Alan Kistler's Guide to Doctor Who

 "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"

He is a renegade Time Lord and, most of all, a wanderer. He has lived for centuries in many forms, traveling back and forth through the universe and time itself (and occasionally into alternate universes as well). He has been accompanied by many traveling companions, each of whom eventually leave him for one reason or another. He never stays in one place for too long, his only home being the mysterious blue box he travels in, his TARDIS, his faithful "old girl." He travels for the sake of the traveling, for the thrill of adventure and discovering the unknown.

Over his centuries of life, he has worn different faces and has used many aliases such as Dr. Johann Schmidt, Dr. Jean Dupont and, most often, Dr. John Smith. On one planet, he was known as the fearsome pirate "Dr. Vile." When he was a student at the Academy on the planet Gallifrey, his nickname was "Theta Sigma."

But to most who ask him, he simply goes by the title that he chose when he left his home planet, his people, his birthright and even his name behind him. Since then, he has been simply ... 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 serious, 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 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 practically the same popularity that Superman gained in the U.S. After cancellation, it survived in novels, a TV movie on Fox and audio plays. A new series, spear-headed by Executive Producer and Head Writer Russell T. Davies, started airing in 2005 and continues the story of the time traveling alien adventurer known only as "The Doctor."

Doctor Who has also spawned TV spin-offs such as Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, 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. 

Doctor Who In A Nutshell - A short and sweet rundown of who the main character is, where he came from, who his arch-enemies are, and the major events that happened during the original "Classic" series. This article does not give anything away about the stories or plot points that occur in the new series which began in 2005 and can be read as a prologue.

The Incarnations of the Doctor In A Nutshell - Short descriptions of each Classic incarnation of the Doctor.

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.