Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known only as "The Doctor". It is also the title of a 1996 television movie featuring the same character. It is common to see the show's title abbreviated as Dr. Who, even by the BBC, although purists consider this form incorrect.

Adversaries

When Sydney Newman commissioned the series, he specifically did not want to perpetuate the cliché of the "bug-eyed monster" of science fiction. However, monsters were a staple of Doctor Who almost from the beginning and audiences responded to them.

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Notable adversaries of the Doctor include the Autons, the Cybermen, the Sontarans, the Silurians, and the Master, a rival Time Lord with a thirst for universal conquest. Of all the monsters, the ones that ensured the series' place in the public's imagination were the Daleks. The Daleks are lethal mutants in tank-like mechanical armour from the planet Skaro. Their chief role in the great scheme of things, as they frequently remark in their instantly recognisable metallic voices, is to "Exterminate!" Davros, the Daleks' fictional creator, also became a recurring villain after he was introduced.

Related Topics:
Auton - Cybermen - Sontaran - Silurians - The Master - Dalek - Skaro - Davros

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The Daleks were created by writer Terry Nation (who intended them as an allegory of the Nazis) and BBC designer Raymond Cusick. Nation also wrote for 1960s telefantasy like The Avengers. He later created the 1970s science fiction programmes Survivors and Blake's 7 and was a writer for the popular American series MacGyver. The Daleks' debut in the programme's second serial, The Daleks, caused a tremendous reaction in the viewership ratings, and put Doctor Who on the map. The Daleks even appeared on a postage stamp celebrating British popular culture in 1999, photographed by Lord Snowdon.

Related Topics:
Terry Nation - Nazis - Raymond Cusick - 1960s - The Avengers - 1970s - Science fiction - Survivors - Blake's 7 - MacGyver - The Daleks - 1999 - Lord Snowdon

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