On November 23, 1963 – nearly three years before Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock began their Star Trek – another science fiction series first materialized on the BBC. This title sounded like it was a question. Doctor Who.In the beginning, it offered very few answers for viewers. WhoThe old man that traveled through space and time in the London Police Call Box was larger than the outside?

Although the show was made on a small budget and didn’t immediately become a hit, an audience began to tune in every Saturday night to watch the Doctor and his fellow companions in trouble. With the arrival of the insidious Daleks – a race of mutant humans who inhabited robotic war machines – the show became a cultural phenomenon in the UK before eventually attracting a worldwide audience.

The Doctor was faced with other antagonists such as the Cyberman, Master, and Sontarians. But the Doctor, eventually revealed to have been a Time Lord, has always come through for the good guys. This concept of “regeneration” allowed the Doctor to transform his/her appearance, which was a key factor in the series’ longevity. The first instance of this happened after William Hartnell, the original series’ lead actor, had to retire because of declining health.

It was not just that audiences accepted the role of the lead actor, but also the title character. The show thrived since then.

The popularity of Doctor Who Day is no surprise given the number of memes, clips, and videos shared by fans about the longest-running sci-fi series on TV. Many people wished Time Lord, who is now 1,000 years old+, a happy birthday on his 58th.

You can’t overstate how important the TV series is to UK culture.

“There is an element of nostalgia in England for it, especially back to the dashingesque John Pertwee and Tom Baker, and I believe there’s an element of parents leading children through the same limited experiences of terror/fun/adventure combined,” said Professor Roger Luckhurst of Modern and Contemporary Literature at Birkbeck University.

“It’s located in the UK schedules at an important period – just before the bedtime of most kids,” said Luckhurst. “There’s this generational force at play, but it has also become a lightning rod for framing stories about the UK too – a bit like James Bond, there’s a kind of faded post-imperial melancholy to the central figure of the Time Lord, someone who will repeatedly save the world, but in a cack-handed, half-accidental way. You can feel that aftershock sensibility.

Although ratings may have declined in recent years the show …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer