Fans and enthusiasts of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, referred to as Whovians, or collectively as the Doctor Who fandom.
Nomenclature
The usage of "Whovian" was restricted to fans in the United States during the 1980s, when the now-defunct Doctor Who Fan Club of America published the Whovian Times as its newsletter.
An early use of "Whovian", outside of the Whovian Times, is from Flaming Carrot Comics issue number 19 (circa 1988), when Flaming Carrot leads a combined group of Trekkies into rebellion.
Fan organisations
Doctor Who fans in Britain have had a formally recognised organisation – the Doctor Who Appreciation Society (or DWAS) – since the late 70s. It has thousands of members and enjoyed an ongoing relationship with the classic series and later with BBC Worldwide.
The Oceanian Doctor Who Fan Club was founded soon after DWAS, in 1976, to galvanise resistance to the responsibilities and decisions of the Australian Broadcasting Commission to cease broadcasting the Doctor Who series (and was ultimately successful in having the decision overturned). The club president also edited Zerinza, the club fanzine, until 1986. In the 1990s the club was renamed several times, today being the Doctor Who Club of Australia (or DWCA) which publishes a newsletter, "Data Extract".
In the 1980s, some US fans staged "Save Doctor Who" publicity campaigns, trying to urge their local television stations to keep airing the show.
The North American Doctor Who Appreciation Society was founded in the 1980s and served as an umbrella organisation for dozens of local fan groups throughout the continent. Its demise in the early 1980s led to the foundation of the Doctor Who Fan Club of America, and later the Friends of Doctor Who. FDW ended unceremoniously in the mid-1990s, and since then, American Doctor Who fandom has been served mostly through local fan clubs.
The Doctor Who Information Network (DWIN) was founded in Canada in 1980 and continues to serve fans in North America. It was one of the first Doctor Who clubs in North America and is the longest running Doctor Who club on the continent. DWIN supports the monthly Toronto Tavern fan gatherings. DWIN also sponsored several local chapters throughout Canada.
Also in Canada is the Doctor Who Society of Canada (DWSC), a social network for Whovians of all ages whose community focuses on social interaction, intelligent exchange and commonality. The DWSC launched in 2011 and provides monthly social gatherings, online community forums and have been featured prominently at Toronto area Fan Conventions including Fan Expo, as well as Montreal & Ottawa Comic Con. The DWSC has launched its own Doctor Who Festival on 17 November 2012 – REGENERATION – and is branching out into local chapters across the country including Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and Kitchener/Waterloo.
The New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club (NZDWFC) was founded by Scott Walker and Andrew Poulson in 1988 and remains the country's major fan support group. They continued to run the club until 1991. The club puts out a fanzine, Time Space Visualiser (TSV), twice-yearly.
In 2012, The Doctor Who Fan Groups Google Map project was set up with the aim of making it easier for UK-based Doctor Who fans to find a local fan group and, in turn, to help local fan groups to find new members.
Conventions
Many Doctor Who conventions are held worldwide. The first one in 1977 was organised by the Doctor Who Appreciation Society and continued in the UK as the long running PANOPTICON. Other past conventions include the Manchester-based Manopticon and Swindon-based Leisure Hives and Honeycomb. More recently, the company 10th Planet has held conventions such as Bad Wolf, Dimensions and Invasion. There was also Regenerations in Wales, and other signing events held on the Strand by London-based Scificollector. The DWAS has re-established itself as an event organiser too, and whilst Panopticon, a name still associated with the Society, has not been held since 2003, other brands, namely 'Time' and 'Doctor Who Unleashed' are well known among fans.
In Australia a variety of events (half day "parties", or full-scale conventions) have been organised, many "Whoventions" being held in Sydney by the Doctor Who Club of Australia, and by some other clubs in various states. The high cost of travel and small population base makes it hard to pay for many of the stars, so many events have been organised at short notice during any visits by a star, or other person linked to the show, such as Jon Pertwee (1980), Peter Davison and Janet Fielding (both 1983).