Canada & Doctor Who~

from the wikipedia~

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_in_Canada_and_the_United_States

Before Doctor Who there was Mr X:

“Doctor Who had an early Canadian connection. The series was conceived by Canadian expatriate Sydney Newman while he was the BBC‘s Head of Drama. The series may have been inspired by a short-lived segment (canceled because parents complained that it was “too frightening” for their children) on the Canadian version of Howdy Doody. It featured a surprisingly similar character, a puppet called Mr X who travelled through time and space in his “Whatsis Box” teaching children about history. Newman oversaw this series while working as a programming head for the CBC.Newman maintained a guiding influence over Doctor Who until he left the BBC in 1967.”

For those keeping track at home Doctor Who was created in 1963 and the Canadian Howdy Doody went off the air in 1959.

Sadly I can’t find *any* pictures of Mr X or his Whatsis Box online. If you stumble upon any please let me know!

The animated what-might-have-been:

“In the 1980s, a cartoon series was planned by Canadian animation house Nelvana which was to feature an unspecified Doctor who incorporated elements of various BBC series Doctors.

Concept art was prepared depicting several possible versions of the Doctor as well as K-9, an unnamed companion and Daleks but the project did not proceed further and no pilot was produced”

http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Nelvana

Here’s some of the concept art: