To mark the upcoming 50th anniversary of ‘Doctor Who’, all the various incarnations of the popular Time Lord have been brought together in a special picture by the BBC.
Compiled by Matt Burlem of BBC Pictures, this image is from the BBC Archives of the show, and not, it has been made clear, from the special 50th anniversary episode coming our way at the end of November.
The picture shows William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and the latest Doctor, Matt Smith, who will be leaving the show soon, to make way for Peter Capaldi.
The BBC have prepared a whole feast of festivity to celebrate the half-century of this most enduring sci-fi favourite.
Although there are bound to be some surprises along the way, TV specials will definitely include:
- A 75-minute special episode, The Day Of The Doctor, starring the current incumbent of the Tardis, Matt Smith, along with his predecessor David Tennant
- A BBC Two lecture by Professor Brian Cox on the science behind the hit show and the drama
- An Adventure In Space and Time, written by Mark Gatiss, a one-off drama telling the story of William Hartnell’s playing of the first Doctor in 1963, his part to be taken by actor David Bradley (Filch in Harry Potter films)
- Re-run of the first ever Doctor Who story, starring William Hartnell himself, shown over four episodes on BBC4
- ‘Me, You and Doctor Who’ – a Culture Show special into the cultural significance and fascination of the BBC’s longest-running TV drama
Matt Smith will be sharing screen time with another Doctor, David Tennant
- ‘Who Is The Doctor?’ – a 90-minute documentary on Radio 2, using new interviews and archive material
- ’12 Again’ – a CBBC special inviting stars who’ve participated in the show to share their memories. These will include the seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy, Tommy Knight, who played Luke Smith in The Sarah Jane Adventures, Warwick Davis, who played Porridge in a Doctor Who episode and Louise Jameson, who was the fourth Doctor Tom Baker’s companion Leela.
- A Blue Peter competition – viewers aged between 6 and 14 will have the chance to design a new gadget that will appear on the show, and Matt Smith will be on the Blue Peter sofa answering viewers’ questions
- Doctor Who: Monsters and Villains Weekend – a BBC Three special
Danny Cohen, BBC director of television, said: “It’s an astonishing achievement for a drama to reach its 50th anniversary.
“I’d like to thank every person – on both sides of the camera – who has been involved with its creative journey over so many years.”
What are YOU most looking forward to? Share your thoughts below…
British actress Carole Ann Ford (centre, right) makes a horn sign at a Dalek from the BBC television science fiction series ‘Doctor Who’, at the Daily Mail Schoolboys’ and Girls’ Exhibition at Olympia, London, 28th December 1964. In the series, Ford plays Susan Foreman, the companion of the first Doctor, played by William Hartnell. (Photo credit: Victor Drees/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Dr Who encounters the ancient Aztecs in an episode of the famous TV series in 1964. From left to right, the actors are John Ringham, William Russell, Jacqueline Hill, William Hartnell (1908 – 1975) and Keith Pyott. (Photo credit: Moore/Fox Photos/Getty Images)
British actors Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen pose in 1974, who star in the new BBCTV series ‘Dr Who’. (Photo by Victor Blackman/Express/Getty Images)
Tom Baker as the new Dr Who in 1974. He is shown here with a Cyberman and his assistant Sarah Jane Smith, played by Elisabeth Sladen, at the BBC television centre. (Photo credit: Frank Barratt/Keystone/Getty Images)
Dr Who (actor Peter Davison) and female companions of the Doctor’s past and present pose in 1983. (l-r) Louise Jameson, Carole Ann Ford, Caroline John, Sarah Sutton, Elisabeth Sladen and Janet Fielding. (Photo credit: PA)
Paul McGann (as The Doctor) and Daphne Ashbrook (as Dr. Grace Holloway) in Doctor Who, shown in 1996. (Photo credit: WENN.com)
Actress Catherine Tate arrives at the press launch of ‘Dr Who’ series 4 at the Apollo West End in 2008 in London. (Photo credit: Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
Doctor Who, played by Sylvester Mccoy, poses with his companion Melanie, played by Bonnie Langford, in 1987. (Photo credit: Photoshot/Getty Images)
Doctor Who, played by Colin Baker, with companion Peri, played By Nicola Bryant in 1986. (Photo credit: Photoshot/Getty Images)
20th November 1980: Tom Baker, who plays Dr Who in the childrens TV series, is to marry Lalla Ward, who plays his assistant Romana in the series. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
1980: Actress Lalla Ward, Dr Who’s assistant in the BBC television series, riding K9, the doctor’s robotic ‘dog’, in a park (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Actor Jon Pertwee, a former Dr Who, and actress Elisabeth Sladen, who played his companion in the series, at Heathrow Airport where they departed to Miami to attend a Dr Who convention (PA)
Tom Baker, as Doctor Who, and Mary Tamm as his companion, Romana, on the set of the BBC television science fiction series ‘Doctor Who’, at BBC TV Centre, London, 25th April 1978. (Photo by Fred Mott/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
English actors Jon Pertwee (1919 – 1996) and Elisabeth Sladen (1946 – 2011) outside BBC TV Centre, London, 26th June 1973. Pertwee and Sladen play Doctor Who and his companion Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series ‘Doctor Who’. (Photo by William H. Alden/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Peter Purves
DR Who: Billie Piper, Christopher Eccleston
Bernard Cribbins (and David Tennant collect the award for best Drama received for Dr Who during the National Television Awards 2010.
Dr Who
The eleventh Doctor Who, actor Matt Smith, and his companion Amy Pond, actress Karen Gillian, arrive at the screening of an episode of the new Doctor Who series at Cineworld, Cardiff (Ben Birchall/PA Wire)
James Corden and Matt Smith take a break from filming the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who Penarth, Wales. Photo: WENN.com
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UK Entertainment – The Huffington Post
Time Lords United In Doctor Who Special Picture Released To Mark Show"s 50th Anniversary
