Enthralled - How I became a "Doctor Who" fan (the reasons)..and will continue to be one for a long time

All of time and space; everywhere and anywhere; every star that ever was. Where do you want to start?

As I have said in some of my posts, I am just a newly-converted Whovian (about nine months and counting) and in line with that, I will be writing this blog post as a (sort of) celebration of my conversion to the fandom and also, a look back at how I got to be hooked to the show in the first place.

Looking back, before I was even introduced to the Doctor Who series, I had been watching an amount of TV shows which included CSI, Criminal Minds, and of course another favorite of mine, The Walking Dead to name a few, and I am fine with those. One day, my little sister started to DVR and watched this certain British Science Fiction series which piqued her interest. I asked her what is that show and she said it was Doctor Who and suggested that I should watch it too.

After some research about it, although the science fiction element of the show sparked an interest in me, my perceived (at that time) complexity of the story made me think otherwise, in particular the "regeneration" aspect. A main character that changes it appearance constantly along the course of the show? That is a bit puzzling to me back then.

With my little sister still insisting that I watch Doctor Who, I finally gave in and agreed to watch an episode titled "The Eleventh Hour", and guess what? I instantly became a fan of the show after that. I then started to watch episode after episode and special after special and as of now, I consider Doctor Who as my favorite TV show.

Now, what pulled me into the rabbit hole, you say?

Here are the reasons:

1. It is a Family-Friendly Show

Others overlook this aspect, but for me, it is one of the sensical reasons that Doctor Who will be my favorite show for a long time. As some of the shows today tend to harbor violence and crime (Game of Thrones, CSI), Gore and Blood (The Walking Dead), and even sexual themes (Penny Dreadful among others) in their narratives, Doctor Who keeps it really clean. It started out as a show geared for children - meaning it is meant to be wholesome and light-hearted - and incredibly, it has stayed like that up to the present run of the series. Doctor Who is a legit Family-Friendly show that you can recommend it to kids and adults..even oldies alike. In light of that, even if it is a wholesome show, the quality of the stories it present does not suffer and they are very well-written. That combination makes Doctor Who a very entertaining TV show, overall.

2. The Creatures

I for one, like original ideas and creations so when I saw the impressive lineup of creatures that appear in the Doctor Who series (either antagonists or supporting characters), I just gotta give it to the creators and the show itself. The creatures are well thought off and are downright original and creative in their own right. They even leave a lasting impression to boot which is a good reason to get hooked to the show.

Personal favorites of mine are:

Vashta Nerada (Makes me always double check my shadow and at the same time, makes me paranoid in the dark)

The Silence (Whenever I see writings on somebody's arm, I check around - left, right, above, and below)

The Sontarans, especially Strax (For a race who loves to fight, Strax can be as funny as hell)

The Cybermen (The word "Upgrade" takes a different meaning when I think of them)

The Weeping Angels (After you see these creatures, you will never look at an innocent statue the same way again)

The Daleks (One word, Four syllables...EX-TER-MINATE!! They are the Alpha protagonists of the show yet they look like egg shakers who has a whisk and a plunger for hands, BEAT THAT!)

3. The Doctor/The Actor

"You Never Forget your First Doctor" 

The titular character itself, The Doctor. Now, in my opinion the character of the Doctor always go hand in hand with the one playing him, the Actor. My introduction to the character starts with the Eleventh incarnation, played by Matt Smith and Boy! What an introduction it was and up to now, his portrayal is what is instilled in my mind whenever the thought of the Doctor and Doctor Who becomes a topic. He played the Doctor with a combination of quirky, outgoing, childish, smart, manipulating, and cunning traits, but mostly the one that sticks out with Matt's portrayal is the FUN that he brings to the role. (Of note are his monologues, his fast mouth ala Jason Mraz, his hand gestures and body language and of course, the Fez and Bowtie..COOL!)

