Television Television , colloquially known as telly , was a system that allowed people to view broadcast plays , news , drama and comedy . It was a major source of entertainment and information on Earth from the mid 20th century onwards . The Sixth Doctor once dream ed that his adventures were broadcast on television . ( PROSE : " Christmas Special " ) Earth . In 1066 , the Monk believed that his meddling with history to change the course of the Battle of Hastings would lead to Shakespeare putting the play Hamlet on television . The First Doctor responded that he knew the medium . ( TV : " Checkmate " ) In 1903 , after receiving a wealth of information from the future , Grigori Rasputin foresaw the creation of television . ( AUDIO : " The Wanderer " ) The First Doctor claimed that television sets first appeared on Earth in the 1930s . ( AUDIO : " Upstairs " ) The television was invented by John Logie Baird during the 1920s and was commonly known as a televisor in its earliest year s . As they were still experimental devices , very few people owned one . UK Prime Minister of the era , Ramsay MacDonald , ( AUDIO : " Storm Warning " ) was among these few , as were the family of Josie Laws McRae , as her father was a lawyer who worked for the Logie Baird company in Long Acre . On 14 July 1930 , the BBC broadcast a television adaptation of " The Man with the Flower in His Mouth " by Luigi Pirandello . This was the first television drama to be produced in the United Kingdom . Provided that it was successful , the BBC was considering producing a television adaptation of " Black Orchid " by George Cranleigh . ( PROSE : " The Wheel of Ice " ) By the early 1950s , the sets were already highly developed , although advances would continue to be made . The Wire tried to regain a physical body by using an Alexandra Palace television transmission of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953 , but the Tenth Doctor managed to trap her in a video cassette . ( TV : " The Idiot ' s Lantern " ) On 20 July 1969 , according to the Eleventh Doctor , half a billion people watched the " Apollo 11 " moon landing live on television . ( TV : " Day of the Moon " ) By 1998 , television had become interactive thanks to technology introduced by I2 . ( PROSE : " System Shock " ) By the early 21st century , they were also holographic , capable of 3 - D broadcasting . ( PROSE : " " ) By 2025 , pocket - sized , portable televisions were extremely common . ( AUDIO : " Energy of the Daleks " ) Other planets . In the far future , television was still a popular pastime . Violent television was much more common than before in such places as the planet Varos and in the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire . ( TV : " Vengeance on Varos " , " Bad Wolf " ) Other human nations , such as the New Earth Republic , liked to watch shows from old Earth . ( PROSE : " Synthespians™ " ) On Atrios , there was a television system who broadcast dramas and political messages . ( TV : " The Armageddon Factor " ) On Sto , watching TV was also popular . There was a popular series " involving twins . " ( TV : " Voyage of the Damned " ) Television existed on Traken but it never became a popular form of entertainment . ( PROSE : " Not So Much a Programme , More a Way of Life " ) Television existed on Skaro towards the end of the Thousand Year War . " Captain Croag and the Highland Rangers " was a Kaled propaganda television series . Davros watched it as a child , as did his elder half - sister Yarvell . ( AUDIO : " Guilt " )