So the genesis of me watching Doctor Who goes back to about 1986. A classmate was talking about this British show about a guy who’s an alien, and travels in time and space in a blue phone box. He doesn’t have complete control over where he wants to go.
This concept intrigued me and I thought I would try and catch an episode. The first episode I watched was *the* first episode, An Unearthly Child. I caught it at the beginning of the story. I remember Susan reading the book on the French Revolution that Barbara lent her, and saying “That’s not right!”. My imagination flipped on with that simple comment. and I watched to see what happened. Her grandfather lived in a “Police Box” in a junkyard (what?!?), but when the teachers went to find out more about her situation, and barge into the “Police Box” where it’s all white and very clean, and… bigger on the inside? What?!?
The time travel aspect is what I came for, but I ended up staying for everything else. 😀
Most of the time the episodes would be on late Saturday nights on the local PBS station where I would sneak out of my room into the family room and watch. After several minutes of having the volume on just loud enough so as to not wake up anyone, one of my parents would come into the room:
“Kim, do know what time it is?”
“But I want to watch Doctor Who!”
“I don’t care, it’s late. Go to your room!”
“But this is the only time it’s on!”
“NOW!”
And I would. I am sure there were times when they knew I was watching it and didn’t bother to tell me to go to bed. It made it easier on the few days when it would be on during the day. Ah!
The only merchandise I could find was VHS tapes in the video store. And this was when I was driving. My two favorite ones (the *only* ones) were Suncoast Video and Media Play (I loooooovvvveeeddd Media Play! A video, book, CDs, and electronics store in one!). For many years, these tapes would be the only merchandise I had (shirts? mugs? blankets? AS IF!!). And I still have them! And what a shock it was when I found out that the stories were not 1 1/2-2 hours but 25 minute chunks.
What stunk about being an American fan was that I was one of very few American fans. I don’t know what ever happened to that kid who talked to me about the show (*sniff*) but from the 80s until I got on the internet in 1995, I was the only fan I knew (most of the fandoms I was in back then, and still a part of, I was the only one). Which was lonely in one way..,
But helpful in another in that I formed my own opinions about characters and stories without being bombarded by popular opinion. Much to my surprise I found out when I did get onto the internet that most fans didn’t like Adric, hated the 6th Doctor, and blamed the 7th Doctor for the show’s cancellation.
Even though it’s been back for 13 (13? Hmm… that number rings a bell or two!) years and has been a big success, I’m still not used to it. It’s weird to have a shirt (what?) and wear it and almost be guaranteed to get at least one reaction from it when I go out. That’s just… weird. And exciting. And something I do not take for granted.
Not a quarry, but a city. A big city. Known in Ancient Roman times at Londinium. One of the most wonderful cities in the world: London!
A bunch of scenes or whole stories takes place in the living settlement on the River Thames. Starting with the very first episode, An Unearthly Child, taken place at the fictional Coal Hill School in London, up to present day.
Among the different invasions of aliens, there was the infamous Daleks and Cybermen (at different and multiple times) trying again and again to take over. Which kept the First and Second Doctor very busy!
When the show returned in 2005,London was once again the star location of “Rose”. The story used one of the newer landmarks as a… well, don’t want to get into spoilers :).
For the big 50th anniversary episode, it took place in various very popular London landmarks (Tower of London, Tower Bridge, River Thames, National Gallery, Nelson’s Column, Statue of Liberty… kidding, but I do remember several years ago hearing from someone who thought the SoL was in London).
https://youtu.be/fJcsf9nghCw
Next on the Doctor Who 30 Day Challenge – When Did You Start Watching Doctor Who
There weren’t a lot of guest stars that I knew who they were prior to their appearance in Doctor Who. People like pop-singer Kylie Minogue who seemed to be popular in the UK, but, being an American, I had not a clue who she was.
There was Maisie Williams who I knew who she was from Game of Thrones (though I don’t watch it) , and her character, Ashildr/Me, had great potential to be an interesting part of series 9 and I really wanted to like her, but just fell flat in the beginning and then irritated me towards the end.
I already mentioned Michael Gambon being my favorite male actor and I could put him in for this as well. But trying not to repeat myself, that really narrows down to one person who I knew who he was, and the character wasn’t annoying – John Cleese’s cameo in City of Death as an art critic:
That’s the whole of his acting in Doctor Who. and it was wonderful!
And yes, I remember mentioning this scene in Favorite Classic Episode, but the category is different enough for me to mention it again.
Next on the Doctor Who 30 Day Challenge – Favorite Location
Back in the classic days of Who, there were not a lot of ,music from the show. There were some albums released of the sound effects and music, but nothing like New Who which has a soundtrack for each series.
Five years ago, during the 50th anniversary, there was an album release of a number of songs from both Classic and New Who. A sort of “Greatest Hits” of the entire run, ranging from the very cool retro scifi sounds of early Who to the orchestral masterpieces of New Who.
