It’s Doctor Who Week! That’s right; it’s just a few days to go until the premiere episode of Series 6, The Impossible Astronaut. And even though there are many fans out there waiting for the new season with high anticipation, there’s also a bunch of people out there who are new to the Time Lord, so to help out new folks with the continuity, The Fine Brothers have put together a video: 47 Years of Doctor Who in 6 minutes.

Now, you could go down the route that Neil Gaiman recommends:

With the new season of Doctor Who coming up on us quickly on April 23, there’s a level of anticipation and excitement among fans online I’ve not seen for quite some time. What’s interesting is I continually find myself running into new fans who have only ever seen the new Doctor Who series that has been going since 2005.

Indeed, to a generation of Doctor Who fans, there have been only three Doctors since they discovered the adventures of the Time Lord: Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith. And inevitably, many of these fans find themselves wanting to dive deeper into the mythos and legend of the good Doctor.

And why shouldn’t they? The series has had a legacy spanning close to half a century, with some amazing stories being created from some of the greatest creative minds including Terrence Dicks, Douglas Adams, Terry Nation, and so many more.

Today marks a sad day around the universe for Doctor Who fans. Long-time cast member Nicholas Courtney has passed away at the age of 81. Courtney portrayed the famous Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, otherwise referred to as the Brigadier, alongside eight of the eleven Doctors. His first role as Lethbridge-Stewart was in The Web of Fear opposite Patrick Troughton‘s Second Doctor, and his final role in the Doctor Who universe was along with Elisabeth Sladen in a 2008 episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures entitled Enemy of the Bane.

Aside from Doctor Who, Courtney has made his mark in other television series over the years, including Escape, The Avengers, All Creatures Great and Small, and Yes Prime Minister. Despite his acting in other shows, he is forever known as the Brigadier, an aspect of his career Courtney was openly proud of.

One of the greatest aspects of Doctor Who is that even though the Doctor will always be the Doctor, each incarnation brings some unique personality aspects to the Time Lord. Part of these personality traits are also embodied in the manner of image that the Doctor portrays himself: by costume.

From the long scarf of the Tom Baker days, to the crime against fashion that was the Sixth Doctor’s outfit, to Matt Smith declaring that both bow ties and fezzes are cool, each Doctor’s costume is as much a part of the mythos of the Time Lord as the sonic screwdriver, or even the TARDIS itself.

Doctor Who fan and graphic artist Alex Freeman recognizes this. Relatively known among geek fandom online for his minimalist designs for Star Wars book covers, Freeman has now taken on the challenge of applying his minimalist art approach to each Doctor’s personality and appearance. Using simple outlines and colors, he making posters for each Doctor, and his Flickr page states they should be on sale soon – providing there’s enough interest.