Celebrating 50 Years of Adventures Through Space and TIme

It was on the 23rd of November 1963, at 5.15pm, that Doctor Who made its debut. About 25 minutes later the 4.4 million people who were tuned to BBC Television saw the TARDIS take off for the very first time. Television history was made and cemented four weeks later when the most fearsome sink-plunger in the universe made it's first appearance and  Dalekmania seized the UK.

This November marks 50 years since Doctor Who made its debut. To have lasted 26 years as the classic series did is a remarkable achievement. To still be on air 50 years after it began and arguably more popular than ever is something few TV series have done. To date eleven actors have played the role of the Doctor, with a twelfth joining their distinguished ranks when Peter Capaldi takes over from Matt Smith on Christmas Day. Incidentally at 55, Peter Capaldi is exactly the same age William Hartnell was when he first set foot on the TARDIS  in 1963. Spooky, eh?

While we wait for the screening of the anniversary special The Day of the Doctor why not delve into Doctor Who's past and present with the great range of materials held by Hurstville Library. Explore the 50th Anniversary Collection featuring stories of all eleven Doctors or watch DVDs of the classic adventures, The Twin Dilemma and  Lost in Time which contails all the "orphaned" episodes. The soon to be released  The Vault; the official history of the show's production will be a must read. There's something for all Doctor Who fans at Hurstville Library.

Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series

"Hello, I'm the Doctor. Basically, run."

Things to love about Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series.

• Matt Smith's Doctor.
• Karen Gillan's Amy Pond. The girl who waited.
• River Song.
• The move to filming in HD. The series has never looked better.
• The latest arrangement of the theme music. It does grow on you.
• Standout episodes: The Eleventh Hour, The Beast Below, The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone (remember, don't blink!), Amy's Choice (killer OAPs), The Lodger (the Doctor stranded without the TARDIS and attempting to live like a normal person. If such a thing was even possible!).
• The new look Daleks.
• The Winders from The Beast Below (I swear one day I'll put on on my desk so people know if I'm in a good mood or not).
• The Pandorica Opens.. and it's Doctor Who's Woodstock.
• A Dalek begging River for mercy.
• The reason why the TARDIS makes that noise whenever it arrives or departs.

And many more.

The Seeds of Doom

"I suppose you could call it a galactic weed, though it's deadlier than any weed you know. On most planets the animals eat the vegetation. On planets where the Krynoid gets established, the vegetation eats the animals."

The Seeds of Doom has an impressive reputation. Tom Baker and the late, great Elisabeth Sladen, as the Doctor and Sarah Jane respectively, were in their stride by this stage. They were always good in any story of this era, but if you combine a really good script and good direction with actors of their talents you're in for a cracker. Production standards are high (especially the visual effects. It's not surprising that the effects design on this story - Richard Conway - later went on the win an Oscar) and the guest cast are all impressive with Tony Beckley, John Challis and Sylvia Colderidge as the stand outs. 

The Seeds of Doom is an excellent example of classic Doctor Who at its best.

Doctor Who: The Movie

In the middle of what Doctor Who fans have come to know as "The Wilderness Year" (the period from 1989 when the original series ended to 2005 when it returned) came this glimmer of hope. The BBC had gone into a co-production arrangement with Universal Television in an attempt to re-launch the good Doctor in the US on the Fox Network. So how did this strange clash of cultures fare?

There is a lot to like about Doctor Who: The Movie. Paul McGann, in what turned out to be his only outing at the eighth Doctor, is excellent. In the short screen time he had he makes the role his own. Daphne Ashbrook as the companion, Dr Grace Holloway, is also good and a blueprint for future companions (no tripping unconvincingly and screaming at anything that moves here) and Eric Roberts hams it up as The Master. The production values are amazing (and the TARDIS interior has never looked so good!) but the production's biggest let down is the script. It attempts to please two masters (the long time viewer and new ones) and fails miserably at both. Still, it was good to have the Doctor back, even if it was only for one night.

There is an interesting post-script to the movie. In 2000 the producer Philip David Segal published a book entitled Doctor Who: Regeneration describing the long and tortured process of bringing Doctor Who back which makes for very interesting reading. While Hurstville LMG doesn't hold a copy of this book, if you're interested in reading it the library can get it for you on inter-library loan. Just ask the staff for more details.

Doctor Who : The Writer's Tale

The blurb on the cover calls it "The definitive story of the BBC series" and that it is.

Containing email correspondence between head writer Russell T. Davies and journalist Benjamin Cook, the first half of the book concentrates on the production of the 4th series of Doctor Who's rebirth. The second half concentrates on David Tennant's last year as the Doctor leading up to his final episodes. Along the way you get a glimpse of storylines that didn't make it to production (including Penny, the companion who never was), find out the day-to-day dramas of bringing Doctor Who to the screen, learn about the politics of the BBC and experience David Tennant's final days on set. You also get Russell's muses on life, the state of television in the UK and everything.

Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale is a must. Not just for Doctor Who fans, but for anyone with an interest in television production.