Dr. Who travels through time for 50 years
SUZETTE ORTIZ
THE SIGNAL
The popular TV series “Doctor Who” will celebrate its 50th anniversary Nov. 23, along with 50 years of changes, achievements and, most importantly, adoration from its fans.
“Doctor Who” is an alien with two hearts who comes from a dead planet and has the ability to travel through time in a blue telephone box. This time traveling box is known by fans as the TARDIS, which is the acronym for time and relative dimension in space.
“Doctor Who” was the brainchild of Canadian TV producer Sydney Newman. The original series first aired Nov. 23, 1963, on British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and ceased airing in 1989, generating 26 seasons with its first airing.
“It returned March, 26, 2005, with the episode ‘Rose,’ starring Billie Piper as the eponymous Ms. Tyler and Christopher Eccleston as the ninth Doctor,” said Paul Jones, author of the article “Doctor Who:48 facts for the 48th anniversary,” published on RadioTimes.
“Doctor Who” also had an original television film, which was released in 1996.
In his travels through the universe, the doctor encounters and defeats aliens and monsters with the help of other characters in the show.
He has the ability to regenerate, allowing him to return as a “different” doctor every few years.
The series has featured 11 different actors portraying the doctor and just recently announced the pending arrival of the 12th doctor.
The original series also holds the world record for having the highest number of episodes for a science fiction program.
“While ‘Doctor Who’ certainly qualifies as a sci-fi show, it does not limit itself to some of the normal boundaries implied by that genre,” said Cody Burns, biology major and president of Societas Fanaticus. “It allows itself some wiggle room with the technical side of sci-fi, which [leaves] many sci-fi fans in their seats.”
Multiple entities both abroad and locally will host different events in honor of the series’ achievement including The Official “Doctor Who” Fan Club and a student organization at UHCL, Societas Fanaticus (SoFa).
The Official “Doctor Who” Fan Club website, www.odwfc.com, has already begun the celebration by running different promotions for some “Doctor Who” products, including DVDs of seasons of the show.
The BBC has also dedicated space on its website, www.bbc.co.uk, to the anniversary. Most of the events the BBC will host will take place in the United Kingdom.
The “Doctor Who” 50th anniversary episode, “Doctor Who: The Day of The Doctor,” however, will be showing in 3D at AMC Theaters Nov. 25. Tickets are available for sale on the AMC website, www. amctheatres.com.
Likewise, “SoFa, [a new] student organization [that] brings people from various geek-related fandoms together, will hopefully host an on-campus screening and live viewing of the ‘Doctor Who’ 50th anniversary,” Burns said.
SoFa is currently working with the BBC in order to be able to screen the film on campus. More details on this are yet to come and will be posted on the group’s Facebook page at www. facebook.com/societasfanaticusuhcl13.
“The best thing about ‘Doctor Who’ is that it presents its viewers with more, philosophical and ethical dilemmas,” said Sam Oser, publication czar for SoFa. “It makes you wonder how there is so much in the world but at the same time so little. It makes you realize you’re the most important thing in creation, but you’re also the most insignificant. It gives paradoxes of love, truth, pain, bravery, and it shows you how they all contradict each other and how it all matters but, at the same time, it doesn’t because there are things bigger than you…It is a beautiful ball of contradicting emotions, and somehow, logic finds its way in there [making it] even more amazing.”
