With the new Dr. Who to debut tomorrow on CBC Brent McKee has been presenting 9 Days of the Doctor on his I Am A Child of Television blog. Reading the latest entry I was surprised to learn that Dr. Who debuted on the BBC November 23, 1963, which just happens to have been the day after John Kennedy was assassinated. I can't help but wonder if that debut date had any effect on the longevity of the series. It has been suggested that part of what pushed Beatlemania in the US was that the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show only a few weeks after Kennedy was assassinated, and that they provided a positive outlet for many during a very tense and unsettling period.