired separately from the main series and introduced a new TARDIS interior, title sequence, theme tune, and outfit for the Doctor.

Doctor Who's seventh series was the show's third and final series to feature Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Arthur Darvill. They reprised their roles of the Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams respectively, from the previous series. Gillan and Darvill departed the series in the fifth episode, "The Angels Take Manhattan", after which a new companion named Clara Oswald joined the Doctor, played by Jenna-Louise Coleman, remaining with the series for its second half. The main story-arc of the series focused on the significance of the character of Clara, whom the Doctor had encountered twice before as Oswin in "Asylum of the Daleks" and as a governess in "The Snowmen". It also features the recurring appearance of the Doctor's enemy, The Great Intelligence, who is later revealed to be trying to gain the Doctor's true name for his own purposes. Smith stayed for one year longer than Gillan and Darvill, and departed after the 2013 specials, with his final appearance being in the 2013 Christmas special "The Time of the Doctor". (Full article...)
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"Space Babies" is the first episode of the fourteenth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It was written by Russell T Davies and directed by Julie Anne Robinson. The episode was released alongside the next episode, "The Devil's Chord", on BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom on 11 May 2024 and in the United States on Disney+ on 10 May 2024. A broadcast on BBC One followed later in the evening on 11 May.

The episode, which takes place immediately after the events of "The Church on Ruby Road", follows an alien time traveller known as the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), as they travel to a space station and discover a baby farm. Together, they learn that the babies are under threat by a creature dubbed "the Bogeyman". (Full article...)
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Prom 13: Doctor Who Prom was a concert showcasing incidental music from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, along with classical music, performed on 27 July 2008 in the Royal Albert Hall in London as part of the BBC's annual Proms series of concerts. The Doctor Who Prom was the thirteenth concert in the 2008 Proms season, and was intended to introduce young children to the Proms.

The Doctor Who Prom showcased the work of Murray Gold, who has composed the incidental music for Doctor Who since its return in 2005. Other classical pieces were also played. The concert was conducted by Ben Foster and Stephen Bell, and performed by the BBC Philharmonic. It was presented by actress Freema Agyeman, who played companion Martha Jones on Doctor Who. Other Doctor Who actors and performers dressed as Doctor Who monsters also made appearances on stage and in the audience. The concert included video montages of scenes from Doctor Who and a specially filmed "mini-episode" of Doctor Who called "Music of the Spheres", which was presented on a screen above the orchestra and included live interactive elements. (Full article...)
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"Demons of the Punjab" is the sixth episode of the eleventh series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It was written by Vinay Patel, directed by Jamie Childs, and first broadcast on BBC One on 11 November 2018.

In the episode, Yasmin Khan asks the Thirteenth Doctor to take her to see her grandmother during her youth. Along with the other companions Graham O'Brien and Ryan Sinclair, they get caught up in the events preceding the partition of India; meanwhile, the Doctor also investigates if aliens are involved in the death of a man killed during their visit. The episode was watched by 7.48 million viewers in the UK during the week following its release, and was met with positive reviews from critics. (Full article...)
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The second season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 1964 and 1965. The season began on 31 October 1964 with Planet of Giants and ended with The Time Meddler on 24 July 1965. Like the first season, production was overseen by the BBC's first female producer Verity Lambert. Story editor David Whitaker continued to handle the scripts and stories during early production, handing over to Dennis Spooner as the season began to air; Spooner subsequently left his role by the season's end, and was replaced by Donald Tosh for its final serial. By the season's end, Lambert was the only remaining production member from the team responsible for creating the series.

The season continued to star William Hartnell as the first incarnation of the Doctor, an alien who travels through time and space in his TARDIS, which appears to be a British police box on the outside. Carole Ann Ford continued her role as the Doctor's granddaughter Susan Foreman, who acts as his companion alongside her schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, portrayed by William Russell and Jacqueline Hill, respectively. Ford departed the series at the conclusion of the season's second serial, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, replaced by Maureen O'Brien as Vicki in the following story, The Rescue. Towards the end of the season, Russell and Hill also depart in the final episode of The Chase, replaced by Peter Purves as Steven Taylor. Hartnell remained as the only original cast member. (Full article...)
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"Time Crash" is a mini-episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on 16 November 2007, as part of the BBC One telethon for the children's charity Children in Need. Written by Steven Moffat, it starred David Tennant and brought back Peter Davison as the Doctor.

The episode, set during the last scene of the previous episode "Last of the Time Lords", depicts a humorous encounter between the Doctor's fifth and tenth incarnations, played by Davison and Tennant respectively. "Time Crash" was praised by critics who reviewed the episode, and was a ratings success; it was the most-viewed show of the night, and briefly the most-viewed episode of Doctor Who since 2005, with 11 million viewers. (Full article...)
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"Wild Blue Yonder" is the second of the 60th anniversary specials of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 December 2023, and was written by Russell T Davies and directed by Tom Kingsley. David Tennant stars as the Fourteenth Doctor, alongside Catherine Tate as Donna Noble.

Set directly after the events of "The Star Beast", the episode focuses on the Doctor and Donna being stranded by the TARDIS on an abandoned spaceship at the edge of the universe, where they encounter a pair of sadistic, shapeshifting duplicates of themselves. It is dedicated to Bernard Cribbins, who posthumously appears as Wilfred Mott, following his death in July 2022. (Full article...)
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The Dalek Invasion of Earth is the second serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Richard Martin, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts from 21 November to 26 December 1964. In the serial, the First Doctor (William Hartnell), his granddaughter Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford), and teachers Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) discover that the Earth in the 22nd century has been occupied by Daleks. They work with a human resistance group to stop the Daleks from mining out the Earth's core as part of their plan to pilot the planet through space.

