I was about 13 or so, living in the southern midwest, when someone first asked me if I’d ever seen Doctor Who. I had no idea what they were talking about, but they insisted I watch it, so I did. David Tennant was the Doctor at the time, and the first episode I ever saw was Series 3 Episode 10 “Blink”. I was enraptured.
Doctor Who held all the markers of television I love; its quirky, funny, heartwarming, thrilling and exciting. Even though from the start I knew it was intended as a children’s show, I continued to watch it throughout highschool and college. When a friend of mine went to Ireland, she brought back a foot tall TARDIS for me that I still keep on my bookshelf. I’ve had friends gift me posters they bought at cons and blurry photographs of the actors. It was fairly common knowledge I was into this show.
Why? You may ask, Where you so into a British Children’s show? I think its because of the Hope. There is always a solution, no matter how big the problem. No matter what happens, the Doctor never gives up on humanity. How resilient! How Brilliant! We always find a way. It didn’t matter if a massive armada was poised to attack, they always came up with a master plan, even if it was the last minute. There was always Hope. And I needed Hope. I needed to be told I was Strong and Resiliant.
There are two episodes that made me weep. I know, I am emotional with movies and I do cry a lot, but not usually with shows intended for humor or drama. However, there are two that continue to stab me in the feels.
The first is the episode when David Tennant regenrates. He was my first doctor and I had definitely formed a kind of attachment to his doctor. He is still my favorite (so sorry, Tom Baker). It was an emotionally charged episode anyway, and when he wimpered, “I don’t wanna go” I lost it. Knowing Tennant is the second longest running Doctor, right behind legend Tom Baker, his departure had to be an emotional event for everyone.
The second was Series 5 Episode 10 “Vincent and the Doctor”. It still makes me cry every time I watch it. As someone who has struggled with their mental health and knows on a personal level what it feels like, this episode hits me in a very deep personal place. Maybe because I wish so badly someone were able to go back and do that for Vincent. Maybe because I know how much that would have meant. Maybe because to know I had made a difference, that I really was important, would turn me to mush. It is a very personally emotional epsiode for me.
If you didn’t know, there is a ton of lore and fun facts about the Doctor Who universe. Its been on TV since 1963, with a brief hiatus and revival in 2005. Thats a long time to gather trivia.
Some tidbits are those that have kind of gotten lost through time, like the fact that the show started as an educational children’s show about science and history. I’d have watched that, and probably enjoyed it based on how much I enjoyed The Magic School Bus as a kid. And some things that were literally lost. There are about 100 episodes of the original series that have been lost. Through the help of fan’s personal collections and some super lucky finds in mislabeled containers, the episode library is being rebuilt.
The Doctor is firmly solidified in history and in space. In 1984 a new asteroid was discovered and named Asteroid 3325 TARDIS, which its discoverer Brian A. Skiff named for the Doctor’s Police Box. The fame of the Doctor reached great heights in the 70s and 80s. So much, that Paramount set on a mission to make a Doctor Who film starring Michael Jackson as a Time Lord. Unfortunately, this never came to pass, and we all lowered our heads in sadness.
Both David Tennant and Peter Capaldi were big Whovians when they were children. Tennant citing his desire to be the Doctor as his reason for getting into acting. Capaldi made Who themed fan art and often bothered BBC to make him the fanclub president. The fans do make the best characters though, as both Tennant and Capaldi are two of my very favorites. The Doctor has been a rather gigantic part of Tennant’s life, both personally and professionally. David Tennant is married to a woman named Georgia, whom he met on the set of an episode entitled “The Doctor’s Daughter”. Except Georgia IS the Doctor’s Daughter. Her father is Peter Davison, the Fifth Doctor. Several years ago, Georgia interviewed their child on his favorite doctor. Its Tom Baker. Tennant later went on to revise the role of Scrooge McDuck in the new DuckTales (also made by now grown fans of the original) another character I love. I keep my Scrooge McDuck with my desk TARDIS for giggles.
Doctor Who has meant a lot to me throughout my life. My favorite will always be Tennant, followed closely by Baker and Capaldi. The show gave me fun and humor when I needed it, but most of all, it showed me that Hope can always be found even in the most dismal of times.
Dose of Sunshine 