The Doctor in popular culture and mythology

By the 21st century and beyond, the Doctor had become a significant figure in Earth's popular culture variably as a real-life celebrity, a character in fiction, a myth or legend or alternatively as a total unknown.

As a real person
Most accounts regarding the Doctor seem to portray them as a real person. By the end of the 2000s, the Doctor had made appearances on television in multiple incarnations with the Second Doctor even able to call himself famous during the first part of his exile on Earth in the 20th century. (COMIC: Action in Exile et al.)

During their second incarnation's exile, the Doctor lived in luxury at the Carlton Grange Hotel and was very prolific in the public eye. The Doctor acted as a lecturer for a time at London University. (COMIC: The Brotherhood) He also appeared as a guest on the television show Explain My Mystery after becoming famous for his incredible exploits to help solve the mysteries of the viewers. (COMIC: The Night Walkers)

Rowan Cartwright was easily able to contact him after reading the headline "TIME AND SPACE TRAVELLER RESIDING IN LONDON" in the Daily Record (COMIC: The Mark of Terror) and the Brotherhood were able to land a helicopter on top of the hotel and kidnap him with relative ease. (COMIC: The Brotherhood) After the regeneration into his next incarnation and involvement with UNIT, the Doctor faded into obscurity. (TV: Spearhead from Space et al.)

After a Slitheen spacecraft crashed into Big Ben in March 2006 and landed in the River Thames, the Ninth Doctor was photographed by press with Rose Tyler when they arrived at 10 Downing Street to aid the situation with other alien experts. (TV: Aliens of London) Later that year during the Sycorax invasion of Earth, the Queen's Christmas speech was cancelled in favour of a message from Prime Minister Harriet Jones in which she pleaded for the Doctor's help in dealing with the crisis. (TV: The Christmas Invasion)

In 2008, the Tenth Doctor was named and pictured along with Martha Jones and Captain Jack Harkness on the news by a newsreader because of the fact, under the guise of Prime Minister Harold Saxon, ordered a nationwide hunt for the trio on the grounds of suspected terrorism. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

Doctor Who
Doctor Who was a BBC science fiction series first broadcast at 5:15 pm on Saturday 30 November 1963. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks, PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy) In 1963, a TV announcer introduced the first episode. Ace had the television on in Mrs Smith's house but rushed out of the room in time to only hear the first syllable of the name. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)

In 2007, a poster advertising a Doctor Who exhibition could be seen in Cardiff. (TV: Everything Changes)

In the 2010s, when the Earth became overgrown with trees a London bus had an advertisement for Doctor Who on its side. It featured the TARDIS and individuals closely resembling the Twelfth Doctor and Clara Oswald. An unknown source rated the show four stars out of five commenting "A-MAZE-ING ENTERTAINMENT!". (TV: In the Forest of the Night)

Peter Cushing films
A character called Doctor Who played by Peter Cushing appeared in three films, two of which featured the Daleks including Daleks: Invasion Earth and a 1980 science fiction film called Prey for a Miracle. (PROSE: A Visit to the Cinema, Salvation, The Day of the Doctor, We Are the Enemy)

The Doctor was personally involved in the Dalek films as he lent Cushing his coat for the part as they were close friends. UNIT stored VHS tapes of the two films in the Black Archive which the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors both enjoyed whilst there. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor)

Prey for a Miracle was inspired by the UFO / gods scare caused by the Latter-Day Pantheon in New York City during March and April 1965. A film critic for the magazine Film in Focus commented upon the film's release in November 1980 that it was far from being the "rational, methodical investigation into the events of 1965" which was required. He criticised the film's director, a newcomer named Anthony Jones, for buying "wholesale into notions of alien shape-changers and government conspiracies", which resulted in the film devolving into a B-movie.

The critic added that the film's "fair cast does its best with a script that veers from the turgid to the unbelievable". The veteran science fiction and horror star Peter Cushing played the lead role of "the mysterious government adviser, Doctor Who". However, the critic noted that Cushing's "endearingly eccentric professor [was] as fictional as the rest of Prey for a Miracle" as what little was known about the real life "Doctor" suggested that he was "a shadowy, manipulative figure". (PROSE: Salvation)

Doctor Who Discovers


Doctor Who Discovers was a series of educational children's books written by the Fourth Doctor during his time working with UNIT.

The intended title for the series was The Doctor, Who Discovers... but the publishing company misprinted the title, resulting in the author being mistakenly credited as "Doctor Who".

The Doctor completed five books in the series. He began work on the sixth, Doctor Who Discovers Historical Mysteries, but left it unfinished until a robot sent by the publishers from the 64th century invaded the TARDIS to forcefully remind the Fifth Doctor of his contractual obligation. (AUDIO: The Kingmaker)

Doctor
Doctor was a series of short stories and novels which were written by Sarah Jane Smith and published from 1994 to 2003, adapted from her adventures with the Doctor. The short stories were published by the Metropolitan from January 1994 to November 1997 starting with Operation Golden Age. The novels were published by Virgin Publishing and from 1997 to 2003 starting with Noah's Ark. The Daleks and the Kraals were both directly referred to in titles, Dalek Dawn and The Kraal Invasion respectively.

The series of books made Sarah a best-selling author and Amblin Entertainment were allegedly interested in producing one or more films based on the series.

In Moving On, the last story of the series, the character of the Doctor was "almost peripheral" to the plot which was a great change from the previous installments which had attracted criticisms that "the Doctor was a dominant male lead whose accomplices were feeble caricatures of helpless women". (PROSE: Moving On)

Other works
In 2102, Zoe Heriot began writing stories based on the adventures of the Doctor. She began with The Dominators - Episode 1. (PROSE: Dream a Little Dream for Me)

In an alternate timeline, circa 2493, Vicki Pallister novelised some of her adventures with the First Doctor, for example she had works published titled Vicki and the Zarbi, Vicki and the Crusaders and Vicki and the Space Museum. She also wrote about the time she and Steven Taylor first met. (AUDIO: The Crash of the UK-201)

Completely fictional
In an account that gave no indication the Doctor was ever real, from 19 September to 24 October 1964, a six-part Doctor Who story entitled The Outlaws was first broadcast, starring actor William Hartnell as a version of the First Doctor, William Russell in a dual role as companion Ian Chesterton and Robin Hood, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright and Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman.

There was coverage of the story in Doctor Who Magazine, Radio Times, Gallifrey Guardian, Doctor Who - A Celebration, The Discontinuity Guide and Doctor Who: The Television Companion.

A novelisation of the story called The Thief of Sherwood was also published that was written by the original writer Godfrey Porter. The Daleks had appeared by 1964 and Tom Baker was the Doctor for some of the 1970s. (PROSE: The Thief of Sherwood)