On November 23, 1963, BBC forever changed the face of British pop culture and beyond with the introduction of Doctor Who. Since the series premiere 55 years ago, the science fiction drama has produced over 280 episodes, spinoffs, feature-length films, books, audio dramas, Christmas specials, and more. As this cultural phenomenon continues to expand, it’s important to remember the face that started it all.
English actor William Henry Hartnell portrayed the first iteration of the Doctor between 1963 and 1966. Throughout Hartnell’s time as the Doctor, much of the character’s personal history was shrouded in mystery. The Doctor was known to be an eccentric alien of great intelligence who travelled in a largely unreliable time machine called the TARDIS – which stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. Eventually the Doctor was revealed to be a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, where he fled by stealing the TARDIS.
The very first serial of the series, entitled An Unearthly Child, was initially broadcast on BBC TV in four weekly parts beginning on November 23 and ending on December 14. Written by Anthony Coburn, the episode introduced Hartnell as the Doctor along with his three companions: his granddaughter Susan (Carole Ann Ford) and teachers Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) and Ian (William Russell). After stumbling across the Doctor and his TARDIS in a junkyard, Ian and Barbara join the Doctor and Susan on a trip back in time. Wandering through 100,000 BC, the rag tag travelers get entangled in a power struggle between warring Stone Age factions.
By 1966, Hartnell’s deteriorating health from arteriosclerosis led to his departure from the series. The show was performing remarkably well, leaving the producers to develop a unique idea – regeneration. Reasoning that the Doctor is an alien, the series introduced that he could transform himself physically, essentially renewing himself. This concept has allowed Doctor Who to recast the titular actor various times throughout the show’s history. Hartnell himself even suggested his replacement, stating “There’s only one man in England who can take over, and that’s Patrick Troughton.” The fourth episode of the serial, The Tenth Planet, saw the newly dubbed First Doctor regenerate into Troughton’s Second Doctor.
Following Troughton’s run as the Doctor, subsequent series leads included Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Jon Hurt, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and current Doctor Jodie Whittaker. Across it’s nearly six decade run, Doctor Who has been nominated for over 200 awards and has won over a hundred of them. Currently in its 11th season of the modern run with the Thirteenth Doctor, the longest-running science fiction television show in the world shows no signs of slowing down.
