‘Doctor Who’ will explore his origin for 50th anniversary

The 50th anniversary of the Doctor, BBC’s long-running Time Lord star of “Doctor Who,” will happen next year and to celebrate, the Doctor’s current masters are planning to explore his origins.

Lest you think that means a trip to the (now destroyed) home planet of the Time Lords, think again. This film, “An Adventure in Space and Time,” will look at everything that happened in the run-up to the Doctor’s first televised airing on Nov. 23, 1963.

And if that date sounds a little familiar, it’s because it’s the day after JFK’s assassination in Dallas, Texas. The first episode was slightly delayed so that the BBC news could finish covering the latest developements from the States.

The 90-minute film was written by “Doctor Who” regular contributor Mark Gatiss. In a statement, he describes it as “the story of how an unlikely set of brilliant people created a true television original. And how an actor -- William Hartnell -- stereotyped in hard-man roles became a hero to millions of children.”

No word yet on who will play Hartnell, who was the first of 11 Doctors. Matt Smith is the most recent Doctor. His third season begins airing on BBC America this fall.

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