I'm going to be honest here - I did not watch a lot of Dr. Who while I was growing up. My father did not like the show, so it was not on in our house, but I did love listening to the theme song before the channel was changed. My first real exposure to Dr. Who began in high school in 1988, when a fellow I dated told me he loved the show and he watched it loyally every Saturday night at 11 P.M. As I was smitten and wanted to be able to discuss the show with him, I stayed up and watched it. I have to be honest again, I did not see the allure - the show was segmented into several parts and I started in the middle of an arc, so I was lost. My time watching Dr. Who at that point was about as short as my relationship with the show's fan.
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| This is the Doctor I saw right before Dad changed the channel. |
I did not realize it then, nor did I care, but Dr. Who's first run from 1963 to 1989 was coming to end. At that point there had been seven different Doctors and nearly seven hundred episodes. It was not until 1996, a few weeks after my marriage to another loyal Dr. Who fan that another Doctor emerged on the scene in a television movie starring Paul McGann. My newlywed husband was elated, and much to my surprise, I actually enjoyed it. He and many others hoped that the movie would spawn a new series, but it did not. The Doctor Who fan community would have to wait nearly another decade for that to occur.
In 2005, the BBC started a new series of Dr. Who episodes, which have grabbed the imaginations of a new generation, and thrilled fans of the original series by bringing in a mix of old adversaries like the Cybermen and the Daleks, and featuring former companions of The Doctor like Sarah Jane Smith while creating new characters to be loved and/or feared. Over the past nine years, the show's popularity has exploded - so much so that Matt Smith, who portrayed the Eleventh Doctor was voted "Fan Favorite" and was on the cover of TV Guide here in the United States.
As a consistent viewer of the new Dr. Who series, I now understand why the show has always had so much appeal and staying power. It is due to talented show runners/writers and the ability to change actors without losing continuity, but at the same time keeping the show fresh by moving into new directions.
Dr. Who is one of the few television series that has the power to gear me up emotionally. One of the first episodes that had me weeping was "Father's Day", when the 9th Doctor's companion, Rose Tyler, went back in time and saved her father on the day he was hit by a car. Her act ended up causing a time paradox, nearly destroying the world. When her father realized his death would cease the destruction, he sacrificed himself, but at least Rose had the chance to say a final goodbye to her father which she did not had before.
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| Rose Tyler saved her father, only to lose him again. |
The show also has the ability to terrify without being gory or gross. In 2007, the show introduced a new alien species that feeds on people's future years by sending them into the past before they were ever born. They appear to look like statues while you look at them, but if you cannot see them, or even if you blink they can move and their touch is deadly. The "weeping angels" as they are called have become one of the most feared in the series history, and they introduced in what is considered a "Doctor Light" episode, where the 10th Doctor and his companion at the time, Martha, had very little screen time. Instead, the episode revolved around a one-time episode character by the name of Sally Sparrow, who many fans would love to see again.
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| "Blink" is considered one of the best episodes of the "new" Dr. Who. |
Another wonderful facet of the series, is that the show, at times, can bring to light social issues for discussion. In 2010, in the episode "Vincent and The Doctor", the 11th Doctor and his companion Amy visited Vincent van Gogh in a touching episode that focused on the painter's struggles with bi-polar disorder and his suicide. The performance by Tony Curran at the tortured artist gained much praise. At the end of the episode, the actors did a public service announcement about mental illness and suicide prevention.
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| Van Gogh shares his view of the world with Amy and The Doctor. |
No one knows how long the new Doctor Who series will run. Tonight, a new Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi takes the helm of the Tardis with companion Clara by his side. Whenever there is a new Doctor on the scene, there is much discussion and a lot of controversy. After tonight, there will be a lot of chatter on the new Doctor and the new, long awaited episode. All I know is this - our family will be watching with millions of others who are captivated by the mysterious Doctor and his flying blue Police Call Box.
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| A new Doctor and new adventures begin. |
Until next time, I am
Sci-Fi Fan FL
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