BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Doctor Who's assistants In pictures: Doctor Who's assistants 1 of 12 Billie Piper is to follow in a long line of actors who have travelled through time with Doctor Who - including two early assistants Vicki, played by Maureen O'Brien, and Steven Taylor (right), played by future Blue Peter presenter Peter Purves. 2 of 12 Another companion was Jamie McCrimmon, played by Frazer Hines - who went on to star in soap opera Emmerdale. Jamie was rescued from the battle of Culloden in 1746 by the second doctor, Patrick Troughton. 3 of 12 Deborah Watling starred as Victoria Waterfield, who also travelled with Troughton. The daughter of a Victorian scientist, she became orphaned when the Daleks killed her father. 4 of 12 A librarian who was attacked by the Cybermen, Zoe Herriot, played by Wendy Padbury, was highly intelligent but inexperienced. 5 of 12 The Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney, centre) headed the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, while Jo Grant (Katy Manning) trained as a spy and was assigned to UNIT.

6 of 12 Zoe Heriot Zoe Heriot Zoe Heriot Zoe Heriot was played by Wendy Padbury as a brilliant astrophysicist who meets the Doctor during a Cyberman attack. After helping the Doctor to defeat the cybermen she joins the TARDIS crew and soon realises that there is more to life than logic and mathematics. In addition to the Cybermen, Zoe meets the Krotons and the Ice Warriors before she is forced to leave the Doctor by the Time Lords.Zoe travelled with Patrick Trouhgton's Doctor . DVDs with Zoe Heriot and Patrick Troughton's Doctor: LOST IN TIME The Wheel in Space A compilation of lost episodes from the television series of Doctor Who. Includes the episodes: 'The Daleks' Master Plan', The Moonbase', 'The Underwater Menace', 'The Wheel In Space' and 'The Abominable Snowman' THE DOMINATORS The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrive on the peaceful planet Dulcis for a holiday, only to find it invaded by the cruel Dominators and their vicious robot servitors, the Quarks. They must convince the placid Dulcians of the threat their world faces before the Dominators enslave them and destroy their world.

THE MIND ROBBER After an accident with the TARDIS, the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie are transported into a dimension where fiction rules. Here they encounter a range of fictional characters and some ominous White Robots THE INVASION Having arrived in 1975, The Doctor and his assistants discover that sinister things are afoot at an electrical conglomerate; a company that’s managed to monopolise the entire world market. Furthermore, the shadowy CEO of the company is actually in league with the Cybermen and together plot a full-scale invasion of our planet. THE KROTONS When the TARDIS arrives on the planet of the Gonds, the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe discover a world ruled and enslaved by the Krotons. The brightest Gonds are always chosen to serve as companions of the Krotons and are never seen again. The Doctor and his companions decide to put a stop to their rule – but in doing so, inadvertently unleash the true power and terror of the Krotons instead… THE SEEDS OF DEATH "The Seeds of Death" is the second Doctor Who adventure to feature the popular Ice Warriors.

Broadcast six months before the first manned moon landing, here the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and companions Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury) beat Neil Armstrong and co in boarding a rocket to the moon, where they face the icy Martian invaders who have taken over Earth's T-Mat teleportation system in prelude to a full-scale invasion. THE SPACE PIRATES Who's Doctor Who? - What IS Doctor Who? Who's Doctor Who? Photos: Marcus Durham, Steve Hill and Louise Lobinske This page last updated on May 10, 2013 Author: Allen Robinson William Hartnell 1963-1966 Doctor Who was created in early 1963 by Sydney Newman and Donald Wilson. Intended as a children's show, which would combine "an exciting adventure in time and space" with educational content about science and history, it soon became popular with adults as well. When the program debuted, on Saturday, November 23, 1963, it starred William Hartnell as The Doctor, a mysterious traveler in time and space.

Hartnell was known for his tough sergeant roles in films and on TV, including a long-running role in the popular series The Army Game. He'd also played the sad old man who befriended Richard Harris's football player in Lindsay Anderson's film, This Sporting Life, and it was this part which won him the role of The Doctor. As played by Hartnell, The Doctor was a crotchety old man who'd been stranded in 1963 while trying to repair his time machine, the TARDIS. Susan, his granddaughter, was attending school, and two of her teachers became curious about her extensive knowledge of some subjects and her total ignorance of others. They followed her one evening and found her "home" was a police telephone call box sitting in a junkyard, a police box which was bigger inside than out. They were further alarmed when The Doctor, fearing that they'd tell their friends about the amazing things they'd seen, decided they could not be allowed to leave, and set his TARDIS in motion. The four travelers landed on prehistoric Earth and became involved with a tribe which had lost the secret of fire. From these humble beginnings a legend was born.

The second story introduced the Daleks, an alien menace which came back to haunt The Doctor throughout his lives, and whose instant popularity ensured the show's early success. The First Doctor's stories alternated between costume dramas set in Earth's past, and science fiction stories, which usually took place on alien worlds. William Hartnell's co-stars: Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman, William Russell as Ian Chesterton, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright, Maureen O'Brien as Vicki, Peter Purves as Steven Taylor, Adrienne Hill as Katarina, Jean Marsh as Sara Kingdom, Jackie Lane as Dodo Chaplet, Anneke Wills as Polly, and Michael Craze as Ben Jackson The Second Doctor Patrick Troughton 1966-1969 When William Hartnell left the show in 1966 the production team hit on an amazing idea. Rather than recasting the role with a similar actor, they decided that the next Doctor, while retaining the same intelligence and curiosity, would have a different physical appearance and personality. They chose Patrick Troughton as the new Doctor, and his success in the role paved the way for the nine other actors who would assume the part.

Troughton, a popular character actor known for roles in Laurence Olivier's Shakespeare films, and for his appearances in several Hammer horror classics, played The Doctor until 1969, fighting an array of menaces which included the Cybermen, Yeti, and Ice Warriors. His second story, The Highlanders, was the last of the recurring historical stories. As Troughton's era neared its end, it was decided that his successor would spend much of his time on Earth. To pave the way for this change in the show's format, The Invasion introduced the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, a paramilitary group commanded by Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, which had been formed to combat alien menaces. In Troughton's final story, The War Games, the audience learned that The Doctor was a fugitive from his own people, the Time Lords, who had left his home planet, in part because he wanted to take an active role in a universe which the other Time Lords were content merely to observe. As punishment for his interference in the affairs of others, the Time Lords exiled The Doctor to Earth in the latter half of the 20th century, and caused him to change his appearance again.

Patrick Troughton's co-stars: Anneke Wills as Polly, Michael Craze as Ben, Frazer Hines as Jamie McCrimmon, Deborah Watling as Victoria Waterfield, Wendy Padbury as Zoe Herriot, Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, and John Levene as Corporal Benton The Third Doctor Jon Pertwee 1970-1974 The Doctor's next regeneration was played by Jon Pertwee, who was perhaps best known for his long-running radio series The Navy Lark, and for his appearances in the Carry On films. The Third Doctor spent much of his time helping UNIT battle a variety of menaces, including the Silurians, the Sea Devils, the Autons, the Sontarans, and most importantly, another renegade Time Lord known as The Master, a former friend of The Doctor who would become his greatest single adversary. In contrast to his predecessors, The Third Doctor was a man of action, a characterization which reflected Pertwee's own interests. This Doctor was as likely to defeat his enemies with exotic martial arts or swordplay as he was to outwit them.

