Hello all!

Hi - I guess I should start by saying Welcome to my (unofficial) Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Blog. Just quickly for those who don't know - Doctor Who is a science fiction/fantasy TV series produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (henceforth, the BBC) about an anthropomorphic (human-looking) alien being known simply as "the Doctor" who travels through time and space (typically with human companions) in a space/time machine referred to as the TARDIS (an acronym that stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space). The first episode of Doctor Who was broadcast into British homes at tea-time on Saturday the 23rd of November, 1963, which of course means that 2013 is the show's 50th anniversary year.  Over those 50 years (or to be precise, from 1963-1989, when the show was put on an extended hiatus by the BBC, in 1996, and from 2005 to present) 11 actors have played the role of the Doctor:

William Hartnell (1963-1966)
Patrick Troughton (1966-1969)
Jon Pertwee (1970-1974)
Tom Baker (1974-1981)
Peter Davison (1982-1984)
Colin Baker (1984-1986)
Sylvester McCoy (1987-1989; 1996)
Paul McGann (1996)
Christopher Eccleston (2005)
David Tennant (2005-2010)
Matt Smith (2010 - present)

The changes of actor have been possible because the Doctor (or any member of his race, known as Time Lords) has a trick to help him cheat death - regeneration - a means of rejuvenating every cell in his body which completely changes his appearance along the way.

I intend this Blog to be a bit of fun - a tribute by a lifelong fan of the TV show and I wish to invite you along for the ride! So what exactly do I envision? For starters, I, along with other fans of the series, await, with much anticipation, this year's series and specials along with other Who-related announcements and releases. These I hope to feature on this Blog, including thoughts on the new series and perhaps a look at any references to previous Doctor Who snuck in that the casual fan might miss (such as the 'Great Intelligence' reference in the latest Christmas special!). 

As my own personal commemoration of 50 years of my favourite TV series, I plan to begin watching the series from the very beginning (1963s An Unearthly Child) and post synopses, thoughts, and the occasional bit of trivia on each serial. Those who know a bit about Doctor Who (or BBC policy in the 1960s) will be aware that for 106 episodes of Doctor Who from the 1960s all that currently exists in the BBC archives are the soundtracks and the very occasional short clip here and there. My goal is to experience the series as closely as possible to its original broadcast, and I strongly feel, having purchased and listened to a number of soundtracks of the lost episodes (which have been released with linking narration provided by actors that starred in the serials), that with the help of some of the existing clips and stills one can get quite a good feel for these stories!

In addition I plan to commemorate the 50th anniversary in my own fairly unique way. I'm a keen miniature wargamer and as my next project I am building what will be my first Doctor Who themed army, for use with one of my favourite wargaming rule-sets, Hordes of the Things (HotT), written by Phil Barker, Sue Laflin Barker & Richard Bodley Scott and published by the Wargames Research Group (WRG). I intend to debut my army at a mid-year tournament, a HotT Winter's Day, organized by my father Robin and hosted by the Christchurch Wargaming Club. I intend to post about progress made on this army and how well it fares in action!

Finally (for now!) - without a doubt, one of the real highlights of the 50th anniversary celebrations for me will be in April when I travel up to Auckland for a special Doctor Who themed convention called "Lords of Time" organized by Armageddon pulp culture expo NZ ltd. This will be the first time (to my knowledge) that a dedicated Doctor Who event has been staged in my home country of New Zealand and I'm quite looking forward to it. Guests at this stage include four of the eleven (canonized) actors to have played the Doctor on TV - Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann - as well as Mark Strickson, who played Vislor Turlough, one of the companions to Peter Davison's Doctor, and Nicholas Briggs - who provides the voices of the Doctor's most iconic enemies - the Daleks and the Cybermen - in the post-2005 era of Doctor Who.

So, plenty to come, hope you'll visit again soon
Nick.