Doctor Who is a cult phenomenon here in the US. If you've heard of it at all, it's likely in relation to crazy convention-going sci-fi fanatics who flinch at the sun and smell of elderberries. And yet it's one of the most popular television programs in Britain, where watching it is as much a part of pop culture as something like "Lost" or "The West Wing" is here and it is considered a show for the whole family to enjoy together.
The years and years and years of history can be intimidating to the new viewer -- it started in 1965 and has been going strong ever since. Even in the 15 year hiatus without new TV episodes, the story lived on in books and audio dramas (audio dramas! Radio plays! I love Britain!) and a TV movie. But don't despair -- the 2005 revival was conceived to be accessible to new audiences and it seems likely that the new season beginning in April 2010 under the new direction of showrunner Steven Moffat will be similarly kind to newbies.
So without further ado, a brief introduction to the Doctor.
The Doctor is 900-odd years old (he lies about his age) and is an alien. He comes from the planet Gallifrey and is a Time Lord. This means that he is wicked clever, has some special senses that allow him to perceive things about the fabric of space-time, has two hearts and some other physiologic oddities, and can regenerate every cell in his body when his death is imminent (this process has some side effects including the fact that he then looks completely different).
The Doctor's people, the Time Lords, were one of the most powerful races in the universe for years beyond counting thanks to their special abilities. With great power failed to come great responsibility, however, and they became out of touch, hidebound, and generally were massive tools. The Doctor is a rebel of sorts who cannot maintain the distance and the impartiality demanded by his society, and he keeps "interfering" in events, changing timelines in order to right random wrongs and save random helpless people. The Time Lord powers-that-be aren't big fans of this meddling, and he earns no little trouble for his efforts.
The Doctor has a special love/frustration relationship with humankind, who he regards as both marvelous and maddening. He spends a lot of time on Earth and often takes a human companion or two with him on his adventures. He knocks about the universe in a stolen time-traveling spaceship called the TARDIS, which stands for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space." Due to a fault in her chameleon circuit, the TARDIS is stuck in the appearance of a blue 1950s police box. Fortunately, her perception filters are still working, and anyone who doesn't know what she is usually won't notice her.
The Time Lords fought for years with another race called the Daleks, who are genocidal maniacs who desire nothing more than the obliteration of all other species. This conflict eventually escalated into the great Time War, which threatened to destroy not only the Daleks and the Time Lords, but also the universe itself. In order to stop the universe from going bye-bye, the Doctor had to do something (it's not really been revealed exactly what) which resulted in the whole war being timelocked and, effectively, lead to the destruction of Gallifrey and the Time Lords. The Daleks were supposed to be destroyed too, but that didn't work out so well.
Since the end of the Time War, he has wandered alone -- the last of his kind.
Those bare words don't do much to describe the magic of Doctor Who. The Doctor is that primeval, archetypal character -- the wizard, the magician, the stranger -- who extends his hand and lifts you from the world of the mundane to the realms of the extraordinary. He's wonderful and terrible and critically flawed yet utterly brilliant. The whole regeneration business means that the character can be reinvented over and over again much in the same way that this archetype is, but it all happens in the context of the same story. And it's fantastic.
Why the Doctor is called the Doctor is one of the show's enduring mysteries. One rather meta reason that's been alluded to is that he's called the Doctor because he makes people better. And it's true, he does. But he also makes people worse. He takes us to our fullest capacities in both good and bad ways -- he basically turns the volume up to eleven just by his very nature. And in such a way, he shows us all of what it means to be human.
The show itself is amazing. It's funny and witty and scary and madcap zany, and it still manages to have a deep, powerful core made of morality and philosophy and tragedy.
But don't take my word for it. Watch it yourself. The new series (2005 and beyond) is available on Netflix streaming. (Many of the old episodes are available, too, but if you haven't seen the show before, I wouldn't start with any of the older stuff.)
Here are two excellent YouTube introductions to the Doctor, both by the incredibly talented Seduff. The first is an amazing introduction to the character of the Doctor in the words of those who have met him and had their lives changed by him. The second is just an awesome look at how funny the show can be, since the first video doesn't really emphasize that part.
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