It's a good thing that Doctor Who, the mysterious Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborus, has 13 lives. The series that began on British television in 1963 has seen six actors — and six Doctor Whos — come and go.
And now the popular British sci-fi series, seen here on Saturdays at 11 p.m. on WXXI-TV, Channel 21, will introduce the seventh Doctor Who tomorrow when Sylvester McCoy takes over the Doctor's time traveling machine, a London police call box.
For the uninitiated, Doctor Who travels through time and space to right wrongs and make the universe safe for democracy. Like all Time Lords, the Doctor can regenerate his mind and body whenever he is on the brink of death. This usually happens when the actor portraying the Doctor leaves the series.
According to the BBC, Doctor Who is seen weekly by more than 100 million people in 54 countries.
For aficionados, here's a Who's Who of Doctor Whos: William Hartnell played the first Doctor Who; then came Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker (with his 17-foot long scarf as his trademark, he played the Doctor longer than anyone — seven years), Peter Davison and Colin Baker.
Caption: Sylvester McCoy becomes the seventh Time Lord in the British series Doctor Who.
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