An Ode to the Doctor
I watched my first ever episode of Doctor Who towards the end of my first year at university. Growing up outside Britain, I had never before experienced the brilliant man and his mysterious blue box. He was not a cultural deity nor an integral part of my childhood, so I didn’t really get what the fuss was about.
When my friends finally dragged me to watch the show, all of them giddy with excitement, I could not have considered myself anything more than mildly interested. 45 minutes later, having watched the Doctor, Amy and Rory tackle the living flesh, I was hooked.
Over the next six months, I scoured the Internet – and my friends’ DVD collections – to consume every single episode of NuWho and quite a bit of the classic series too.
I had fallen in love. The Doctor, the companions, the villains, the TARDIS – everything was brilliant.
The reason I was so enraptured by a low-budget TV show about an impossible man travelling through space and time is because it was the story of my life
When Rose was sucked into another dimension, I screamed bloody murder. When Martha led the world in calling out the Doctor’s name, I chanted with her. When Donna’s memories got wiped, a part of me died and I stayed silent for the rest of the day.
When Amy and Rory reaffirmed their love for each other, I whooped with joy. When River Song greeted her sweetie, or Jack Harkness flirted with him, I giggled uncontrollably. And when Nine (Christopher Eccleston), Ten (David Tennant) and Eleven (Matt Smith) stood up to the enemy, when he became, in turn, the lonely traveller, the enigmatic Time Lord, the raggedy man, I followed with undivided attention.
The stories were brilliant of course. As a self-confessed sci-fi and fantasy geek, the plots were perfect for maximum viewing pleasure. But there was something else, something deeper that made a lasting impact on me. It was as I was watching Tennant’s final episodes – when he reverts to being a companionless nomad – that I finally understood what it was. The reason I was so enraptured by a low-budget TV show about an impossible man travelling through space and time is because it was the story of my life.
Back when I first arrived in the UK, I had missed orientation and the first few weeks of classes because of visa problems. I was in a strange country, vastly different in every way from my own, and I did not know a single person.
Perhaps I was being a bit too emotional, but the first term was one of the most difficult periods of my life. However, sure enough, I began to fit in. I found some amazing people who I am lucky enough to call my friends and I really began to enjoy my new home. Little things, like my first ever snowfall, were moments of indescribable wonder. Trying out my first mince pie felt like an adventure.
I was the Doctor, feeling unbridled joy and forgetting his unique loneliness when he was with his companions.
And I was his companion too, marvelling at every new discovery but always needing that little helping hand to guide me in the right direction. The endless hope and friendship that permeated every frame of every episode, despite the most harrowing circumstances at times, made me feel alive in a way that only someone with two hearts would truly understand.
I was the Doctor, feeling unbridled joy and forgetting his unique loneliness when he was with his companions
For me, the show was not about the destinations, or even the journeys. It was about the people you travel with, who encourage you to goof off and then share the blame when you get caught. It was about that most inexplicable emotion, love, and how it can change you for the better.
I don’t know where the Doctor is heading next – the possibilities are as limitless as the TARDIS’s interior. All I know is that I will be with him every step of the way.
Doctor Who celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday, with millions of faithful viewers tuning in on TV and in cinemas nationwide to view ‘The Day of the Doctor’. The Christmas special – Matt Smith’s final episode – will air on Christmas Day this year. The new series is expected to start in Autumn 2014, with Peter Capaldi starring as the Twelfth Doctor.
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