81-493: Joseph Bell (1837–1911) was Scottish lecturer and inspiration for the literary character Sherlock Holmes. Joseph or Joe Bell may also refer to: Joseph Bell Joseph Bell FRCSE (2 December 1837 – 4 October 1911) was a Scottish surgeon and lecturer at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in the 19th century. He is best known as an inspiration for the literary character, Sherlock Holmes . Bell
162-578: A cult following . It has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series. Fans of the series are sometimes referred to as Whovians . The series has been listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running science-fiction television series in the world, as well as the "most successful" science-fiction series of all time, based on its overall broadcast ratings, DVD and book sales. The series originally ran from 1963 to 1989. There
243-516: A "renewal", and the Second Doctor underwent a "change of appearance". The device has allowed for the recasting of the actor various times in the show's history, as well as the depiction of alternative Doctors either from the Doctor's relative past or future. The serials The Deadly Assassin (1976) and Mawdryn Undead (1983) established that a Time Lord can only regenerate 12 times, for
324-455: A 16-year hiatus of in-house production. Eccleston left after one series and was replaced by David Tennant . Davies left the production team in 2009. Steven Moffat , a writer under Davies, was announced as his successor, along with Matt Smith as the new Doctor. Smith decided to leave the role of the Doctor in 2013, the 50th anniversary year. He was replaced by Peter Capaldi . In January 2016, Moffat announced that he would step down after
405-503: A Nigerian television relay station in Jos . Six of the eleven films discovered were the six-part serial The Enemy of the World (1968), from which all but the third episode had been missing. The remaining films were from another six-part serial, The Web of Fear (1968), and included the previously missing episodes 2, 4, 5 and 6. Episode 3 of The Web of Fear is still missing. The Doctor
486-537: A challenge to find missing Doctor Who episodes with the promise of a full-scale Dalek model as a reward. In December 2011, it was announced that part 3 of Galaxy 4 (1965) and part 2 of The Underwater Menace (1967) had been returned to the BBC by a fan who had purchased them in the mid-1980s without realising that the BBC did not hold copies of them. On 10 October 2013, the BBC announced that films of eleven episodes, including nine missing episodes, had been found in
567-558: A disembodied brain falling to the floor in The Brain of Morbius and the Doctor apparently being drowned by a villain in The Deadly Assassin (both 1976). Mary Whitehouse's complaint about the latter incident prompted a change in BBC policy towards the series, with much tighter controls imposed on the production team, and the series' next producer, Graham Williams , was under a directive to take out "anything graphic in
648-410: A disguise. Because of a malfunction, the Doctor's TARDIS remains fixed as a blue British police box . Across time and space, the Doctor's many incarnations often find events that pique their curiosity, and try to prevent evil forces from harming innocent people or changing history, using only ingenuity and minimal resources, such as the versatile sonic screwdriver . The Doctor rarely travels alone and
729-464: A hitherto unknown incarnation of the Doctor known as the War Doctor in the run-up to the show's 50th-anniversary special " The Day of the Doctor ". He is shown in mini-episode " The Night of the Doctor " retroactively inserted into the show's fictional chronology between McGann's and Eccleston's Doctors, although his introduction was written so as not to disturb the established numerical naming of
810-501: A lot of choice—we only had the Dalek serial to go ... We had a bit of a crisis of confidence because Donald [Wilson] was so adamant that we shouldn't make it. Had we had anything else ready we would have made that." Nation's script became the second Doctor Who serial – The Daleks (also known as The Mutants ). The serial introduced the eponymous aliens that would become the series' most popular monsters, dubbed "Dalekmania", and
891-539: A more compassionate figure and was eventually revealed to be a Time Lord , whose race are from the planet Gallifrey , which the Doctor fled by stealing the TARDIS. Producers introduced the concept of regeneration to permit the recasting of the main character. This was prompted by the poor health of the original star, William Hartnell . The term "regeneration" was not conceived until the Doctor's third on-screen regeneration; Hartnell's Doctor merely described undergoing
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#1732787041594972-756: A national institution in the United Kingdom, with a large following among the general viewing audience. The show received controversy over the suitability of the series for children. Morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse repeatedly complained to the BBC over what she saw as the programme's violent, frightening and gory content. According to Radio Times , the series "never had a more implacable foe than Mary Whitehouse". A BBC audience research survey conducted in 1972 found that, by their own definition of violence ("any act[s] which may cause physical and/or psychological injury, hurt or death to persons, animals or property, whether intentional or accidental"), Doctor Who