He dressed in a flamboyant style, and was fond of fast vehicles and fine food and drink. He also suffered fools even less gladly than the previous Doctors. Perhaps as a way of reassuring himself that his exile wouldn't last forever, he delighted in mentioning historical figures and events he'd been involved with. Following The Three Doctors, an adventure in which he and his earlier incarnations preserved the power of the Time Lords, The Doctor's sentence of exile was rescinded. Although he enjoyed his new freedom, The Doctor continued to work with UNIT on a regular basis until the end of Pertwee's run in 1974. Jon Pertwee's co-stars: Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Caroline John as Liz Shaw, John Levene as Sgt. Benton, Katy Manning as Jo Grant, Richard Franklin as Capt. Mike Yates, and Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith The Fourth Doctor Tom Baker 1974-1981 The Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker, was the longest-running and arguably the most popular of all the Doctors.

His previous credits included the role of Rasputin in Nicholas and Alexandra, and an appearance in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad which earned him the role of The Doctor. If you ask casual viewers of the series to describe The Doctor, there's a good chance they'll choose this incarnation. With his height, curly hair, toothy grin, and his incredibly long scarf, The Fourth Doctor was the most visually imposing of them all. During the Tom Baker era the audience learned a great deal more about the Time Lords. They also saw the origin of the Daleks, and met their creator, Davros, the sole threat to The Master's status as the show's most memorable single villain. The Fourth Doctor's stories introduced a host of new foes, few of whom would return in later years. When this Doctor stopped his enemies, it was usually a decisive defeat. Aside from Davros, the only major new adversary to return in later years was the Black Guardian, a cosmic force of evil whom The Doctor encountered during his quest for a powerful artifact called the Key to Time. Tom Baker's whimsical sense of humor and unpredictability also restored the alien feel of The Doctor, which had been somewhat less prominent during the character's exile.

Tom Baker's co-stars: Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane, Ian Marter as Surgeon-Lieutenant Harry Sullivan, Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, John Levene as Sgt. Benton, Louise Jameson as Leela, John Leeson and David Brierley as the voice of K-9, Mary Tamm and Lalla Ward as Romana, Matthew Waterhouse as Adric, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, and Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka The Fifth Doctor Peter Davison 1982-1984 Baker's successor, Peter Davison, the second youngest actor to assume the role in the series, did a remarkable job of combining the indecisiveness and enthusiasm of youth with the wisdom of age. The actor was well-known for his role as the young vet Tristan in the long-running series All Creatures Great and Small, as well as appearances in several popular situation comedies. The Fifth Doctor's victories were usually earned at great cost, including the first death of a traveling companion since the Hartnell era.

The Fifth Doctor encountered enemies, such as the Silurians, the Sea Devils, the Black Guardian, and allies, including Susan and the Brigadier, who hadn't been seen in many years. The Davison years saw the return of the historical story, and, as with Tom Baker's final season, an effort was made to link one adventure with the next, an idea which had been largely abandoned after the Troughton era. The Fifth Doctor's stories included the program's 20th anniversary special, The Five Doctors, which saw the returns of Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee, the appearance of Richard Hurndall as The First Doctor (William Hartnell died in 1975), and in footage from an incomplete story, Shada, a brief appearance by The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker, citing his relatively recent departure, declined to return). The Davison stories generally succeeded in returning the series to the more serious tone of its earlier days, which was largely lost during the later seasons of his predecessor's era.

Peter Davison's co-stars: Matthew Waterhouse as Adric, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, Janet Fielding as Tegan, Mark Strickson as Turlough, Gerald Flood as the voice of Kamelion, and Nicola Bryant as Perpugilliam (Peri) Brown The Sixth Doctor Colin Baker 1984-1986 When Davison left the program in 1984, he was replaced by Colin Baker, who would prove to be the most controversial Doctor ever. Baker, who was well-known for his role in the popular soap opera The Brothers, had previously appeared in the series in the Davison story Arc of Infinity. The Sixth Doctor never seemed to stabilize after his regeneration, and suffered from frequent mood swings. This era introduced another renegade Time Lord, The Rani, and included the only accidental meeting of two Doctors (with Pat Troughton's final appearance as The Second Doctor; the beloved actor died in 1987). The audience never quite knew what to expect from The Sixth Doctor, which reinforced the character's alien nature. This rather daring version of The Doctor alienated some of the program's fans, and many of its casual viewers.

It also proved unpopular with BBC management, who placed the show on hiatus for 18 months after Baker's first full season. It returned in 1986 with a 14-part story, The Trial of a Time Lord, which reflected the show's uncertain future. While the ratings ensured that the series would return in 1987, the BBC chose to replace Colin Baker in the role. Colin Baker's co-stars: Nicola Bryant as Peri, Lynda Bellingham as The Inquisitor, Michael Jayston as The Valeyard, and Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush The Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy 1987-1989 Sylvester McCoy's credits before he was chosen as The Seventh Doctor included The Secret Policeman's Other Ball and the Frank Langella version of Dracula. The Seventh Doctor began as a clownish figure, somewhat similar to Pat Troughton's Doctor, which fit in with McCoy's reputation as an outlandish stage comedian, known for such stunts as stuffing ferrets down his trousers. As The Doctor settled into this new regeneration, however, the audience discovered that this was the darkest and most mysterious Doctor yet.

The Doctor's origins became a question mark again, with hints that he was a much more important and powerful figure than had been previously believed. He took care of "unfinished business" with the Daleks and Cybermen, attempting to end their menaces once and for all. The Doctor's latest companion, the misfit teenager Ace, was given considerably more character development than most of her predecessors, with several of the stories revolving around her. The Doctor seemed to be testing Ace, manipulating her in preparation for an unknown destiny. Sadly, the results of this subplot were never to be seen on screen. Faced with rising production costs and declining ratings, the BBC chose to cancel Doctor Who, and the program's final regular episode was broadcast on December 6, 1989. Sylvester McCoy's co-stars: Bonnie Langford as Melanie, Sophie Aldred as Ace The Eighth Doctor Paul McGann 1996 Aside from 1993's Dimensions in Time, an out-of-continuity story produced for charity in which all of the surviving Doctors appeared, and an anniversary documentary, 30 Years in the TARDIS, The Doctor's televised adventures seemed to have ended.

Finally, after years of rumors and false hopes, production began on a made-for-TV movie. This film, Doctor Who, shown in May 1996, featured a brief return by McCoy, who soon regenerated into The Eighth Doctor, played by Paul McGann. Perhaps best known at the time for his role in the cult film Withnail and I, McGann's more recent credits include appearances in Queen of the Damned and in two of the Hornblower TV movies, shown in the United States on A&E. While the TV movie paid tribute to much of the history of Doctor Who, it was perhaps most greatly influenced by The Third Doctor's era. (Sadly, Jon Pertwee died within a week of its broadcast.) The Eighth Doctor shocked long-term fans by revealing that he was half human, and by kissing the attractive surgeon who had inadvertently caused his regeneration (the previous Doctors were not romantic heroes). Despite fine performances by McGann, Daphne Ashbrook as Dr. Grace Holloway, and Eric Roberts as The Master, the movie wasn't the success that had been hoped for.

It received respectable ratings in Britain and elsewhere, but was considered a failure by its American co-producers, and hopes for a revival of the series were again in limbo. Interim 1997-2005 While fans awaited the return of an ongoing series of television adventures, a few important events indicated that The Doctor hadn't entirely disappeared from the small screen. A comedy special, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death, produced for Red Nose Day 1999, the annual British Comic Relief telethon, starred Rowan Atkinson as The Ninth Doctor and Jonathan Pryce as The Master, and featured the Daleks, with appearances by Richard E. Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, and Joanna Lumley as the Tenth through Thirteenth Doctors. In November 1999, BBC 2 devoted an evening to the series. Who Night, hosted by Tom Baker, included interviews, documentaries, comedy sketches, an episode of the first Dalek story, and a broadcast of the McGann film. This was followed by a brief run of adventures from the Pertwee and Tom Baker eras.

In addition to the specials and reruns on TV, there were also audio adventures by Big Finish Productions , who started an ongoing series with Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann, along with other members of the original series cast. In 2001 and 2002, Internet adventures joined the mix when the BBC produced semi-animated stories for website broadcast. These included Death Comes To Time featuring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, Real Time with Colin Baker, and a remake of Shada with Paul McGann as The Doctor (Tom Baker, the Doctor in the original, unfinished Shada, had declined to appear). In late 2003, the BBC announced the casting of a new Doctor, the above mentioned Richard E. Grant, for a planned series of fully animated adventures to be broadcast online. The first adventure, Scream of the Shalka , was shown on the BBC website starting in November 2003. That same month, Doctor Who Magazine ran a story about a new television series being commissioned by BBC 1, but it wasn't until March 2004 that the BBC announced the casting of Christopher Eccleston as The Ninth Doctor for the new series.

The Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston 2005 BBC Worldwide, which had the rights to do a movie but which had not used them, agreed to let BBC 1 Controller Lorraine Heggessey do the series she had been waiting to do. The new series would be produced at BBC Wales, with Russell T. Davies, Julie Gardner and Mal Young as executive producers. On Saturday, March 26, 2005, British Who fans were treated to the sight of ordinary shopgirl Rose Tyler going about her day until the shop window dummies come to life and try to kill her. A guy in a leather jacket seems to know what to do, and so The Ninth Doctor, as played by Christopher Eccleston, was introduced to a new generation of fans. Eccleston, who had a strong reputation in drama, had also worked with Russell T. Davies on The Second Coming. His Doctor seemed to bring back some of the humor of the Fourth Doctor, but with a dark, brooding edge. Through The Ninth Doctor, we learn that Gallifrey has been destroyed and he is the last of the Time Lords.

While he never admits to his new companion Rose that he is half-human, he is at the same time not afraid to show his affection for her, and even invites her on board the TARDIS twice before she accepts. Questions of The Doctor's romantic and sexual nature seem to have finally been answered. Christopher Eccleston's co-stars: Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler, Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith, Bruno Langley as Adam, John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness The Tenth Doctor David Tennant 2005-2009 Christopher Eccleston had signed a one-year contract. As it turned out, David Tennant had been skirting around the role of The Doctor for quite some time, appearing in Scream of the Shalka and Colditz, as well as Sympathy for the Devil and Exile, two Doctor Who Unbound adventures by Big Finish. Also, as a subscriber to Doctor Who Magazine before he got the part, Tennant may have the distinction of being the first Doctor Who fan to be cast as The Doctor. This incarnation is more comfortable with full-blood humans, while occasionally taking time out to chastise us when he feels we need it.

David Tennant's co-stars: Billie Piper as Rose, Camille Coduri as Jackie, Noel Clarke as Mickey, John Barrowman as Captain Jack, Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones, Adjoa Andoh as Francine Jones, Kylie Minogue as Astrid, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane, John Leeson as the voice of K-9, Thomas Knight as Luke, Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto Jones, Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper, Penelope Wilton as Harriet Jones, Jacqueline King as Sylvia Noble, Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott, Alexander Armstrong as the voice of Mr. Smith The Eleventh Doctor Jamie McCrimmon Jamie McCrimmon Jamie McCrimmon Jamie McCrimmon was played by Frazer Hines. Jamie met the Doctor at end of the battle of Culloen in 1746. Jamie is not the brightest of the Doctor's companions but he is very brave and loyal. Unfortunately for Jamie, when the Timelords put the Doctor on trial his mind was wiped so that we could only remember his first adventure with the Doctor. Jamie travelled with Patrick Troughton's Doctor .

DVDs that feature Jamie McCrimmon are: LOST IN TIME The Underwater Menace A compilation of lost episodes from the television series of Doctor Who. Includes the episodes: 'The Daleks' Master Plan', The Moonbase', 'The Underwater Menace', 'The Wheel In Space' and 'The Abominable Snowman' LOST IN TIME The Moonbase A compilation of lost episodes from the television series of Doctor Who. Includes the episodes: 'The Daleks' Master Plan', The Moonbase', 'The Underwater Menace', 'The Wheel In Space' and 'The Abominable Snowman' THE MACRA TERROR Unfortunately lost ... THE FACELESS ONES Two complete classic stories from the Golden Age of DR WHO, featuring the inimitable PATRICK TROUGHTON as The Doctor. (only on VHS tape) THE EVIL OF THE DALEKS Unfortunately lost ... THE TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN Below the surface of Telos lies a frozen army in hibernation - the resting place of the Cybermen. Doctor Who finds a group of archaeologists on a secret dig LOST IN TIME The Abominable Snowmen A compilation of lost episodes from the television series of Doctor Who.

Includes the episodes: 'The Daleks' Master Plan', The Moonbase', 'The Underwater Menace', 'The Wheel In Space' and 'The Abominable Snowman' THE ICE WARRIORS All six episodes, including two that are animated due to their being missing from the BBC archives, of this classic 1967 adventure. In 'The Ice Warriors', the Doctor (Patrick Troughton), Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Victoria (Deborah Watling) arrive on Earth in the year 3000 AD - in the middle of the second Ice Age. At the Brittanicus Base, a team of scientists struggle to control the elements. When a body is found perfectly preserved in the ice barrier which surrounds the base, it is thawed out. The creature proves to be an Ice Warrior. THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD Unseen in the UK for 45 years – marvellously restored and remastered and brought back to life. Enemy of the World is the fourth tale of Series 5 which first aired on the BBC in December 1967. It stars Patrick Troughton, who is both the Doctor and his antagonist Ramon Salamander.

On Earth in the near future, the Doctor and his companions are enmeshed in a deadly web of intrigue thanks to his uncanny resemblance to would-be 21st century dictator Salamander. THE WEB OF FEAR Unseen in the UK for 45 years – marvellously restored and remastered and brought back to life. The TARDIS narrowly avoids becoming engulfed in a cobwebby substance in space. It arrives in the London Underground railway system, the tunnels of which are being overrun by the web and by the Great Intelligence's robot Yeti. The Intelligence's goal is to drain the Doctor's mind; can the Doctor sabotage the device before the Intelligence’s plan comes to fruition? FURY FROM THE DEEP LOST IN TIME The Wheel in Space A compilation of lost episodes from the television series of Doctor Who. Includes the episodes: 'The Daleks' Master Plan', The Moonbase', 'The Underwater Menace', 'The Wheel In Space' and 'The Abominable Snowman' THE DOMINATORS The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrive on the peaceful planet Dulcis for a holiday, only to find it invaded by the cruel Dominators and their vicious robot servitors, the Quarks.

They must convince the placid Dulcians of the threat their world faces before the Dominators enslave them and destroy their world. THE MIND ROBBER After an accident with the TARDIS, the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie are transported into a dimension where fiction rules. Here they encounter a range of fictional characters and some ominous White Robots THE INVASION Having arrived in 1975, The Doctor and his assistants discover that sinister things are afoot at an electrical conglomerate; a company that’s managed to monopolise the entire world market. Furthermore, the shadowy CEO of the company is actually in league with the Cybermen and together plot a full-scale invasion of our planet. THE KROTONS When the TARDIS arrives on the planet of the Gonds, the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe discover a world ruled and enslaved by the Krotons. The brightest Gonds are always chosen to serve as companions of the Krotons and are never seen again.

