Friday Favorites: Doctor Who

Doctor Who

Recommended For: Ages 10 to Adult

Rating: NR

The adventures of an alien that travels through time and space in a time machine that's bigger on the inside disguised as a police box. 

It is really hard to describe Doctor Who and why I like it. But for the sake of all you non-Whovians out there, I'll give it a go.

My best friend (outside the family) recommended this show to us. More than once, I think. She was a Whovian, and since she liked it, and it was popular, and we knew someone else who was big into it, we decided to give it a try. Despite my misgivings, we started on the first Classic Who episode they had on Netflix (which we found out later wasn't the first episode of the Classic series. It was cheesy and weird. We didn't finish the episode. My advice to people out there, don't start on the Classic Doctor Who. I like it now, but that's after watching almost all of the new series. You kind of have to like the show already and then get used to the older show and the slight hokiness and, to be honest, the clothes (it was the sixties and seventies, what more can I say?).

After that disaster, our Whovian friends told us you can't start with the Classic Series and told us to try the new ones. So we did, starting out with the Ninth Doctor. 

We didn't fall in love with it right at first, but we were told you have to watch at least five before you really get into it, and if you don't like it by episode nine, you're sunk. We liked it pretty well at first, but it wasn't something we really loved.

Then we hit episode nine. It's called The Empty Child. And it's really the episode that got us hooked. It's scary and funny and exciting and interesting (like most Doctor Who episodes). And on top of that, it was a two-part episode, and we couldn't watch the next one for a few days. I couldn't stop thinking about it. 

By the end of the first season, I wasn't quite ready to call myself a Whovian, but I loved the show. Then I heard that the Doctor periodically changed his face (and consequently, his personality) every few seasons on this show. They wrote it into the story as well, saying that his species of alien can regenerate their bodies when they're about to die. I wasn't ready to give up the Ninth Doctor; he was the only Doctor I'd known.

And then Nine regenerated into this crazy fellow.

My first reaction to him was, "He's weird!" Sadly, everything in Doctor Who is weird. And Nine's buzz cut made Ten's reportedly awesome hair look incredibly long. But by the end of his first real episode, I liked him better than Nine. He was just cooler. And he was the most caring Doctor (most of them are oblivious). Plus, you could tell the actor, David Tennant, really loved the part. It was his life-long dream to play the Doctor.

The Tenth Doctor's first season was the best, I think. Mainly because he had Rose with him, whom I think is the best companion (the people that travel with the Doctor are called companions). He and Rose were great together.

Then at the end of the season he lost her (not saying how).

The next season he spent mostly mourning Rose while going on those same adventures. This season also starred the first episode with Weeping Angels, about the creepiest thing on the show.

These statues actually move. But you never see them do it.

The fourth season featured the Doctor with the fiery Donna Noble. Unlike with Rose and Martha before her, there was no relationship whatsoever. They were just really good friends. I appreciated this. After Martha falling in love with the Doctor when both the viewers and the Doctor knew there could be no one for him but Rose (and River, but...spoilers), this was a huge relief. This season also introduced River Song, a mystery I sincerely hope is fully explained by now.

Yes, yes, I know I'm putting a lot of pictures in here. Doctor Who is a visual show.

Then it was time to say goodbye to the Tenth Doctor and say hello to the Eleventh.

Eleven is just about the goofiest Doctor yet. Even in his first few minutes, I liked him and was laughing. I like Eleven almost as much as I like Ten, although Matt Smith was too young to be a life-long fan like David Tennant was. This was the youngest-looking Doctor yet.

The fifth season is not my favorite. Matt Smith was still figuring out his Doctor, and Rory Williams wasn't in it enough. That was remedied, however, in the sixth season. Rory, the second-best companion and the most awesome one, was in it just as much as his now-wife Amy was, and Eleven was finally figured out and awesome.

Then came the seventh season. This one was a little disjointed and displaced, but, although some of the episodes, and especially Amy and Rory's farewell, could have been better, it was still just as good as before. And Eleven was better than ever. Another thing that made this series good (or season for you Americans who don't know how British people talk) was the additional mystery of Clara Oswin Oswald, who died in her first episode.

And then died again in her second.

Don't worry, it all resolves by the end of the series.

After this came the 50th Anniversary Special, with both the Tenth and the Eleventh Doctors together.

And introduced the War Doctor.

Then came the episode where we had to say goodbye to Eleven. He got old. It was heartbreaking. But still a good episode. And it introduced Twelve, the Doctor of the references.

And then came Series Eight.

People are divided about Series Eight. Some think it's bad and not half as good as the others, and others think it's just fine. I think it's just fine. Granted, it's not as good as the other seasons, but it is Peter Capaldi's first series as the Doctor. The first series of the Doctor are always the worst. It was for Ten and Eleven, and it obviously is for Twelve. For this series, the Doctor and Clara were arguing a lot. Once they stopped, it was good. This series also introduced Danny Pink, the former soldier.

Sorry, but I had to put him in. I like Danny Pink.

At the end of the series, Peter Capaldi got the Doctor down. I have the feeling Series Nine is going to be a doozy.

Some people aren't liking Twelve as much because he's old, or he's not acting like the other Doctors, but honestly, after watching the Classic series, I'm perfectly fine with it. Yes, he's not acting like the other Doctors from the new series; he's acting more like the Classic Doctors. More like this guy, the Third Doctor.

He was old and no one had a problem with it.

I hear there's a Christmas special, but I haven't watched it yet. I just don't have the ability at this time.

And once you're hooked on the show, go ahead and watch Classic. I like them just fine.

Sorry for such a long post, but it takes a while to tell about Doctor Who. I congratulate those who made it to the end. give yourselves a big round of applause!

Adios, fare well, and go watch Doctor Who!