Who is Doctor Who?

Answer 1

The Doctor

Doctor Who is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. Time Lords are effectively immortal under normal circumstances, since they regenerate at death. They develop a new body and have a different personality to a certain extent, but they have the same memories and continue their lives. The Doctor (a self-chosen title) travels through time and space being a healer of sorts... usually resolving human-alien interactions and trying to save the humans. He has a soft spot in his heart for us.

In a war with the Daleks, called the Time War, all the Time Lords were thought to have been killed except The Doctor and The Master, although later in the modern series we find that Gallifrey was saved. We have never been told The Doctor's true name.

The Show

Doctor Who is a British Science Fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a mysterious alien time-traveller known as "the Doctor" who travels in his space and time-ship, the TARDIS, which normally appears from the exterior to be a blue 1950s police box. With his companions, he explores time and space, solving problems, facing monsters and righting wrongs.

The programme is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world and is also a significant part of British popular culture. It has been recognised for its imaginative stories, creative low-budget special effects during its original run, and pioneering use of electronic music (originally produced by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop).

In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, the show has become a cult television favourite and has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series. It has received recognition from critics and the public as one of the finest British television programmes, including the BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series in 2006.

The programme originally ran from 1963 to 1989. After an unsuccessful attempt to revive regular production with a backdoor pilot in the form of a 1996 television film, the programme was successfully relaunched in 2005, produced in-house by BBC Wales in Cardiff. Some development money for the new series is contributed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which is credited as a co-producer. Doctor Who has also spawned spin-offs in multiple media, including the television programmes Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, and a single 1981 pilot episode of "K-9 and Company."

The show's lead character, the Doctor, has been played by many actors over the history of the show. The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of the show as regeneration, and the different parts are often treated as distinct characters to the extent that in some time travel plots they encounter one another and work together.