10 Moments That Changed Doctor Who Forever

On an ordinary day in 1963, two schoolteachers decided to investigate a mysterious student who lived in a junkyard. It doesn't sound like the most interesting start of a story, but what a story it turned out to be.

While the Doctor might talk about how they’ve been running all their lives, they originally attempted to settle down, at least by the Doctor's standards. After running away from Gallifrey with his granddaughter Susan, he parked his stolen TARDIS in a London junkyard, where it adopted its iconic police box exterior.

And they must've been around for a little while, because by the time Doctor Who’s first-ever episode begins, Susan is already fully enrolled in the local school. The episode gives off the impression that they are intending to stay in London, and lie low for a while.

It’s not until Ian and Barbara come stumbling into the TARDIS that they start running again. Panicking that their secret has been found out, the Doctor dematerialises with the four of them inside, and this is where the adventure truly begins.

The Doctor spends the next little while trying to get Ian and Barbara back home, but even when he accomplishes that, he doesn't slow down. He keeps running, forging the legend of the Doctor that is known across the stars.

In other words, if it wasn’t for two nosy teachers taking an interest in a peculiar student, the entire course of the Doctor's life would've been altered beyond recognition.