"Doctor Who" (1963) TV series 1963-1989

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Creator:

Sydney Newman

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26

Release Date:

29 September 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The adventures of an eccentric renegade time traveling alien and his companions.

Plot Keywords:

Time Lord | Alien | Renegade | Companion | Eccentric

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Tom Baker	...	Doctor Who (173 episodes, 1974-1981)
William Hartnell	...	Dr. Who / ... (136 episodes, 1963-1973)
Jon Pertwee	...	The Doctor / ... (129 episodes, 1970-1983)
Patrick Troughton	...	Dr. Who / ... (127 episodes, 1966-1985)
Frazer Hines	...	Jamie McCrimmon (117 episodes, 1966-1985)
Nicholas Courtney	...	Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart / ... (107 episodes, 1965-1989)
Elisabeth Sladen	...	Sarah Jane Smith (81 episodes, 1973-1983)
Jacqueline Hill	...	Barbara Wright / ... (80 episodes, 1963-1980)
William Russell	...	Ian Chesterton (77 episodes, 1963-1965)
Katy Manning	...	Jo Grant (77 episodes, 1971-1973)
Pat Gorman	...	Cyberman / ... (75 episodes, 1964-1985)
John Scott Martin	...	Dalek / ... (74 episodes, 1965-1988)
John Levene	...	Sergeant Benton / ... (73 episodes, 1967-1975)
Peter Davison	...	The Doctor / ... (70 episodes, 1981-1984)

Also Known As:

"Dr. Who" (UK) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

45 min (15 episodes) | 25 min (679 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White (1963-1969) | Colour (1970-1989)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (1963-1987) | Stereo (1988-1989)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | USA:TV-PG | Argentina:13 | UK:PG | Australia:PG (some episodes) | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:G (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

"The Celestial Toymaker" received complaints that the character Cyril was based on the _"Billy Bunter" (1952)_ character created by Frank Richards, whose lawyers were incensed. The BBC issued a statement saying that Cyril was merely a Bunter-like character.

Quotes:

Dalek: We are the superior beings!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dad's Dead (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Incidental Music (1989)

The best sci-fi series I've ever watched

Dr. Who featured a cast of characters who from the first stories in the 60's seemed to me to be playing their roles more in the way that one might expect actors in a stage drama. While in many television programs character dialogue plays less of a part than action in a scene, in Dr. Who an entire episode might be carried out with almost no props and pretty much the same background throughout - and it would be really interesting.

The idea of Dr. Who is blinding in it's simplicity. Simply put, the Dr. and his companions can go anywhere and at any time - allowing them to go through any conceivable adventure. No other series I know of has come close to this type of theme.

Another major element is that Dr. Who is remarkably good as a horror series. Especially in such stories as The Dead Planet, the long winding and empty hallways with many doors that unexpectedly shut on you from behind create an eerie atmosphere most horror screenwriters would have a hard time reproducing. While not all the cliffhangers are earth-shattering, some are particularly chilling.

I would recommend that Dr. Who be watched from the first episode (An Unearthly Child) to the last in chronological order, as I have done. Since this is a series with continuation, any deviation from the natural order may mean you'll see an episode where a reference is made to something you haven't seen.

Dr. Who undoubtedly made the acting careers of much of its cast. In some cases, though, it seems to have pushed the actors away from acting. In the case of Carol Ann Ford, who plays a phenomenal performance in the first Dr., the mediocre scripts seem to have caused her to leave acting for nearly 20 years after she quit.

Any Trekkies will be amazed to see that Dr. Who featured many of the same stories and aliens long before they appeared on Star Trek. In particular the Borg, who in Dr. Who, 30 years previously, are known as the Cybermen.

Regrettably many of the finest stories of Dr. Who (such as Marco Polo) were destroyed during a short-sighted BBC archive purge in the 70's. This should not dissuade you all from getting hold of the excellent reconstructions made from soundtracks and stills.

In order to really enjoy the early Dr. Who you need to be able to appreciate black and white films and series in general, but if you can - there's scant better acting or plot to be found anywhere.