Doctor Who

Drama

C.E. Webber

### Picture Format

405-line Black-and-white (1963–67)625-line Black-and-white (1968-69)625-line PAL (1970–

### Original Release

23 November 1963

**Doctor Who** is both a television show and a global multimedia franchise created and controlled by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)

## Origins

Several individuals share credit for establishing *Doctor Who* in 1963, but it is generally accepted that the original impetus for the series, as well as the establishment of certain aspects, such as the concept of the TARDIS, the basic character of the Doctor and the title *Doctor Who* itself belong to Canadian-born Sydney Newman, who is also credited with creating another iconic series, *The Avengers*. Others involved in piecing together the puzzle that became the series include Head of Serials Donald Wilson, writer C. E. Webber, script editor David Whitaker and the show's first producer, Verity Lambert, the first woman to hold such a position at the BBC.

## Premise

centres on a time traveller called "the Doctor", who comes from a race of beings known as Time Lords. They travel through space and time in a time machine they call the TARDIS. This ship — which looks like a small, London police box on the outside — has nearly infinite dimensions on the inside. It has become such an iconic shape in British culture that it is currently the intellectual property of the BBC rather than its actual makers, the Metropolitan Police Service.

In order to accommodate cast changes, the narrative allows the Doctor to regenerate into an essentially new person on occasion. The cast is rounded out by one or more "companions", often females. On average, the main cast completely changes once every three or four years — a significant factor in the longevity of the programme.

## Cast

* The Doctor - William Hartnell
* The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
* The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
* The Doctor - Tom Baker
* The Doctor - Peter Davison
* The Doctor - Colin Baker

## First Doctor

The First Doctor was portrayed by William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966.

## Second Doctor

The Second Doctor was portrayed by Patrick Troughton from 1966 to 1969.

## Third Doctor

The Third Doctor was portrayed by Jon Pertwee from 1970 to 1974.

### Season 7

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### Season 8

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### Season 9

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### Season 10

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### Season 11

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## Fourth Doctor

The Fourth Doctor was portrayed by Tom Baker from 1974 to 1981.

### Season 12

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### Season 13

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### Season 14

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### Season 15

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### Season 16

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### Season 17

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 **–** | Shada | 6

## Fifth Doctor

The Fifth Doctor was portrayed by Peter Davison from 1982 to 1984.

### Season 20

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### Season 21

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## Sixth Doctor

The Sixth Doctor was portrayed by Colin Baker from 1984 to ?.

### Season 22

The show's format changed to 45-minute episodes in this season.

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### Season 23

The show's reverted back to 25-minute episodes in this season.

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