The serial was commissioned following the success of the Daleks from the titular serial of the first season. The serial also marks the final regular appearance of Ford as Susan, having been dissatisfied with the character's development. The writers had considered introducing Susan's replacement within The Dalek Invasion of Earth, but delays in contract renewals forced it to the following serial. The serial was the first major location shoot for Doctor Who, with production taking place at Trafalgar Square, Westminster Bridge, and the Royal Albert Hall. The serial premiered with 11.4 million viewers, maintaining strong viewers across the six weeks. Contemporary reactions were positive, with many praising the return of the Daleks. Retrospective reviews were also positive, with particular praise directed at the first episode's cliffhanger and Susan's emotional departure, though the direction and pacing has been criticised. The serial later received several print adaptations and home media releases. (Full article...)
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"Meat" is the fourth episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was first broadcast on BBC Two on 6 February 2008. It was written by Catherine Tregenna, who had previously written episodes for the first series of the show, directed by Colin Teague and produced by Richard Stokes. The episode featured the five initial series regulars John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori and Gareth David Lloyd plus recurring actor Kai Owen in a central role.

Torchwood initially depicts a small team of alien-hunters known as Torchwood, based in Cardiff. In the premiere episode of the first series Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) is introduced as a newcomer to the organisation who keeps her job secret from boyfriend Rhys Williams (Kai Owen). The episode "Meat" depicts the two aspects of Gwen's double life coming into conflict as Rhys finds himself caught up in Torchwood's investigation into a corrupt meat trade stemming from human exploitation of a stranded benevolent alien. Rhys helps Torchwood in their attempts to apprehend the human villains of the episode and his bravery makes Gwen realise that she should no longer keep secrets from him. (Full article...)
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The Chase is the eighth serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Richard Martin, the serial was broadcast on BBC in six weekly parts from 22 May to 26 June 1965. Set in multiple time periods on several different planets, including Aridius, Earth, and Mechanus, the serial features the Dalek race travelling through time while pursuing the TARDIS and its occupants—the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and his companions Ian Chesterton (William Russell), Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill), and Vicki (Maureen O'Brien)—to kill them and seize the TARDIS for themselves. The Doctor and companions encounter several characters, including monsters Dracula (Malcolm Rogers) and Frankenstein's monster (John Maxim), human astronaut Steven Taylor (Peter Purves), and an android replica of the Doctor (Edmund Warwick).

Nation was commissioned to write the serial by story editor Dennis Spooner following the success of the Daleks in The Daleks (1963–1964) and its sequel The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964); Martin was also chosen to direct based on his work on these serials. The Chase was the final work on Doctor Who by Martin and Spooner. The story was allocated a larger budget than normal, resulting in minimal budget for the preceding and following stories. A substantial part of the budget was allocated to the construction of the Mechonoids; they were given a press launch, and their merchandising rights were offered to manufacturers. The production crew coordinated with the Beatles's manager Brian Epstein to feature a clip of the band in the first episode of The Chase. Dudley Simpson composed the serial's incidental score. (Full article...)
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"The Almost People" is the sixth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 May 2011. It is the second episode of a two-part story written by Matthew Graham and directed by Julian Simpson which began with "The Rebel Flesh".

Following from "The Rebel Flesh", alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) are on an acid-pumping factory on a remote island in the 22nd century where the crew of the factory create "Gangers", the Flesh duplicates they control. However, a solar storm has caused the Gangers to become sentient, and the Doctor must prevent a war breaking out between the humans and Gangers. (Full article...)

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"Mission to the Unknown" is a single-episode Doctor Who story. It is notable as the only such installment in the original run of the series, and also for not featuring any of the regular characters, including the Doctor, although William Hartnell is still credited on-screen.

The story concerns three men struggling to repair their crashed spaceship in a hostile jungle on the planet Kembel. It serves as a prelude to the later serial, The Daleks' Master Plan.

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that due to legal and union restrictions, the production team for the Doctor Who episode "Space Babies" occasionally had to replace real babies with props?
... that three-quarters of Doctor Who's longest story are missing?
... that a popular romantic pairing from Doctor Who was later adapted into the show at the suggestion of lead actress Jodie Whittaker?
... that William Hartnell was the only original Doctor Who cast member who remained by the end of the second season?
... that Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi was a fan of the series as a child?
... that the producers of Doctor Who only wrote a queer romance into the programme's 2022 special episodes after viewers began shipping two characters?

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Selected quote

“

On my travels to Cathay, Ian, I have come to believe many things I'd previously doubted. For instance, when I was a boy in Venice, they told me that in Cathay there was a stone that burned. I did not believe, but there is such a stone: I have seen it. And if stone burns, why not a caravan that flies? Birds fly; I have even seen fish that fly. You are asking me to believe that your caravan can defy the passage of the sun? Move not merely from one place to another, but from today into tomorrow, today to yesterday? No Ian, that I cannot believe.

”

— Marco Polo, Marco Polo

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Events

**Recent scheduled events**
Date	Event
29 August 2022	Another SMTV Live crossover episode
1 January 2022	2022 specials
December 2021	Big Finish audio play The Year of Martha Jones [1]
February 2022	Second volume of the Big Finish audio play The Lone Centurion [2]
May 2022	Series 2 of the audio play Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures

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More did you know?

... that an animated Doctor Who serial, The Infinite Quest, aired as part of the children's magazine show Totally Doctor Who?
... that although £5 tickets were available for the Doctor Who Prom, tickets were touted on eBay for £250?

... that the first spin-off of Doctor Who, K-9 and Company only ever had a pilot episode, A Girl's Best Friend?

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