Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a science-fiction television programme that originally ran on the BBC from 1963 to 1989. A television movie was co-produced with Universal Pictures in 1996, and a new season is being broadcast starting in March of 2005.

Doctor Who is about the adventures of a mysterious time-traveller known as the Doctor. The Doctor travels through space and time in a craft known as the TARDIS, an acronym for "Time and Relative Dimensions in Space". The Doctor is usually accompanied by one or more companions, who are often attractive females. The tone of the programme varies from serious to comic, from gothic horror to showbiz camp. The original Doctor Who series is fondly remembered among the general public both for frightening monsters (such as the Daleks and Sea Devils) and cheap special effects.

In 2000, in a poll of industry professionals, the British Film Institute voted Doctor Who #3 in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes.

Other media
Although Doctor Who originated as a television programme, it has become much more than that. Starting with "Dalekmania" in the 1960s, a great deal of merchandise has sprung out of Doctor Who. Some of that merchandise has continued the story of the Doctor's adventures. Over the decades, Doctor Who has appeared on stage, screen, and radio, in novels, comics, full-cast audio adventures and webcasts. Many of these productions are highly regarded by Doctor Who fans, and all of the writers of the 2005 series previously wrote or scripted adventures for the Doctor in other media.