Doctor Who has been part of TV legacy for several decades now, but being a relatively 'new' fan of the show, I have only seen the new series onwards. The Doctor is a alien from the planet Gallifrey - the last of the Time Lord species. In 2005, Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner brought back the show, through BBC Wales. It is filmed in Cardiff, at the main BBC Wales studios and on location in South Wales.

By new series, of course I mean from Christopher Eccleston's Doctor onwards. And to be honest, he wasn't the reason for me starting to watch Doctor Who - it was curiosity at Billie Piper being cast as the companion Rose Tyler. Having remembered her for her singing 'credentials' only at that point, I was doubtful at her being cast in such a high profile comeback for a very popular show.
I need not have worried though - thankfully Billie is a much better actress than singer! She was fantastic as Rose Tyler, and the chemistry she had with Christopher in series 1 was great.

However it was from Series 2 onwards that I became slightly obsessed with the show. I don't mind admitting that I'm a bit of a geek for Doctor Who - my husband finds it very amusing, but I love the fact that even though I'm 26, I can still become so engrossed within a show and care greatly about the characters. Series 2 for me, was the best series. It heralded the arrival of David Tennant as the 'Tenth' Doctor (meaning the tenth incarnation), and again featured Billie as Rose. The chemistry between the pair was fantastic - you could really tell they 'fit' together. There was the will-they/won't-they get together part of the ongoing story, even though you just knew that the Doctor could never commit to a human in that way. At the end of Series 2, when Rose and the Doctor were separated, supposedly forever, I remember sobbing for ages afterwards. Not helped by the magnificent soundtrack from Murray Gold - the Doomsday music was just heartbreaking, let alone the story unfolding on the show!

Although Billie was gone, David continued in the role for another two series and a number of special episodes. In that time, he had the additions of Martha (Freema Aygeman) and Donna (Catherine Tate) as 'full' companions, and Kylie Minogue and David Morrissey for a couple of singular stories. Billie did pop back again for a number of appearances, but it was never the same really. It always felt like Rose's story should have ended with Doomsday and stayed that way. I'll admit to not being particular fond of Martha as a companion - she appeared very needy and whiny, but that was probably more down to Russell's writing for the character than Freema's acting. Catherine was amazing as Donna though - the perfect companion. Slightly older than the previous two companions, Donna stood up to the Doctor and questioned his actions on more than a few occasions making her a better companion. It was nice to see Donna develop over the series, but that just made the end to her story more heartbreaking than ever.

The Christmas/New Year 2009/2010 episodes were David's last episodes, and this April (2010) Matt Smith took over the role of the Doctor, along with new showrunner Steven Moffatt. Many were worried about this - Matt is the youngest actor to ever take on the role of the Doctor, and many were worried he wouldn't be able to carry off such a role - myself included.
I need not have worried though - Matt is simply fantastic in the role, and the addition of Karen Gillan as new companion Amy Pond is inspired. She brings a more light-hearted element to the companion, and let's be honest - she is completely gorgeous and can act very well! She is fast becoming my favourite companion, although it's going to take a little longer for Matt to prove himself a worthy successor to David - he's made a good start but it's still early days!

As well as the main Doctor Who show, it has also spawned two spin-off shows - The Sarah Jane Adventures which is more a children's show, plus a more adult-themed show Torchwood.

Torchwood has been a great stand-alone show - based around Captain Jack Harkness, and his team at Torchwood 3. Set in Cardiff, they battle the aliens coming through the rift in the bay. The show has currently had three series, with the most recent being a popular hit on BBC1 (having originally started on BBC3 for series 1). However, it isn't without controversy - the death of a main character in Series 3 caused major uproar amongst fans. As of yet, a fourth series is yet to be confirmed.

As for The Sarah Jane Adventures - I will admit to not knowing much about it due to not watching it.

So as you can see, Doctor Who is still very much a part of modern culture, especially with so much merchandise available within the shops - ranging from bed clothes, children's clothes to collectable toys and magazines. And I think it always will be.