Doctor Who turns 54: How the show defied generations
BBC, Doctor Who: The 13 Doctors
It’s Thanksgiving for people in America, but another thing happened on the 23rd of November. A little show premiered on BBC1 on November 23rd, 1963…
People in America are celebrating Thanksgiving on today, November 23rd, but Whovians are celebrating the 54th Anniversary of Doctor Who! I don’t need to tell anyone who visits the site the impact it’s had on the culture of Britain and sci-fi fandom. We all have memories that the show has given us, whether we’ve watched the show since the Classics, or have just watched the New Series.
As the show has aired, the media has expanded. We now have novelizations, spin-offs, audio plays, all celebrating the amazing adventures of the Time Lord of Gallifrey. It’s safe to say people never expected a show about a traveling alien to gain such a following and so much extra content.
What exactly made the show so incredible — enough to run for over 50 years? To defy everything that goes against the laws of television. Part of it is, of course, the ability to not have any actor tied to the show for a long period of time. But as we’ve seen, even that has its own problem. The main reason is the message that Doctor Who sends.
The message allows adults to watch it with their children, who then grow up and watch with their families. Despite the changes that Doctor Who is making, it keeps to the same prospects it kept to in the 60’s — a character who is there to do good. Whether male or female and the issues that come with that, the inside and the message doesn’t change. The Doctor is a character that is there to do what’s kind, no matter what.
With family and good values, it’s how the show has recovered, even if it limps, through the missteps. People can say that Steven Moffat didn’t do the show well, but keeping with the message and having good actors that carry that message is how Doctor Who has been so incredible for generations.