LONDON — The Time Lord popped up simultaneously in nearly 100 countries on Saturday -- in a special episode marking 50 years of the BBC’s cult sci-fi series "Doctor Who".



The show was screened in 3D in more than 1,500 cinemas from Australia to Mexico as well as on British television, in what the BBC said was probably the largest simulcast of a TV drama in history.



Fittingly, for a two-hearted, time-travelling alien who reincarnates every time he suffers a fatal mishap, the Doctor appeared in the show as three versions of himself: the current one, played by Matt Smith, and previous ones embodied by David Tennant and John Hurt.



Exactly 50 years after the first episode was broadcast on November 23, 1963, "Doctor Who" boss Steven Moffatt said the anniversary special would deliver an "emotional wallop" to millions of fans worldwide.



"It’s the most ambitious episode we’ve ever done," he said.





The 75-minute special kicked off with Smith dangling from his Tardis spaceship -- which takes the form of a vintage British police telephone box -- as it flew over London. — AFP