Doctor Who

This is my first review I publish on my website. I thought long and hard about what I give this honor to and I now have made my mind up.

Doctor WHO

Some of you might have heard about this series and maybe have seen different sized chunks of the seasons. I have seen now all episodes that were available up to this date. You have read that correctly. I really have seen everything as was possible. “Classic Who” (1963-1989), Doctor Who the film (1996) and “nuWho” (2005-) plus some documentaries like An adventure through space and time.

In the summer of 2014 I started watching Doctor Who on a whim. Since then I have been captivated by the stories that are told. I am really glad that I made this decision and count myself as a moderate Whovian. Although I already own a (plastic) version of the 9/10 and the 11/12 screwdriver as well as TARDIS socks.

It is going to be difficult to write a real review of the series. One could probably compare it best to Star Wars or Star Trek. Where to begin and where to end and how deep should certain parts be covered. There is so much information within the tv series itself as well as in comics, audio plays and Spin-Offs and all information outside canon. So I will be a collection of everything that comes to mind for me right now and what I find worth mentioning.

What is it about?

In the series we are acompany the Doctor. Doctor who? That is a question many ask when they first met the Doctor. Over the time we learn relatively small about the Doctor. That starts with the real name and stretches to the complete life prior to the events in the series. Doctor is only the hero’s self-chosen title. If we take the name of a time lady (“Romanadvoratrelundar short Romana”) from classic Who into account the real name of the Doctor is probably very odd. Romana has been one of the many companions over the course of the stories. Most of the time the Doctor is accompanied by one or more companions. They are mostly earthlings but there are some very interesting other persons. For example there is the iconic robot dog K9. Those are helping the Doctor on his adventures, polarise the plot or even unexpectedly oppose the Doctor and his other companions. In classic who they unfortunately very often assume the role of the damsel in distress.

His moto can be equated to his self-chosen title. Unconditional help without increading the damage. Whether it is an invasion by a hostile species, a crisis of purpose of a historical figure or the rescue of a single being, the Doctor always does his best.

The Doctor

The Doctor is an alien of the species timelords. Legends and stories have gronw up around him. He has become notorious for all the deed he hast done on his journey. By now a certain reputation precedes him. Throughout the 50-year history, the Doctor has been portrayed by 13 different actors, with the announcement this year of the 14th actress. The clou of the series stems originaly from a necessity. Due to the age and health conditions of the first actor, William Hartnell, the concept of regeneration was introduced to keep the series going. Is the Doctor or any timelord gravely injured they regenerate what leads to a complete change of appearance and character. With that the series can reinvent itself over and over and that makes it fascinating.

The regeneration cylce of the fans

There is most times a kind of acceptance cycle for new Doctors and companions. It starts when a major cast member announces that they are leaving the series. That leads to sorrow and a desire for futher episodes. After that a more or less long period of suspense stats until the new Doctor is announced. Directly after the announcement there is a rejection phase because the new actor “definitely won’t be as good as the current one” or “certainly can’t portray the doctor as perfect as the current one”. This builds up until the broadcast of the regeneration. Shortly after there is a kind of void as the “current” Doctor now finally joins the previous Doctors. This void is filled by the new actor time after time. You get used to the new Doctor, accept them, learn to like them up to the point that the initial rejection is completely forgotten. With a bit of luck, this doctor can become the favourite Doctor.

My Doctor

Every whovian probably has a Doctor. The actor that probably will represent the Doctor for them. For me this is David Tennant. It is hard for me to explain. It is perhaps due to his warmth, his wit, his charm but also his serious nature. See for yourself when you watch the series. It probably comes also to the fact that this was the first Doctor that I have seen for a longer period. Christopher Ecclestone unfortunately left after only one season and did not really have time to establish himself. On one hand that is really unfortunate because looking back I really liked his performance as the Doctor and I am curious how this would have developed. On the other hand I am really glad that he left the spot for David Tennant and allowed me to see his wonderful performance of the Doctor. His Charme, his mimic, his gestures and his interaction with his companions make his charakter almost perfect. He notably had three companions (+2) during his time as the Doctor.

Companions

The companions are one of most important part of the series. In most cases it is a woman. On the beginning of the

Favourite companion

If you count him as a companion it definitely has to be Caption Jack Harkness. With his open manner, he is good in winning you over. Further his self-confident demeanour, without being arrogant or condescending is very refreshing. Otherwise this spot probably has to go to Elisabeth Sladens Sarah Jane Smith. She as far as I can remember was one of the first companions not only being a damsel in distress but rather knew how to help herself. That sold me.

Foes and adversaries

The most iconic as well as longest enemies in terms of introduction to the series must be the Daleks. Those are a rascist, fascist, alien race that strive for total annhilation of every what they percieve as inferior life. For that the Daleks evolved into emotionless battle machines that act as the main antagonist of the timelords. They are the first enemy against who the Doctor needs to fight and they evolve even further as the series continues. Their maker and lieder is Davros. After a nuclear war on their home planet Skaro, the octopus-like Dales have evolved and have noe battle armour developed by Davros.

Another important adversary of the Doctor is the Master, another timerlord and allegedly a former, long-time friend of the Doctor. His real name is not known either but rather only his apparent academic title. His relation to the Doctor is not primarily hostile but rather a kind of love-hate relationship. They fight each other in most places while they occasionally team up. This back and forth makes the Master one of the most important adversaries of the Doctor since he is the only other timelord besides the Doctor in nuWho.

Creepiest enemy

After I saw the episode with the empty children, I thought no other Doctor Who adversary will scare me like that. Granted the Dalek as well as the Cybermen have something scary and threatening about them. Ultimately the pose an overwhelming but still tangible threat. I was never more wrong. AFter watching the episode “Blink”, I had to go to uni very early the next morning. It was still dark and there are some statues on the campus. I must admit that I turned more than once to check if a statue would still be in its place. A few can probably guess but this concerns the Weeping Angels. It still sends chills down my spine when I just think about it. The maker of this series seem to understand it very well how to transform apparently everday objects into something creepy. Lets just mention sleep in the corner of the eyes and normal statues. But the episode “Blink” has something very exciting to offer.

My favourite quote

People assume that time is a strict progression from cause to effect but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it’s more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff.

This quite starts as if it is a scientifically accurate definition but devolves into something absolutely meaningless. But despite the wooziness, it ultimately explains the understanding of time in this series. In a series about travel through time and space you have to pay attention what you offer your fans. Especially with the runtime of this series and the passion of the fans even small errors could trigger outrage. If you set out from the beginning that there is no clear line and everything is connected to everything and everything can happen you can get away with more when explaining it.

Trivia and facts at the end

Doctor Who is one of the oldest science fiction series. In comparison to other series, alien enemies seem to concentrate on the United Kingdom, no idea whats that about, but there is more worldwide attack grounds. There are some episodes that are set in Germany. Both the Dalek and the main characters briefly speak completely German. I only realised afterwards when watching the non dubbed version of Doctor Who. Doctor Who is one of the only series that I watch as quickly as possible even if no German dub is available. This review has been a draft now for nearly two years. Its creation date is the 2015-09-08.

Recommendation

I absolutely recommend watching this series. Especially if you found an interest in this series you can even watch the classic Who episodes. The third and fourth Doctor are excellent and important for the broader understanding of this universe.

TL;DR

Doctor Who is a science fiction series about a time and space traveling alien who can regenerate his appearance should he suffer life-threatening injuries. I personally love this series even if it getting on in years by now the series still captivates and many more. An absolute recommendation.