Cult British sci-fi series
Doctor Who has finally made it to South Africa!
Our
Friday Night Lights recapper, Snippie, made
a post on the TVSA Forums early on Monday morning saying she'd seen a promo for Doctor Who while watching an episode of The Weakest Link at the weekend.
She wrote that the promo said the show was starting on Saturday 1 September, but couldn't find any confirmation of it in the DStv schedules.
We investigated the matter instantly, seeing as the series is one of our favourites of all time, but we too couldn't find mention of it in any schedules.
A colleague from another publication sent us a new, revised schedule for BBC Prime, and lo and behold - Doctor Who does indeed premiere on Saturday 1 September, at 19h00.
It will be followed at 19h45 by Doctor Who Confidential, a behind-the-scenes companion show unpacking behind-the-scenes stuff that went into the making of the episode.
If all of that's not enough to thrill the pants offa you, then clearly you've never watched Doctor Who. No crime in that - the crime would be not educating yourself further on the matter.
We're here to help.
The original Doctor Who television series - which ran from 1963 to 1989 on the BBC - was revamped in 2005 by BBC Wales and began on the Sci-Fi channel in 2006.
The 2005 series (which is ongoing) first starred
Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor and
Billie Piper as his companion Rose Tyler, but
David Tennant took over as The Doctor from the end of 2005 until the present, while Billie Piper was replaced by Freema Agyeman after the second season.
Fear not - it's how Doctor Who works. The BBC are sussed enough to make sure every new Doctor or companion is appealing in their own way, and the constant recasting keeps the show fresh.
Mind you - fans are up in arms over the decision to cast comedienne Catherine Tate as the new companion in the upcoming Season 4, but that's a long way off yet.
The story revolves around the time-travelling Doctor who, along with a little help from some Earthling friends, spends his time travelling through time to fight evil and save the universe, hundreds of times over.
His primary mode of transport is the TARDIS, which stands for Time And Relative Dimension (or Dimensions) In Space. The TARDIS is a 1950's-style police box which looks small on the outside but which is large inside, with all the controls to travel through time and space.
The Doctor and best friend Rose spend each episode on new adventures, fighting recurring baddies like Slitheens and Daleks that are dotted throughout the series.
A feature of the show is not CGI and glittering, hi-tech effects, but rather clever, low-budget animations and FX which have turned the show into a cult hit.
The programme is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running science fiction television series in the world and is also a significant part of British popular culture.
Christopher Eccleston - who plays the Ninth Doctor in Season 1 of the reimagined series - is the hero of the first season. Fans of the SABC3 sci-fi show
Heroes were introduced to him in last week's episode, in which he played Claude, a character with powers of invisibility.
The show is fun and light, yet makes significant commentary on our modern world without being judgemental or preachy.
Don't be expecting the glorious special effects of a
Battlestar Galactica or other big budget American sci-fi series - Doctor Who is deliberately low-budget, with at times ridiculously cheap aliens and obviously crap special effects.
The show acknowledges that constantly, however, and it lends a charm to the show that no other sci-fi series has.
We can highly recommend you watch Doctor Who, but whatever you do, never - ever - abbreviate the show title or the Doctor to Dr. Who.
The abbreviation of the word Doctor is not tolerated by Whovians (fans of Doctor Who), and although it takes longer to write out in full, it's the proper thing to do.
This is British sci-fi, you understand.
Doctor Who premieres on BBC Prime on Saturday 1 September, at 19h00. Doctor Who Confidential follows at 19h45.
There are 13 episodes in Season 1.