This week’s entry: History of Doctor Who
What it’s about: In 1962, the BBC commissioned a science-fiction series with an educational bent, about a mysterious time traveler who whisks his granddaughter and two of her schoolteachers to different points in history. They had no idea that they were creating a phenomenon. After 26 seasons in its original run, and nine more so far in its modern-day revival, Doctor Who has become a touchtone for sci-fi fans, and one of British television’s biggest icons. The series’ 826 episodes (and counting) make it the longest running science-fiction show in television history.
Strangest fact: Far from exterminating the Doctor, the Daleks most likely saved the show. The original series was divided up into “serials”—story arcs of seven or so episodes (although there could be as many as 10 or as few as three). The show’s original intent was to explore different eras in real-life history, and as such, the first serial, “An Unearthly Child,” sees the Doctor mediating a war between two Paleolithic tribes. The four episodes got good enough reviews, but were largely ignored by the public—in no small part because the series premiere aired the day of the Kennedy assassination. For the second serial, the producers had already decided to move away from history lessons and to a pure adventure story, which introduced the series’ most iconic villain: the Daleks. Aliens encased in metal shells, led by a shrill, robotic call to “exterm-in-ate!” the Daleks were an immediate hit. Three years ahead of Mr. Spock’s pointy ears seeming convincingly alien, the Daleks—completely inhuman, but not quite robotic—were unlike anything audiences had ever seen. Who’s ratings nearly doubled overnight, and the series had landed firmly in the public consciousness.
Biggest controversy: While the show and its star, William Hartnell, were both popular, by 1965, there were problems behind the scenes. Series co-creater Verity Lambert left, and replacement John Wiles butted heads with Hartnell. To make things worse, Hartnell was beginning to suffer from arteriosclerosis (he would eventually die from the disease), which was making filming difficult. Wiles had an idea for replacing Hartnell, by rendering the Doctor invisible, and then having him reappear in the guise of another actor, but the BBC forbid him from bringing in a new star, and Wiles quit, knowing he was going to be fired at season’s end. But by the time Innes Lloyd replaced Wiles, new upper management permitted him to make essentially the same change. Lloyd’s similar idea was that if the Doctor suffered serious injury, his body would regenerate into a new form—and a new actor. Hartnell agreed he couldn’t continue, and insisted, “there’s only one man in England who can take over, and that’s Patrick Troughton.” Soon after, the veteran character actor took over as the Second Doctor, and the tradition of passing the role from one lead to the next ended up being a masterstroke that allowed the series to continue on indefinitely.