An Old Whovian is Witness to the Formation of a New Whovian!

"Hello, I'm the Doctor..."

Go ahead. Click the video. I'll wait. Even if you know this guy, you should click and watch. Mouth the speech with him. You know you want to.

One of the many characters I love is The Doctor from Doctor Who. How can you not love a guy who travels in time and space in an old British police box from the 1960s? This year, BBC is celebrating 50 years of Doctor Who. As a long time fan, I'm beyond excited. What's even better is that my bestie, Amanda, has finally, finally discovered The Doctor for herself! It's so awesome!

Soooo...audience, meet The Doctor. Doctor, meet my millions of followers. 

You Never Forget Your First Doctor

There is a saying inside the Who Fandom, and that is "you never forget your first doctor." We say it because it is true. I've never met a fan who can't tell you the first time they watched the show or which Doctor they watched. My first Doctor was Tom Baker, who was the Fourth regeneration. My friend, Jon and his brother, Michael (I think Michael was probably more insistent) sat me down one Saturday night in 1983, turned on our local PBS station and said, "You must see this." The station was running "Ark in Space," which is the second episode in Mr. Baker's long term as The Doctor. It was so much fun (you have to appreciate a space worm made from spray painted bubble wrap)!  I was hooked. Many Saturday nights were spent sitting up, watching The Doctor and his companions face many challenges and adventures. I was devastated when Atlanta's PBS stations dropped my Doctor after a dispute with a local fan group. It would be a little over a decade later when I'd see the Doctor again, and that was when I started collecting Doctor Who DVDs. 

Very few people knew about the Doctor here in the states, so there weren't lots of people to talk to about this character who had captured my heart. 

I also found that no other regeneration really stood up to Four in my mind. All were measured against him and his adventures. Most of them fell short (although, I do have a soft spot for Three [Jon Pertwee]). When the new series came to America in 2005, I was not so sure. FOX tried rebooting the series in 1997, and it was less than stellar in my book (interestingly, however, that Doctor is accepted into the overall mythos and is currently the Doctor with the most radio adventures available. Shows what I know.). 

Fast Forward to 2005:

Ironically, it was my bestie who invited me over to her house on premier night for the new Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor. I think I cried just a little bit during the intro. It was so exciting for me because it was as if I'd been waiting for the Doctor to return to me, and he had, finally! 

 While I was squealing over the continuity and the connections to Classic Who (the Autons and Nestene Consciousness!), she seemed more than a little confused. I was, on the other hand, completely hooked. It was awesome! Unfortunately, I did not have cable or satellite at the time, so when my friend, Josh, offered me DVDs of the new series about a year or so later, I jumped at his offer.

I really loved Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor. He was darkly sarcastic and I liked that turn of the character. My Doctor had been through a lot since I last saw him, including watching his home planet, Gallifrey, be destroyed in a great war (a destruction, we would learn, he blamed himself for). I also loved the writing. The scripts were strong, and the special effects didn't overshadow the action or the character growth. Doctor Who came back stronger than ever!

Then there was David Tennant! I finally found a Doctor who measured to my beloved Fourth Doctor! I fell in love with him. He was manic and infectious and, for the first time, The Doctor was really...sexy! The writing was phenomenal, and my love for the show was completely rekindled. 

I would talk about the show, Amanda would listen, but I don't think she ever watched...until a few weeks ago...

"Mini-Golf and Sushi" or How My Bestie Fell for The Doctor:

Mr. Bates. Lord Grantham's Valet. 

Amanda and I share a love for another BBC show. It's a little costume drama called Downton Abbey. Maybe you've heard of it? She got me hooked on it this time last year. This year, we counted the days before the premier on PBS.  We both have a thing for this guy----------------->

The series started, and both of us sort of went into a fan frenzy. I posted "Free Bates" pictures on Facebook, and she searched the Internet for more information on Brendan Coyle, who plays Mr. Bates. Something you need to understand about Amanda is that she takes Internet research to levels I only dream of taking it. I am a very good researcher, but she is as close to Internet Geek Goddess as I know. It's mindblowing.

Soon, she'd discovered other BBC programmes (as they spell it across the pond), and then proceeded to go on a BBC programme binge. It was sort of funny (in a very good way!).

One evening she called me and said, "I think I'm finally going to try Doctor Who. The new series is on Netflix." 

I replied, "'Bout time." Then I told her if she needed help getting the mythos or anything, to let me know. Otherwise, enjoy. 

Little did I know what was going to unleash in her. 

Things were pretty calm as she watched Chris Eccleston. 

Then came David Tennant. 

I'd follow this Doctor
anywhere in the Universe

I am a mad fangirl, and would be speechless if I met Mr. Tennant...at least for a few moments. Amanda went full-on fangirl. It was so awesome! Finally, she got my love. Finally, she'd really found her Doctor. 

Fangirls, UNITE!

What has been the most fun about her discovery is that she will text me or send me links concerning David Tennant or the Doctor. We both get to squeal like school girls! What I love the most is that she seems to get so much enjoyment out of a show I've loved for so long. This is what best friends do. They share their addictions. 

And so, as the Tenth Doctor was (is, will be) apt to say:

Lucky for the two us (and for the rest of you who love the Doctor), we don't have to be the girls who wait (for the Doctor). Starting this Sunday night at 9 pm, BBCAmerica is running the first of eleven specials celebrating Doctor Who's Fiftieth (yes, you read that correctly) Anniversary. Each episode gives the history of each Doctor.