Doctor Who

Doctor Who
Doctor Who title card since 2014
Genre	Science fiction Drama
Created by	Sydney Newman C. E. Webber Donald Wilson
Written by	Various
Directed by	Various
Starring	Various Doctors (as of 2016, Peter Capaldi) Various companions (as of 2016, Matt Lucas)
Theme music composer	Ron Grainer
Opening theme	Doctor Who theme music
Composer(s)	Various composers (since 2005, Murray Gold)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of seasons	26 (1963–89) + 1 TV film (1996)
No. of series	9 (2005–present)
No. of episodes	827 (97 missing) 264 stories (list of serials)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Various (as of 2015, Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin)
Camera setup	Single/multiple-camera hybrid
Running time	Regular episodes: 25 minutes (1963–84, 1986–89) 45 minutes (1985, 2005–present) Specials: Various: 50–90 minutes
Release
Original network	BBC One (1963–present) BBC One HD (2010–present) BBC HD (2007–10)
Picture format	405-line Black-and-white (1963–67) 625-line Black-and-white (1968–69) 625-line PAL (1970–89) 525-line NTSC (1996) 576i 16:9 DTV (2005–08) 1080i HDTV (2009–present)
Audio format	Mono (1963–87) Stereo (1988–2008) 5.1 Surround Sound (2009–present)
Original release	23 November 1963 (1963-11-23) – present (present)
Chronology
Related shows	K-9 and Company Torchwood The Sarah Jane Adventures K-9 Doctor Who Confidential Totally Doctor Who Doctor Who Extra Class
External links
Doctor Who at the BBC

Doctor Who is a British science-fiction television programme produced by the BBC since 1963. The programme depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called "The Doctor", an extraterrestrial being from the planet Gallifrey. He explores the universe in a time-travelling space ship called the TARDIS. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Accompanied by a number of companions, the Doctor combats a variety of foes, while working to save civilisations and help people in need.

The show is a significant part of British popular culture, and elsewhere it has gained a cult following. It has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series. The programme originally ran from 1963 to 1989. There was an unsuccessful attempt to revive regular production in 1996 with a backdoor pilot, in the form of a television film titled Doctor Who. The programme was relaunched in 2005, and since then has been produced in-house by BBC Wales in Cardiff. Doctor Who has also spawned numerous spin-offs, including comic books, films, novels, audio dramas, and the television series Torchwood (2006–2011), The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011), K-9 (2009–2010), and Class (2016), and has been the subject of many parodies and references in popular culture.