The Doctor and his companions decide to put a stop to their rule – but in doing so, inadvertently unleash the true power and terror of the Krotons instead… THE SEEDS OF DEATH "The Seeds of Death" is the second Doctor Who adventure to feature the popular Ice Warriors. Broadcast six months before the first manned moon landing, here the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and companions Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury) beat Neil Armstrong and co in boarding a rocket to the moon, where they face the icy Martian invaders who have taken over Earth's T-Mat teleportation system in prelude to a full-scale invasion. THE SPACE PIRATES DOCTOR WHO - INTRODUCTION visit my home page at ~foosie/index.htm or E-mail me at Foosie@bestweb.net DOCTOR WHO is a British science-fantasy TV show which has aired weekly on the BBC since November 1963. The only regular character is "the Doctor" (he has no other name and the show's title is a joke at the character's expense. Every week he has to introduce himself as the Doctor. The inevitable followup question is: "Doctor who?").

He is an alien "Time Lord" from the planet Gallifrey and can travel in time and space in a machine called the TARDIS, which is bigger inside than outside. In order to blend in with the culture where it lands, the TARDIS was designed to change its shape, but the Doctor's TARDIS is defective and is locked in the shape of a British police box. The Doctor is a renegade because, unlike most other Time Lords, he becomes involved with people's problems wherever he lands. Time Lords can regenerate up to 12 times. This has allowed the role of the Doctor to be played by (so far) 10 different actors in the TV series, a situation unique in the annals of episodic television. The actors who have played the Doctor on TV are: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. In addition, two theatrical films were made starring Peter Cushing; and a London stage show had a 4-week run starring Trevor Martin. Finally, Paul McGann played the role for a Fox TV move in 1996.

After a number of years when the show was not in production, Christopher Eccleston returned as the Doctor and he later transformed into David Tennant. Each TV adventure the Doctor has is a serial of from 1 to 12 (but generally four) parts of 25-minutes each, with a cliffhanger at the end of each part. Accompanying the Doctor on his journey have been a series of companions (usually, but not always, Earth girls). These companions are meant to represent the audience and some have become as popular as the Doctor himself. One year's worth of shows (at least during Tom Baker's era) is typically 6 stories (or 24 parts). The longest running companions have been in about 20 stories (or 3 years). DOCTOR WHO is worthy of scrutiny by virtue of its popular appeal worldwide, its long history dating from its 1963 premiere, and the enormity of its body of work. Each 4-part story is equivalent to a 90-minute film; each 6-parter equals a 2-hour movie.

Considering just Tom Baker's 7 years in the title role, 41 stories aired--the equivalent of 41 feature films, compared with such popular film series built around continuing characters as James Bond (20 films) and Sherlock Holmes (14 Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce films). DOCTOR WHO has achieved a cult status rivaling STAR TREK, which ran only 3 years and aired 79 hours of episodes; in comparison, the 7 years of Tom Baker DOCTOR WHOs comprise 86 hours. DOCTOR WHO has become even more popular in America than it is in Britain, partly because--as with STAR TREK--it can be seen and enjoyed over and over in reruns; in Britain, the show is seen once; in many cases, episodes are never aired again. This text covers the Tom Baker era. Baker is a talented and charismatic performer and, for many, the favorite of the seven actors who played the Doctor on TV. He also played the role longer than anyone; and the stories in which he appears are, if anything, more delightful on the tenth viewing than they are upon the first, largely because of the humor and eccentricity he injected into the role.

BACKGROUND Looking at the early black and white shows now, it seems incredible the series ever survived its beginnings. It had few or no subplots, and many of the early stories seem very padded. Of course, the show was originally aimed primarily at children and only gradually, over the years, did it attain its substantial adult audience. One reason for its success is the format. Right from the start DOCTOR WHO was a serial, composed of multiple parts with cliffhanger endings at the end of each 25-minute episode. Also, it has an interesting premise: a mysterious traveler in time and space. The focus of attention is a photogenic prop--apparently a British police box, but in reality a TARDIS, an acronym for Time And Relative Dimensions in Space. In short, a time machine! In addition, the show can accommodate any type of plot: comedy, fantasy, historical, science fiction, monsters! The title role was originally played by William Hartnell; his character was not especially likable, at least in the beginning, and being elderly left a lot of the physical aspects to his companions.

These included Carole Ann Ford as his granddaughter Susan; William Russell as her science teacher Ian Chesterton; and Jacqueline Hill as her history and english teacher Barbara Wright, from the Coal Hill School. When Ford left, the Doctor acquired Vicki--played by Maureen O'Brien--a space traveler living in a crashed spaceship on the planet Dido. Then Russell and Hill left and Peter Purves joined the cast as Steven Taylor, a spaceship pilot stranded on the planet Mechanus. Other companions included Katarina, Trojan slave girl, played by Adrienne Hill; Sarah Kingdom, a space agent in the year 4000 AD, played by Jean Marsh; Dodo Chaplet, a London schoolgirl, played by Jackie Lane; Polly, an assistant to a computer inventor, played by Anneke Wills; and Ben Jackson, a Cockney merchant seaman, played by Michael Craze. DOCTOR WHO made an almost immediate impact with its second story, THE DALEKS. These villains practically became a cottage industry in themselves.

Such was their popularity that--when the rights were sold to the movies--it was the Daleks who made the transition, not William Hartnell; the sequel film was even named for the Daleks, with no mention in the title of the Doctor. In these films (DOCTOR WHO AND THE DALEKS [1965] and DALEKS: INVASION EARTH 2150 AD [1966]), the Doctor is an eccentric Earth inventor, played delightfully by Peter Cushing. At that time the TV series had not revealed the Doctor's extraterrestrial origins. Three years after Hartnell originated the role, he left the series for reasons of health. The producers decided to continue the show, recasting the lead with Patrick Troughton. They explained the transition as the Doctor's ability to regenerate. Troughton played the Doctor as a more likable character, but more apt to panic when monsters showed up. He seemed genuinely to enjoy the role and got on well with his companions.

He inherited Polly and Ben from the first Doctor; when they left, he acquired Jamie McCrimmon, a piper at the Battle of Culloden, played by Frazer Hines; Victoria Waterfield, whose father was killed by Daleks, played by Deborah Watling; and Zoe Herriot, an astrophysicist from a space station, played by Wendy Padbury. It was during the Troughton era, in the story THE INVASION, that UNIT was formed to fight alien invasion. The initials stand for United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Nicholas Courtney, who played the head of UNIT, has the distinction of being the only actor to appear with all of the first 5 Doctors (he played Bret Vyon in the Hartnell story THE DALEK MASTERPLAN); John Levene also premiered as Sgt. Benton at this time. Troughton played the Doctor for 3 years. In his last story, a 10-parter entitled THE WAR GAMES, it is revealed for the first time the Doctor is an alien from a race called Time Lords. His home planet of Gallifrey is briefly seen but not mentioned by name.

The Time Lords punish the Doctor for stealing the TARDIS and using it to meddle in time, which is strictly forbidden. They change his appearance and banish him to Earth, removing from his memory all knowledge of how to work the TARDIS. At this point the role was taken over by Jon Pertwee who, in a cape, velvet smoking jacket and frilled shirt, played the Doctor as more of a James Bond type of dashing spy smasher, complete with attendant hardware. He fought monsters and alien invaders, sometimes with the aid of a martial art not practiced by any other biped--Venusian Aikido. He had a continuing humanoid enemy--an evil Time Lord called the Master, played suavely by Roger Delgado in a satanic goatee. His companions included Liz Shaw, an Earth scientist, played by Caroline John; Jo Grant, a bouncy birdbrain who had trained as a spy, played by Katy Manning; and Sarah Jane Smith, a plucky journalist, played by Elisabeth Sladen. Since most of Pertwee's stories took place on Earth, UNIT figured in many of them. Besides Nicholas Courtney and John Levene, an additional UNIT regular was Captain Mike Yates portrayed by Richard Franklin.

