Giant Steps

Over the last forty-five years, Doctor Who has been at our screens. With 10 incarnations of The Doctor, it has the world record for the longest Sci-Fi series. When the show started in nineteen sixty three, the first episode that was shown had very few viewers. This is because it was aired on the day President Kennedy was assassinated. (November 23rd) Now, most of the episodes are shot in Cardiff. Interesting? So, step into the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space) and read on, learn more about the exciting world of Doctor Who.

The Ten Doctors

Since 1963, there have been ten incarnations of the anonymous time-travelling hero, the list follows-:

William Hartnell - 1963 to 1966
Patrick Troughton - 1966 to 1969
Jon Pertwee - 1970 to 1974
Tom Baker - 1974 to 1981
Peter Davison - 1982 to 1984
Colin Baker - 1984 to 1986
Sylvester McCoy - 1987 to 1996 (TV Movie)
Paul McGann - 1996 (TV Movie)
Christopher Eccleston - 2005
David Tennant - 2005 to 2009

As you can see, Tom Baker played The Doctor for the longest amount of time � eight years! David Tennant is still our present Doctor, but he will be leaving after three specials in two thousand and nine. It is rumored that David Morrissey will play the eleventh Doctor. There was also an actor that did two films - he was Peter Cushing. He was not listed as one of the official Doctors as the films he did were copies of an original episode. It is said the Doctor has thirteen lives, but personally I think he will go on forever!

Enemies

Everyone knows that the Daleks are the supreme race of the universe, but the third Doctor always used to say his best enemy was the evil Master. The Cybermen are also very popular with the Doctor however, there are lots more than these. Here is an A-Z list of some of the monsters that have ever appeared:

Abzorbaloff
Ambassadors of Death
Autons
Axons
Carrionites
Celestial Toymaker
Clockwork Robots
Cybermen
Daemons
Daleks
Davros
Destroyer
Empress of the Racnoss
Empty Child
Gelth
Giant Maggots
Haemovores
Ice Warriors
Isolus
Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe
Judoon
Krillitanes
Krynoid
Macra
Magnus Greel
Master
Morbius
Omega
Rani
Sycorax
Tereptiles
Weed Creature
Zarbi
Zygons

The list could be longer, but I can’t write all of it. The hardest one to say is Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe - which is as big as the monster actually is!

Gadgets

The main gadget in Doctor Who is probably the TARDIS - as I said at the beginning it stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. This is the Doctor’s spaceship, which is very special as it can travel not only through space - but in time as well. It is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside, the doors are extremely tough as we know from the ninth Doctor when he said, ‘Genghis Khan couldn’t get through those doors!’

The Doctor’s other gadget is the Sonic Screwdriver. Without this he would be locked out of anywhere! It has been used in a variety of ways - scanning, sealing, and unlocking. It can crack any lock- except a deadlock. Many Doctors have used it but the styling has changed.

Music

Murray Gold � the composer of the Doctor Who music is known to be a genius. The pieces he produces are an essential part of the episodes, they wouldn’t be as scary without it. He writes the music, then records it with help from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, who also play a big part in the role. Ben Foster conducts them. Currently there are three CDs released, which are the Original Television Soundtrack to Doctor Who, I recommend them if you are a Doctor Who fan!

Quiz

1. What is the Doctor’s spaceship called?
2. How many Doctors have there been?
3. Who played the Doctor longest?
4. Who is the supreme race?
5. Who creates the Doctor Who music?
6. In which year did Doctor Who start?
7. In which city is Doctor Who filmed?

(Answers at end of report)

Writers

The head writer of Doctor Who now is Russell T Davies, although at the end of two thousand and nine - he will leave. Then the head writer will be Steven Moffat who has written some of the best Doctor Who episodes ever; Such as the ‘The Empty Child’, ‘The Doctor Dances’, ‘The Girl in the Fireplace’ and many, many more. Other writers include Tom MacRae, Mark Gatiss, Matt Jones and Matthew Graham.

Merchandise

There are thousands of different Doctor Who products out there on the market, some VERY expensive, but some are reasonably cheap and definitely worth the money. From toothbrushes to TARDISes, you can find the perfect gift for a Doctor Who fanatic - here are some of the best: Voice Interactive Dalek, Voice Changers, Flight Control TARDIS, Encyclopedia, Bedsheets, Box Set DVDs. WOW!

Now you’ve learned a bit more about the best show in the world, do you think you’ll watch it? Certainly hope you do! Next episode is on Christmas Day - 6:00pm!

Answers to Quiz

1. TARDIS

2. 11

3. Tom Baker

4. The Daleks

5. Murray Gold

6. 1963

7. Cardiff