DOCTOR WHO

The Doctor Whoniverse:

Doctor Who is a British science-fiction program that began airing in November of 1963; the night that President Kennedy was assassinated. The series ran for 26 seasons, ending in December of 1989. The series was followed by an in-continuity state side television movie in 1996, which was meant to spark a new series, but never caught on with American audiences. However, a new, wildly popular continuation of the series began airing in March of 2005; it is this continuation, and it's first spin-off program ("Torchwood") that have drawn me into the Dr. Who mythos.

In October 2006, I heard about a new tv series that was a mix of Buffy/Angel & the X-Files. It was said to have a gay lead actor, that all the regulars would have bisexual encounters, and that it wouldn't be a big deal to anyone on the show. That sounded interesting to me. I watched the first episode, and I liked what I saw (though it was very odd), and I wanted to know more. The lead character, one "Captain Jack Harkness" I learned, was spun-off from the final 5 episodes of the 2005 season of Doctor Who. While another lead on the show, I later learned, had been featured in another episode of that season. I work in a video store, and we had that season to rent; I brought it home, with the intention of only watching those final 5 episodes, to get more background on this mysterious character. I'd seen 2 of the older Doctor Who episodes when I was in Middle School, and I wasn't impressed back then. Now I was. The show was admittedly odd, and in some cases, ludicrous, but it was also brilliant, intelligent, fascinating, scary, funny, and inclusive. I only made it through Captain Jack's first 2 appearances ("The Empty Child" & "The Doctor Dances"), before deciding to back track and watch the entire season - which made me weep more than once - including the season finale. I soon got my hot little hands on season 2 of the series, and devoured that too, and I kept up with Torchwood as well - which was a huge ratings success. I've also seen all of the first season of The Sarah Jane Adventures (another Doctor Who spin-off) + other assorted episodes from the Whoniverse.

Season 2 of Torchwood aired in early 2008, which continued it's ratings success. BBC American also picked up Torchwood seasons 1 & 2 and it quickly became their highest rated program in the entire history of the channel. Doctor Who Season 4 (or Season 30, if you like) began airing in April 2008 with 13 episodes, followed by another Christmas Special to come in December. It's possible there will be other surprise episodes (Season 3 had a special animated adventure and an 8 minute mini-episode). The Sarah Jane Adventures will air it's 2nd Season in late 2008. It's unknown if we'll get a 3rd Season of Sarah Jane in 2009, but it's been confirmed that we'll be getting abbreviated seasons of both the Doctor (consisting of 3 holiday specials) & Torchwood (a 5 episode mini-series to be aired over 1 week). And it's also known that 2010 will bring with it a full season of Doctor Who. That's a lot to look forward to!

THE DOCTORS ON DVD

EPISODE GUIDE

DOCTOR WHO SEASON 4 NEWS (2008-2009)

DOCTOR WHO SEASON 5 NEWS (2010)

DOCTOR WHO SEASON 6 NEWS (2011)

K9: Season 1 News (2010)

THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES NEWS: SEASON 1 (2007)

THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES NEWS: SEASON 2 (2008)

THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES NEWS: SEASON 3 (2009)

THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES NEWS: SEASON 4 (2010)

THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES NEWS: SEASON 5 (2011)