Plastic Fantastic

Introduction

By any measure of broadcasting success, Doctor Who’s

Adventures in Space and Time

What sort of TV show is Doctor Who? And is it always the same show?

Badge of Honour

1980s companion Ace wore a Blue Peter badge on her jacket, highlighting Doctor Who’s long association with the children’s magazine show.

Boxes of Delights

Doctor Who may not have the most complete archive, but its catalogue of DVD and Blu-ray special features is without parallel.

Click Click Boom

The history of Doctor Who video games is littered with missteps, but there are notable exceptions…

Carnivals of Monsters

Throughout the years, many children have endured a terrifying rite of passage – getting up close to Doctor Who monsters at an exhibition.

Countdown to TV Action

The Doctor’s comic-strip exploits reached new highs in the early 1970s, with the arrival of a bold new title on British newsstands.

Critical List

Doctor Who has never been as good as it used to be. At least, that’s the case if you believe what you read in the papers…

Curtain Up

Doctor Who’s several stage transfers have left audiences crying “Encore! ” Even when some of the Doctors themselves have been understudies, of a sort...

Deep in Hyperspace...

The Daleks broke away from the Doctor in 1965, going solo in a comic-strip saga that some regard as their finest hour.

Do It Yourself

The growth of organised fandom throughout the late 1970s and early 80s led to an explosion in self-published magazines.

Dressing for the Occasion

You too can be a boho wanderer in time and space – provided your Gran-knitted scarf is long enough.

Dr What?

Parodies of Doctor Who have been around for almost as long as Doctor Who itself. What do the best of them tell us about the audience’s relationship with the series?

Educate and Entertain

Could Doctor Who have been created by anything other than the British Broadcasting Corporation?

Fab Gear

The TARDIS wardrobe is stuffed full of Earthly couture, from 1963 to now. But are the Doctors followers or leaders of fashion?

The Fantasy Factory

In its heyday, BBC Television Centre, Wood Lane, London W12 was the home of British entertainment – and the home of Doctor Who.

From the Back of a Quarry

Why are we drawn to visit the places where Doctor Who was filmed? Are we looking for locations, or are we seeking something more?

Funny Business

This one will kill you: did you ever hear about the science-fiction adventure series that they filled full of jokes?

Future Shocks

Across the decades, some of Doctor Who’s more far-out predictions about the future have remained fantastical. Some, however, have been prophetic…

Get Out of That

Edge-of-your-seat cliffhangers were integral to Doctor Who’s serialised format during its original run. More recent episodes have found ingenious ways to retain the old jeopardy.

Giant Maggots

The hideous larvae of 1973’s The Green Death wormed their way into the minds of a generation. Such memories loom large over fans, and the series itself.

Give Me a Sign

Long before selfies became common currency, the autograph established itself as the gold standard of the fan economy.

Global Domination

How did a humble sci-fi adventure show, videotaped in cramped London studios, end up ranked beside Hollywood megabrands?

Go Figure

Doctor Who action figures are highly collectable – and they’ve spawned a community of customisers, too.

Grainer Truth

Delia Derbyshire’s otherworldly arrangement of Ron Grainer’s Doctor Who theme ensured it became the most haunting of earworms.

Guides to the Galaxy

Literally millions of words have been written about the making of Doctor Who. But are we any the wiser?

Hello, Sweeties

Doctor Who is more than just a televisual confection. To the dismay of dentists everywhere, it’s been edible, too.

Hiding Behind the Sofa

How did a programme devised as safe viewing for all the family become synonymous with tea-time terror?

Home Entertainment

Every surviving episode of Doctor Who is now available to view in some format or other at a whim – but that wasn’t always the case.

Join the Club

Once upon a time, liking Doctor Who was a secret, solitary practice. But you’re never alone in a fan club…

Journal of Records

It started out as 32 weekly pages of “Comic strips! Features! Pin-ups! ” The modern Doctor Who Magazine is an 84-page, four-weekly record-breaker…

KKLAK!

