The TARDIS Lands on Sci-Fi

The 9th Doctor and Rose

In the UK, the new series of Dr. Who is due to start on the 15th of April (just before Easter).

Here in the US, the Sci-Fi Channel have bought the Christopher Eccleston series of Dr. Who and are due to air it on Friday nights, starting this March. The exact date of its launch is not certain yet, but rumour has it that it's going to be the 17th. I'll let you know when the dates are no longer just rumour. Emily and Lauren are all set to watch the whole lot again.

So, in anticipation of the forthcoming event, here's ten things you wanted to know about Dr. Who, but were always afraid to ask:

1. The Doctor doesn't have a name, but is just known as "The Doctor".
2. The Doctor looks human, but is actually an alien from the planet Gallifrey. He has two hearts.
3. The Doctor is a Timelord.
4. 
   The TARDIS
   A Timelord's ship is called a TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space).
5. The Doctor is always accompanied by one or more travelling companions. He currently travels with Rose Tyler (played by Billie Piper).
6. The Doctor's biggest enemies are:
   • Daleks (a Nazi-like race of aliens who live cocooned within machines that keep them alive)
   • Cybermen (pre-dates the Borg by a long way)
   • The Master (a baddie Timelord)
7. A TARDIS can disguise itself to blend in with its environment and not be noticed. The Doctor's TARDIS always looks like an old fashioned British police box because its chameleon circuit is broken and The Doctor has never got round to fixing it.
8. The TARDIS is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
9. The TARDIS is not just a ship -- it is also alive.
10. Timelords can cheat death by regenerating whenever they are about to die. The Doctor always used to become younger with each regeneration, but seems to have equilibrated at about age 30 or so (I suppose that one cannot have him running around saving the world in a nappy (diaper). Christopher Eccleston is the 9th Doctor.

OK, we're not getting the new series, but repeats are better than nothing.