Pertwee played the Doctor for 5 years before he too left, at which time the role was taken over by Tom Baker. Baker's Doctor is more of a real person that any of his predecessors or successors in the role. All of these other actors tended to play the Doctor as very one note, but Baker varied his performance from show to show and conveyed a great deal of shading to the character. When he spoke, you never knew whether he would be sarcastic or friendly; whether his answer would make sense or be a nonsequitor. Tom Baker himself felt the role's main characteristics were the Doctor was an alien who hates gratuitous violence and lacks greed for money or power. He saw the character as never becoming too emotionally involved with people--an innocent with a never ending capacity to be surprised. It is this ability to be surprised which Tom says is his sole trait in common with the Doctor. His rendition of the Doctor appeared as a sort of Harpo Marx character, with bulging eyes, curly hair and toothy smile. Baker somehow managed to be both heroic and endearingly silly; and especially excelled in reeling off technical jargon in a believable manner.

Although he never created any of the plot lines in the TV series, he and his costars frequently rewrote the dialogue, giving their characters the stamp of their own personalities. Tom himself admits to "tampering" with the scripts in rehearsals, incorporating bits of business suggested by children and trying to make the violence more bizarre and less naturalistic. He and Ian Marter, in collaboration with director James Hill, developed a script for a theatrical film called DOCTOR WHO MEETS SCRATCHMAN, about the Doctor's encounter with the Devil, but were unable to obtain financial backing. In his autobiography, WHO ON EARTH IS TOM BAKER, Tom writes about a vacation to Siena in Italy he took with Ian to work on this. Ian and he were to prepare the storyline and write the dialogue and James Hill would shape it into a screenplay. Some children were staying with them and tried to teach Tom to swim although he was afraid of the water. Tom made some progress but then found himself in difficulties and started to drown. Ian thought he was fooling and didn't rush to help, causing Tom further panic. The children tried to help and eventually got Tom close enough to the edge where Ian, realizing that Tom wasn't faking, pulled him out.

Writing in THE NINE LIVES OF DOCTOR WHO (1999), Peter Haining reveals that after the success of STAR WARS, which included Peter Cushing as the Grand Moff Tarkin, Milton Subotsky, who had produced the two theatrical WHO films in the Sixties, had the idea of costarring Cushing with the current Doctor, Tom Baker, in a new film to be titled DOCTOR WHO'SE GREATEST ADVENTURE, which would once again involve the Daleks, but sadly this never got beyond the planning stage. The heart of DOCTOR WHO is the Doctor's relationship with his companion(s). The best shows, therefore, feature the favorite assistants. Tom Baker's era was fortunate to have three of the most popular companions: Sarah Jane Smith, held over from the Pertwee shows; Leela, primitive warrior of the Sevateem, played by Louise Jameson; and K9, a mobile computer in the shape of a mechanical dog, voiced mainly by John Leeson. Sarah and K9 were so popular, in fact, they were spun off into a series of their own, K9 AND COMPANY, but although the pilot aired, no additional episodes were ever made.

Baker's other assistants included Ian Marter as Naval Surgeon Lieutenant Harry Sullivan; Mary Tamm played Romana, a Time Lord who underwent a regeneration of her own and was subsequently played by Lalla Ward, who went on in real life to marry Tom Baker. In his last year as the Doctor, Baker picked up 3 new companions--Matthew Waterhouse as Adric, an Outler from the planet Alzarius; Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, a specialist in bioelectronics from the planet Traken; and, in his last show, Janet Fielding as Tegan, an Australian air hostess. To follow Baker's wildly popular and long entrenched Doctor, the producers chose Peter Davison, who played the role much as he did Tristan on ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL. The bickering between the Doctor and his companions, which began at the tail end of the Baker shows (with a resentful Tegan accidentally entering the TARDIS) became a primary theme throughout Davison's three years. While conflict is at the heart of all good drama, that conflict should be between the Doctor and the villain, not among the Doctor and his friends.

Davison, a rather bland actor, tended to sit back and look pained while his overabundance of assistants quarreled among themselves. These companions included 3 carryovers from Baker's era--Adric, Nyssa and Tegan. He also acquired Turlough, an alien planted by the Black Guardian to kill the Doctor, played by Mark Strickson; Kamelion, an automaton from Xeraphas who could transform itself into anything, voiced by Gerald Flood; and the series' first American, a botany student named Peri, played by Nicola Bryant. After 3 years Davison regenerated into Colin Baker. Ironically, Colin Baker appeared as the character Maxil in a Peter Davison story which took place on Gallifrey called ARC OF INFINITY. In it, he was in charge of executing the Doctor, at which he naturally failed. Colin Baker inherited from Peter Davison another adversary relationship with Peri. If anything, the quarreling had intensified. But whereas Peter Davison was mild, Colin Baker was sarcastic, obnoxious and aggressive; and the constant bickering, coupled with Peri's unattractive (to American ears) accent, made his early shows somewhat irritating to watch.

After a year's absence from British TV, DOCTOR WHO returned with Colin Baker and a new companion, Melanie Bush, a computer programmer from Pease Pottage, Sussex, England, played by former British child star Bonnie Langford. Instead of 6 or 7 separate stories, this season went out under the umbrella title of THE TRIAL OF A TIME LORD. After the shortened 14 week season, Colin Baker's contract was not renewed, at the behest of BBC Controller Michael Grade, who decreed future incumbents could play the role only 3 years. Lacking Colin to smooth the segue, Sylvester McCoy donned a ginger colored, curly Colin Baker wig to transform into the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in 1987. His approach was a return to the humor of the Tom Baker years, with more emphasis on physical shtick; and the show profits greatly from his personal charm. McCoy's Doctor traveled with Mel for 4 stories, at which time she left with Sabalom Glitz; and the Doctor offered to take along slang-spewing 16-year old Ace (nee Dorothy, played by Sophie Aldred), originally from Earth but swept away from there to an Iceworld where he found her working as a waitress.

Michael Grade likewise left the BBC, leaving his edict about the 3-year term of the Doctor in doubt. During Tom Baker's time as the Doctor, the show was in production approximately 43 weeks a year. Rehearsals for each story took 10 days, followed by 5 days production, which generally consisted of 2 days on location and 3 days in the studio. In the United States, DOCTOR WHO first surfaced in 1973 with the Pertwee stories on PBS in Chicago, Philadelphia and LA to almost total apathy. Then in 1978 the first 4 years of the Tom Baker stories were syndicated to local independent stations. The shows were chopped up by the distributor, Time-Life, with mostly unnecessary opening narration by Howard DaSilva; and occasionally shown out of order, going not by the original BBC air date but by the story number (4A, 4B, etc., which reflected the order in which scripts were assigned, but not necessarily aired).

Subsequently, the series--now including all 7 years of Tom Baker as well as three of his successor, Peter Davison--was turned over to Lionheart and distributed only to PBS stations, where they have proven a popular draw for public TV membership drives, with an inbuilt fan club to man the phones during pledge breaks. Currently the series, consisting of all surviving stories (17 of the 29 Hartnells, 5 of the 21 Troughtons, 24 Pertwees, 42 Tom Bakers, 20 Davisons, 8 Colin Bakers and 12 McCoys) is playing continuously in PBS syndication. American audiences are now able to see each one many times, sometimes on as many as 3 stations in the same night, and often in a continuous 90-or-more-minute whole story (without the cliffhangers); or in 25-minute episodes in the same market. On November 26, 1993, the BBC created a short, 3D reunion episode with all the surviving Doctors and many of the actors who played their companions.

