British Isles Friday: The Scoop on Dr. Who

Since it's a big Dr. Who day for me today, I thought I'd ponder the subject here on the blog and link up with Joy's British Isles Friday, which I haven't done for awhile.

So.. what's up with Dr. Who. It's something I've only recently (relatively speaking) come into. You see, it's TV series that started way back in the 60s, which was broadcast by the BBC for many many years, and then took a break. Then in 2005, they revived it again and started making new episodes. This decision gave the series a whole new life and brought a gazillion new fans into the fold.

I started hearing the buzz about it several years ago and when we finally broke down and got Netflix, Dr. Who was one of the first shows we caught up on. With the new episodes that is. I've yet to even watch the old ones! (But they are all on there, last I looked.)

The first few episodes were... weird. Very weird. And I wondered why the buzz? THIS couldn't be the show everyone was talking about. It was corny, hokey and stupid! And did I say weird?

It's about this guy, he calls himself The Doctor. (And then everyone says "Dr. who? And then he says,  "just... The Doctor!") He's an alien. He's what they call a Time Lord. This means that he as a time machine (a British police box called the Tardis) which he uses to travel back and forth in time, meeting up with all sorts of characters from history and either solving issues, starting issues, or just generally complicating matters. And yes, he's immortal. But this does not mean he can't die.... he can instead, regenerate. Thus, we have several different versions of The Doctor, starting with the First Doctor back in 1963 through to the Twelfth Doctor, the one who currently exists!

All the Doctors, with the latest four being on the
bottom row.

As he goes along in his travels, he always finds someone, usually a girl of course, to travel with him... to be his companion. Sometimes they fall in love, sometimes they don't. Let's just say, things are usually pretty complicated. (With the 11th doctor, the girl AND her husband traveled along with!)

Companions (and others) of the recent Dr. Who series.

So, why, if the shows are so weird and corny, does everyone (well, lots and lots of people!) love them so much? I'll make a list:

• The actors playing the doctors are phenomenal. Each one has their own personality, their own twist to the doctor's character and their own spin. And you can't help but fall in love with each and every one. That's not to say you won't have a favorite (TEN!) but you find them all fascinating in their own way.
• The companions. They are usually really funny and add much comic relief to the show. Lots of heart too. They end up with their own very complicated back story that has you invested in them before you know it!
• The weaving and meshing of story lines. Seriously. I don't think I've ever watched a show where everything ties together and circles around like this show does. It messes with your mind in a very delicious way. And even though I've not seen the earlier shows,  even when they tie to something from that far back, they do it in a way that you totally get it. Well, after awhile anyway!
• The villains. Ah, some truly scary bad guys! The worst for me is a group of people called The Silence. Oh, and the Weeping Angels of course. But the most famous villains are a bunch of robot type things called the Dalecks. They are mean mean mean! 
• The relationships. You know I'm not going to like a TV show unless it's filled with lots of character development and relationships. This one is over the top with that! And I'm not talking just romantic relationships, I'm talking all SORTS of connections. Like I said, the weaving of story lines is amazing.
• Which also is to say, the writing is amazing. Funny, witty, weepy, deep, profound, and yes, sometimes corny...all of it. There are several different writers, all with their own style. One of them is even Neil Gaiman! Yes! 
• Oh, the music! It's epic! The old themes and the new. Amazing!

So bottom line. . . turns out this show is not weird at all, but just down right COOL! All across the board cool... cool in every way you look at it cool! 

Did I mention my favorite was the Tenth Doctor? I especially love it... LOVE IT.... when he says the word "well" over and over and over again. Take a look:

And the whole reason for this post? We get to see the 11th Doctor, Matt Smith, today at Comic Con! (Also two companions... Rose and Amy!) And he's most awesome too! Even if you've never watched one episode, I bet you can't watch this clip of some of his lines without smiling, maybe even LOLing a bit:



This particular Doctor also has my favorite theme music, here's a taste of that:




So, have I convinced all you Dr. Who naysayers to give it a shot? Or are you already fully immersed into this pop culture phenomenon and know exactly what I'm talking about? I'm right, am I not?

Carry on.