When the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who appeared on British TV screen in late 1963, the producers did not seriously expect it to last beyond one series. little could they have imagined that, over forty years later, the show would have enjoyed a mass following for all of that time, and now have reached cult status as the longest running science fiction series of all time.

So much of the credit for this phenomenal success can be laid at the door of the early actors, whose skill saw the show quickly gain on its initial viewing figures.

From William Hartnell's initial portrayal back in the mid sixties, the Doctor Who character has gone through ten different incarnations, each one completely different form the others. Following Hartnell came Patrick Troughton, who brought a kind of slapstick humor to the role. Jon Pertwee, the third Doctor Who, had an almost professorial demeanor.

After Pertwee came Tom Baker, the quintessential Doctor Who who is still to this day the best remembered of all the incumbents of the role. Peter Davison , the youngest ever Doctor Who, brought his own diplomatic style, while Colin Baker will sadly always be remembered as the Doctor Who who was fired.

Since the time of Colin Baker, there have been four other Doctor Who actors, including the current Doctor, David Tennant. After Colin Baker's troubled reign came the period that would temporarily see Doctor Who disappear from British TV screens.

Sylvester McCoy, a Scottish actor who often portrayed comedians on the stage, became the darkest and most brooding of the incarnations of Doctor Who. Initially he tried to portray the Doctor with a type of comic persona, but was overruled by the producers of the show and forced to turn into a dark, brooding manipulator.

McCoy was incumbent in the role of Doctor Who when the unthinkable, that had probably become the inevitable, happened. The great science fiction series which had lasted for twenty five years was removed from the BBC airwaves. Doctor Who was not going to die out, however, as the series continued in the form of novels and an audio series.

 

Doctor Who has now been resurrected onto BBC screens, so fans can say a big thank you to those who kept it going during the dark days. Doctor Who returned to an audience who had waited long enough, and to very high TV ratings.

Not only can fans of the series enjoy it again in real time, through DVD and home video they can relive the great episodes of the past. Also, there is now a series of Doctor Who Audiobooks, which feature many classic episodes, and even some of the early episodes that were tragically lost when the BBC archives were wiped.