Just to knock this out with the last five days so I can stop thinking about it:<\/p>\n
Day 26<\/b>: Favorite Doctor gadget<\/p>\n
I’m not a big fan of the Whatever Device. I was somewhat fond of Bessie in the old series. But nothing really can compete with the sonic, can it?<\/p>\n
Day 27<\/b>: Favorite interview<\/p>\n
It’s not quite an interview, but the extra part of Martha’s instructions from Human Nature<\/i>, where David Tennant says some amazingly silly things, is a great.<\/p>\n
Day 28<\/b>: Favorite gif<\/p>\n
Uh, no. I hate animated gifs.<\/p>\n
Day 29<\/b>: Favorite guest star<\/p>\n
Most of the guest stars were already covered in villains and companions and so on. But I would like to highlight two little cameos that brought a grin: John Cleese in City of Death<\/i> and Bill Nighy in Vincent and the Doctor<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Day 30<\/b>: When you became a Doctor Who fan<\/p>\n
It was the mid-80’s. My friend Adam (name changed to protect the innocent) was very into Doctor Who<\/i>. I had watched a couple of episodes — Pyramids of Mars<\/i> and Four to Doomsday<\/i>. But I wasn’t really into it.<\/p>\n
Then I watched an episode with him called Mawdryn Undead<\/i>. Although I have seen it many times since, I can still remember the mindset of watching it off and on, becoming intrigued but being confused about what was going on. I an still remember it as some half-understood mix of images. While the effects were notoriously lousy, the ideas, the writing the acting drew me in.<\/p>\n
I was intrigued enough that I decided to watch Terminus<\/i> on my own the next week. And, after that, I was hooked. I realize that Terminus<\/i> is no one’s idea of a great episode. But I found it intriguing. And when it was followed by Davison’s great last season and then Pertwee’s run, I became an addict. <\/p>\n
What followed was a wonderful time as I discovered the series. There was so much to look forward to – 20+ seasons! I can still remember eagerly anticipating each week’s episode, breaking out the newspaper and seeing what was on.<\/p>\n
The American experience of Doctor Who is very different from the British one, especially before the new series became popular. Doctor Who was … well, not exactly obscure. Most people had seen an episode on PBS. But it was so weird<\/i> for someone to be a fan of the show. Being a Trekkie was bad enough, but a Whovian<\/i>? That was a real freak show.<\/p>\n
(Hell, my dad<\/i> use to get on me about it. Funny story: frustrated with my lack of a dating life, he used to say, “What, are you going to marry Doctor Shmoo? Ironically, 30 years later, I did. My wife is named Sue, some friends call her Shmoo and she has a Ph.D. in biochemistry. And Doctor Who is probably the only TV show we watch these days.<\/p>\n
My mother, however, embracing anything that got me out of the house, sneaked into a fan club meeting and found someone who knitted Tom Baker scarves. It was the most shocking birthday present I ever got.)<\/p>\n
Sad to say, I did not have a lot of friends in high school. But Adam, before we had a falling out, introduced me to Terminus Tardis, a Doctor Who fan club (Terminus is one of Atlanta’s three previous names). I would go about once a month to watch old episodes or the newest episodes, neither of which were being shown on TV. But I would also socialize. I met a couple of people from my high school who were into it (I was frantically reading the novelizations and developed a reputation — and not a good one — for always having a Doctor Who book on me). I would go down to the PBS station to answer phones when they were raising money during Doctor Who. And … well, that was my social life, such as it was.<\/p>\n
Without Doctor Who, I might have been even lonelier in high school. But I don’t look back on that time with any shame. When I watch old episodes, it takes me back to those old days of adjusting my rabbit ears to pick up a clear signal and eagerly discussing the latest discovery with my few friends. And now that Doctor who is cool, I can legitimately say I was into Doctor Who before it was cool (way, way, waaaay before it was cool). And I’m sure that scarf makes me look like some kind of … well, maybe not a hipster … but something not entirely uncool.<\/p>\n
Anyway, those paragraphs above tell you a lot about why I love the show so much and I would devoted several thousand words to a silly tumblr exercise. Now it’s out of my head and into yours. Back to our regularly scheduled program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Just to knock this out with the last five days so I can stop thinking about it: Day 26: Favorite Doctor gadget I’m not a big fan of the Whatever Device. I was somewhat fond of Bessie in the old series. But nothing really can compete with the sonic, can it? Day 27: Favorite interview … Continue reading Doctor Who Challenge: Days 26-30<\/span>