A brief history of Timelords - as Doctor Who turns 50
- Publication: Strabane Chronicle
- Date: 2013-08-15
- Author: Mark Gallagher
- Page: 8
- Language: English
As Doctor Who prepares to celebrate an historic milestone, firm 'Whovian' Mark Gallagher looks back on half a century of the eponymous hero...
So PETER Capaldi has been annointed the 12th custodian of the TARDIS. What the "The role remains to be seen but as the Timelord prepares to celebrate his 50th year on television, all eyes will be firmly focussed on Matt Smith's successor.
As a firm 'Whovian', I for one am looking forward to seeing Capaldi take on the role made famous by household names like Pertwee, Troughton and Baker.
And while the future of the man from Galifrey looks more secure than ever, it hasn't always been so. Over five decades the Doctor has faced highs and lows and even on occasion, extermination altogether.
It was December 1962 when the BBC's head of drama, Sydney Newman, first came up with the idea to fill an empty Saturday night slot.
The mysterious 'Doctor' was born with character actor William Hartnell cast in the lead roll. It's original run began on November 23 1963.
Although intended as an educational show, Doctor Who captured the imaginations of the viewers with the introduction of the sinister Daleks. Devoid of human characteristic and the iconic grating voice, their place in popular culture was sealed immediately.
A self professed "wanderer of the 4th dimension", Hartnell's Doctor was unsympathetic with a slight touch of ruthlessness but as the series progressed, his character mellowed and he became something of an icon with younger viewers.
By 1965 though Hartnell's health began to decline and the following year he agreed that it was time to leave the show. Writers then devised the concept of regeneration, allowing the Doctor to change his body when came worn out or damaged.
Patrick Troughton emerged as the second Doctor. Bringing a lighter and more comic tone to the character, Troughton remains one of the most popular actors to have played the Doctor.
But after three seasons, Troughton grew tired of the strain of starring in a regular series and the show itself was feeling the financial strain of creating new planets and props.
With a reduced audience and a need to shrink costs, the step was taken to exile the Doctor to earth.
Series seven began with Jon Pertwee as the third Doctor and for the first time, the show appeared in colour. The concept of the Doctor's exile to earth also proved popular enough to save the series from the threat of cancellation.
Pertwee relished the opportunity to indulge his passion for riding vehicles including motorcycles, hovercraft, the 'Who-mobile' and his vintage car Bessie.
Pertwee's era also introduced the Master. Portrayed by Roger Delgado, the Master quickly became a popular villain.
Delgado and Pertwee became close friends during the series but before a final story featuring the Master could be released Delgado was killed in a car accident. Profoundly affected by his friend's death, Jon Pertwee left Doctor Who 1974.
After a long search for a replacement, Tom Baker became the fourth Doctor. Spending seven years in the role, Baker is arguably the most popular and best remembered of the Timelords.
He brought an eccentric range of traits to the part, being compassionate at times but alien and distant at others in an attempt to remind the audience that the Doctor was not human.
Inspired by the popularity of Hammer films and gothic influences, Doctor Who became a darker show and attracted a consistent run of high viewing figures - as well as criticism from the staunch social conservative Mary Whitehouse who criticised stories such as The Deadly Assassin as "tea time brutality".
After three seasons the tone lightened, much to the pleasure of Tom Baker who made the role very much his own but now had frequent arguments with directors over the inclusion of unrehearsed lines.
After seven seasons, Tom Baker announced his intention to move on. In an attempt to avoid unfavourable comparisons with Tom Baker, an effort was made to cast a Doctor completely different from his predecessor. Peter Davison made his first appearance as the Doctor at the end of Logopolis.
The most notably 'human' of the Doctors, Davison emphasised the vulnerability of the character. Davison's era was very aware of the series history and saw the return of many past characters such as Davros, the Master and the renegade Timelord Omega, culminating in the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors.
But after only three seasons, Peter Davison became disenchanted by the scripts and was replaced by Colin Baker.
Baker's first full season was fairly successful and Doctor Who was restored to the Saturday night slot. Audiences of eight million continued to tune in despite competition from The A-Team.
Behind the scenes though things were looking grim for the Timelord. New BBC controller Michael Grade admitted he "hated" Doctor Who and wanted to cancel it entirely.
He announced cuts, something that impacted heavily on Doctor Who. Struggling to keep viewers, audience numbers fell to to four million and the show was moved to a midweek slot.
For Colin Baker though the writing was on the wall and he eventually became the only Doctor to be dismissed from the role. In anger he refused to shoot a regeneration sequence with the seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy.
The seventh Doctor became a darker and more manipulative figure but competing against the Monday night popularity of Coronation Street time had indeed run out for the TARDIS dweller.
On November 23 1989 Sylvester McCoy recorded a short and melancholic closing monologue before walking into the distance.
A TV movie starring Paul McGann appeared in 1996 but failed to spark a new series of Doctor Who.
He hurtled silently from planet to planet until 2005 when he regenerated once more, this time in the guise of Christopher Ecclestone.
The opening episode was viewed by 9.9 million people, marking a triumphant return for the Doctor and his companions.
These days Doctor Who competes at the height of modern programming and has gone from strength to strength under David Tennant, Matt Smith and now Peter Capaldi.
As the 50th anniversary celebrations draw closer, the recent successes serve as a testament to the timeless appeal of a show that has changed and adapted as much as its eponymous hero. And with viewing figures as high as ever there is no reason that science fiction television in another 50 years will not continue to be punctuated with the staccato cry of "Exterminate!"
Caption: The Thick Of It star Peter Capaldi is the new Doctor Who. He is the 12th actor to take up the iconic role.
Caption: The fourth Dr Who...Tom Baker is arguably the most popular and best remembered of the Timelords.
Spelling correction: Gallifrey
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- APA 6th ed.: Gallagher, Mark (2013-08-15). A brief history of Timelords - as Doctor Who turns 50. Strabane Chronicle p. 8.
- MLA 7th ed.: Gallagher, Mark. "A brief history of Timelords - as Doctor Who turns 50." Strabane Chronicle [add city] 2013-08-15, 8. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Gallagher, Mark. "A brief history of Timelords - as Doctor Who turns 50." Strabane Chronicle, edition, sec., 2013-08-15
- Turabian: Gallagher, Mark. "A brief history of Timelords - as Doctor Who turns 50." Strabane Chronicle, 2013-08-15, section, 8 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=A brief history of Timelords - as Doctor Who turns 50 | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/A_brief_history_of_Timelords_-_as_Doctor_Who_turns_50 | work=Strabane Chronicle | pages=8 | date=2013-08-15 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=5 December 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=A brief history of Timelords - as Doctor Who turns 50 | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/A_brief_history_of_Timelords_-_as_Doctor_Who_turns_50 | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=5 December 2025}}</ref>