1053-648: A poorer place without Doctor Who ". On 4 August 2013, a live programme titled Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor was broadcast on BBC One, during which the actor who was going to play the Twelfth Doctor was revealed. The live show was watched by an average of 6.27 million in the UK, and was also simulcast in the United States, Canada and Australia. Doctor Who originally ran for 26 seasons on BBC One, from 23 November 1963 until 6 December 1989. During
1134-428: A series. Licensed media such as novels and audio plays provided new stories , but as a television programme, Doctor Who remained dormant. In September 2003, BBC Television announced the in-house production of a new series, after several years of attempts by BBC Worldwide to find backing for a feature film version. The 2005 revival of Doctor Who is a direct plot continuation of the original 1963–1989 series and
1215-505: A speech from Professor Owen Dudley Edwards . The plaque was created and cast by Powderhall Bronze of Edinburgh. Doctor Who Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman , C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson , depicts the adventures of an extraterrestrial being called the Doctor , part of a humanoid species called Time Lords . The Doctor travels in
1296-504: A stop. No 1960s episodes exist on their original videotapes (all surviving prints being film transfers), though some were transferred to film for editing before transmission and exist in their broadcast form. Some episodes have been returned to the BBC from the archives of other countries that bought prints for broadcast or by private individuals who acquired them by various means. Early colour videotape recordings made off-air by fans have also been retrieved, as well as excerpts filmed from
1377-568: A time when science was not yet widely used in criminal investigation. He served as personal surgeon to Queen Victoria whenever she visited Scotland. He also published several medical textbooks. Bell was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd), a justice of the peace, and a deputy lieutenant. In 1867 Bell was elected a member of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh and served as president in 1897. In 1876 he
1458-464: A total of 13 incarnations. This line became stuck in the public consciousness despite not often being repeated and was recognised by producers of the show as a plot obstacle for when the show finally had to regenerate the Doctor a thirteenth time. The episode " The Time of the Doctor " (2013) depicted the Doctor acquiring a new cycle of regenerations, starting from the Twelfth Doctor , due to
1539-546: Is like comparing Monopoly with the property market in London: both are fantasies, but one is meant to be taken seriously." During Jon Pertwee 's second season as the Doctor, in the serial Terror of the Autons (1971), images of murderous plastic dolls, daffodils killing unsuspecting victims, and blank-featured policemen marked the apex of the series' ability to frighten children. Other notable moments in that decade include
1620-512: Is mid-way along the north wall of the northern section to the original cemetery. The couple had five children, of whom only three survived infancy: Arthur Conan Doyle met Bell in 1877, and served as his clerk at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary . Doyle later went on to write a series of popular stories featuring the fictional character Sherlock Holmes , who Doyle stated was loosely based on Bell and his observant ways. Bell
1701-507: Is often joined by one or more companions on these adventures; these companions are usually humans, owing to the Doctor's fascination with planet Earth , which also leads to frequent collaborations with the international military task force UNIT when Earth is threatened. The Doctor is centuries old and, as a Time Lord, has the ability to regenerate when there is mortal damage to their body. The Doctor's various incarnations have gained numerous recurring enemies during their travels, including
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#17327870415941782-488: Is the first woman to be cast as the character. The show introduced the Time Lords' ability to change sex on regeneration in earlier episodes, first in dialogue, then with Michelle Gomez 's version of The Master and T'Nia Miller 's version of The General. Upon Whittaker's final appearance as the character in " The Power of the Doctor " on 23 October 2022, she regenerated into a form portrayed by David Tennant , who
1863-654: The Daily Telegraph in 2009, the revival of Doctor Who had consistently received high ratings, both in number of viewers and as measured by the Appreciation Index . In 2007, Caitlin Moran , television reviewer for The Times , wrote that Doctor Who is "quintessential to being British". According to Steven Moffat , the American film director Steven Spielberg has commented that "the world would be
1944-463: The 2017 finale , to be replaced by Chris Chibnall in 2018. Jodie Whittaker , the first female Doctor, appeared in three series, the last of which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Both Whittaker and Chibnall announced that they would depart the series after a series of specials in 2022. Davies returned as showrunner from the 60th anniversary specials , twelve years after he had left
2025-651: The Daleks , their creator Davros , the Cybermen , and the renegade Time Lord the Master . Doctor Who was originally intended to appeal to a family audience as an educational programme using time travel as a means to explore scientific ideas and famous moments in history. The programme first appeared on the BBC Television Service at 17:16:20 GMT on 23 November 1963; this was eighty seconds later than
2106-592: The Doctor identifies himself as an ex-student of Bell to Queen Victoria . The comic book Les dossiers du Professeur Bell by Joann Sfar is about the (fictional) supernatural adventures of Dr. Bell. In episode 11, Season 5, of the Fox TV show House M.D. , Wilson presents House with Joseph Bell's Manual Of the Operations of Surgery as a Christmas gift. The character of House is based on Holmes, who, as noted,
2187-555: The Eleventh Doctor being the product of the Doctor's twelfth regeneration from his original set. Although the idea of casting a woman as the Doctor had been suggested by the show's writers several times, including by Newman in 1986 and Davies in 2008, until 2017, all official depictions were played by men. Jodie Whittaker took over the role as the Thirteenth Doctor at the end of the 2017 Christmas special and
2268-548: The First Doctor transforming into the Second . The only portion of this in existence, barring a few poor-quality silent 8 mm clips, is the few seconds of the regeneration scene, as it was shown on the children's magazine show Blue Peter . With the approval of the BBC, efforts are now underway to restore as many of the episodes as possible from the extant material. "Official" reconstructions have also been released by
2349-505: The Ripper murders to Scotland Yard . The BBC television series Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes was a fictionalized account of Doyle's time as Bell's clerk. The series may have exaggerated Bell's criminal investigations as well as the degree to which Holmes was based on Bell (played by Ian Richardson ), and it positioned Doyle in the role of a Dr. Watson to Bell's Holmes. The original one-off production, which led to
2430-518: The Royal Medical Society and delivered a dissertation which is still in possession of the society today. In his instruction, Joseph Bell emphasized the importance of close observation in making a diagnosis. To illustrate this, he would often pick a stranger, and by observing him, deduce his occupation and recent activities. These skills caused him to be considered a pioneer in forensic science , ( forensic pathology in particular) at
2511-402: The "classic series" eventually fell behind other science fiction in production values and reputation, leading to its cancellation The BBC drama department produced the programme for 26 seasons, broadcast on BBC One . Due to his increasingly poor health, William Hartnell , first actor to play the Doctor, was succeeded by Patrick Troughton in 1966. In 1970, Jon Pertwee replaced Troughton and
Joseph Bell (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2592-403: The 1996 television film. The executive producers of the new incarnation of the series were Queer as Folk writer Russell T Davies and BBC Cymru Wales head of drama Julie Gardner . From 2005, the series switched from a multi-camera to a single-camera setup. Starring Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, Doctor Who returned with the episode "Rose" on BBC One on 26 March 2005, after
2673-467: The 45-minute run time; notably, the episodes " Journey's End " from 2008 and " The Eleventh Hour " from 2010 were longer than an hour. 883 Doctor Who instalments have been televised since 1963, ranging between 25-minute episodes (the most common format for the classic era), 45/50-minute episodes (for Resurrection of the Daleks in the 1984 series, a single season in 1985, and the most common format for
2754-804: The BBC on VHS, on MP3 CD-ROM , and as special features on DVD. The BBC, in conjunction with animation studio Cosgrove Hall , reconstructed the missing episodes 1 and 4 of The Invasion (1968), using remastered audio tracks and the comprehensive stage notes for the original filming, for the serial's DVD release in November 2006. The missing episodes of The Reign of Terror were animated by animation company Theta-Sigma, in collaboration with Big Finish , and became available for purchase in May 2013 through Amazon.com. Subsequent animations made in 2013 include The Tenth Planet , The Ice Warriors (1967) and The Moonbase (1967). In April 2006, Blue Peter launched
