Doctor Who, a brilliant BBC TV show in its 50th anniversary year, explores the distant galaxies and far corners of time and space. The show, which first appeared in 1963, features a time lord who calls himself “The Doctor”. The Doctor travels through space and time in his “ship” called the TARDIS. Along his 50-year journey the Doctor has encountered many people, aliens and monsters. He has solved the mysteries of the universe and has saved the Earth countless times.

Since the show’s beginning, the number of fans (who call themselves Whovians) has constantly increased. That begs the question: what makes Doctor Who so popular?

The answer to this question could lie in the expansion of modern technology. As technology has progressed since Doctor Who debuted, the ways that individuals can watch Doctor Who have grown. People can now watch the show online, which contributes greatly to the number of viewers. Since Doctor Who is on BBC, it was hard for viewers in America and other countries to view the show in its early years. Now that there is BBC America, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and BBC online people can watch Doctor Who whenever and wherever they want.

“I think that part of the reason it’s so popular is because many adults who are the parents of the children in our school watched the old Doctor Who. It was a very popular show! a lot of those adults would want to share their favorite TV show the same way they like to play 70s or 80s music in their house,” sophomore Katherine Misyutina says.

Another reason that  Doctor Who is so popular is the storytelling and the characters.

“It has a very strange way of story telling. I remember the first time I started watching it, I was pulled in the instant it was funny or quirky. The characters are very relatable,” sophomore Rachel Melnick says.

Eleven actors have graced the screen as The Doctor, each one adding to his character. Each of the regenerations of The Doctor is extremely well liked and brilliant like the one before. The character of the Doctor makes the TV-show popular because he is so relatable.

So far this season Whovians have seen the characters of Amy and Rory leave (too soon Whovians?). Then The Doctor meets Clara Oswin. As the fiftieth anniversary special fast approaches, rumors have been flying about who and what is going to be on the show. Recently, it’s been revealed that some of the old generations of The Doctor are coming back for this action-packed special.

Whether it’s fantastic characters, brilliant jokes, or cool aliens, Doctor Who has something that every one will like.