Doctor Who

Seasons 1 through 10 are brilliant overall. Seasons 11 and 12 are so awful that they might as well be a different show altogether. From 2018 onwards, the vibes and tone are just plain wrong. Don't even bother watching any episodes post-2017.

For as long as I can remember, I've heard about the good Doctor, references, inside jokes and the like. Such as "Real Daleks don't climb stairs, they flatten the building".

The quandary was this: Where do I begin, with thousands of episodes aired? I was afraid of getting myself into something deep, dense, voluminous and possibly repetitive, impossible to get back out of.

The very simple yet belated answer was, of course, by accident.

On one of those sleepless nights, flipping channels, I saw astronauts in a Victorian library, and was immediately intrigued by the weird homage to Kubrick. Before the commercial break, I was treated to electronic ghosts and invisible floating piranhas.

Then this absolute beauty comes up, I paraphrase - "You've been living in a computer simulation, your physical body is elsewhere" - "But I've been dieting"

Bleak, subtle and sophisticated humor? Check, and count me in.

As it turned out, I had stumbled into the middle of a Sy-Fy Channel short marathon of Doctor Who. I resisted going to sleep until the damn thing ended five or six episodes later, at ten in the morning.

What wildly imaginative premises, what a high-quality level of writing, what a gem this is! There is serious brain-power at work here, courtesy of the BBC yet again, on a continuing heroic mission to sacrifice short-term profit for long-term legacy. As evidence, I present "Monty Python's Flying Circus", "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", "The Singing Detective", "Brideshead Revisited".

From what little I've seen in half of a short marathon, Doctor Who deserves a ten out of ten.

It seems that there is a huge diversity in the reaction to this show. Fortunately for the IL' Doc, I think this means he will be around for awhile again. I have seen "Rose," The first episode in the revamped BBC series, and I have to say I am thrilled. The majority of the negative reviews seem to be coming from ultra-die hard Whovians. I myself was a giant DR.Who nerd in my younger years. I had a subscription to Dr.Who magazine, I sent Tom Baker a letter when I was 10 years old, (I still have the autograph he sent me back, thank you Tom!)My grandmother knitted me an eight foot long scarf etc..etc..

I could tell you who Roger Delgado is and why when he looked like Geoffery Beevers he really wanted to go on Holiday to Traken.

In early 1984 when I was 8 years old, I met the Doctor and his friends Sarah and Harry. It was at midnight in Arizona on a black in white television that was barely 10 inches wide. I was transported to somewhere I had never been and have never been since. It was like Peter Pan taking you to Neverland. Anyone who met Doctor Who at such an early age will agree with me that the magic was that vivid and so real that you felt you were right there side by side with those characters.

As I grew up, I grew out of it. Real life takes a hold, and while Perpugilliam Brown was amazing to stare at, it became a lot more important to go talk to a girl in person on a Saturday night than stay home by the time 16 years old came around.

A passing interest in Sylv and Sophie was there, but ultimately, Puff the magic dragon let out a mighty roar because this Jackie Paper had grown up.

Having said that, I watched "Rose" with two hats. The former obsessive fan with the critical eye, and the adult who wanted to be whisked away by Pan again.

I feel the show succeeds in the latter department. I had a huge smile on my face the entire 45 minutes, and if I had to guess, this show is going to capture the fancy of a lot of young ones, and even though Doctor Who was always my best friend, I'm ready to share him with the people who he was made for in the first place. Thank you Russell and welcome back Doc!

This show had a fantastic run for quite a while. Chris Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith were all excellent in the role as The Doctor. The stories, characters and overarching plot were all so well done.

The series starts to show some rough edges right as Peter Capaldi becomes The Doctor, but I don't blame him for it. He just got stuck with some mediocre stories, and his sidekick Clara and other side characters just weren't as good. Loved the episodes Mummy on the Orient Express, and Heaven Sent.

Season 11 is where the show falls off a cliff. The writing is so awful, I kept fast forwarding through episodes trying to find something good, and then the seasons ended. Jodie Whittaker didn't get a chance to show how good, or bad, she could be in the role.

Starting Season 14 now in hopes that the show is good again now that Chibnall is not head writer and producer anymore.

Doctor Who was at it's absolute peak with Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith. The stories from each season connected beautifully, the cast was memorable and the story was much more creative than it is now.