2835-646: The Doctors. The show later introduced another such unknown past Doctor with Jo Martin 's recurring portrayal of the Fugitive Doctor , beginning with " Fugitive of the Judoon " (2020). An example from the classic series comes from The Trial of a Time Lord (1986), in which Michael Jayston 's character the Valeyard is described as an amalgamation of the darker sides of the Doctor's nature, somewhere between
2916-700: The TARDIS' blue police box design in merchandising associated with Doctor Who . In 1998, the Metropolitan Police Authority filed an objection to the trademark claim; but in 2002, the Patent Office ruled in favour of the BBC. The 21st-century revival of the programme became the centrepiece of BBC One's Saturday schedule and "defined the channel". Many renowned actors have made guest-starring appearances in various stories including Kylie Minogue , Sir Ian McKellen , and Andrew Garfield among others. According to an article in
2997-456: The best known outside Doctor Who itself, due to the popularity of his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy works. The serial format changed for the 2005 revival , with what was now called a series usually consisting of thirteen 45-minute, self-contained episodes (60 minutes with adverts, on overseas commercial channels) and an extended 60-minute episode broadcast on Christmas Day. This system
3078-649: The brain's frontal lobe . The phrase retains this association with Doctor Who , to the point that in 1991 the Museum of the Moving Image in London named its exhibition celebrating the programme Behind the Sofa . The electronic theme music too was perceived as eerie, novel, and frightening at the time. A 2012 article placed this childhood juxtaposition of fear and thrill "at the center of many people's relationship with
3159-401: The depiction of violence". John Nathan-Turner produced the series during the 1980s and said in the documentary More Than Thirty Years in the TARDIS that he looked forward to Whitehouse's comments because the ratings of the series would increase soon after she had made them. Nathan-Turner also got into trouble with BBC executives over the violence he allowed to be depicted for season 22 of
3240-420: The first two Doctors: William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton . In all, 97 of 253 episodes produced during the programme's first six years are not held in the BBC's archives (most notably seasons 3, 4, and 5, from which 79 episodes are missing). In 1972, almost all episodes then made were known to exist at the BBC, while by 1978 the practice of wiping tapes and destroying "spare" film copies had been brought to
3321-591: The later series, was released on DVD and VHS in the US in 2003, titled Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle – The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes . In 2006, Stone Publishing House published a book, written by historian Dr. Robert Hume, aimed at schoolchildren titled Dr. Joseph Bell – the Original Sherlock Holmes . In the Doctor Who episode " Tooth and Claw " in 2006, the time travelling adventurer known as
Joseph Bell (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3402-456: The life of the Doctor and, together, they form a single lifetime with a single narrative. The time-travelling nature of the plot means that different incarnations of the Doctor occasionally meet. In 2017, Jodie Whittaker , as the Thirteenth Doctor , became the first woman to be cast in the lead role. The series is a significant part of popular culture in Britain and elsewhere; it has gained
3483-483: The name " the Doctor ". The Doctor fled Gallifrey , the planet of the Time Lords, in a stolen TARDIS ("Time and Relative Dimension(s) in Space"), a time machine that travels by materialising into, and dematerialising out of, the time vortex. The TARDIS has a vast interior but appears smaller on the outside, and is equipped with a " chameleon circuit " intended to make the machine take on the appearance of local objects as
3564-406: The narrative of one story flowing into the next and each episode having its own title, although produced as distinct stories with their own production codes. Following The Gunfighters (1966), however, each serial was given its own title, and the individual parts were assigned episode numbers. Of the programme's many writers , Robert Holmes was the most prolific, while Douglas Adams became
3645-462: The original run, each weekly episode formed part of a story (or "serial")—usually of four to six parts in earlier years and three to four in later years. Some notable exceptions were: The Daleks' Master Plan , which aired twelve episodes (plus an earlier one-episode teaser, " Mission to the Unknown ", featuring none of the regular cast ); almost an entire season of seven-episode serials (season 7);
3726-514: The revival era since 2005), two feature-length productions (1983's " The Five Doctors " and the 1996 television film ), twelve Christmas specials (most of approximately 60 minutes' duration, one of 72 minutes), and four additional specials ranging from 60 to 75 minutes in 2009, 2010, and 2013. Four mini-episodes, running about eight minutes each, were also produced for the 1993, 2005, and 2007 Children in Need charity appeals, while another mini-episode
3807-400: The room to watch the remainder of it. The Economist presented "hiding behind the sofa whenever the Daleks appear" as a British cultural institution on a par with Bovril and tea-time . Paul Parsons, author of The Science of Doctor Who , explains the appeal of hiding behind the sofa as the activation of the fear response in the amygdala in conjunction with reassurances of safety from
3888-408: The scheduled programme time, because of announcements concerning the previous day's assassination of John F. Kennedy . It was to be a regular weekly programme, each episode 25 minutes of transmission length. Discussions and plans for the programme had been in progress for a year. The head of drama Sydney Newman was mainly responsible for developing the programme, with the first format document for
3969-519: The series as the Fifteenth Doctor . The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of the series with the concept of regeneration into a new incarnation , a plot device in which, when a Time Lord is fatally injured, their cells regenerate and they are reincarnated, into a different body with mannerisms and behaviour, but the same memories, explaining each actor's distinct portrayal, as they all represent different stages in
4050-484: The series began production in colour. In 1974, Tom Baker was cast as the Doctor. His eccentric personality became hugely popular, with viewing figures for the series returning to a level not seen since the height of "Dalekmania" a decade earlier. After seven years in the role, Baker was replaced by Peter Davison in 1981, and Colin Baker replaced Davison in 1984. In 1985, the channel's controller Michael Grade cancelled
4131-417: The series being written by Newman along with the head of the script department (later head of serials) Donald Wilson and staff writer C. E. Webber ; in a 1971 interview Wilson claimed to have named the series, and when this claim was put to Newman he did not dispute it. Writer Anthony Coburn , story editor David Whitaker and initial producer Verity Lambert also heavily contributed to the development of
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#17327870415944212-434: The series in 1985, which was publicly criticised by controller Michael Grade and given as one of his reasons for suspending the series for 18 months. The phrase "hiding behind the sofa " (or "watching from behind the sofa") entered British pop culture , signifying the stereotypical but apocryphal early-series behaviour of children who wanted to avoid seeing frightening parts of a television programme while remaining in
4293-400: The series previously. Bad Wolf co-produces the series in partnership with BBC Studios Productions . Bad Wolf's involvement sees Gardner return to the series alongside Davies and Jane Tranter , who recommissioned the series in 2005. The programme has been sold to many other countries worldwide ( see § Viewership ). It has been claimed that the transmission of the first episode
4374-470: The series", and a 2011 online vote at Digital Spy deemed the series the "scariest TV show of all time". The image of the TARDIS has become firmly linked to the series in the public's consciousness; BBC scriptwriter Anthony Coburn , who lived in the resort of Herne Bay, Kent , was one of the people who conceived the idea of a police box as a time machine. In 1996, the BBC applied for a trademark to use
4455-468: The series. On 31 July 1963, Whitaker commissioned Terry Nation to write a story under the title The Mutants . As originally written, the Daleks and Thals were the victims of an alien neutron bomb attack but Nation later dropped the aliens and made the Daleks the aggressors. When the script was presented to Wilson, it was immediately rejected as the programme was not permitted to contain any " bug-eyed monsters ". According to Lambert, "We didn't have
4536-436: The television screen onto 8 mm cine film and clips that were shown on other programmes. Audio versions of all lost episodes exist from home viewers who made tape recordings of the show. Short clips from every story with the exception of Marco Polo (1964), " Mission to the Unknown " (1965) and The Massacre (1966) also exist. In addition to these, there are off-screen photographs made by photographer John Cura , who
4617-529: The television series Torchwood (2006–2011), The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011), K9 (2009–2010), Class (2016), Tales of the TARDIS (2023–2024), and the upcoming The War Between the Land and the Sea . It has been the subject of many parodies and references in popular culture . Doctor Who follows the adventures of the title character, a rogue Time Lord with somewhat unknown origins who goes by
4698-491: The ten-episode serial The War Games ; and The Trial of a Time Lord , which ran for fourteen episodes (albeit divided into three production codes and four narrative segments) during season 23 . Occasionally, serials were loosely connected by a story line, such as season 8 focusing on the Doctor battling a rogue Time Lord called the Master , season 16 's quest for the Key to Time , season 18 's journey through E-Space and
