In 2013, Doctor Who celebrated an impressive 50 years as one of the BBC’s most famous, well-loved and iconic TV shows. To have been scaring and enthralling children for so long is no mean feat. While current episodes are freely available on BBC iPlayer, older episodes can be located at LOVEFiLM. 

The Doctor

The Doctor is a time-traveller from the planet Gallifrey and looks human, but has two beating hearts. He and his fellow Gallifreyans are generally known as Time Lords, of whom the Doctor is the only one still alive. 

The Doctor has been played, since 1963, by 12 different actors, from the original Doctor, William Hartnell, to the incumbent incarnation in the form of Matt Smith, who looks much younger than Hartnell’s Doctor, despite being hundreds of years older. The reason the Doctor has taken so many forms, is that he can regenerate. 

The Doctor’s time machine/home is the TARDIS, which takes the form of an old-fashioned police box and has been ever-present since the show’s inception. 

The Time Lords

The Time Lords - of whom the Doctor is a member – are an ancient civilisation of beings that closely resemble humans. Time Lords receive their name, not only because of their ability to travel rapidly through time and space, but because of the way in which they perceive time in a completely non-linear fashion, which in turn allows them to see ‘everything that was, is and could be’ simultaneously.  

Villains in Doctor Who

The most well-known enemies of the Doctor are undoubtedly the Daleks - cyborgs created by a mad scientist called Davros, who genetically-modified a race of extra-terrestrial beings called Kaleds to be complete devoid of compassion or empathy. While the only emotion they feel is hate, their most well-known catchphrase is ‘Exterminate! Exterminate!’ In these ways, the Daleks are seen as polar-opposites of the Doctor. 

Other persistent enemies of the Doctor are the Cybermen, who descend from organic species of humainoids from the planet Mondas. They first appeared in 1966 and continue to make appearances today. The Cybermen began to implant more and more artificial parts to their bodies in order to survive the worsening climate on their planet, but this led to an unfortunate side-effect of becoming cold and machine-like in their bid for self-preservation.

A Cultural Phenomenon

Doctor Who has a huge global fanbase, and has become ingrained in British culture and indeed the outside perception of the British nation, spawning not only TV episodes, but radio programmes and novelizations. Doctor Who is regularly the subject of fan conventions, at which the actors who have played different characters, as well as different incarnations of the legendary protagonist, are often the guests of honour.  

[Source: Discovery Media]

If you’re looking for a great way to make sure that you haven’t missed a moment of the Doctor’s adventures, and want to go back and relive your favourite episodes over and over again, all without having to stray too far from Doctor Who Online, then you’re in luck.

LOVEFiLM have joined up with Doctor Who to provide dozens of old episodes which LOVEFiLM will kindly deliver straight to your door, visit the site now.

They have cut out the need for purchasing DVDs – or even the time usually associated with the old methods of renting – and brought the Doctor right to your doorstep, and all without the help of a TARDIS!

LOVEFiLM have a selection of DVD deals which are much cheaper and more convenient than having to go to a rental shop and will give you easy access to the most recent episodes – watch them at your leisure and then just pop them in the postbox and LOVEFiLM will send you the next episodes straight away! You can enjoy all of this alongside the rest of the LOVEFiLM catalogue, which is growing by the day, so there are plenty of other science fiction adventures you can catch up on too.

For us, the move comes at just the right time, as it’s been almost 6 months since the Doctor has been on our screens, and what better way to whet your appetite for the inevitably brilliant Christmas special than with a marathon session with all of Matt Smith’s run, perhaps you could even directly compare him to David Tennant and Christopher Eccleston’s efforts since the 2005 relaunch – only if you suspect that he stands up to them though.

But one of the extraordinary aspects of the past few series’ has been the depth of story that has rewarded repeat viewing, and Steven Moffat has well and truly picked up where Russell T. Davies left off, so you’ve got no excuse not to enjoy the Doctor at the click of a mouse button.

[Sources: Doctor Who Online; LOVEFILM]

There’s no doubt that the appearance of Doctor Who on LOVEFiLM’s catalogue has gotten us excited – the chance to enjoy our favourites whenever we like (within reason) seems a good enough reason as any to get in a good mood.

And while the presence of Matt Smith’s recent outing is good enough for now, one thing that has caught our eye is the wealth of old episodes that LOVEFiLM has to offer.

We all know that the Doctor has been on fire since 2005 and we need little excuse to revisit any one of hundreds of moments from the run. However, it’s reassuring to know that if we need to recap an episode, catch up with one that we’ve missed or simply relive the excitement all over again, LOVEFiLM has it covered.

To have classics such as Jon Pertwee’s Inferno, Tom Baker’s City of Death, and Sylvester McCoy’s The Curse of Fenric available as well as other movies online whenever you want them, thanks to the LOVEFiLM Player, is a treat that we’re really looking forward to – even if it doesn’t come to fruition.

For now, of course we’re happy with whatever we’re given, and LOVEFiLM are allowing us to get our hands on copies of Doctor Who for a fraction of what it would cost to buy the box set, or even to rent it in the conventional way.

So, in truth, there’s no excuse for going without a Doctor Who fix thanks to LOVEFiLM, providing a fantastic TV back catalogue at a great price!

[Sources: Doctor Who Online; LOVEFILM]