I Think You Need a Doctor

"I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the Constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old and I'm the man who is gonna save your lives and all 6 billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that? (Voyage of the Damned)

A friend of mine is having a 'nerd' gathering this week, where she intends us to watch some old sci-fi series and play some computer games. This inspired me to nerd-out a little and confess my greatest addiction. I am a dedicated Whovian and have been since I was in Primary School. It was as an evening like any other when my father found some repeats of Doctor Who on TV and told me I would love it. At first I was a little dubious (my dad is the sort of guy who thought Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was good bedtime reading for me when I was a kid) but that evening marked a turning point in my development. The episode was The Face of Evil and my first Doctor was to be the scarf-wearing, jelly-baby-eating, wild-eyed Tom Baker, who remained my favourite until the arrival of the indescribable David Tennant. I know this is rather stereotypical of me. So bite me? Those men are popular for a reason.

I have been obsessed with Doctor Who since that moment. I practically fainted when I heard it was being brought back for the new series. I sat in front of the TV about an hour before I needed to, just so I definitely would not miss the show. When I am into things, I do not do it by halves. For a long time, myself and my younger sister would get up at a ridiculous time on a Sunday morning, while our parents were asleep, and sneak down to watch old Doctor Who on UKTV Gold. I am a fount of useless trivia and proud owner of a mountain of DWA magazines. I have a TARDIS mug, TARDIS money box, homemade cardboard TARDIS and a sonic screwdriver that doubles as a water pistol.

I spent the majority of my childhood make-believing I was a companion. My favourite DW companion has to be Sarah Jane Smith. I cried my eyes out when she came back in School Reunion as it was so beautifully done. Elisabeth Sladen was a beautiful person too and no one managed to match her for natural perfectness in the role. 

Billie Piper's Rose did a pretty good job as companion but the women who followed her got on my nerves. Amy Pond should have remained as the 7-year-old girl as she got very boring very fast when she was her older self. I have a fondness for Leela because she was so kick-ass and (as you can see by the photo below) made Doctor Who sexy way before Amy Pond came along. 

I also thought I should mention Ace, as she once beat a Dalek to death with a baseball bat. I don't think many companions can top that. 

As I said, David Tennant and Tom Baker battle for position as my favourite ever Doctor. Peter Davison comes close behind because, apart from Tennant's truly heartbreaking death, he had the most touching regeneration scene (marred only by Peri's breasts taking up most of the shot). I think Sylvester McCoy deserves a recommendation too as he's often forgotten but I think he did a great job as a quirky Doctor and has some of the best quotes.

"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea is asleep and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do." (Survival)

I am also rather into Star Trek - I will not pretend to be an expert but you only really need to watch one episode of Spock and Kirk goodness before you fall in love with the concept. The Original Series is my favourite. If I was actually wandering the universe encountering alien problems, I would much rather have Captain Picard's calm brain to save the day, but Kirk is much more fun to watch. If you like Star Trek and haven't seen Galaxy Quest - the affectionate movie parody - you most definitely should go out and get it. It is hysterical as well as a good story in itself and full of pathos.

Shaky special effects and rather over the top acting do not in any way detract from these shows in my opinion. Seeing the string that drags K9 across the screen, or realising the bad guy is in fact made of painted bubble wrap, is all part of the magic. I do not think these franchises will ever get old - especially Doctor Who, which can be regenerated to suit each new generation. I take my hat off to the people who imagined them, wrote them, designed them, created them and acted them. I wish I had an ounce of that kind of genius.