One of my roommates from college, who is my best and dearest friend and Best Man at my wedding, was a real Anglophile. Lover of all things British. He was also a fellow comic book geek and movie fan. And while I do hold him responsible for hooking me into Monty Python, he ailed to get me into Doctor Who.
Not for lack of trying, but I was not a lover of British things, and felt that if I did open that door, the geek in me would have taken over. I knew myself well enough that I would want to know everything there was to know about everything related to The Doctor. And he told me enough about the premise behind the character to know that it would be a lifelong pursuit.
So I smiled, nodded, and stuck my head back into the sand of Marvel comics and ST:TNG.
This was back in '89 - '93.
Set the WABAC (or TARDIS) machine ahead to 1996.
There's a TV movie named Doctor Who, and my wife and I decide to see what the fuss was about.
Not bad, but I couldn't get my head around much of it, in pretty much the same way I first experienced Monty Python: Entertaining, But No Big Deal.
Now it's 2005.
I watched the Sci-Fi channel religiously, and they aired "Rose", the first episode of the "New" Doctor Who series. I saw some of it, but couldn't finish it. It made references to British things I didn't get, and my four year old daughter was simply more fascinating to me. I did remember the creepy mannequins though. I tried once more with an episode where people in 1940's England are turning into gas mask wearing zombies, constantly asking "Are you my mummy?" It is so weird, I change the channel.
Now it's 2010.
Through the magic of Hulu and Netflix, my family and I can watch all the television we want. My daughter's hooked on Harry Potter video clips on Youtube, and my wife and I look for new things to watch at night...
Oh look - Doctor Who Series One is available...
I know that The Doctor has been around for decades, and decide to do some online research. You know...to prep. Turns out this new Doctor is now an old Doctor, the ninth, and the actor playing Doctor #10 has just finished his last series and Doctor #11 is coming out later this year. British fans and Doctor fans all over are raving about how glad they are that The Doctor's back.
I tell myself that in order to truly appreciate The Doctor, we'd have to start at the beginning. Nothing would make sense otherwise. So I put the disc in the Netflix cue, and watch things like Wire In The Blood (excellent by the way). My wife then tells me "Let's try it." I say "okay".
Now I'm hooked.
I'm hooked to the point where I'm re-watching Series One with my daughter and halfway through Series Two with my wife. The TARDIS, the concept of Time Lords, the ability to travel through time and space - all of that - invade my mind while at work. I'm reading all this info online about novels and comics and the stories that exist.
The difference is that the me I am now is not obsessing about owning all this. Or even reading it necessarily. Just acknowledging that it's all out there.
Guess I'm finally starting to grow up.
I'm hooked on The Doctor, will see all the episodes (eventually) and maybe...just maybe...I'll buy the series...eventually. Just don't tell my wife.
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