The Adventure in Time and Space

In which I discuss my favourite TV show...

"Run!" said the man and in that moment my life changed. It was the 26th March 2005 and Doctor Who was on TV. My parents had both watched the original version of the show when they were growing up in the 70s and I'd had some vague exposure to it before but this crazy episode with walking shop dummies and a burping dustbin really caught my attention. I was hooked immediately. 

I'd been into things before but never in quite the same way. The timing was rife for the early days of social media and Wi-Fi becoming more widely available meant the internet wasn't just restricted to the family computer on dial-up. I devoured every episode and my obsession grew and grew. I went back and watched the previous forty years of the show, getting to grips with the old-fashioned feel of 60s television. I read Doctor Who books, listened to Doctor Who audio plays and played (rubbish) Doctor Who video games. I did location filming tours and visited the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff. 

What is it about the show that grabbed me so much? It's difficult to define. Perhaps it's because the central character was a true hero, never cruel or cowardly, and was armed not with a gun to shoot people with a screwdriver to fix things. The notion of a show that could be set anywhere in time and space also means that Doctor Who can be anything it wants to be, every episode potentially feeling completely different from the previous one. It's also a show that is so fun and thrilling at the same time. 

There's a notion that being a Whovian is looked down upon by wider society. I have an insane amount of information about the show, the universe it is set in and the behind-the-scenes making of it. I perhaps know more about Doctor Who than I know about any one thing. Yes, it is incredibly nerdy. But I have always been perplexed by the idea that there are people who are utterly obsessed with a football team and can tell you every player that's played for the last twenty years and when they scored, yet this is much more socially acceptable. I think everyone needs that passion and love for something and it doesn't really matter what it is. It's always fascinating to hear a person talk with knowledge and passion about their thing. As I've grown up other things have become passions too but Doctor Who was my first love. 

I've still watched every episode through the Jodie Whittaker era and thought some were excellent. The changing TV landscape has meant that Doctor Who has made fairly sporadic appearances on TV over the last few years and for this reason, it's been less of a presence for me. The show though has recently celebrated it's 60th anniversary (yes, I meant to write this then but life got in the way) and is back in a big way with writer Russell T. Davies returning after that superb noughties run and the show being given a bigger budget thanks to a deal with Disney. The two episodes we have seen so far, with David Tennant briefly back in the role, have been wonderful. I've also gone back and started watching the show again from the very beginning in 1963, usually watching a couple of episodes whilst I eat my dinner, and with all this suddenly Doctor Who is very much an important part of my life once again. 

Here's a fun fact about me- I regularly drop Doctor Who quotes into daily conversation. No-one ever notices. Every now and then a relevant conversation will lead me to a word or phrase that I happen to have memorized a related quote for and out it pops, often before I've even had to chance to consider if it is a good idea. 

Here's to sixty years of this silly, wonderful, funny, exciting, bonkers show. I can't wait to see where it takes me next.

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