The Matrix Data Bank

Here\’s some little tidbits that you may or may not be aware of regarding Doctor Who.
Please feel free to add your own facts, and tidbits, in the comments…

• The first episode of Doctor Who, starring William Hartnell, was broadcast on November 23, 1963
• Before the first show went out, Donald Baverstock, the chief of programmes for BBC1, told the production team that more \”historical and scientific hokum\” and less \”prosaic dialogue\” was required
• The BBC thought that the programme was proving so expensive to make that it might not be able to go beyond four episodes. Donald Baverstock wrote in 1963: \”Such a costly serial is not one that I can afford\”
• Tom Baker, right, who occupied the Tardis between 1974 and 1981, is generally considered the longest-serving Doctor
  • Tom Baker is actually the longest running Doctor only when addressing the number of seasons…
  • David Tennant actually holds the lead for the most episodes on \”screen\” (eg. TV)
  • Sylvester McCoy holds the record for being the longest serving Current Doctor on screen, at over 8 years, due to his time on the series, and then the gap until the Television Movie…  As well as his time with Big Finish.
  • Paul McGann holds the record for the longest time as the current Doctor Across media (Novels, Audio), at over eight years.
  • But of course, these statistics are open to manipulation, and can be viewed in many different ways…
  • And who knows what records Matt Smith will hold.
• Doctor Who originally ran for 26 seasons on BBC1 until 1989, when it was controversially dropped
• Paul McGann starred as the Doctor in a one-off film version in 1996
• The Tardis cost £4,328 to build
• The ethereal theme tune was the first in the world to be made up entirely from electronic sounds
• Interest among children in the Sixties declined if the Daleks weren\’t in storylines
• Billie Piper appeared as Rose Tyler in the revived series for 27 episodes, this includes every episode from \”Rose\”, to \”Doomsday\”, but does not include flashbacks in the later episodes.
• Currently two Doctor Who novels or short stories have been adapted for use in the revived TV series.
  • Human Nature was adapted into \”Family of Blood\” and \”Human Nature\”.
  • Blink was loosely based off of Steven Moffat\’s \”What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow\”. Sally Sparrow was adapted, the Weeping Angels were not in the short story.
• How many actors have played the Doctor
  • Eleven
    • William Hartnell – 1963 to 1966
    • Patrick Troughton – 1966 to 1969
    • Jon Pertwee – 1970 to 1974
    • Tom Baker – 1974 to 1981
    • Peter Davison – 1981 to 1984
    • Colin Baker – 1984 to 1986
    • Sylvester McCoy – 1987 to 1989, 1996
    • Paul McGann – 1996
    • Christopher Eccleston – 2005
    • David Tennant – 2005 to 2010
    • Matt Smith – 2011 – ongoing