Everything you need to know about DOCTOR WHO

Doctor Who is a great show, but if we are being honest it can be a hustle to catch up with the 60-year-old series. Well, here's everything you need to know before watching Doctor Who. Let's start with some history.

Doctor Who 

Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television series, featuring the adventures of the doctor through space and time in his TARDIS. The original Doctor Who aka the classic Doctor Who first aired in 1963 and became very popular but later got canceled in 1989 mostly due to high production costs and low ratings. The show remained off the air for 16 years before it was revived in 2005 by writer Russell T Davis, who was a big fan of the show growing up. The revival became such a huge success it even spawned the creation of spinoffs.

Some of the main/recurring characters in the show include

The Doctor

Who's the Doctor? Well, he is THE DOCTOR. The Doctor is a time lord from the planet Gallifrey. Timelords are powerful and technologically advanced aliens having the ability to travel through space and time. Every Doctor has a human companion. The show progresses further from the perspective of this companion. The Doctor has the ability to Regenerate ( more on this later) whenever he's on the verge of death.

The Doctor is originally male and has been portrayed by male actors throughout the years however in 2017 Jodie Whittaker portrayed the thirteenth Doctor becoming the first ever woman to do so.

River song 

River song and Doctor share a complex relationship, she often crosses paths with the Doctor out of order in their timelines. [SPOILERS AHEAD] As the show progresses it is further revealed that river song is a time-displaced version of melody pond, the daughter of Rory and Amy pond (companions of the 11th doctor). She's abducted as a child by the religious order known as the silence and is trained to kill the doctor. However, she eventually turns against them and goes on to marry the Doctor becoming his wife.

Antagonists

Throughout the series, the Doctor encounters several monsters and aliens. Some of the most famous ones include 

Daleks

Daleks, the salt and pepper shakers-like robots are the most iconic and recognizable foes of Doctor Who. They are created by the scientist Davos during a thousand-year war on planet Skaro. They are built in such a way to become the ultimate warriors with no mercy and compassion, known for their catchphrase "EXTERMINATE".

Cybermen

Cybermen are a race of cyborgs from the planet Mondas. They are known for their catchphrase "DELETE". Their main aim is to convert all organic life into cyborgs.

Weeping angels 

Weeping angels are a race of alien species that resembles gargoyle statues. They can't move when someone is looking at them and can only move when they are not being observed, which is why the Doctor says "Don't blink" whenever he faces them. They can send their victims past in time and force them to live the rest of their lives there while the angels feed on the energy that they would have used in the future. 

The Master

The master or missy is considered the doctor's arch-nemesis. He's a time lord and has the same abilities as the Doctor but unlike the Doctor, he's driven by the desire for power. He often disguises himself as different characters using Regeneration. His main aim is to conquer the universe and destroy the doctor.

Now that we've got all the important characters covered let's get into the plot devices.

TARDIS

TARDIS is the doctor's time machine and spacecraft. TARDIS stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space, it allows the Doctor to travel through space and time. The most notable feature of the TARDIS is that "It's bigger on the inside". The Doctor stole the TARDIS when he was young and has been traveling in it ever since.  TARDIS also can camouflage and blend into the surrounding environment but when the Doctor stole the TARDIS the chameleon circuit that enables the TARDIS to change its appearance got damaged and it has been stuck in the form of a 1960s British police box. 

Sonic driver

A sonic screwdriver is a multifunctional tool used by the doctor. The tool has evolved over time and can be used to unlock doors, repair technology, detect and analyze foreign objects, and even attack. It is the signature weapon of the doctor.

Regeneration

So how and why there are so many incarnations of the doctor? 

When William Hartnell (the actor who played the first doctor) health started to deteriorate, writer Gerry Davis came up with the idea of regeneration to replace the actor without having it affect the storyline. Being timelords when they are near death, both the Doctor and the master can regenerate which allows them to change their physical form and personality all the while retaining their memories and experiences. So for every regeneration, there'll be a new doctor, hence the different actors playing the Doctor throughout the years.

So far there have been 13 regenerations and 14 incarnations of the doctor. The fifteenth Doctor will be portrayed by actor Ncuti Gatwa. Gatwa becomes the first black actor to lead the series.

Now that we've got all the core plot elements covered, you can now start Doctor Who from the 2005 revival or you can pick any Doctor that interests you and move forward with him. If I missed anything please let me know in the comments below, I'd love to know what you think.

"Allons-y!"