Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The Doctor Is In!

My friend Jenny has been telling me for years to start watching Dr. Who. I'd been shying away only because there were over 70 episodes to get through and I usually don't have much time to spare for TV.

However, I was taking a little writing break over the past couple of months and decided to give it a try. I liked the first few episodes, but somewhere around episode 8 of Series 1, I got hooked.

Yup, Dr. Who. I love it now. And 70 episodes? Pshaaaw! That's nothing! (In other words, I probably needed to get off my break and back to writing much sooner than it actually happened. Yeaaah.)

Wanna know my three favorite doctors, companions, and episodes?*

Okay! Here they are in order (with my absolute favorites on top).

*These lists are only about the new series which started in 2005; I haven't yet watched the older episodes which started in the 60s.

Doctors
1. The Tenth Doctor: the perfect mix of goofy and heart-wrenchingly serious when it mattered. It also doesn't hurt that David Tennant is totally dreamy in a wonderfully nerdy way.

2. The Ninth Doctor: I really got to love this much darker, brooding version of the Doctor and wish Christopher Eccleston had stuck around for at least one more season. (It's also a shame that there seems to be some bad blood between him and the series' execs.)

3. The Eleventh Doctor: It took me the longest to warm up to him, but I finally did during the 11th episode ("The Lodger") of Series 5. I think this has less to do with Matt Smith and more to do with how much I miss David Tennant. But I do like him now, too (and maybe have finally accepted that he's the new doctor and I just have to deal with it!)


Companions
1. Rose: this sweet, quirky friendship that turned into a love story is my absolute favorite. I love the chemistry between Billie Piper and both Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant. And I also love the surrounding characters (Jackie and Mickey) of her story.

2. Donna: is hilarious. After a few seasons of companions crushing on the doctor, it was really refreshing to have one who most definitely did not feel that way about him ("too skinny!"). I think some of her episodes made me laugh the hardest.

3. Rory: I think I can count him as a companion at this point, right? Rory is the sweetest and his devotion to Amy makes me like her more, too.

4. Special Bonus Companion: Captain Jack Harkness. I don't know if he ever technically counted as a companion, but his suave, chiseled character (especially against the 9th Doctor who found him totally cheesy) was awesome fun.


Episodes (for the purposes of this list, I chose one favorite from each Doctor):
1. "The Doctor's Wife" (the 11th Doctor): Neil Gaiman writing a Dr. Who episode? Yes, please! Quirky plot, razor sharp dialogue and peppered with poignant moments. What more could you ask for?

2. "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End" (the 10th Doctor): My favorite season finale so far. I loved the return of all of the Doctor's companions to help him save the world (natch)...especially the return of one very important, seemingly lost forever blond (see above).

3. "Father's Day" (the 9th Doctor): I think this was the episode that made me really love the show wholeheartedly. It was filled with a ton of human emotion (alongside the bad guy aliens) and it made me care deeply about both Rose and the Doctor.

So there you are! Who fans, who are your favorite Doctors, companions and episodes?

9 comments:

  1. Sarvenaz, my husband and I just got into Doctor Who too, but so far we've only watched the season with Matt Smith and are planning to go back and discover the earlier seasons. I am always amazed at how this show manages to pack in so much adventure, whimsy, and heart into each episode!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've been sitting here much too long trying to pick my favorite doctor/companion/episode, but it's not working. You know what a huge fan of the new Doctor Who I am and choosing one d/c/e over another feels like a betrayal.

    Let's go another way, instead. This morning (before I read your blog post, I promise) I dug out my copy of Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale (The Final Chapter) by Russell T Davis and Benjamin Cook. It has wonderful insights into writing in general and I need to get some fresh ideas for my story. Even better, though, is it has a WHOLE LOT OF DOCTOR WHO IN IT! How episodes are written and produced, the people and processes behind the episodes, the fun, the angst, the craziness...it's all there. The book is focused primarily on season 4 and the Specials but seasons 1-3 and even a hint about season 5 are in there as well. When you have a chance, get it (I got mine on Amazon), read it; it's great.

    *ahem* OK, I'm done. ;) Bye.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've been meaning to pick that up! Thanks for the nudge, Suzanne. I've been a fan of Russell T Davies even before I watched Dr. Who so I'm sure it'll be awesome.

    Eve, you'll love the other seasons!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I completely agree with your assessments. I have two more episodes that I just have to mention among my favorites - The Unicorn & The Wasp was just so fun, and the whole poisoning/reviving the doctor thing had me cracking up hysterically! I also absolutely love Vincent & the Doctor - so sad and amazing. Absolutely perfect casting for Vincent! I'm in the process of picking my top 10 favorite episodes - it's so hard!!

    That book sounds amazing, Suzanne! Thanks for the recommendation!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jenny, yes! I adore Agatha Christie so seeing that crossover was SO fun. And totally agree on "Vincent and the Doctor" being one of the loveliest and most emotional episodes.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My husband and I have netflix and when I was single I had satellite tv. So between the two of those I had heard of Doctor Who, however, I had never watched it. Earlier this spring, we had just finished watching a movie and weren't quite ready to go to bed and so I just decided "heck, why not" and we watched the first episode of the 2005 season "Rose". A few episodes in, I was hooked. We're now in series 5. I do miss David Tennant so much. I, like you, also wish Christopher Eccleston had stayed around for another season! You described his portrayal well! Your doctors are definitely my favorites also.

    My favorite companions are 1. Rose (I'm so glad you love her too, I was so glad she came back for a few episodes) 2. Donna (cracked me up!) 3. I'm really really liking Amy Pond.

    I'm not sure what my favorite episodes are. Favorite episodes that I can think of off the top of my head are: "Blink" (those angels are so creepy), "Human Nature", "The Girl in the Fireplace", and "The Empty Child" (mummy, are you my mummy?).

    I'm so glad you enjoy Doctor Who also. I think I'm gonna have to go watch an episode right now!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Taylor, those are all great episodes too! I had to relegate myself to just naming one stand-out episode per doctor because I didn't think I could really name my top 3 episodes without agonizing over it for days.

    I think you'll really like series 6! I think it's much tighter and more action-packed than 5.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Rose is my favorite companion, too. (Of course she is!) I was a sucker for the romantic ending. And my favorite episode is "Blink." (Which, oddly enough, barely contains The Doctor at all.) I'm shivering and twitching in fear just thinking about that one.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sounds interesting... but I don't watch it.

    ReplyDelete