This was part of a charity event for Children in Need and incorporated the cast of the long running British soap, EastEnders, taking place in Albert Square. In May 1996 Fox TV aired a 2-hour TV movie/pilot as a co-production with the BBC starring Paul McGann as the Doctor. It committed major faux pas such as making him half human and getting him romantically entangled with a female doctor; but the cardinal sin was that there was virtually no plot and the sparkling dialogue which was one of the outstanding traits of Tom Baker's term as the Doctor was completely absent. In 2005 a new version of DOCTOR WHO showed up on the BBC with Christopher Eccleston (with a Northern accent) in the title role and Billie Piper as his companion Rose Tyler, a London teen. This version had dynamite CGI effects, and a huge and alien looking TARDIS interior, but the stories were more satiric than straightforward, especially those written by script editor Russell Davies, who also showed a lack of interest in any of the show's history.

For instance, when aliens show up in 2005 London and destory Big Ben, the Doctor excitedly thinks this may be "first contact", forgetting the years of aliens who landed on Earth during his time with U.N.I.T. Gone was the reticence and reserve between the Doctor and his previous companions; the dialogue regretabbly lacked subtext between them; the Doctor just burbled whatever he felt like to anyone, frequently telling people to shut up (including Charles Dickens). Five of the first six episodes were set on Earth and four of these in the U.K. This new version seemed aimed at American TV with 44-minute episodes, ideal for fitting into 60-minute network slots with the addition of 16 minutes of commercials, and a "teaser" before the opening credits; the end credits were now a crawl instead of the one-screen per performer style of the earlier series. Hardly had the new series begun broadcast, before the BBC announced that Eccleston, for fear of being typecast, would not return for a second season. David Tennant was been announced to replace him and lasted for several season, with a variety of companions, the most likable of whom was Dr. Martha Jones.

A new Doctor will be announced for the 2010 season. EPISODE GUIDE Following is an story by story commentary on Tom Baker's stories.

01 ROBOT 02 THE ARK IN SPACE 03 THE SONTARAN EXPERIMENT 04 GENESIS OF THE DALEKS 05 REVENGE OF THE CYBERMEN 06 TERROR OF THE ZYGONS 07 PLANET OF EVIL 10 THE BRAIN OF MORBIUS 11 THE SEEDS OF DOOM 12 THE MASK OF MANDRAGORA 13 THE HAND OF FEAR 14 THE DEADLY ASSASSIN 15 THE FACE OF EVIL 16 THE ROBOTS OF DEATH 17 THE TALONS OF WENG-CHIANG 18 THE HORROR OF FANG ROCK 19 THE INVISIBLE ENEMY 20 IMAGE OF THE FENDAHL 21 THE SUN MAKERS 23 THE INVASION OF TIME 24 THE RIBOS OPERATION 26 THE STONES OF BLOOD 27 THE ANDROIDS OF TARA 28 THE POWER OF KROLL 29 THE ARMAGEDDON FACTOR 30 DESTINY OF THE DALEKS 31 CITY OF DEATH 32 THE CREATURE FROM THE

 PIT 33 NIGHTMARE OF EDEN 34 THE HORNS OF NIMON 35 SHAD Doctor Who Production: GB, 1963-89, 1996, 2005- Cast: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Cristopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith.

Doctor Who is the most long-running SF show of ever. Also longer than ï¿½ Star Trek ï¿½, which stopped for about 10 years, while Doctor Who lasted for 26 years, tried to re-start a first time in 1996, and finally in 2005 new episodes were regularly shot and 4 new season have already been released. In the first 60s BBC had already produced good SF series. The first was ï¿½The time machineï¿½ in 1949 (which surely inspired the Doctorï¿½), and the top was reached with ï¿½ Quatermass ï¿½. As often happens, the idea was born from a simple need: BBC needed something new for Saturday afternoon, a day usually reserved to sport and music programs. At first they thought to broadcast again the old ï¿½Flash Gordonï¿½ of the 30s, played by Buster Crabbe (always good, but a little out of date), but finally it was decided to create a new show.

Producer Sidney Newman decided it would have been a childrenï¿½s program, and with instructing purposes: the stars would have been time travelers and would have met the historical characters of all ages, and the historical environment and the facts should have been accurate. The male lead would have been a teacher (not by chance); the female lead another teacher (idem); then a young girl, their pupil (idem again); and finally an old man, of alien origins, who would have driven, as he could, the time machine. In a nutshell, at the beginning the Doctor was nearly the less important character, a piece of environment. To give him a name, BBC writers tried a lot of names on pieces of paper during a dinner, until the definitive name was found. Quite unusual the look of the time machine: in the exterior looked like an old police phone box, because it had a mechanism which could disguise it in any place it landed. But the interior was in a different dimension, so it was as large as a castleï¿½ In the first episode the chameleon circuit broke down, so the exterior was stuck as a police box.

Format was that of ï¿½mini-seriesï¿½: every episode had 2, 4, 6 or more parts of 25ï¿½ each, broadcasted weekly with a ï¿½cliffhangerï¿½ in the final to ensure the return of viewers the next week (the same system of soap-operas). The first episode was aired on November 23, 1963. The title was ï¿½An unearthly childï¿½, and was referred to the unusual acknowledge of the young girl, the Doctorï¿½s nephew, and to the enquiries of her teachers. The result was a voyage in the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space, the time machine), which landed in year 100,000 b.C. USA president Kennedy had just been killed, and TV was full of news about that, so the firs airing of the show was not particularly noticed. But a surprise was coming.

One of the writers was Terry Nation who, as a second episode, wrote a story about a far planet named Skaro, where the Thals, a peaceful race of humans, was menaced by a race of mutants closed in metallic vehicles: the Daleks. Daleks were secretly built by a manufacturer, and transported to BBC studios while people looked at them with curiosity (and someone nearly walked into a wall). When the episode was broadcasted, the reaction was immediate. As first Sidney Newman became furious, because that was the cheap science fiction with bug-eyed-monsters he absolutely wanted to avoid. But thousands of enthusiastic letters arrived, and viewing figures had jumped higher and higher. The programs director wondered if Daleks would have scared children, but his sons ran around with baskets on their heads shouting ï¿½Exterminate! Exterminate!ï¿½. An epic success had been achieved. Historical episodes were not left behind, anyway. The Doctor met Marco Polo (a memorable episode), the Aztecs, Robespierre, Napoleon, Nero and Wyatt Earp (the OK Corral gunfighter), together with new alien races and new encounters with the Daleks.

The show went on nearly without interruptions, new episodes were aired for 12 months in a year, (in the 80s, a season would have last for 3-4 months). The younger actors of the cast felt the need for different job. So in the second season Susan (Carole Ann Ford), the Doctorï¿½s nephew, decided to remain in the 22nd century Earth, having fallen in love with a boy who fought the Daleks, and a little later his two teachers used a Dalek time machine to go back to their age. The Doctor found always new companions becoming the real star of the show. Actor William Hartnell, who played the Doctor, was at the end of his career, and really would have gone on with the programme, but his health was too poor and did not allow him. It was more and more difficult for him to read the scripts, and was running out of his energies. He was said he was not forced to remain, but he did not want to be responsible of the programmeï¿½s end. The only solution was going on with a different actor, but a way to justify that had to be found.

The first idea was a ï¿½plastic surgeryï¿½, then they thought to a ï¿½machine to change facesï¿½ (which was seen in ï¿½The celestial toymakerï¿½), then the right idea came: the Doctor was an alien, so his life cycle made him regenerate his body when he grew too old. So Patrick Troughton was engaged and, at the beginning of fourth season (October 1966) there was the first regeneration, which allowed William Hartnell to leave the show. The episode was ï¿½The tenth planetï¿½, and a new evil alien race appeared. They were similar to the Daleks but with better movements (lots of people wondered how could Daleks walk on stairsï¿½): the cybermen. After having defeated the cybermen, the Doctor collapses on the floor and starts to regenerate.

