The most amazing thing happened a few weeks ago. I was hosting a party for a few friends of mine and we had gotten to the end of the evening. Drinks had been consumed and the hour was late. I mentioned something about a television show that I had been watching and for the first time in the long time that I have been a fan, the name “Doctor Who” didn’t draw a bunch of blank stares and require a long lengthy explanation. Most of the people in the room knew to what I as referring to and some had even seen episodes of the newly revived series, though no-one but me had seen the old stuff. We talked about the plot points and the characterization and the generally good work that the new producers had done with the show and I was amazed.
For years it had been impossible to get friends and acquaintances of mine interested in a British science-fiction show that had started years before most of them were born and ended when they were still in diapers. Those that did stick around for the opening volley had to suffer through trite acting, shoddy and implausible scripts, and sets and visual effects that were clearly a product of the time at which they were made. While all of these were true of Dr. Who at it’s worst, Doctor Who at it’s best had wonderful scripts (courtesy of some people you may know the most famous of which being Douglas Adams), very underrated actors, and a singular charm that partly came from its creation during the waning of the British Empire and the attitudes of the BBC at the time.
The premise is one as simple as it is complex; an issue that we have all wanted to deal with since childhood: time travel. The main character is mysterious, misanthropic, jovial, bombastic, clever, trite, and silly all rolled into one. A man and some companions travel through time and space seeking adventure and excitement. Almost reads like a craigslist ad doesn’t it? The Doctor, the main character, is a nearly immortal alien from a distant planet in the future who can travel through space and time. The largest hook is that he can change his appearance whenever he is seriously injured or dying. This is probably the single best reason that this show is still on the air forty-five years after it first premiered. Ten different actors have played the doctor over the course of four and a half decades. While it might seem a bit daunting to jump into the middle of such a mythos, one must remember is that Doctor Who is about the travels of a man and his friends and the adventures that they have. The Doctor is a consummate do-gooder, but is not without his nuance and his dark side. He protects humanity and the greater whole of the galaxy from threats and alien invasions and yearns to teach us about the rights and wrongs of the actions that we take. Plus there’s robots.
Why, might you ask, would I digress from what I normally write about in this forum to write about a TV show? Firstly, it’s no less trivial or geekish as the tripe that normally graces this screen. Secondly, and more importantly, I started writing Hitlerade (it had a different name then, but let’s forget that) to keep my writing skills sharp. Now you can debate whether or not they are any good, but this exercise is really for my benefit. Again what does this have to do with anything? Well considering this is the first post I have made since the end of April, I needed to do some regular writing. Someone suggested that I start reviewing Doctor Who and I latched on to it. I have recently procured a copy of the entire series, from Doctor One all the way to Doctor Ten. I’ll start at the beginning and work my way down the line, watching each serial and writing up a review for it. It combines two of my hobbies, writing and watching TV, plus with the added bonus of hoping that someone cares at some point.
I’ll start with An Unearthly Child and try to keep somewhat of schedule about how I do this hopefully to gain some regular readers and mostly to just keep writing. For those of you who haven’t watched any Doctor Who, Sci-Fi carries it every Friday at eight. And for those who don’t know who William Hartnell, Colin Baker, and Peter Davison are might I suggest the miracle of YouTube?
