What's it all about then?

Science fiction....it was in 1953 that television in Great Britain first demonstrated, within people's homes, science fiction. Nigel Keal's The Quatermass Experiment launched into people's minds and sparked the imagination like nothing before, only in the cinema or within the mind's eye from radio or a book had it effected people like this. Six 30 minute episodes grabbed the public's attention. Experiment was followed by Quatermass II, and Quatermass and the pit. George Orwell's 1984 starred Peter Cushing, A for Andromeda by Fred Hoyle, starred Julie Christie and Peter Halliday. A new medium for the television had begun, science fiction on TV worked!.

Sydney Newman and Donald Wilson came up with science fiction with children in mind. Verity Lambert was its producer and she had to find someone to star in it. It was only expected to run for about 5 weeks, but she found a distinguished star for the lead role: William Hartnell.

At tea-time on the 23rd November 1963 DOCTOR WHO first hit the public, and took them on a trip for over thirty years. It ran on the BBC for every year up until 1989 when it was finally taken off. In 1996 a film was made, perhaps trying to tempt the movie-makers that Doctor Who could carry on in the cinemas? Then in 2005 the Doctor returned in an all-new BBC series. It has had its ups and downs but even to this day it is still one of the most well supported science fiction products ever.

Well what is all the fuss then? Its about a being from another planet, another time, and another part of the galaxy. They appear male, is highly intelligent, is very old by Earth standards, can regenerate his body when it becomes too old or physically damaged, and have the technology to traverse and alter, time and different dimensions. He has currently had 10 different personas, although a few extra may of gotten lost throughout his travels. He should only have a maximum of 12 or is it 13, he can never seem to make up his mind, and will probably cheat anyway.

THE BACKGROUND:

The Doctor (Time Lords do have elaborately long names and to save time usually adopt short descriptive names which they feel depict their character), together with his granddaughter Susan, acquired a time travelling vehicle called a Tardis, these are named after their properties which enable a small exterior volume craft to hold a greater interior volume: Time And Relative Dimensions In Space, (little did they suspect that not only was it an old model but it was faulty as well. They travelled to many different galaxies, planets and times, but time and time again their favourite planet was a small new planet by Gallifreyan time span, called Earth. It was here that their trouble began.

Curiosity caused Susan to feel the need to enrol at a school in 1963, in London, while there she accidentally gave away clues as to her different background by making mistakes at school, often challenging the teachers with her superior intellect, this piqued the curiosity of two particular teachers; a history teacher: Barbara Wright and a science teacher: Ian Chesterton. These two teachers tracked down Susan's home address to find it was an old scrap yard, there they met, argued with the Doctor and fearing for Susan's safety pushed their way into the Tardis, which although it had the ability to change its appearance to fit its surroundings, had stuck in the form of a Police telephone call box, common at that time. It was the start of many adventures together, and their friendship grew. Eventually Susan stayed behind on a trip to 22nd century Earth (with a man she had fallen in love with) and eventually Barbara and Ian also left, but the Doctor picked up other travellers (often called assistants or companions), and together they explore all times and places.

As the Doctor's body becomes too old or damaged it regenerates into a new body, complete with new personalities and quirks. The Doctor first appeared as a Victorian elderly gentleman, crotchety to say the least and wanted to meddle as little as possible in other timelines and cultures. His second incarnation however appeared more Edwardian and younger, very clownish he has been described as a cosmic hobo. His third  incarnation was fair haired and suave, but by this time had been caught by the Time Lords and exiled to Earth in the 20th century, for his crime of time interference. He became a scientific advisor to UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce). His fourth incarnation was while he still worked for UNIT and was taller, with black curly hair and a very eccentric manner. Allowed to leave Earth after so long the Doctor was actually called several times to help the Time Lords and was even called to become president of Gallifrey, this however he side stepped before the restraints of office tied him to one place and time again. The Doctor's fifth incarnation was again fair of hair and plainer, followed by his sixth incarnation which was again curly haired but much more assertive and antagonistic, during this time the Doctor was put on trial for his meddling in time but like most things he managed to get out of it. The price however was another incarnation, this time short like the second, dark haired, with a distinct lisp, this was perhaps the greatest manipulator of all his passed selves and was only forced to again regenerate while battling the Master, (the Master is like the Doctor a renegade Time Lord but evil and power hungry, he and the Doctor had battled many times). The Doctor's eighth incarnation is dark of hair again slightly taller and has a mixture of eccentricity and dignity, this incarnation dons a Victorian style but with a dash of the peculiar.

The Doctor has helped many races and nations on countless planets, always taking the side of right and good against tyranny and evil. He has battled some of the most fearsome and dangerous creatures and beings in the cosmos. Daleks (destined at some point to control most of the universe), Cybermen; completely ruthless conquerors, Sontarons; a cloned warrior race, The Black Guardian, the Rani; another Time Lord, Axos; a planet eating entity, the Fendahl; a life essence consuming entity, Omega; a Time Lord stellographer or star engineer he was also a time engineer, and the great Vampires.

He has alluded death more times than can be counted, outwitted more adversaries than can be remembered, influenced more people than could be possible in one human life time, and still he goes on strong. His greatest problem, weakness and probably his nemesis is his insatiable curiosity to experience first hand everything and almost anything. Time Lords have twelve regenerations before their true death comes to them. The Master has eluded true death many times, and even taken on new bodies to extend his life span. The Doctor would never kill for any reason, but it seems likely that somehow the Doctor may just miss his appointed date with Death and live on for ever. Even if he did die his incarnations have split the times and dimensions apart so much that any one of his personae could turn up at the most unexpected time or place, so in a way he has already succeeded!