TELEVISION 101: Doctor Who

This 101, my very first, is dedicated to my dear friend Kase. I broke his heart the day he realized that my interest in fantasy was .. well, for the lack of a better word - ZILCH!
Hope this makes up!

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What is it about?
The Doctor, a man not from Earth, travels around time and space in the TARDIS, which looks like a blue police call box on the outside, but is infinitely large on the inside. He is joined by Rose Tyler, an Earth girl. Together they have amazing adventures throughout time and space.

Who produces it?
BBC1 in the United Kingdom

When is it on?
Saturday evenings at 7:00 PM GMT

When does it premiere?
26 March 2005

What’s this about a previous series called Doctor Who?
In 1963 the BBC created a television series called Doctor Who which ran for 26 years before being “put to rest” in 1989. An attempt was made to bring the series back in 1996 via a TV Movie produced by the American FOX Network.

Is this new series a continuation or a “reimagining” of the previous series?
At first glance it seems to be a little of both. Russell Davies, the producer, says he leaves it up to the fans as to which it is. The production company states they will not ignore what has come before, but will not be tied down to it either. Only time will tell which it turns out to be.

Who is the Doctor?
In the original series, the Doctor is a centuries old Time Lord from a planet called Gallifrey. Tired of the stagnant lifestyle on his planet, the Doctor stole a TARDIS and set out into the universe with his granddaughter Susan. Over the years, the Doctor saw many companions come and go and he even changed his appearance several times through regeneration.

What mean you regeneration?
When the original actor became too ill to continue as the Doctor, the producers at the time came up with the brilliant idea of regenerating the character. Basically, anytime a Time Lord is about to die, his/her body renews itself at the cellular level. This has the affect of completely changing the Time Lord’s physical appearance. Over the course of the series seven different actors portrayed the Doctor: William Hartnell (1963-1966), Patrick Troughton (1966-1969), Jon Pertwee (1970-1974), Tom Baker (1974-1981), Peter Davison (1982-1984), Colin Baker (1984-1986), and Sylvester McCoy (1987-1989). McCoy returned for the first few moments of the 1996 TV Movie and regenerated into Paul McGann, thus continuing the series continuity into the movie.

Who is the Doctor in the new series?
Christopher Eccleston is the Doctor!

Does the new series begin with Paul McGann regenerating into Christopher Eccleston?
No, it does not. This Doctor has been around for a while, though he does make a comment about his facial features when noticing himself in a mirror, implying that he may have recently regenerated. The current production team assures us that this is the Ninth Doctor, making a strong argument that this is a continuation and not a reimagining.

Who is Rose?
Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper, is a young woman living in present day London who gets caught up in the Doctor’s efforts to save the world. She joins him in the TARDIS at the end of the first episode.

What is this TARDIS?
TARDIS is an acronym for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. It is also the name of the time and space traveling capsules that the Time Lords use. The Doctor stole one from his home planet.

Why is it shaped like a blue box?
TARDISes normally have a chameleon circuit that allow them to take the shape of anything, making them blend in wherever in time and space they may materialize. In the first episode of the original series the TARDIS was in 1963 London and had assumed the shape of the police phone boxes that were in use at the time. By the end of the first episode it was discovered that the chameleon circuit was broken and the Doctor’s TARDIS was forever stuck as a blue police box.

Both of them fit into that box?
The TARDIS is dimensionally transcendental, which is technobabble meaning that it is larger on the inside than the outide. In fact, it is nearly infinitely large on the inside.

Anything else I need to know to start the new series?
Not really. That is pretty much all the basics. For all the info you could ever want to know about Doctor Who, I highly recommend visiting Outpost Gallifrey. Exhaustive information can be found there about each and every adventure with the Doctor and tons of background info on all the characters and actors.