SF Sunday: Happy 45th Anniversary, Doctor Who!

Yes, it’s 45 years since the world first saw a man travelling through time in a wooden box. (Normally I would have saved this for a Whoydensday post, but today is the Actual Anniversary).

The BBC did a nostalgia page for the 40th anniversary in 2003, asking for people’s memories of the show, and announcing that a new season would air the following year.

For this anniversary, BBC Archives have released papers relating to the genesis of the show, including debates about whether it should ever get the green light:

William HartnellPreviously seen only by a handful of lucky Doctor Who enthusiasts, this is the first time these documents have been made available to the general public.

Also included in this collection are clippings from the Radio Times, an audience report that shows what the public thought of the first episode and a gallery of rare images from the first episodes.

Well worth a look.

Airing on the anniversary night in the UK: the first episode of the remake of Terry Nation’s cult 70s classic Survivors (featuring Freema Agyeman).



Categories: arts & entertainment, fun & hobbies

Tags: ,

12 replies

  1. Hey Tigtog, I bet you’d like this vid:
    Shut up And Drive: Martha>you.

  2. That’s a very neat vid! Ta.

  3. I like the archive. Not so sure about Survivors as of yet. I’ve got so many shows to watch I can’t manage to do another!

  4. Ta tigtog!
    (btw: I watched “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” yesterday – yep – their time-travelling phonebooth was way too small!)

  5. Exciting stuff! I actually have a friend – birthday today, in fact – whose parents named all their children after Doctor Who characters.

  6. Exciting stuff! I actually have a friend – birthday today, in fact – whose parents named all their children after Doctor Who characters.
    I may have reached the pinnacle of Geek-dom. That strikes me as such a cool idea.

  7. I had an acquaintance in college whose parents named her Tegan, specifically after Ms Jovanka. She was slightly mortified by it, but I thought it was lovely.

  8. I actually have a friend – birthday today, in fact – whose parents named all their children after Doctor Who characters.
    So awesome.

  9. … and their cousins are named after Star Trek characters.

  10. Chally, that’s my cue to unleash the Star Trek meets Monty Python vid that I just read about on a mailing list:
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/luVjkTEIoJc?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent

  11. Awesome mashup, TigTog.

    First part of Survivors is up on iPlayer. Ho hum. Go rent 28 Days Later instead.

Trackbacks

  1. Tama Leaver dot Net » Annotated Digital Culture Links: November 25th 2008
%d bloggers like this: