Image hosted by Photobucket.com
Random thoughts of a Tennessee fan on life, sports and more TV shows than any one person should be allowed to watch.
About me
Name: Michael
Location: Nashville, TN
E-mail me!

View My Complete Profile
100 Things About Me
My Facebook Profile
My Wish List
Syndicate Big Orange Michael


Also For Your Reading Pleasure For Your Listening Pleasure (Podcasts)
Slice of SciFi
PodCulture
Two Insane Fans: The Statler and Waldorf of Doctor Who commentaries

Archives
04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004
05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004
06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004
07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004
08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004
09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004
10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004
11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004
12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005
01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005
02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005
03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005
04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005
05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005
06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005
07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005
08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005
09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005
10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005
11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005
12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006
01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006
02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006
03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006
04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006
05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006
06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006
07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006
08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006
09/01/2006 - 10/01/2006
10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006
11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006
12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007
01/01/2007 - 02/01/2007
02/01/2007 - 03/01/2007
03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007
04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007
05/01/2007 - 06/01/2007
06/01/2007 - 07/01/2007
07/01/2007 - 08/01/2007
08/01/2007 - 09/01/2007
09/01/2007 - 10/01/2007
10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007
11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007
12/01/2007 - 01/01/2008
01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008
02/01/2008 - 03/01/2008
03/01/2008 - 04/01/2008
04/01/2008 - 05/01/2008
05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008
06/01/2008 - 07/01/2008
07/01/2008 - 08/01/2008
08/01/2008 - 09/01/2008
09/01/2008 - 10/01/2008
10/01/2008 - 11/01/2008
11/01/2008 - 12/01/2008
12/01/2008 - 01/01/2009
01/01/2009 - 02/01/2009
02/01/2009 - 03/01/2009
03/01/2009 - 04/01/2009
04/01/2009 - 05/01/2009
05/01/2009 - 06/01/2009
06/01/2009 - 07/01/2009
07/01/2009 - 08/01/2009
08/01/2009 - 09/01/2009
09/01/2009 - 10/01/2009
10/01/2009 - 11/01/2009
11/01/2009 - 12/01/2009
12/01/2009 - 01/01/2010
01/01/2010 - 02/01/2010
02/01/2010 - 03/01/2010
03/01/2010 - 04/01/2010
04/01/2010 - 05/01/2010
05/01/2010 - 06/01/2010
06/01/2010 - 07/01/2010
07/01/2010 - 08/01/2010
08/01/2010 - 09/01/2010
09/01/2010 - 10/01/2010
10/01/2010 - 11/01/2010
11/01/2010 - 12/01/2010
12/01/2010 - 01/01/2011
01/01/2011 - 02/01/2011
02/01/2011 - 03/01/2011
03/01/2011 - 04/01/2011
04/01/2011 - 05/01/2011
05/01/2011 - 06/01/2011
06/01/2011 - 07/01/2011
07/01/2011 - 08/01/2011
08/01/2011 - 09/01/2011
09/01/2011 - 10/01/2011
10/01/2011 - 11/01/2011
11/01/2011 - 12/01/2011
12/01/2011 - 01/01/2012
01/01/2012 - 02/01/2012
02/01/2012 - 03/01/2012
03/01/2012 - 04/01/2012
04/01/2012 - 05/01/2012
05/01/2012 - 06/01/2012
06/01/2012 - 07/01/2012
07/01/2012 - 08/01/2012
08/01/2012 - 09/01/2012
09/01/2012 - 10/01/2012
08/01/2013 - 09/01/2013
10/01/2017 - 11/01/2017
11/01/2017 - 12/01/2017
09/01/2022 - 10/01/2022
10/01/2022 - 11/01/2022
11/01/2022 - 12/01/2022


Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Happy 43rd Anniversary!
Between my seventh and eighth grade years of middle school on a warm summer evening in San Jose, California, my dad asked me a question that forever changed my life.

"So, have you ever watched this show Doctor Who?" he said to me.

"Not really," I replied. I vaguely recalled seeing it once on a PBS station in Alabama but that it was part three of a storyline and I had no idea what was going on, so I'd quickly lost interest. I told my dad I'd heard of it but never watched it as it was a show that had stories with multiple episodes per story and I never seemed to come in on part one. So, my dad said why not try it and flipped over to KTEH just in time for me to see episode one of a story called "Time Flight."

Like any new show you tune into, it was a bit confusing at first--why was this police box bigger on the inside than the outside, who was this guy the Doctor, etc. But as I watched that first episode, I slowly became drawn into the story and the characters. The next night I was back for part two, then part three and the conclusion. And then, a new serial began...

Before you knew it, I was hooked.

I sometimes wonder if my dad regrets that summer evening sometimes since here we are closing in on close to 20 years of my being a complete, total and obsessive Doctor Who fan.

As a Doctor Who fan, today is a special day. On November 23, 1963, the first episode of Doctor Who ever was transmitted in the UK. The show was not an immediate success. It took four weeks before the show became a huge hit and went on to run for 26 seasons on the BBC before being put on "hiatus" for 14 years and coming back last spring. Over the course of 43 years, 10 actors have played the Doctor, the latest being David Tenant who some of you might recognize as Barty Crouch, Jr from a movie about a boy-wizard that opened last week.

Over the weekend, we got our first preview of what Tenant will be like in the role with a five minute preview of the Christmas-themed episode that will air on Christmas in the UK (and then be immediately file shared to be downloaded by those of us stateside since the U.S. networks can't seem to figure out this is a show that people want to see and pick it up for airing here).

Over my years of insane fandom for this show, I've found a lot of people know who the 4th Doctor is. He's the one played by Tom Baker, who had the curly hair and the long scarf. He is the most popular Doctor and the one with the longest tenure in the role (seven years). Overall, I like his era, but he's not my favorite--in fact, he ranks number three on my list of favorite Doctors.

Or if you know the show, it's probably for the rather low budget effects.

To which my response is--yes, they were poor but it's not about the effects, it's about the stories. Doctor Who has some of the best-written stories with some great actors in them throughout the run of the show. In the hey-dey, being on Doctor Who in the UK had the same stigma that being in Star Trek: The Next Generation did in the 90's here. But there was a greater chance of being a guest star on Doctor Who since every four to six weeks, they went to a new planet or time and there were generally only two to three leads--the Doctor and his companions.

It's sad but true but I know more trivial knowledge about Doctor Who than any one person should. I have enjoyed the show since the first time I've watched it and half the fun is that there's a huge catalog of backstories to get through if you discover it and love it now. All of the complete stories are out on VHS (I know as I have them all on videotape, either commerically released or taped off the air) and the DVDs are among the best TV to DVD releases out there. For me, Doctor Who is what I'd call my security blanket of TV shows. When I'm feeling down or out of sorts, it's a nice comforting little universe to escape to for 25 or so minutes and to enjoy the exploits of the good Doctor. I remember several times in 2001, when I was facing the summer from hell that I would pop in a DVD or VHS of the good Doctor's adventures just to not think about the overwhelming sense of tragedy that was pervading my life at the time. It didn't make it better and I always knew that eventually I had to come back from that fantasy world, but for 25 minutes, I could at least take my mind off what was weighing me down.

Of course, I have my favorite stories, my favorite Doctors and my favorite eras of the show and there are some stories that I think are just horrifically bad.

All that said, I love the show. I am not quite as insane about it as I used to be, reading all the novels that came out such as happened in the early 90s with the hey-dey of the publishing line called the New Adventures. But I still get excited when the serials come out on DVD--even if it's a story that I'm not a huge fan of, I will still line up to buy it. A lot of that is the work that is done to remaster and restore the stories for DVD is superb and the stories look and sound better than ever. Also, the extras....wow, they're great.

And I'm sure that whatever format we go to next after DVD, I'll re-purchase the entire series again in that format.

So, today is a special day for me as a Doctor Who fan. Doctor Who is 43 years old and it's still going strong. We've just come out of a successful re-launch of the show in the UK and now we'll get a whole new season next spring. As a Doctor Who fan, these are exciting times...and I've been through some bleak ones where every week we were teased with news that it was coming back, to the point that I got so cynical I didn't really believe the show was back until I saw the first episode of the new series--and even then it was too good to be true.

But for now, I'm going to focus on the positive. It's an anniversary for the show. Not a big mind you like the 40th or upcoming 50th. But hey, I don't really care. It's a day to celebrate all the things I enjoy about my favorite TV show of all-time, Doctor Who.

posted by Michael Hickerson at 11/23/2005 07:34:00 AM | |
Comments: Post a Comment


Follow me on Twitter!




    Follow me on Twitter!


    Recent Comments
    Awards


    Web Sites I Visit
    CrossWalk.com
    Daily News Journal
    Doctor Who News
    Go Vols
    Go Titans
    The Tennessean
    The Tennessean's Titans Coverage
    Trek Today
    TV Guide On-Line
    Washington Post Redskins Coverage
    USA Today


    Favorite Authors on the Web
    Orson Scott Card
    Peter David's Blog
    Keith R.A. DeCandido's Blog
    Neil Gaiman
    Elizabeth George
    Philip Gulley
    Stephen King
    Donald Miller
    Lisa Samson's Blog
    Robert Whitlow

    Musical Links
    Carolyn Arends
    Sherrie Austin
    Cherryholmes
    Lee Domann
    Fleming & John
    Sara Groves
    Jennifer Knapp
    Jars of Clay
    Carolyn Dawn Johnson
    Cindy Morgan
    The Monkees
    Nickel Creek
    Nothin' Fancy
    Rebecca St. JamesRay Stevens
    Steep Canyon Rangers
    Williams and Clark Expedition
    Rhonda Vincent and the Rage
    Jaci Velasquez

    Blogging Links

    Powered by Blogger Weblog Commenting and Trackback by HaloScan.com Listed on Blogwise
    << ? Blogaholics Anonymous # >>

    My Blog Chalk

    Michael/Male/31-35. Lives in United States/Tennessee/Smyrna, speaks English. Eye color is brown. I am in shape. I am also creative. My interests are Reading/Swimming laps.
    This is my blogchalk:
    United States, Tennessee, Smyrna, English, Michael, Male, 31-35, Reading, Swimming laps.



    You Are Visitor

    Free Web Counter


    Looking For Something Specific?
    Search this site or the web powered by FreeFind

    Site search Web search


    Blogskins
    Powered by Blogger