Here at  ,
we love groovy British TV shows made in the 1960s. From The
Thunderbirds to Secret Agent to The
Avengers to The
Prisoner, we just can’t get enough, and
when it comes to quirky UK psychedelia, no show is quirkier
or more mind-bending than Doctor Who. The
long running series, ostensibly intended for children but enjoyed
by people of all  ages,
features an ever changing cast of supporting characters flinging
themselves through time and space inside a blue police phone
booth (the TARDIS) piloted by a grandfatherly philosopher/scientist
known only as the Doctor. As a “Time Lord,” the
Doctor is charged with setting wrong to right in the universe,
and in the process, faces off against a wide range of imaginative
foes, including sea monsters, abominable snow men, robots,
mutants, and the omnipresent Daleks – high tech trash
cans on wheels.
Doctor Who ran on the BBC for twenty-six
years starting in November 1963. The weekly half-hour serial
was strapped with a shoestring budget and a nearly impossible
production schedule, given the complexity of the science fantasy
stories the writers were trying to tell. It would have been
easy to let creativity be the first casualty of such a demanding
situation, yet the artists behind the show not only embraced
creativity, but made it their top priority. As a result, the
daring show captured the imagination of its audience to such
a degree that it became an almost instant classic and an indelible
feature on the pop cultural landscape.
For most Americans, their first exposure to Doctor
Who came in the mid 1970s, when PBS stations began
syndication of the show. At the time, Tom Baker was playing
the Doctor and his signature long scarf and floppy hat
became synonymous with Doctor Who for casual
fans. But Baker is only one of many actors who have played
the role. One of the central plot elements of the show
is that a Time Lord, when on the brink of death, can regenerate
his entire body, in essence becoming an entirely new person
while retaining the bulk of his memories and personality.In
other words, when one actor gets tired of playing the role,
the Doctor “regenerates” and a new actor replaces
him. In all, ten actors played the Doctor - seven in the
series’ originaltwenty-six year run, one in a FOX made-for-TV movie and
two since its
rebirth as a contemporary show.
 Many of the Doctor’s early adventures were lost, discarded
or destroyed back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and those
that survived were subject to the effects of age. All of the
existing episodes have been available on VHS for years, but
the quality of those releases was spotty at best. Thankfully
for fans, the BBC is in the process of restoring and preserving
every known episode of Doctor Who. The DVD
releases of these shows are handled like a national treasure,
packed with audio commentaries, making-of features, original
broadcast trailers and a wealth of other historical material.
There are currently more than forty adventures available on
DVD with many more in production. Before too long, fans will
be able to own the entire classic series with fully restored
audio and video.
 One
of the greatest things about Doctor Who is
that you can watch it on several different levels. You can
take it all as a lark and laugh at the creaky sets and goofy
costumes, or you can allow yourself to be caught up in the
show’s often-sophisticated plots. You can take it as
an innocent children’s drama or you can read it as a
modern mythology that’s just as complex and rewarding
as Star Trek or Star Wars.
No matter how you watch the show, we’re sure you’ll
find something to like. And to that end, presents Doctor
Who week! We invite you to pull up a couch, grab
a hot drink, get under a warm blanket and let us treat you
to giant ants, lava creatures, homicidal cavemen and Daleks,
Daleks, Daleks! We have reviews of The
Beginning Box Set, The Web Planet, Inferno, Genesis
of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks queued
up and ready to go, so reverse the polarity on that neutron
flow and strap yourself in. It’s going to be quite a
ride!
Chris Hughes
Editor of
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