In fairness to the one he succeeded and his predecessor (David Tennant's Tenth and Peter Capaldi's Twelfth), I also have a high regard for the way they portrayed (portraying, in Capaldi's case) the Doctor, but I gotta admit that the Eleventh (my first doctor) will always be my Doctor. (Age will be another factor I guess since Matt Smith and I are of the same age). When he regenerated to the twelfth, I was a bit distraught too. I was just starting to like him and then in just a snap, Eleventh's hour was over. All in all, Matt Smith's performance ushered me to become a fan of the show so definitely, (borrowing a line from him..) " I will never forget when the Doctor was him."

4. The Companion (The Impossible One)

"Run You Clever Boy, and Remember"

First things first, I will be honest. As a guy watching Doctor Who, this will be an automatic; As appealing as the Doctor can be, the apple of my eye will always be the companion - the female one - obviously. Point is, the attractive girl who flies away with the madman in a box, is as crucial to Doctor Who as the monsters are. In this case, however, the "You never forget your first" line does not apply to me. Amy Pond is the first companion that I watched and in fairness to Karen Gillan, she is lovable and adorable as Amy Pond. However, the companion that really caught my fancy is Amy Pond's successor - The Impossible Girl - Clara Oswald played by Jenna Coleman.

Run you Clever Boy and Remember...Me.

How I wish I was that "Clever Boy" huh? Anyway, Clara to me is a good example of "Big things come in small packages". Inside that - a shade of over 5 feet - frame of hers is a really mysterious and unpredictable character. Add to that the fact that in many ways she’s the perfect partner to The Doctor: She’s intelligent, witty, and feisty but crucially, a character in her own right. She doesn’t hang to The Doctor’s every word and speaks her mind freely. She is an independent, well-rounded character. Clara in fact, can stand shoulder to shoulder with The Doctor himself (though she give up almost a foot when compared to the 11th and 12th in height).

Another factor that I think enamored me to Clara Oswald is because she reminds me of someone in the real world...Let us see, she is small but terrible, intelligent and feisty, speaks her mind freely, stands up to anyone when needed too, and also a school teacher? Ooh...she reminds me of my "wife"..a lot! 'Nuff Said!

5. The Blue Box and all the Dimensions in Time and Space

As a Kid (and even until now), I am always fascinated by Time Travel along with the vastness of Space. Among the Sci-Fi movies I watched a lot as a kid were the Back to the Future Series and the Star Wars movies. So given that Doctor Who features a machine that is called the TARDIS - a blue police box that not only travel through Time but can also travel to anywhere in the Universe - it is a shoo-in that you will pique my interest.

What is there not to love about the TARDIS? It's an indestructible blue box based on a police telephone booth design, it makes an "elephant-like" VWORP-VWORP noise, it has the most complicated engine (being powered by a STAR nonetheless), the "round thingies" on the wall, the six-sided console, again, it travels thru space and time, and did I mention that "It is bigger on the Inside?" Yeah! like a cathedral inside a booth. The TARDIS is something that the DeLorean Time Machine, The WABAC, and even the Warp Drive and HyperDrive of Star Trek and Star Wars only dreamt of being.

This blue box is what keeps the show ticking. You can have a different Doctor and a different companion, but the TARDIS will always be the same TARDIS. With the TARDIS in tow, one thing is for sure, the Doctor and his companion can be anywhere or anytime and there will always be an adventure coming and those adventures are the reason that the fans (again like me) are kept on their seats for every episode of Doctor Who.

So there you have it folks, the reasons why I am enthralled to Doctor Who and why I am now a self-proclaimed Whovian. By the end of the day, I am really happy that I was introduced to this show by my little sister or else I am missing on one of the greatest long-running Sci-Fi shows ever. I do suggest that you try to watch an episode or two of Doctor Who. Who Nose (Knows), maybe there is a Whovian inside of you that is just waiting to come out, huh?

Until next time,

Ciao!

Disclaimer:
*The Images are not mine and are the property of their respective owners, mainly BBC One.