Alan Kistler's Guide to Doctor Who

The seal of Rassilon, founder of the Time Lords "Everywhere you go,
they tell tales of the Doctor.
There are galaxies far away from here
where children sleep more soundly
knowing he's out there fighting off the demons.
And the demons twist and turn in fear,
knowing that their enemy awaits ..."

 - Leela, from the audio play Zagreus

"What exactly are you a doctor of?"
"Practically everything!"

- Liz Shaw and the Doctor,
from the TV adventure "Spearhead from Space"

WHO IS THE DOCTOR?

He is a scientist and an explorer. He is a criminal and a hero. He is a father and a grandfather. He is an alien who has lived for centuries. He is an action hero who does not carry weapons, relying on his wits, his scientific knowledge and, at times, his trusted "sonic screwdriver." Most of all, he is a wanderer, motivated to explore for the sake of exploration itself.

He was raised on the planet Gallifrey to be a Time Lord, one of an ancient society of people who'd mastered time travel before the human race was born and who appointed themselves protectors of time and space. But not agreeing with their rules against interacting with "lesser races", and believing that they had become stagnant and arrested in their evolution, he left his people and became a renegade. In doing so, he was forced to give up his status, his heritage, and even the name he was born with.

An exile now, he stole an old broken-down time ship, a TARDIS, from a repair shop and then left to explore the wonders of the universe, traveling back and forth through the "space-time vortex." He never stays in one place for too long, his only home being his ship, the mysterious blue box he travels in which is bigger on the inside than the outside. He fights evil at times, but he is not an angst-ridden avenger on a quest for justice. He journeys for the simple thrill of adventure and his love of a good mystery. In his travels, he has often picked up traveling companions, people who can share in his fun, each of whom eventually leaves him for one reason or another. Some of them, sadly, have died during their exploits with him.

Over his centuries of life, this adventurer has worn different faces, for like all Time Lords he can "regenerate" his physical body as a way of cheating death, giving himself a completely new appearance and a slightly different point of view on life (while keeping his memories intact, of course). He's also assumed many different titles. When he was a student at the Academy on the planet Gallifrey, his nickname was "Theta Sigma." On the planet Myar, he was known as the fearsome pirate "Dr. Vile." To the Galyari, he became a frightening figure of myth known as "the Sandman." The Daleks and Draconians know him as "The Oncoming Storm" and some Daleks refer to him as the Ka Faraq Gatri, which means "Destroyer of Worlds."

On Earth, he has often been called Dr. John Smith. In ancient China, they knew him by a few names: Hu, "the tiger" (for his courage); Hoo, "the fox" (for his cunning); or Xue, "he who tends to the sick."

But to most who ask him, he just goes by the title that he chose for himself when he left his home planet and his birth name far behind him. Since then, he has simply been ... The Doctor.

 

The TV series Doctor Who premiered on the BBC on November 23, 1963, the day after Kennedy died, and was originally conceived as a family program with educational values for children. It quickly proved to be a lot more than that, both in terms of high concepts and dark tales about death and destruction on sometimes universal levels. The main creative force behind the show was BBC Head of Drama Sydney Newman. Writer Anthony Coburn, story editor David Whitaker and initial producer Verity Lambert also heavily contributed to the development of the series in the early days and greatly influenced writers and producers who came later.

Doctor Who was meant to last for one season. Instead, it lasted for 26 seasons (695 episodes), making it the longest running science-fiction program in history. It was a phenomenon in British pop culture, reaching popularity comparable to American characters such as Batman and Superman. After cancellation, it survived in novels and a TV pilot on Fox, as well as in comic strips and audio plays which continue being produced to this day.

A new series, spear-headed by Executive Producer and Head Writer Russell T. Davies (creator of Queer as Folk), started airing in 2005 and continues the story of the time traveling alien known as "The Doctor." Recently, as its fifth season concludes, Russell T. Davies is turning control of the show over to fan-favorite writer Steve Moffat (Coupling, Jekyll).

Doctor Who has also spawned TV spin-offs such as Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. Along with this, there are the Bernice Summerfield novels and radio plays, the U.N.I.T. audio plays, the adventures of Iris Wildthyme, the Gallifrey audio series and various other works.

Want to learn more? Check out the options below. 

The Classic Series Synopsis - A short and sweet rundown of who the main character is and some of the major events that happened during the original "Classic" series. This article does not give anything away about the stories that occur in the new series which began in 2005 and can be read as a prologue.

The Arch-Enemies - Brief bios on the major enemies of the Doctor and the Time Lords.

The Different Doctors In A Nutshell - Short descriptions of each incarnation of the Doctor previous to the new series.

Guide to the TARDIS - Wanna know more about the Doctor's fabulous time-ship? Of course you do!

Traits of a Time Lord - So how are Time Lords different from us mere humans? And what are the mechanics behind regeneration?

In-Deph History of Doctor Who - A series of essays covering the history of each incarnation of the Doctor, both in the show and behind the scenes. This section also includes lists that detail the adventures of each Doctor in chronological order, including adventures from novels, audio plays and comic strips.

Basic History of the Time Lords

Doctor Who Spin-Offs - Torchwood, Sarah Jane Smith, U.N.I.T. and all the rest.