4779-548: The terms of a deal between BBC Worldwide and SMG Pictures in China, the company has first right of refusal on the purchase for the Chinese market of future series of the programme until and including Series 15. Between 1967 and 1978, large amounts of older material stored in the BBC's various video tape and film libraries was either destroyed or wiped . This included many early episodes of Doctor Who , those stories featuring
4860-418: The theme of entropy, and season 20 's Black Guardian trilogy. The programme was intended to be educational and for family viewing on the early Saturday evening schedule. It initially alternated stories set in the past, which taught younger audience members about history, and with those in the future or outer space, focusing on science. This was also reflected in the Doctor's original companions, one of whom
4941-411: The universe and in time using a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS , which externally appears as a British police box . While travelling, the Doctor works to save lives and liberate oppressed peoples by combating foes . The Doctor often travels with companions . Beginning with William Hartnell , fourteen actors have headlined the series as the Doctor; as of 2024 , Ncuti Gatwa leads
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#17327870415945022-435: The upcoming twenty-third season, forcing the series into an eighteen-month hiatus. In 1986, the series was recommissioned on the condition that Baker left the role of the Doctor, which was recast to Sylvester McCoy in 1987. Falling viewing numbers, a decline in the public perception of the series and a less-prominent transmission slot saw production ended in 1989 by Peter Cregeen , the BBC's new head of series. Although it
5103-493: Was a science teacher and another a history teacher. However, science fiction stories came to dominate the programme, and the history-oriented episodes, which were not popular with the production team, were dropped after The Highlanders (1967). While the show continued to use historical settings, they were generally used as a backdrop for science fiction tales, with one exception: Black Orchid (1982), set in 1920s England. The early stories were serialised in nature, with
5184-634: Was an unsuccessful attempt to revive regular production in 1996 with a backdoor pilot in the form of a television film titled Doctor Who . The series was relaunched in 2005 and was produced in-house by BBC Wales in Cardiff . Since 2023, the show has been co-produced by Bad Wolf and BBC Studios Productions in Cardiff. Doctor Who has spawned numerous spin-offs as part of the Whoniverse , including comic books, films, novels and audio dramas, and
5265-513: Was aware of this inspiration. According to Irving Wallace (in an essay originally in his book The Fabulous Originals but later republished and updated in his collection The Sunday Gentleman ), Bell was involved in several police investigations, mostly in Scotland, such as the Ardlamont mystery of 1893, usually with forensic expert Professor Henry Littlejohn . Bell also gave his analysis of
5346-431: Was based in turn on Bell. In episode 14 of the show's eighth and final season, House briefly comes to believe that his biological father is a man named Thomas Bell, played by prominent Scottish actor Billy Connolly . The novel Mr. Doyle & Dr. Bell (1997) by Howard Engel is a fictionalized account of Joseph Bell and his influence on Conan Doyle. In Elementary , an American procedural drama television series that
5427-575: Was confirmed to be the Fourteenth Doctor and the first actor to play two incarnations, having previously played the Tenth Doctor . In the same year, Ncuti Gatwa was revealed to be portraying the Fifteenth Doctor , making him the first black actor to headline the series. In addition to those actors who have headlined the series, others have portrayed versions of the Doctor in guest roles. Notably, in 2013, John Hurt guest-starred as
5508-468: Was delayed by ten minutes due to extended news coverage of the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy the previous day; in fact, it went out after a delay of eighty seconds. The BBC believed that coverage of the assassination, as well as a series of power blackouts across the country, had caused many viewers to miss this introduction to a new series, and it was broadcast again on 30 November 1963, just before episode two. The programme soon became
5589-402: Was effectively cancelled , the BBC repeatedly affirmed over several years that the series would return. While in-house production concluded, the BBC explored an independent production company to relaunch the series. Philip Segal , a British expatriate who worked for Columbia Pictures ' television arm in the United States, had approached the BBC as early as July 1989, while the 26th season
5670-784: Was elected a member of the Aesculapian Club . He was elected president of the RCSEd in 1887. Bell wrote the book Manual of the Operations of Surgery , published in 1866. In 1883, Bell bought 2 Melville Crescent, a large townhouse, previously the home of the engineer John Miller of Leithen . Joseph Bell died on 4 October 1911. He was buried at the Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh alongside his wife Edith Katherine (or Catherine) Erskine Murray (1840–1874) and their son Benjamin, and next to his parents' and brother's plots. The grave
