Doctor Who is the longest-running science fiction television show in the world, as everyone knows. But did you know that before its chameleon circuit failed and caused it to stay in the shape of a police box, the TARDIS could transform into various objects? This February, the Doctor Who Time Fracture: An Immersive Adventure was going to start in London’s West End. Brush up on your Doctor Who knowledge with our top ten entertaining facts from the show. So grab your sonic screwdriver, wrap your overlong scarf over your neck. Then scroll down to see our fancy, amazing list!
Facts about Doctor Who
The TARDIS truth
The TARDIS is larger on the inside than it is on the outside (think Hermione’s handbag). And you’re undoubtedly aware that it stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space as an acronym. But did you know that the TARDIS sound effect is created by rubbing a key and the piano’s bass strings together? That’s correct, making the classic TARDIS sound at home is a lot easier than you would think! The audio was later modified by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. It is still in use in many variants for today’s programs!
A famous anagram
Early episode tapes were labeled “Torchwood,” an anagram of “Doctor Who,”. It is to protect them from being stolen once the show became hugely successful. The codeword was then the title of the show’s spin-off series. It aired for four seasons from 2006 to 2011. It was generated from the popular Doctor Who revival in 2005.
The lost episodes
The BBC used to destroy original TV tapes rather than preserve them in the 1960s and 1970s. They didn’t modify their policy until 1978. This implies that a total loss of 253 Doctor Who episodes. However, owing to international broadcasters, many have been found. Only 97 of the 253 lost programs remain unaccounted for.
History gets numerous rewrites
During his time travels, the Doctor has encountered many notable historical people. It included William Shakespeare, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens, Winston Churchill, and Queen Elizabeth I.
Coining new words
Due to popular demand, the words “Dalek” and “TARDIS” were added to the Oxford English Dictionary, just as the word “muggle” was added to the OED for J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
Bow ties are in
Bow tie sales surged by 94 percent for one high street retailer in just a month after Matt Smith declared “Bow ties are cool” in his debut appearance as the eleventh Doctor.
Doctor Who theme music and title sequence
The theme music’s composition was by Ron Grainer and produced by Delia Derbyshire at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. There have been over a dozen distinct title sequences for Doctor Who. Since then, there have been other remixes of the theme tune, and Matt Smith even played a rendition of it with Orbital at the 2010 Glastonbury Festival.
You only get one shot
Many of the early episodes of the show were shot in one take. This meant that if an actor screwed up their lines, their co-stars had to assist them out.