Whovian in Training

About 8 or 9 months ago, I decided that I might want to start watching Doctor Who. However I didn't have anyone to borrow it from, and it wasn't on Netflix so I just brushed it off and decided maybe some other time.

Then a couple of months ago, at work a co-worker and I were geeking out (probably about Sherlock or Harry Potter) and the topic got to Doctor who and she mentioned that it was now on Netflix. "Like Canadian Netflix??" I asked, because Canadian Netflix tends to suck more than the American and it takes longer for us to get things. "Like Netflix that I can actually watch?" she said yeah, so then I decided that's what I needed to do.

And then I realized that the internet at my place isn't the best. It seems like every month we almost or do go over the data usage (land lady still hasn't gotten around to switching it) so binge watching Doctor Who on Netflix wasn't going to be feasible.

Fast forward to about a month ago when I became semi unemployed (slow season = no shifts) and decided to come home for a couple weeks while I had the chance. Now I could watch Doctor Who!

I think I'm just about at the last episode of season 4. Which means Ten is going to be leaving soon. I could have gotten farther but I kept taking huge breaks between some episodes. Like the end of Nine, and the end of Rose, and before Blink because I knew the Angels were coming.

So far I'm enjoying it. I'm not a full blown Whovian yet, though I do tend to talk about it a lot. And post a lot of things on Pinterest... Ok, maybe I'm just in denial.

I started at what I guess some people call "New Who" with Nine. Some day I would like to be able to watch the original Who but I don't know if it's even around anymore. (I keep hearing it was all destroyed in a fire). I have to say I was very fond of Nine. I know a lot of people don't like him as much, but I feel like if he had gotten more than one season people would have grown to like him more. Because when he regenerated, as much as I had heard good things about Ten, I was sad and didn't like Ten for most of the first season. No particular reason why, he just wasn't Nine and I don't like change.

Raxacoricofallapatorius!

The same thing happened after Rose. I loved her. She was hilarious and adorable and totally clueless at times but always wanted to learn and help The Doctor. And then we got Martha. Who really is actually quite intelligent and competent, but she's not Rose, so I didn't like her as much. She ended up growing on me but I still liked Rose better. Now I'm onto Donna, who I really thought I was going to hate, not totally sure why, but I ended up liking her. She's very brash and doesn't put up with The Doctor's crap. And I also like that she's not in love with The Doctor like the other two. Which makes the end of season 4 so much better because if Martha was still the companion she wouldn't be happy about Rose coming back, but Donna is super happy and excited for both of them.

Aside from the characters, the rest of the show is kind of weird and slightly confusing (there's an adult talking about how when he was a kid he saw the doctor and they show Ten and I think "but wait, he's only been The Doctor for two years, he couldn't have...no...never mind". You don't apply logic to Who) and mildly creepy. The pig men creeped me out, the Daleks and Cybermen scared me, and so did the Angels. I am a self proclaimed "chicken shit" so that's not at all surprising. Basically the only reasons I'm sticking it out is that I've heard very good things, the characters and the writing.

There are some hilarious lines. Sometimes they're only really funny if you know some background information (liked the Shakespeare episode, when they mention Harry Potter and the Doctor says "wait till you read the 7th book, oh I cried" well, this episode was released a month before the book). I just applaud the writers of Doctor Who.



Cute fan art of the "oh I cried" mention

It's also fun to play name that actor. It seems Britain reuses a lot of actors in their shows and movies. So far I've recognized Mycroft from Sherlock, Myrtle and Barty Crouch Sr (battling his son, no less) from Harry Potter, Simon Pegg, Giles from Buffy, and one guy who has been in 33 different episodes as approximately the same number of characters. Also, the Twelfth Doctor is in a previous episodes. And these are only the ones I recognized off hand and that I can remember.

Overall it's a great show and I look forward to watching the rest. Unfortunately I think Netflix only currently goes up to season 7, episode 6. So it may take me a while to actually finish the series.

And because I know people always want to know, Ten might be my favourite (obviously I haven't gotten to Eleven yet) but I feel like I will always have a fondness for Nine.