Many graphic artists have sought to distil Doctor Who’s essence with inks, paints and airbrush. Some of the best-known pieces have achieved iconic status.

The Laws of Time

With 60 years’ worth of established lore to accommodate, it’s not surprising that things sometimes don’t add up…

“London, 1965!”

Live internet ‘watchalongs’ have transformed how Generation Z, in particular, perceive 20th-century Doctor Who

Meep! Meep!

Doctor Who Weekly ushered in a new era of sophisticated comic-strip adventures that’s lasted 44 years, and counting.

Minding the Gaps

Paradoxically, the absence of a great many 1960s episodes from the BBC’s vaults has made them some of the most analysed TV instalments ever

Moving Pictures

2D, or not 2D? Doctor Who’s forays into animation have included whole official episodes, plus glimpses at futures that never were…

Now on the Big Screen

Gloriously Technicolored Daleks twice trundled into 1960s cinemas, but their invasion of the box-office fell short of some fans’ expectations.

On Target

With a wheezing, groaning sound, a range of novelisations materialised. These prose versions of Doctor Who made writer-in-chief Terrance Dicks a legend.

On the Air

BBC Radio was quick to exploit the popularity of its televisual sibling’s science-fiction hit. Doctor Who has been on its wavelength ever since.

Our Mutual Friends

Doctor Who’s ever-changing cast of companions has always threatened to steal the limelight.

Outer Space Robot People

For the first generation of fans, unwrapping a Doctor Who annual was as much a part of Christmas as mince pies, tinsel, and family rows.

Outside the Box

Ace investigator Sarah Jane Smith, robot dog K9 and Time Agent Captain Jack Harkness have all enjoyed lives beyond the bounds of the parent programme…

Pod People

Nowadays it seems almost everyone has been on a podcast. Even the Doctor!

Pros and Cons

How have conventions evolved since the 1970s? And how exactly do you define a convention anyway?

Pull to Open

It’s been more than four decades since the last Metropolitan police box was removed from service. And yet millions of people around the world still recognise it…

RT People

It’s most Doctor Who fans’ other favourite magazine – and it’s been keeping the date and time of every episode since 1963.

Say Cheese

Press photographers and tabloid newspapers treated the series as a bit of fun during its first three decades. But has the traditional Doctor Who publicity picture had its day?

Signal to Noise

It used to be that when a Doctor or companion left the series, they were gone for good. But audio producers Big Finish will keep them TARDIS-travelling forever.

Smoke and Mirrorlon

When Star Wars was released, Doctor Who was shamed for its un-special effects. But in reality, its designers and model-builders had been making miracles happen on a weekly basis.

Speared by Blor

The many monsters of Peladon twice invaded the shelves of Fine Fare, Gateway and Liptons, among other 1970s grocery stores.

Special Guests

It’s sometimes said that an actor hasn’t really made it until they’ve guested on Doctor Who – but it wasn’t always so.

Terrible Things

Why are monsters so central to Doctor Who’s mythology? And why do we love to hate them so much?

… To All of You at Home

’Tis the season for deadly fir trees, robot Santas, ravenous spiders, killer angels and worse. Merry Christmas!

Too Broad and Too Deep

When Doctor Who twice disappeared from television, first in 1989 and again in 1996, the TARDIS was transported into another dimension: the land of spin-off novels.

Totally Confidential

The Doctors may have their companions, but in the early 2000s Doctor Who itself gained two companion shows…

Tuning In

Doctor Who was created to fill a gap in the schedules in 1963, but how has the series fared with British audiences across six decades?

Under the Hammer

Impossibly long scarves, Cyber-heads, Foamasi limbs… all going, going, gone the few times the BBC stores have given up unique antiques.

Whether You Like it or Not

Doctor Who has always thrived on change – but is there a limit to how much reinvention we can take?