With some efforts, William Hartnell could be the Doctor again later: in 1973, for the programmeï¿½s tenth anniversary, he appeared in the episode ï¿½The three Doctorsï¿½ together with Patrick Troughton and John Pertwee (who had to carry almost the whole episode on their shoulders, anyway). For a big misfortune, some of the first Doctorï¿½s episodes (and most of the secondï¿½s) have been lost: only 18 of 29 have survived, but BBC has tried to find them in other countries television networks archives. Hammer film made two cinema movies from the first Doctorï¿½s adventures: ï¿½Doctor Who and the Daleksï¿½(from ï¿½The Daleksï¿½), and ï¿½Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.ï¿½ (from ï¿½The Dalek invasion of Earthï¿½), and Peter Cushing played the Doctor. When 46 years old Patrick Troughton was asked to be the Doctor, his first answer was ï¿½noï¿½.

Until then William Hartnell had been the sole Doctor, it looked rather unconceivable another actor in the role, and Troughton was afraid to be considered as an intruder by viewers. But BBC executives insisted for days and days, until he surrended. The show was successful, but figures were lowering, and a strong injection of energy was needed, thanks to a younger actor. As seen above, the change happened at the beginning of the fourth season and, to maintain the habit, the new Doctor had to face immediately and again the Daleks. William Hartnell wore 19th century clothes, Troughton had a black jacket, chequered trousers and a bow tie. The Doctor was always eccentric, and the second often played a pipe (especially when he forgot a lineï¿½). In that moment the Doctorï¿½s companions were Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), a sailor, and Polly Lopez (Anneke Wills). Then there was a change, and the ultimate companions became Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), a scottish piper, and Zoe Herriot (Wendy Padbury), a girl who lived in a space station invaded by cybermen.

Zoe entered in the last episode of fifth season, and that caused a particular situation: Zoe asked to travel in the TARDIS, and the Doctor showed her a mental projection of what was going to faceï¿½ allowing a repeat of previous episodes, while waiting for the new season. Like the first Doctor, also the second was produced continuously, and a repeat of old episodes looked like a shame (in the following years it would have become usual). During the fifth season appeared a character who would have become very popular: colonel Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, an army officer who collaborated with the Doctor to stop another alien menace, and decided to found a military organisation to prevent alien invasions, the U.N.I.T. (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce). In 1969 men were about to land on the Moon, and that changed peopleï¿½s point of view about space travel. Some thought it would have been more difficult to write believable science fiction, and anyway, after three years, also the second Doctor seemed to have lost his appeal on viewers, so Troughton decided it was time to leave.

Jon Pertwee was found as the third Doctor, and the second had a great ending: forced to call the time lords for help (he had always run away from them), was captured and prosecuted (and for the first time the Doctorï¿½s origins were known). Jamie and Zoe were sent back to their times, forgetting all about the Doctor, and he was condemned to a forced regeneration and exiled on Earth, having forgotten all about the TARDIS use. Jon Pertwee became the most popular and most long-running Doctor before Tom Baker. Moreover, the third Doctor was in colour, and all episodes started to be kept in the archives (in fact, until the 80s video-tapes were very expensive, so after 10 years they were often cancelled and re-usedï¿½). The third Doctor was dressed as a dandy, with velvet suits, lace shirts and bow ties. In his first adventure he met a new race of enemies: the Autons, plastic robots sent by the Nestenes aliens. Autons were defeated thanks also to the help of brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who entered in the regular cast (and, at first, did not believe that man was the Doctor he knewï¿½).

Due to his exile on Earth, the Doctor became UNITï¿½s scientific advisor, and could have a laboratory and a vintage yellow car named Bessie (later used also by Tom Baker). He had also a young assistant: Liz Shaw (Caroline John). Since then most of the Doctorï¿½s adventures took place on Earth, facing aliens, monsters and mad scientists, except for some voyages on other planets authorized by the Time Lords. In the 8th season there were some changes. First of all there was a new assistant, Jo Grant (Katy Manning). Then entered a new enemy, a renegade Time Lord, the Master. The Master was created upon a simple idea: an enemy who was the exact nemesis of the Doctor, as prof. Moriarty with Sherlock Holmes. To play the Master Roger Delgado was choosen. He initially had tried to become the Doctor, but the casting heads thought he was suitable for the Master: with his satanic beard, he was really perfect. During the same season, also the Daemons appeared. The 10th season started with ï¿½The Three Doctorsï¿½.

The Doctor saved the Time Lords from a big danger, and so he received an amnesty and could use the TARDIS again. At the end of the season, Jo marries a young scientist and leaves the UNIT, so at the beginning of the next season the Doctor finds a stowaway in the TARDIS: journalist Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen). In that episode (The time warrior) appear the Sontarans. Of course in the third Doctorï¿½s adventures there had been also returns of the Daleks and the Cybermen. The third Doctor also showed for the first time his famuos ï¿½ultrasonic screwdriverï¿½, a device which could open or dismount everything. During the 10th season a very nasty thing happened: Roger Delgadoï¿½s death in a car crash, while he was reaching the set. Pertwee was very sad about that. Moreover, UNIT storiesï¿½share was lowering, while Pertwee liked them very much although they were becoming rather ripetitive. The viewing figures were the best of ever, but Pertwee decided to leave the programme.

After five years of success, the depart of the most pupular Doctor was a very bad new for BBC heads, and they were really afraid it would have been impossible to repeat a similar hit. But then came Tom Bakerï¿½ Tom Baker became the ultimate Doctor: the most popular of ever and the most long-lived (seven seasons). Until then, the record belonged to Jon Pertwee, and replacing him was a serious problem. Several actors were screened, but there were always problems: someone wanted to sign the scripts, someone did not want to tie himself to the Doctor, and someone was tied to another character and thought it would have been impossible to be regarded as the Doctor. Finally, someone suggested Tom Baker, and his eccentric manner seeemed perfect for the Doctor (later, someone said that perhaps Baker really ï¿½wasï¿½ the Doctor!). Baker was introduced to press on February 16, 1974, and meanwhile his first season pre-production started.

The fourth Doctor look was similar to Parisian painters of the 20s, with a soft hat and the famous 10 ft scarf: the costume maker had a huge quantity of various colour wool and used it all, and when the result was seen they thought to keep it, because was really funny. A little accident occurred while filming ï¿½The Sontaran experimentï¿½: Baker fell down and broke his clavicle, so needed a stand-in for some scenes. In the next season there was the last UNIT story, and there wouldnï¿½t have been any more until the seventh Doctor. In ï¿½Pyramids of Marsï¿½ the Doctor had to disguise himself as a mummy, and the director wanted Baker to really wear the mummy costume, because watchers would have recognized his walking mode: Baker was not convinced, but he did. The fourth Doctorï¿½s viewing ratings increased every day, and Tom Baker took it seriously: often he went in hospitals to visit ill children (who obviously called him ï¿½Doctorï¿½), and was very careful to avoid drinking or smoking in public.

In the 15th season a very original companion appeared: K9, a cute mechanic dog voiced by John Leeson. For his 5th season (the 16th of the whole programme), the Doctor had a woman of his race as a companion: Romana, a ï¿½Time Ladyï¿½ played by Mary Tamm. But in the last episode of that season appeared actress Lalla Ward, and was going on with Baker so well that, being Mary Tamm unavailable for another season, Romana regenerated and Lalla Ward had the role (and married Baker in 1980). During the 17th season there was an uncompleted episode (the only one in 26 years): ï¿½Shadaï¿½, which was not completed for a BBC strike. The episode was released years later for home video, completed with a narration by Tom Baker. Ratings started to lower in 1980: the fourth Doctor had perhaps lasted too much despite his popularity, and Baker too was tired. ï¿½Logopolisï¿½ was the fourth Doctorï¿½s last episode on TV, and Baker made other appearences on radio or audio adventures.

