November 23rd, 1963, a half hour before the BBC National News slot, we heard this. Then we were taken into a set and introduced to a straight faced and slightly intimidating old man.
We have never looked back, well maybe to check to see if the Daleks or the Cybermen are on our tails.
It is the longest running Sci-fi series ever and is popular across the globe. The sets were cheap as were the special effects, but it scared us all to death. Remember that in 1963, we still had monochrome TV sets. There were no bright colours to make it all seem more playful.
After the first showing of the Daleks, I doubt that there was a schoolboy alive who didn’t walk into school, extend his arm and exclaim “Exterminate”.
Eventually, William Hartnell morphed into Patrick Troughton, then Jon Pertwee and for me, finally Tom Baker. As each character appeared, I liked the new one better, but when Tom Baker morphed into Peter Davison, I couldn’t watch it anymore. He just didn’t come across as Dr Who to me. I tried to watch the newer ones, I really did.
I picked up watching it again maybe three years ago having seen it in the cable TV program listings here in Canada. The doctor was played by David Tennant and I have to admit to liking the character.
Why is Dr Who better than Star Wars and StarTrek.? There is no sanitization in Dr Who. Space travel is haphazard and a generally dangerous business. Dr Who doesn’t try to befriend his enemies, and they wouldn’t want to be friends anymore than we would want to be friends if some strange beings arrived tomorrow with powers so obviously well in advance of our own.
Dr Who isn’t about ‘they all lived happily ever after’. It is a continuing struggle just as life has been a continuous struggle on our planet. This is why Dr Who is still being produced and why the others have all finished their missions.
For more on the best Sci-fi series in the Universe, start here.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw
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