That's what Sydney Newman (Head of Drama at the BBC in the early sixties.) envisioned, and from that embryonic notion arose Doctor WHO. Even through the haze of sadness that burdened most of the World due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on the previous day (Nov 22nd, 1963), Doctor WHO still became a success. Though the first serial "An Unearthly Child" made something of an impact, it was the second story, "The Daleks", that captured the viewing public to become a National phenomenon.

For those not in the know, Doctor WHO is one of the most popular, and longest running science fiction shows to ever have appeared on television. From 1963 to 1989, Doctor WHO captivated television audiences worldwide. A product of the BBC, those of us in the states werent treated to the Doctor's adventures (at least in my area) until 1978, where the show promptly developed a huge cult following.

Due to declining ratings, the BBC cancelled the series in 1989. For the next six years, rumors of big budget films (with questionable scripts) and TV reunions abounded. In 1996, the revival of Doctor WHO became a reality. The new Doctor WHO telefilm was triumphant and sparkling, paying ample homage to the series which proceeded it. Unfortunately, american TV ratings were unsatisfactory to FOX (Despite a Neilsen review that found the TV film was the most taped event on TV that week.), and they did not initiate a series, or designs on a new Telefilm.

Doctor Who came into my life in 1978, the first year it was brought to american television. I was instantly hooked, and have remained so in the intervening 20-odd years of my life. Because of this show, I began to dream. Dream of possibilities beyond the reality we know as our own, and to open my mind to unknown possibilities. My artwork grew enormously more involved because of my love for this show. I was greatly saddened by its "cancellation" in 1989. My local public TV station stopped carrying it, and for several years I saw none of the shows that followed Colin Baker's 1st season as the Doctor, and none of Sylvester McCoy. Thanks to the release of episodes on tape, I have seen several of the McCoy-era stories and have finally seen "Trial of a Time Lord", which I found worth the wait. Though it did not result in a new series, as so many fans had hoped, the arrival of the "Doctor WHO" TV Movie to FOX made me a Whovian once again. While the plot of the telefilm itself left much to be desired, the new Doctor (Paul McGann) is an enchanting figure, with a few similarities to his predecessors, but also is completely different from any of them.

It is unfortunate that efforts to revive Doctor WHO on a permanent televised basis seem to be constantly thwarted. The BBC continually argues that the show would have to be able to compete with shows like Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Farscape, and Andromeda. While this is true to a certain extent, it seems that the BBC can't accept the fact that people didn't watch Doctor WHO to see fancy set-pieces and great special effects. And while the show may indeed appeal to the same people who watch the above shows, and others, they just don't watch it for the same reasons. Based less in hard sci-fi, and more in the realm of fantasy, Doctor WHO was always a little different from shows like Star Trek. Sure, the odd story here and there contained harder sci-fi trappings, the show in and of itself was not. It didn't take itself THAT seriously.

To me, the popularity of LEXX, and to a lesser extent, Farscape, shows that people are indeed in a mood to see something just a little different. LEXX doesn't take itself seriously at all, and Farscape regularly inserts its tongue squarely in its cheek. Not to mention the fact that LEXX does what it does on a very small budget, and succeeds. Its all about the talent and desire of the people involved. Hopefully someone in a position of influence will someday realize the dormant show's untapped potential. The Doctor WHO novels by BBC books have been a great success, as have the audio productions by Big Finish, who have even managed to convince Paul McGann to reprise his role as the 8th Doctor for a series of adventures.

Still, despite the fact that this is a great time to be a Doctor WHO fan, most of us yearn to see the Time Lord's adventures on television, the medium from whence he sprang. Rumors of a return to television, or of big-budget films, continually surface, with varying degrees of validity. To date, the rumors have proven mostly groundless. However, the show is indeed upon the minds of many, and it seems inevitable, in some form or another, the good Doctor will doubtlessly grace our screens once again.

After all, its only a matter of time.