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'Classic' series, 1963-1989

'The search for Susan'

Clip from the very first episode of 'Doctor Who', broadcast on 22nd November 1963, and showing the first appearance of the original Doctor, William Hartnell. Two curious schoolteachers (played by Jacqueline Hill and William Russell) have followed a strange pupil home on a foggy London night, and are surprised to find nothing more than an old police box sitting in a junkyard. Just then, an old man emerges from the shadows...

'The Doctor is ridiculed'

The second episode of Doctor Who, broadcast in November 1963, sees the TARDIS arrive in an ancient landscape - much to schoolteacher Ian Chesterton's surprise. The Doctor, meanwhile, worriedly observes that his machine, which is bigger on the inside, has outwardly remained in the form of a police box.

'First Doctor regenerates'

Hartnell moved on from Doctor Who in 1966, necessitating a change of lead actor. The programme's startlingly dramatic way of recasting the star would ensure that it would continue for decades. Clip from the final episode of The Tenth Planet, 29th October 1966, showing the final moments of Hartnell's Doctor and the first appearance of Patrick Troughton in the role. This is the only part of the episode that exists in the BBC archives.

'Second Doctor regenerates'

Few complete stories from Patrick Troughton's three years as the Doctor exist in the BBC archives, due to a policy of junking broadcast material that lasted well into the 1970s. However, Troughton's final story, the ten-part serial The War Games (1969), exists in its entirety. The final moments of episode ten show sentenced passed on the Doctor by a tribunal convened on his home planet, as punishment for his involvement in the affairs of other worlds.

'Rulers of the Galaxy'

The programme took a dramatic new direction in the early 1970s, with Jon Pertwee's new Doctor exiled to Earth by his own people, the Time Lords. Though keeping the show Earth-bound saved money, the production team soon found the format over-restrictive, and opted for occasional forays back into time and space. In the first story in which the Time Lords send the Doctor on a mission, Colony in Space (1971), events in the future lead to a showdown with his old enemy, fellow Time Lord the 'Master' (played by Roger Delgado).

'K9 plays chess'

Clip from the 1978 serial The Sunmakers, starring Tom Baker as the Doctor, Louise Jameson as his savage companion Leela, and John Leeson as the voice of robot dog K-9. The Doctor and K-9 are playing chess in the console room of his time machine, the TARDIS, just before it lands on Pluto.

'The Doctor regenerates'

Clip from the 1984 serial The Caves of Androzani, starring Peter Davison in his final adventure as the Doctor, Nicola Bryant as his companion Peri, and introducing Colin Baker as the sixth Doctor. As the Doctor succumbs to poisoning, images of his former companions and his adversary the Master appear before his eyes.

'Master of earwigging'

Colin Baker's Doctor eavesdrops on two of his best-known foes, fellow Time Lords the Master (now in the form of Anthony Ainley) and the 'Rani' (Kate O'Mara), in this clip from The Mark of the Rani (1985). The Master and the Rani have formed an alliance against the Doctor, but are unaware that their adversary has infiltrated her TARDIS. Baker's controversial costume is unmistakable here.

'The Doctor and the Master fight'

Though Anthony Ainley's appearances became less frequent as the 1980s rolled on, the Master was the villain of choice for what would turn out to be the final classic serial, 1989's Survival. By now played by Sylvester McCoy, the Doctor risks succumbing to the same malign influence that has imprisoned the Master on a distant world inhabited by the Cheetah People, one which has also inveigled itself into everyday suburban London.

'New' series, 2005-

'New series overview'

Doctor Who Confidential. Clip from the official documentary series introducing 'Doctor Who'.

'A wound in time'

Clip from Father's Day, a 2005 episode starring Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor. Eccleston's Doctor broke with tradition by appearing in a simpler, more modern outfit rather than the Edwardianesque garments of Doctors before and since. In this episode, the Doctor finds Earth on the brink of destruction after he allows his companion, Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) to go back in time and save the life of her father.

'Analysis of the doctor' [sic]

Doctor Who Confidential. Clip from the official documentary series in which David Tennant and others discuss the tenth incarnation of the Doctor.

'Iconic monsters'

Doctor Who Confidential. Clip from the official documentary series featuring the 2006 return of one of the series's most famous villains, the Cybermen; then-series executive producer Russell T. Davies explains why the Cybermen were brought back in the new programme.

Elisabeth Sladen

'Doctor Who actress Elisabeth Sladen's key moments'

BBC News item on the life of Elisabeth Sladen, who played the Doctor's best-known companion, Sarah Jane Smith, in both the original and new series as well as in The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007-2011).