Posted in: BBC, Doctor Who, HBO, streaming, Trailer, TV, YouTube | Tagged: bbc, bleeding cool, cable, doctor who, Doctor Who 57th Anniversary, emily cook, streaming, television, tv, youtube

Doctor Who: LOCKDOWN! Unveils 57th Anniversary Opening Titles/Credits

Today is the 57th anniversary of the premiere of Doctor Who. The first episode, "An Unearthly Child" aired on television in the United Kingdom on this day in 1963. To celebrate "'Doctor Who' Day," producer and editor Emily Cook, the mastermind behind the Lockdown re-watch and tweet-along events, brought out a new opening title and credit sequence for the show on the Doctor Who: LOCKDOWN YouTube channel. The video was released at 5:16 pm UK Time, the exact time the show went on air in 1963.

On a less happy note, November 22, 1963, the day before was when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. That event threatened to overshadow everything else in the world, and the first episode of Doctor Who was actually repeated on the BBC a week later on November 30 before the second episode and that drew higher viewing figures and put the show on the road to success. William Hartnell played the Doctor, with Carole Ann Ford played his granddaughter, Susan, and William Russell and Jacqueline Hill were the original companions, Ian and Barbara, who were Susan's teachers at Coal Hill School.

Who would have thought Doctor Who would become the longest-running Science Fiction TV show in the world, eh? What started as a children's show with a mind to teaching kids a bit of history and science blew up to become a major pop culture phenomenon when the Daleks were introduced shortly after. Then it became a full-blown Science Fiction saga, and when William Hartnell's declining health caused him to have to leave the show, the producers and writers hit upon the idea of Regeneration where a dying Doctor could be reborn into another body, which ensured the show's survival for decades.

The 57th Anniversary Opening Credits Sequence is a celebration of the show's entire history, featuring a variation on the TARDIS' travel through the time tunnel by FX creator and editor Rob Baines and a new electric guitar cover version of the theme song by Borna Matosic. Then there are the highlights: the credits that not only feature every actor who played the Doctor up to the latest, Jodie Whittaker, but also a rundown of every credited actor who appeared on the show. As we wait for the Holiday Special and the next series, this is something to tide us over for a few minutes on Doctor Who's anniversary.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!