Doctor Who, a British television show that started in 1963, is an amalgamation of various genres including science fiction, fantasy, horror, and, sometimes, a healthy dose of fairy tale. The main character is The Doctor, an alien: a Time Lord from the Planet Gallifrey. The Doctor travels through time and space in his TARDIS, a type of space ship that is sentient and has chameleon powers (although currently stuck as an old-school police call box). TARDIS stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space and is famous for being “bigger on the inside.”
The Doctor travels with companions, usually a female companion, and embarks on grand adventures often saving people and planets from imminent doom. A key element of Doctor Who is that The Doctor does not believe in violence. He does not carry a gun. Instead, he has a sonic screwdriver, a scientific instrument with countless capabilities, along with psychic paper. The Doctor is clever, mad, and passionate about humans, going to great lengths to save us, sometimes from aliens, and sometimes, from ourselves.
From left to right:
River Song, Donna Noble, Martha Jones, Rose Tyler, Sarah Jane Smith, Jenny,
and on the ground, Amy Pond.
A major plot device in Doctor Who is the regeneration capabilities of Time Lords. Meaning, when the Time Lord dies, he regenerates into an entirely new version of himself (i.e., a new actor). The regeneration process has allowed the show to continue to reinvent itself over decades with a total of 12 incarnations of The Doctor thus far (14 if you count both the War Doctor and the new Doctor: Jodie Whittaker, the first female Doctor).
My journey with Doctor Who started with what is considered the “new” series. The “classic” series starts with the initial run of the show in 1963 all the way through the 1996 television movie. The “new” series begins with the “reboot” in 2005, famously brought back to life by Russell T. Davies. Thus far, The Doctor, in the new series, has been played by Christopher Eccleston (#9), David Tennant (#10), Matt Smith (#11), John Hurt (The War Doctor), Peter Capaldi (#12), and, now, Jodie Whittaker (#13), the first female Doctor.
Top 5 Episodes:
You may notice a trend or two… Four of the five episodes were written by Stephen Moffat, and The Doctor is portrayed by David Tennant in four of the five episodes. This list is not in a heirarchy. It is virtually impossible for me to choose which of these episodes is my ultimate favorite above all others.
The Day of the Doctor (50th Anniversary Special)
Written by Stephen Moffat, Doctors: David Tennant, Matt Smith, John Hurt
The Day of the Doctor is an epic adventure with not one but three versions of the Doctor. In this 50th Anniversary Special, we are introduced to the War Doctor (John Hurt), a forgotten regeneration who must make the ultimate sacrifice of his own people to stop the Time War, a deadly war with the murderous Daleks. But things don’t go as planned, and through “wibbily, wobbily, timey, whimey… stuff,” the War Doctor is visited by both the 10th (David Tennant) and the 11th (Matt Smith) Doctor. Can the three Doctors find a way to save the Time Lords from genocide while dealing with the shape-shifting aliens, Zygons, who are invading present-day London.
The Eleventh Hour (Series 5)
Written by Stephen Moffat, Doctor: Matt Smith
The Eleventh Hour is the introduction to the 11th Doctor, Matt Smith. In this adventure, The Doctor lands in the backyard of a little girl, Amelia Pond, who happens to have an alien prisoner loose in her home. Before The Doctor can sort out the mystery of Prisoner Zero, he takes his TARDIS for a quick spin, promising to come back in 5 minutes, which turns out to be 12 years. Amelia, now Amy, traumatized from this brief encounter does not trust The Doctor. But The Doctor desperately needs Amy’s help before the alien race, The Atraxi, destroy the planet to retrieve Prisoner Zero.
Blink (Series 3)
Written by Stephen Moffat, Doctor: David Tennant
The success of the episode Blink (often touted as the ultimate fan favorite episode) is impressive given this is a “Doctor-lite” episode. Meaning, The Doctor has a very small, albeit critical, part to play in the episode. The adventure surrounds Sally Sparrow who comes in contact with the Weeping Angels, a race of aliens that are Quantum Locked and can only move when you are not looking at them. The angels are terrifying, and they are out to steal the TARDIS while destroying the lives of Sally and her companions at the same time. Fans of Doctor Who often quote this episode with the following lines: “Don’t blink. Don’t even blink. Blink and you’re dead”. I created this virtual clock with that in mind.
Human Nature/The Family of Blood (Series 3)
Written by Paul Cornell, Doctor: David Tennant
In this two-parter, the Doctor and his companion, Martha, are running from a dangerous alien enemy, The Family of Blood. To hide, The Doctor becomes “human” and both he and Martha hide out at a school for boys during 1913. The Doctor becomes a mild-mannered teacher who develops romantic feelings for a nurse at the school (with no memories of his life as a Time Lord). Martha takes on the job as a maid in the school while watching over The Doctor. The Family of Blood eventually find them and attack the school and the children. The Doctor must make the ultimate choice of remaining human or becoming a Time Lord once again to defeat his enemies. Tennant’s performance is incredible, showing the duality of his personas – the human and the Time Lord – and the sacrifices he makes to save humans. This episode is best known for the following exchange which highlights the awesomeness of The Doctor's fury:
He never raised his voice. That was the worst thing... the fury of the Time Lord... and then we discovered why. Why this Doctor, who had fought with gods and demons, why he had run away from us and hidden. He was being kind...He wrapped my father in unbreakable chains forged in the heart of a dwaf star. He tricked my mother into the event horizon of a collapsing galaxy. To be imprisoned there...forever. He still visits my sister, once a year, every year. I wonder if one day he might forgive her... but there she is. Can you see? He trapped her inside a mirror. Every mirror. If ever you look at your reflection and see something move behind you just for a second, that's her. That's *always* her. As for me, I was suspended in time and the Doctor put me to work standing over the fields of England as their protector.