If we are talking for a non-greatest hits, I would pick Series 5, which was to Matt Smith’s first season as the 11th Doctor. It’s what also introduced the awesome 11th Doctor theme, “I am the Doctor” (track 9). The variants of that and “Amy’s Theme” (track 13) are wonderful.
Oh, if you want to see the video from where I got the top image from, it is a clip from the first of three (so far) Doctor Who at the Proms where the BBC Philharmonic performed music from the show (up to that point) as well as classical music. Sadly, they haven’t had a Proms since 2013, though there have been other orchestral performances.
Next on the Doctor Who 30 Day Challenge – Favorite Guest Star
This one is a bit easier than the last! Since I already named my OTP and Favorite Friendship, that helps narrow it down. So time for another tie! And it’s a family affair!
The Ponds, or rather, the Williams, and their daughter and no-good son-in-law.
River and the Doctor
How characters are introduced is one of the best things about Doctor Who, especially in New Who where an introduction can be built up over time (see: Missy). We first meet River Song with the 10th Doctor and Donna in series 4 in Silence in the Library. River knows very well who the Doctor is but he has no idea who she is. Even though they are married (Ah, the timey wimey!).
We don’t catch up with her again until the following series with the 11th Doctor with Time of the Angels/Flesh and Stone. And the wonderful The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang.
Now, normally I don’t like the Doctor being romantically involved with his companions (in fact, I don’t care for romantic stories in general because they are usually cliché ), but River was a different case. And it was an interesting because she appears older than her parents (the River Song version, that is, not Mels), and she’s part Time Lord/Lady due to the Time Vortex, and she’s really handy with a gun (a little too much to the Doctor’s liking) and a .archeologist (a little too much to the Doctor’s liking XD ).
And how she was with the 12th Doctor was adorable. Most of The Husbnads of River Song, she doesn’t know who he really is. And it was so sweet when she does realize it.
Amy and Rory
And now to River’s parents, Amy and Rory. From the time they were kids, and then teens, and Rory going into the medical field because he wanted to impress Amy because she talked about how amazing the Doctor was. They were adorable together, and I loved how committed they were to each other, even the alternate Rory as the plastic Roman solider waiting 2,000 years to keep Amy safe in the Pandorica. Amy’s face when she realizes that with River and the Doctor married, that makes her his mother-in-law. And how, when the weeping angel took him away, she went with him, knowing that she won’t see the Doctor again (*sniff*). And we see their names on the tombstone (*sob*).
On a up note, some of the best episodes were where the 4 of them are together (The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang, The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon, A Good Man Goes to War, Let’s Kill Hitler, The Wedding of River Song, The Angels Take Manhattan). They make a great Tardis team :).
Next on the Doctor Who 30 Day Challenge – Favorite Soundtrack
This one is tricky. It’s harder to decide on a least favorite than it is on a most favorite! There are the meh/mediocre stories that I simply don’t find very interesting. There can be some good lines or scenes but as a whole they do not grab my attention that much.
No Classic stories jump to mind. I even like weird ones like Ghostlight. Maybe the Gunfighters? Because of ALL THAT SINGING! Now, I like musicals (The Greatest Showman! *Faints*), but this just did not work in this story. At all.
Even in my post on one of my two favorite series, with my favorite Doctor (other than Tom), I really did not like Face the Raven. It just got me mad because it did not make sense – in a bad way (yeah, the show has way more than one instance of not making sense, but most of the time it doesn’t bother me), and that Clara’s death didn’t seem to mean anything. Frankly, I was glad she was brought back in Hell Bent (and a lot of people did not like Hell Bent). And when I re-watched it earlier this year, I as even more mad because it made even less sense. Though I do want to re-watch it again, to see if I am missing something. And maybe one day I will go into more depth of why I don’t like it…
Next on the Doctor Who 30 Day Challenge – Favorite Couple
For this one, I’ll use as my favorite Doctor/Companion team-up
Classic Who: 7th Doctor and Ace
From Classic Who, I love 7th Doctor and Ace. These two were awesome together, and I wish we got to see more of their tv adventures (although there are loads of Big Finish audios with Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred reprising their roles).
New Who: 10th Doctor and Donna
As I mentioned in my earlier Favorite Female Companion, I love 10 and Donna. A lot. They are a hoot to watch, but can be beautifully serious when needed.
Next on Doctor Who 30 Day Challenge – Least Favorite Episode
PS – Yeah, this one is a bit short. Not feeling well today, but wanted to get in today’s entry. Maybe I might write up more about these guys later on. I’ll now go back and watch Fires of Pompeii (again!! 😀 ) to cheer me up.
Another tie: Tenth Planet and Tomb of the Cybermen. Early versions of the silver nemesis (haha, pun). While the 1980s version of the Cybermen was what I was most familiar with in my early fan days, there is something about the first few Cybermen stories, especially the Mondsian Cybermen with their bare hands, that is really appealing. Maybe the early sci fi tv look, along with the excellent out-of-this-world music. At first I thought both versions looked really bad and sounded so weird. Both over time I grew to like them.
