Sunday, November 23, 2008

DOCTOR WHO AT 45

Today is momumental anniversary within the annals of the science-fiction genre. The longest running SF television program, Doctor Who, is 45 years old today.
But this historic anniversary almost never came to pass.
When originally scheduled to air on Saturday November 23rd, 1963; England's BBC Television seriously delayed broadcasting the first episode (part one to the first adventure: "An Unearthly Child", starring the late William Hartnell as the Doctor) because of all the news coverage surrounding the assassination of then President John F. Kennedy the day before.
But supporters of the program within the network's administration reshowed the first episode the following Saturday at its regular time, and the rest as they say, is history.
Yet because of this, some have linked the two events together even to the point of creating a non-canonical fan fiction whereupon the Doctor investigates the assassination. More information upon this subject can be found at: http://www.drwhoguide.com/kennedy.htm

But the story of what at first was apparently an eccentric grandfather who just happened to have invented a working, if not completely functional, time machine has grown to include vast cultures, numerous adventures, and a plausible explaination for other actors to assume the role, starting when William Hartnell took ill and had to step down.

For more information on the program itself, you can visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/ and while there, visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/doctorwho/ to take a closer look at the genesis of this great program.

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