Silence in the Library/Forrest of the Dead (Series 3)
Written by Stephen Moffat, Doctor: David Tennant
My favorite of all of The Doctor’s companions is the enigmatic River Song (followed by Captain Jack Harkness in a close second), and this pair of episodes introduces her story-arc. The Doctor and companion, Donna Nobile, arrive on a planet, a library. The grandest library in all of space and time, but no one is there; the library is empty, and something is shutting off the lights. They receive just one cryptic warning: count the shadows! The library is infested with “piranhas of the sky”, the Vashta Nerada, and the adventure begins.
Enter archaeologist River Song and her team. Here to investigate what is happening with the library, River appears to know The Doctor. It fact, it was River that summoned The Doctor to the planet using psychic paper. The problem is that The Doctor has not actually met River yet. They are operating under different time lines. We learn their terrible fate: his first encounter with River is her last encounter with The Doctor. River refuses to divulge any further information about their relationship, and quips, “Spoilers.” With that, River’s story has just begun.
River Song is resourceful and independent, which is partly why she is my favorite companion. She can go toe to toe with The Doctor and fly the TARDIS with expertise that far surpasses his own skills. The tragedy is that she lives her life with the Doctor out of order. His first encounter with her is her last encounter with him, and she must be careful of alerting The Doctor to future events; hence her constant quipping of, “Spoilers!” Their relationship is complicated: she is the daughter of The Doctor’s best friends, stolen at birth, and raised with the sole purpose of killing him, but she overcomes her programming and falls in love with the man she is destined to murder. Her storyline can be confusing, so here is a basic outline:
A Good Man Goes to War (2011):
Melody Pond, daughter to Amy and Rory, is born on the asteroid, Demon’s Run. She takes the name River Song when a woman inscribes her name incorrectly (i.e., River for Pond) on a prayer leaf.
The Impossible Astronaut & Day of the Moon (2011):
River is stolen from Amy and Rory by the evil Madam Kovarian and is raised in an orphanage, programmed with the sole purpose of killing The Doctor. Later she regenerates into Mels and sets out to find her parents, to become their friend.
Let’s Kill Hitler (2011):
The Doctor, Amy, and Rory search for River, but receive a shock when their best friend Mels regenerates into River and poisons The Doctor by giving him a deadly kiss. In the end, River is shown her future and realizes how much she would come to love The Doctor and uses her remaining regenerations to save him.
Closing Time (2011):
River earns her doctorate, but is kidnapped by Madam Korvarian and the Silence so that she can fulfill her destiny and kill The Doctor.
The Wedding of River Song (2011):
River can’t bring herself to kill The Doctor and collapses all of time to save him. But The Doctor has a secret for cheating death, and River knows she must keep this secret even if it means that she will forever be accused of killing the man she loves.
The Pandorica Opens & The Big Bang (2010):
The Doctor and River are now living in opposite time lines where River knows more about The Doctor’s future than he does. She must keep this knowledge safe while still summoning him when the need arises or when she escapes from her prison (which is often). In these episodes, River helps The Doctor save the universe, and then briefly shows up for the wedding of her parents.
The Time of Angels & Flesh and Stone (2010):
River summons The Doctor to the crash of the Byzantium where they battle the deadly Weeping Angels. The Doctor brings along a younger version of Amy who is not married to Rory yet. River must keep her secret from both The Doctor and Amy, her mother.
The Angels Take Manhattan (2012):
Once again the team reunites to deal with the Weeping Angels, but this time, River must watch as her parents are trapped in the future where she will never see them again. River writes a book about their adventure hoping Amy will write an epilogue that The Doctor will read.
The Husbands of River Song (2015):
River teams up with the 12th Doctor but she does not recognize him. She only knows the identity of the first 11 Doctors. River now understands that she is getting ready to meet The Doctor for the last time.
Silence in the Library & The Forest of the Dead (2008):
River summons The Doctor to the Library, but is shocked to find that this version of The Doctor does not know her. River realizes that this is the end: his first encounter with her is her last encounter with him. River dies, but The Doctor saves her as a data ghost.
The Name of the Doctor (2013):
River’s data ghost is finally able to say goodbye to The Doctor.
River in "A Good Man Goes to War."
River in "Let's Kill Hitler."
River in "The Wedding of River Song."
River in "The Time of Angels."
River in "The Husbands of River Song."
River in "Silence in the Library."
River in "The Name of the Doctor."
Image Source
Regeneration is the cornerstone of the success of Doctor Who, as a show, for over five decades. Regeneration began when the original actor playing The Doctor became ill and had to leave. Thus, the concept of regeneration was born. Inserted into the cannon of the show was the notion that Time Lords, mortally injured or deathly ill, could regenerate into a new version of himself. The new version would of course be a new actor, and The Doctor would now take on a completely different look, speech, personality, and basically, different DNA.
Throughout the series, The Doctor has always regenerated into a man, a white man, but audiences were treated to a surprise with the character of Missy: Missy was really the regenerated version of The Master, The Doctor’s nemesis and best friend. A new element of regeneration was then inserted into the cannon: Time Lords can change gender during regeneration. As audiences waited to hear which actor would replace Peter Capaldi, the 12th Doctor, rumors about a female Doctor took shape. Those rumors rang true when it was revealed that Jodie Whittaker would be taking on the role as the 13th Doctor. This is exciting new territory for Doctor Who. At the time of writing this post, fans eagerly await learning the identity of The Doctor’s new companion.
COMING SOON
My favorite book tie-ins.