Tenth Planet is a true classic, not only do we get the first Cybermen story, we also have the first regeneration. While sadly there are parts missing, there is enough that survived that the recons (reconstructions) are very good (I am more of a fan of the telesnaps than the animation, to be honest.)
And below is what survives of the 1st regeneration:
A cool thing about this story is that it takes place in 1986, which is the year that I became a Whovian :).
Tomb of the Cybermen is another great one, this time with the 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria (not to be confused with Vicki)
And below, the sweet little chat the Doctor and Victoria have. This made the rounds last year when Deborah Watling, who played Victoria, passed away.
This story also introduces us to the nasty little pests known as the Cybermats.
Audio Adventures
For the audio adventures, I had already mentioned how Real Time scared me silly, so much so I can’t listen to that again because it creeped me out.
One story I have not heard yet, but I have heard many, MANY good things about is Spare Parts. One day (yes, one day) I’ll buy it. And be creeped out yet again!
Next on Doctor Who 30 Day Challenge – Favorite Friendship
The Christmas episodes have become a annual even since the show returned in 2005. And there are 2….3? Great episodes of them
First is A Christmas Carol, a sci fi spin on Charles Dickens’ classic story (which is, sort of sci fi in itself with the time traveling with the ghosts and Scrooge)
(And let’s not forget a earlier episode that took place on Christmas, with Dickens, and ghosts, although it did not air on Christmas: The Unquiet Dead.)
Another favorite Christmas episode is The Husbands of River Song.
This one was a lot of fun, Madcap-y, slapstick-y, with some dark overtones, and an introduction to a new character (Nardole).
One of the best scenes is below, when River doesn’t know that she is with the Doctor (she knew all the previous incarnations of the Doctor, except the current one). So the Doctor sort of plays along with it, but constantly drops hints. Which brings about the below:
I ma not one for romantic movies or romance novels, but even I was kind of hoping they would kiss at the end. It was so sweet!
And the other great Christmas episode was the 2016 Return of Doctor Mysterio (this followed exactly a year of no Who. that was a difficult year, in more ways than one). If you have seen the 1979 Superman movie with Christopher Reeve, the setting and certain scenes will look very familiar. While I am not really into the current super hero movies, I loved the 1979 Superman movie when I was a kid. So seeing this was a pure delight.
Below is shortly after we meet young Grant, who loves comic books
And the ending was a call back to Husbands of River Song and 12’s short speech about things ending was very touching.
A couple weeks after this episode aired, Peter Capaldi announced that the following series would be his last. And a bunch of us cried over that, and referred back to this speech.
Next on the Doctor Who 30 Day Challenge – Favorite Cybermen Story
This is another really difficult one. There’s 26 years of Classic Who, and 13 (and counting!) of New Who. So yes, there’s going to be another tie! Several ties! Each one in a shape of a bow. Because ‘bow ties are cool!”
“Hate is always foolish, and love is always wise”
“Never cruel or cowardly. Never give up, never give in.”
“We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?”
The Doctor: “But I don’t exist in your world!”
Brigade Leader: “Then you won’t feel the bullets when we shoot you.”
“Chap with wings there, five rounds, rapid!”
“Splendid chaps. All of them”
Watch Mojo UK put together a pretty good top ten earlier this year that bring out a lot of really good ones, and a couple I hadn’t thought of:
And here’s one that a fan put together.
There is the one by Steven Moffat about the Doctor:
“Heroes are important. Heroes tell us who we want to be but when they made this particular hero they didn’t give him a gun, they gave him a screwdriver to fix things. They didn’t give him a tank or a warship or an X-Wing, they gave him a call box from which you can call for help and they didn’t give him a superpower or a heat-ray, they gave him an extra heart. And that’s extraordinary. There will never come a time when we don’t need a hero like the Doctor.”
And there is the one that means a lot to me because it’s what got me hooked onto the show:
“But that’s not right!” – Said by Susan Foreman from the first episode, An Unearthly Child as she’s reading a book on the French Revolution. Which got my imagination going and it hasn’t stopped since.
Next on Doctor Who 30 Day Challenge – Favorite Christmas Episode
doesn’t have complete control over where he wants to go.
A bunch of scenes or whole stories takes place in the living settlement on the River Thames. Starting with the very first episode, An Unearthly Child, taken place at the fictional Coal Hill School in London, up to present day.
How characters are introduced is one of the best things about Doctor Who, especially in New Who where an introduction can be built up over time (see: Missy). We first meet River Song with the 10th Doctor and Donna in series 4 in Silence in the Library. River knows very well who the Doctor is but he has no idea who she is. Even though they are married (Ah, the timey wimey!).
Time of the Angels/Flesh and Stone. And the wonderful The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang.
