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It\u2019s rare for a television show to celebrate its 60th anniversary. It\u2019s even rarer for a show to be entering a new era on its 60th anniversary.<\/p>\n
But \u201cDoctor Who,\u201d the British sci-fi show that began airing on the BBC in 1963, is in a period of expansion. Three upcoming specials, celebrating the show\u2019s latest milestone, will arrive weekly on Disney+ in the United States from Saturday, as part of a deal between the streamer and the BBC.<\/p>\n
And then a new season, starring Ncuti Gatwa (\u201cSex Education<\/a>\u201d) in the title role, will arrive next year on Disney+ (and the BBC in Britain) following an extra Christmas Day episode. Russell T Davies, who relaunched the show in 2005, is the showrunner for them all.<\/p>\n \u201cDoctor Who\u201d has decades of adventures, villains and complex story lines for dedicated fans to immerse themselves in. But if you\u2019re new to the show, here\u2019s what you need to know before tuning into the upcoming specials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Doctor is a Time Lord from a planet called Gallifrey, who travels across time and space in a Tardis, an unassuming spacecraft that looks like an old British police box, which members of the public used to call the authorities. His mission is to protect Earth, and the humans who live there, from a variety of threats.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Doctor is the nerd, the well-read misfit, who isn\u2019t particularly physical, who still wins the day,\u201d said Toby Hadoke, an actor who hosts a podcast dedicated to the show<\/a>. \u201cThe Doctor always offers hope for the person who feels slightly left out.\u201d<\/p>\n David Tennant, who played the Doctor between 2005 and 2010, and will be back as the star of the 60th anniversary specials, said that he thought the show\u2019s appeal was \u201cthe way the domestic and the simplistic and everyday meets the fantastical and the absurd.\u201d In the show\u2019s world, \u201cthe most extraordinary things become very relatable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The show\u2019s longevity is partly thanks to the fact the Doctor can \u201cregenerate,\u201d meaning a new actor can step into the role, but the show also experiments with genre, and the same season can include a historical drama one episode and a modern political satire the next.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cEvery time the Tardis door opens and the team steps out to a new planet, or a new time, or a new story, then it begins again,\u201d Davies, the showrunner, said.<\/p>\n The Doctor usually travels with a regular human companion, who in the 60th anniversary specials is played by the comedian Catherine Tate.<\/p>\n At the end of the last season, Jodie Whittaker, the 13th incarnation of the Doctor, regenerated.<\/p>\n Traditionally, a new actor plays each incarnation, and Gatwa is confirmed to be the 15th Doctor. But for the upcoming 60th anniversary episodes, Whittaker has turned back into Tennant, who was the 10th Doctor from 2005 to 2010, and then again for a 50th anniversary special in 2013.<\/p>\n Rather than reprising the 10th Doctor, in the upcoming specials, Tennant will portray a 14th Doctor, the first time an actor has played two distinct Doctors. (Keeping up?)<\/p>\n \u201cWho is to say you can\u2019t do this?\u201d Davies said. \u201cThere\u2019s absolutely no doubt that it can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Tate will also reprise her role as Donna Noble, the Doctor\u2019s companion. But in their last adventure together, which aired in 2008, the Doctor wiped Donna\u2019s memory, and with it all recollection of their time together. If Donna remembers him, she will die. And yet they will reunite in the upcoming specials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI had left our heroes in a tragic situation separated forever, unable to ever be happy again,\u201d Davies said. \u201cThat\u2019s begging for a final act, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n While \u201cDoctor Who\u201d has aired in the United States for a number of years, including on PBS, the Sci Fi Channel and BBC America, the new international distribution deal with Disney+ could make the show more accessible to a casual audience. For new viewers, the 60th anniversary specials will begin with a prologue recapping the Doctor and Donna\u2019s story.<\/p>\n If you would like to dive deeper into the back catalog, older \u201cDoctor Who\u201d episodes are available to stream in the United States on Max<\/a> or BritBox.<\/p>\n \u201cDoctor Who\u201d has long been notable among sci-fi franchises for its onscreen diversity. Whittaker became the show\u2019s first female Doctor in 2017<\/a>, and in 2020, Jo Martin played an incarnation of the Doctor known as the Fugitive Doctor, the show\u2019s first Black doctor. And Yasmin Finney, a trans actor who played Elle in the Netflix show \u201cHeartstopper<\/a>,\u201d is also joining the cast.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe show has always been good at appreciating inclusivity, and cherishing the different,\u201d said Tennant, who added that he grew up as a \u201cskinny bloke with specs in Scotland, who didn\u2019t feel like the coolest person in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n But \u201cthe Doctor celebrates uncoolness,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd that was something I appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhere Are We With the Plot?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
How to Watch in the U.S.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
An Inclusive Sci-Fi Show<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n