5751-403: Was filmed in 1080i for HDTV and broadcast simultaneously on BBC One and BBC HD . To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the show, a special 3D episode, " The Day of the Doctor ", was broadcast in 2013. In March 2013, it was announced that Tennant and Piper would be returning and that the episode would have a limited cinematic release worldwide. In June 2017, it was announced that due to
5832-468: Was hired by various production personnel to document many of their programmes during the 1950s and 1960s, including Doctor Who . These have been used in fan reconstructions of the serials. The BBC has tolerated these amateur reconstructions, provided they are not sold for profit and are distributed as low-quality copies. One of the most sought-after lost episodes is part four of the last William Hartnell serial, The Tenth Planet (1966), which ends with
5913-492: Was initially shrouded in mystery. In the programme's early days, the character was an eccentric alien traveller of great intelligence who battled injustice while exploring time and space in an unreliable time machine , the " TARDIS " (an acronym for Time and Relative Dimension in Space), which notably appears much larger on the inside than on the outside. The initially irascible and slightly sinister Doctor quickly mellowed into
5994-461: Was introduced as a contemporary update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories of Sherlock Holmes, Holmes and Watson often work with a Detective called Marcus Bell, which is likely a nod to the real-life Joseph Bell. A bronze plaque memorial was erected to Joseph Bell at 2 Melville Crescent in Edinburgh, his home for his final decades, on 8 October 2011, the centenary of his death. The plaque explains Bell's connection to Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes, and
6075-554: Was organized and funded by the Japan Sherlock Holmes Club. The building is now the Japanese Consulate in Edinburgh. The unveiling ceremony was attended by the several people involved in the erection of the plaque (principally Takeshi Shimizu) and representatives of various Sherlock Holmes clubs and societies . All present gave a short speech on their connections to either Holmes or the project, and
6156-561: Was produced in 2008 for a Doctor Who –themed edition of The Proms . The 1993 two-part story, entitled Dimensions in Time , was made in collaboration with the cast of the BBC soap-opera EastEnders and was filmed partly on the EastEnders set. A two-part mini-episode was also produced for the 2011 edition of Comic Relief . Starting with the 2009 special " Planet of the Dead ", the series
6237-422: Was responsible for the BBC's first merchandising boom. We had to rely on the story because there was little we could do with the effects. Star Wars in a way was the turning point. Once Star Wars had happened, Doctor Who effectively was out of date from that moment on really, judged by that level of technological expertise. — Philip Hinchcliffe , producer of Doctor Who from 1974 to 1977, on why
6318-434: Was shortened to twelve episodes and one Christmas special following the revival's eighth series , and ten episodes from the eleventh series . Each series includes standalone and multiple episodic stories, often linked with a loose story arc resolved in the series finale. As in the early "classic" era, each episode has its own title, whether stand-alone or part of a larger story. Occasionally, regular-series episodes will exceed
6399-495: Was still in production. Segal's negotiations eventually led to a Doctor Who television film as a pilot for an American series, broadcast on the Fox Network in 1996, as an international co-production between Fox, Universal Pictures , the BBC and BBC Worldwide . Starring Paul McGann as the Doctor, the film was successful in the UK (with 9.1 million viewers), but was less so in the United States and did not lead to
6480-584: Was the most violent of the drama programmes the corporation produced at the time. The same report found that 3% of the surveyed audience believed the series was "very unsuitable" for family viewing. Responding to the findings of the survey in The Times newspaper, journalist Philip Howard maintained that, "to compare the violence of Dr Who , sired by a horse-laugh out of a nightmare, with the more realistic violence of other television series, where actors who look like human beings bleed paint that looks like blood,
6561-450: Was the son of Cecilia Barbara Craigie (1813–1882) and Benjamin Bell (1810–1883), and a great-grandson of Benjamin Bell , considered to be the first Scottish scientific surgeon. Bell studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School and received an MD in 1859 presenting the thesis "Epithelial cancer: its pathology and treatment" . During his time as a student, he was a member of
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