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 Doctor
Who - Eccentric genius from the planet Gallifrey,
whom among others of his race controlled the secrets of the
fifth dimension-Time. Known as a Time Lord, the Doctor roamed
through the centuries as sort of an intergalactic advisor &
troubleshooter. However, his actions were not condoned by his
fellow Time Lords. It had been their established policy not to
interfere in the events of any civilization, but merely to
observe them. Bored with the laws of non-intervention, the
Doctor illegally commandeered a time travel unit known as a
TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space) and set out to
explore and interact with the myriad mazes of the universe.
The TARDIS has two rather unique features. The first being it
is "dimensionally transcendental," which simply meant it was
bigger inside than outside. The second feature is its
chameleon-like ability to blend into any surrounding
landscape. Unfortunately for the Doctor, the unit he stole was
being repaired. It was stuck in the shape of a blue British
police call box, a form which has never changed throughout his
many adventures. By the way, the Doctor has no name.
In the first episode of the series "An
Unearthly Child," our Gallifreyan wanderer is mistakenly
addressed as "Doctor Foreman" to which he replies "Doctor
Who?", hence the name of the series. The Doctor possessed some
rather unique characteristics including two hearts, a body
temperature of 60 degrees and the power of reincarnation. He
could regenerate a new body twelve times during his
long life. He saved his regeneration ability for occasions
when he was struck down by illness/injury or crippled with old
age. The process did have one side effect. The new body never
looked like the old one. This transformation quirk helped
immensely when the actor portraying the Doctor left the series
and was replaced by a new one.
When his fans first met him, the Doctor was 745
years old. Over the years the role of the Doctor has been
portrayed by a variety of actors including in the order of
appearance: William Hartnell (1963-66), Patrick Troughton
(1966-69), Jon Pertwee (1970-74), Tom Baker (1974-81), Peter
Davison (1982-84), Colin Baker (1984-86), Sylvester McCoy
(1987-89). Sylvester McCoy appeared in a transformation scene
at the beginning of the FOX Network TV movie Dr. Who: The
Enemy Within (1996) which introduced Paul McGann as the
latest Doctor Who. In 2005, Christopher Eccleston revived the
role of The Doctor but after 13 episodes, he announced
he wanted to leave the series. So, a new Doctor Who will surely
be on the way. Don't you just love that regeneration plot
gimmick.
Other movie portrayals of the Doctor
included actor Peter Cushing in the motion picture spin-offs
of the series Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) and
Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966) and Richard
Hurndall as the First Doctor in the 20th anniversary special.
(Hartnell had died eight earlier). A most flamboyant and
popular adaptation of the Doctor starred Tom Baker who sported
a halo of brown curly hair and wore a twenty-foot
multi-colored scarf that wrapped around his neck. His favorite
snack food was Jelly Babies.
The Doctor has fought a gallery of villainous
creatures over the years including the Kronovores, deadly
creatures who devoured time; Cybermen, metallic clad
humanoids; the Yeti, a nine foot tall anti-matter beast; bulb
headed Sensorites; the horrible Krotons; and the Daleks, salt
& pepper-shaped robots with a prime directive to "Exterminate"
all humans. When the Doctor finally was caught by his fellow
Time Lords, he was exiled to the 20th Century Earth for an
indefinite period of time as punishment. At the conclusion of
episode No. 65 "The Three Doctors," the Time Lords modified
their stance on non-intervention and allowed the Doctor to
travel through time battling evil and righting wrongs. In a
later episode, the Doctor (Tom Baker) had a talking robot dog
that resembled a toaster on wheels called "K-9" who assisted
him on his adventures.
In all of his journeys, the Doctor was accompanied by an
assistant or companion of some kind including:
- Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman, the Doctor's teenage
niece;
- Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright and William Russell as
Ian Chesterton, Susan's teacher's;
- Maureen O'Brien as Vicki, a castaway from the Planet
Dido rescued by the Doctor;
- Peter Purves as Steven Taylor, an astronaut the Doctor
rescued from a killer robot;
- Adrienne Hill as Katarina from the ancient Greek Battle
of Troy;
- Jean Marsh as Sara Kingdom, a forty-first century secret
agent;
- Jackie Lane as Dodo Chaplet, a cockney teenager who
accidentally entered the TARDIS thinking it was a police
box;
- Anneke Willis as Polly and Michael Craze as Ben Jackson,
two Earthers who helped the Doctor defeat Woton the
supercomputer;
- Frazer Hines as Jamie McCrimmon, a Scotsman from 1745;
- Deborah Watling as Victoria Waterfield, the daughter of
a scientist who saved the Doctor's life;
- Zoe Herriett as Wendy Padbury, a computer scientist who
helped the Doctor battle the Cyberman;
- Caroline John as Liz Shaw, a research scientist who
helped the Doctor while he was exiled on Earth;
- Katy Manning as Jo Grant, a member of UNIT;
- Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, a freelance
journalist;
- Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan, a Royal Navy Lieutenant
and member of UNIT;
- Louise Jameson as Leela, a tribal Sevateen warrior;
- Mary Tramm as Romana, a female Time Lord who helped the
Doctor find the Key of Time;
- Lalla Ward as Romana, a regeneration of the earlier
Romana;
- Matthew Waterhouse as Adric, a youth from the planet
Alzarius;
- Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka, a British airline
stewardess who accidentally entered the TARDIS thinking it
was a police call box;
- Sara Sutton as Nyssa, the daughter of Counsel Tremas
whose body was taken over by the Master, an evil Time Lord;
- Nicola Bryant as Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown, a feisty,
independent female;
- Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush, a computer programmer;
- Sophie Aldred as Ace, a teenage girl with explosives
expertise.
- Daphne Ashbrook as Dr. Grace Holloway, a San Francisco
cardiologist who helps the Doctor save the earth on December
31, 1999 from the hands of The Master.
- Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, an attractive blond who
worked as a department store shop assistant in the South of
London. Also seen are Noel Clark as Mickey Smith, Rose's
boyfriend, a conspiracy theorist and computer expert; and
Camille Corduri as Rose's Mother ("Mum"), Jackie. The Doctor
gave up his life to save Rose, which brought forth the
latest incarnation - Doctor Who No.10 played by David
Tennant.
Doctor Who No.10
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