A Madman in A Box.

I'm a relatively new fan of Dr. Who. I didn't grow up with him. He's not a childhood hero of mine. I had a small interest in Dr. Who though because I collected the figures. Even though I had never watched the show. All the characters were really interesting visually and the toys themselves were very well done. And I'm an obsessive compulsive collector at heart; so a new collection was born.

But then something changed. I met the Doctor. Two of them actually. Two funny, loyal, adventurous; and somehwhat odd Doctors. Two online friends who loved Dr. Who passionately to the point they even dressed up as the characters and sometimes acted the part. They were always talking about it but I never really understood. I just know I had alot of fun hanging out with these two madmen who wish they had a blue box that could travel through time and space. They and their family took me in when I needed someone to and they looked after me. And I'll never forget that. But like all things time moved on and I moved away. And I miss them.

Then one night the wife and I were flicking through Netflix and there it was. Dr. Who on-demand. The new series with Chris, followed by David Tennant. I knew there was ALOT of backstory. That can never be an understatement in relation to Dr. Who; but I also knew that this is where alot of the current fandom's love of the series started. It's a reboot of sorts about that madman in a blue box. So we started that night to watch it... and now we can't stop.

Having watched through Eccleston and Tennant's runs; both the wife and I fell in love with the Doctor. All real fans of The Doctor love him. And it's easy to see why. He's us. At least he's what we all secretly want to be. He's adventurous, funny, loyal; and kind. But he's also dangerous and sometimes depressed. He gets lonely and at times he even fails. He makes friends and he loses them. He's everything most humans aspire to be. A unique odd person who has the conviction to just be himself. And that last part is very important to the success of Dr. Who. Because that's where his true courage in the face of danger always starts. With being himself. Whether he's wrong or right, whether he's helping someone in need or in a vengeful moment letting an enemy die; he's always The Doctor. He's always dancing to his own beat. And he doesn't care who knows it. And I think that's why the show in alot of ways makes everyone it really touches an odd man in a blue box.

Now as to the point of this blog? Together with my wife we've decided to watch the entire run of Dr. Who in order. I warned that this show makes you a bit mad right? 50 years of history is a daunting challenge. But I'm armed with OCD. So we'll see if I eventually give up. At any rate I wanted a spot to talk about the show as I travel through the world of Dr. Who. Though I'll give fair warning in advance. This is not a blog about Dr. Who's cultural relevance or its technobabble. Nor is it going to be about critiquing decades old programming out of its original context or comparing it to NuWho. Because honestly I'm going with the notion of accepting it ALL as canon. This blog will just be my observations and thoughts on an episode (or serial) to episode basis. Take them for what they are.

I will however be doing this with one conceit: Ignorance. For the sake of this blog I'm going to try to pretend that while watching these episodes I'm doing so with no prior knowledge of what comes later. That when William Hartnell steps out of the TARDIS for the first time; it is also our first glimpse of The Doctor. With no continuity baggage ahead of him. And we'll see how it all adds up or doesn't as we go on. I'll just take Hartnell, Troughton, Pertwee, Baker, Davison, Baker, McCoy, McGann, Eccleston, Tennant; and Smith for what they are. And have fun watching them each do their thing.

So with that in mind; once upon a 1963 on 76 Totter's Lane there was...