[Doctor Who 01] • [Popular Culture and Philosophy 55] • Bigger on the Inside

Not only is "Doctor Who" the longest-running science fiction TV show in history, but it has also been translated into numerous languages, broadcast around the world, and referred to as the oway of the futureOCO by some British politicians. The Classic "Doctor Who" series built up a loyal American cult following, with regular conventions and other activities. The new series, relaunched in 2005, has emerged from culthood into mass awareness, with a steadily growing viewership and major sales of DVDs. The current series, featuring the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, is breaking all earlier records, in both the UK and the US.

"Doctor Who" is a continuing story about the adventures of a mysterious alien known as othe Doctor, OCO a traveller of both time and space whose spacecraft is the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions in Space), which from the outside looks like a British police telephone box of the 1950s. The TARDIS is obigger on the inside than on the outsideOCOuactually the interior is immense. The Doctor looks human, but has two hearts, and a knowledge of all languages in the universe. Periodically, when the show changes the leading actor, the Doctor oregenerates.OCO

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