He mantained his popularity, and when there were voices around about his return in a movie (together with Vincent Price) which was never made, fans sent all their savings for help: a huge labour was needed to send back the money and to prevent similar events in the future. Creating the fifth Doctor was a particularly difficult task: a replacement for Tom Baker was needed, and the showï¿½s crisis had begun, and would have led to the (temporary) end eight years later. This time was harder than replacing Jon Pertwee, and very odd ideas came out, like regenerating the Doctor as a woman. Finally sexism took over, and there was Peter Davison (real name Peter Moffatt) ready. As previously happened, Davison was surprised to be cast as the Doctor: he could not understand how he would have fit in the part, seeming too young for it (he was 29, in fact). In a certain way, the fifth looks as the less eccentric of the Doctors, and his victorian cricket player clothes look quite ï¿½normalï¿½, but maybe this gave him his success: Davison looked like an idealist, absent minded but genial professor.

Writers introduced a quite unusual companion in the TARDIS: Turlough (Mark Strickson), a saboteur who was waiting for the right moment to get rid of the Doctor. Turloughï¿½s disturbing presence went on for about two seasons, and this surely helped to mantain the audienceï¿½s interest. Anyway, fifth Doctorï¿½s popularity could have gone on and grow, but at beginning of 21st season Davison made clear he did not want to go on. Luckily, in the previous season appeared an actor who looked perfect for the role, Colin Baker (no relations with Tom), and thew fifth Doctor regenerated towards the end of 21st season, on March, 1984. When was introduced to press as the sixth Doctor, Colin Baker was full of enthusiasm, saying he wanted to last even more than his predecessor Tom Baker. But, sadly, everything went wrong. The first cause of all the sixth Doctorï¿½s problem was always the same: the show was declining, and neither Peter Davisonï¿½s good ratings were similar to the golden ages.

First of all, the sixth Doctor was very unstable, often almost crazy and sadic, totally different from his previous incarnations. Sometimes was violent too: after his regeneration tried to strangle his companion Peri (a very memorable event), and often he was seen aiming a gun or a knife. Going on, his predecessors were eccentric but, in a certain way, elegant: Colin Bakerï¿½s orange costume made him nearly look like a clown, in an odd contrast with his behaviour. And, following the purpose of a change at all costs, the format too had changed: no more episodes in 2,4, or 6 parts of 25ï¿½, but 2 or 3 parts of 45ï¿½, altering suspence and pace of the stories. Productionï¿½s costs were always high, and ratings were not brilliant, so there was the first, unexpected interruption of the programme. Since the Jon Pertwee era a six months pause between two seasons was absolutely normal, but this time 22nd season ended on March 1985, and nothing new was aired until September 1986! In a nutshell, a season was skipped.

The Doctorï¿½s fans protested with letters, phone calls and campaigns to save the show. But BBC was considering costs and benefits. Then the last chance was tried: a long-running episode in 14 parts, titled ï¿½The trial of a Time Lordï¿½, which was the 23rd season. To be sure, the 25ï¿½ traditional format came back. But this time too something did not work. The Doctor was tried by the Time Lords for his companion Periï¿½s death, and there was a new companion, Melanie (Bonnie Langford). This time it was Melanie who did not appeal the viewers. She became unpopular quite like the sixth Doctor, and a long time later some magazines describe her as ï¿½one of the biggest disasters of TV science fictionï¿½. Ratings went down, and Colin Baker paid for all.

Assuming, with some reasons, to be not guilty for his Doctorï¿½s end, Baker talked straight to the press, and got rather annoyed when asked to shoot the regeneration scene: in fact he refused, not in spite of BBC but because he was searching for new scriptures and couldnï¿½t remain engaged to film five minutesï¿½ The job was completed by the papers which misunderstood or gave wrong interpretations of his interviewsï¿½ While searching for the seventh Doctor, all was in a mess: there was no replacement, no script, and budget was lowering. Sylvester McCoy (real name Patrick Kent-Smith) was choosen: he had previously worked in childrenï¿½s programmes and was as eccentric as the Doctor had to be. At first they made him try Colin Bakerï¿½s costume, but size was too different and so a new costume was made. A cream jacket (later it became brown), a straw hat, a jumper with question marks, two-coloured shoes and an umbrella. The seventh Doctor was rather silent, often playing with his hat and umbrella (like Charlot), but also watchful, ready for action in case of troubles.

Stories became darker (see, for example, ï¿½Ghostlightï¿½), but his companion was still Melanie, for viewers dislike. Colin Baker was not available for the regeneration, so McCoy had to wear a wig and a costume which made him look like Baker, and was shot from behind while the TARDIS crashed and he fell on the floor, dying. Melanie turned the Doctorï¿½s face, and it was McCoyï¿½s. The usual scene of clothes choice followed, and for a while also Tom Bakerï¿½s clothes and scarf were seen. At the end of 24th season there was a nice surprise: at last Melanie remained on a planet, and was replaced by a teen-ager girl named Ace. Played by Sophie Aldred, Ace was quite different from all the previous women of the show: she was very brave, she did not scream, drove a motorbike and was skilled with explosives. Differently from Melanie, Ace became one of the most popular companions of ever. But ratings did not raise anyway. Viewers were no more interested in science fiction, and BBC did not want to go on, not on its own.

So, a year before the end of McCoyï¿½s contract, at the end of ï¿½Survivalï¿½ the Doctor was seen walking to the TARDIS together with Aceï¿½ Since then, BBC tried to find a co-producer, the 30 years anniversary was incredibly missed in 1993, and in 1996 a TV-movie was released, the Doctor played by McCoy (for only some minutes) and then Paul McGann. The movie, simply titled ï¿½Doctor Whoï¿½, was a try to introduce the character to USA viewers (with Universalï¿½s backing, absolutely necessary to start the show again). But the Doctor was ï¿½too britishï¿½, and the attempt to please both british and american audience obtained the opposite effect. So the movie had no sequels, at least on TV: being Paul McGann officially the eigth Doctor, appeared on books or audio CD dramas, as the other Doctors did before. Finally, while all seemed ended forever, the surprise: in year 2005 the Doctor came back on the screen, with new episodes and a new actor (Cristopher Eccleston).

And, more surprisingly, audience too has come back, in fact new season have been released with a tenth Doctor (David Tennant). This time writers have made a big job, mantaining the original premise, changing from the ï¿½miniseriesï¿½ to complete episodes of 60ï¿½, with more actual (and dark) stories, updating all what could have been necessary without regrets for the past. Only a strange fact: it is not clear where has the eigth Doctor gone, the new season begins with the ninth Doctor and nobody knows why he has regenerated.

There are also two spin-offs: ï¿½Torchwoodï¿½ (ï¿½Doctor Whoï¿½ï¿½s anagram!), an organisation which fights alien invasions (very original idea, anywayï¿½) and ï¿½Sarah Jane adventuresï¿½, where a middle aged (as Elizabeth Sladen now is) Sarah Jane Smith has to face misteries and aliens: something similar was already tried in 1981, with a 90ï¿½ special titled ï¿½K9 and company: a girlï¿½s best friendï¿½, where Sarah met the Doctorï¿½s robotic pet. 200 stories, 702 episodes (684 of 25ï¿½, 16 of 45ï¿½, 2 of 90ï¿½, 41 of 60', 253 b/w, 449 colour) First Doctor (William Hartnell, 1963-66) First season

Question: Which 'Doctor Who' was assisted by 'Zoe Herriot' played by Wendy Padbury and 'Jamie McCrimmon' played by Frazer Hines?
Answer: PATRICK TROUGHTON