28th Confession

Sorry about the delay; it's been a busy busy couple of weeks.

I must admit it:  I'm a big fan of Doctor Who.  Sometimes, I wish I were an American, with American science-fiction predilections.  I'd be among the hordes and throngs who love to debate whether or not Han shot first in Klingon, while reading the collected works of Heinlein and Gibson.  I suppose I'm more of a fantastical kind of guy: the science doesn't impress me as much as the adventure and the otherness does.  I always enjoyed a good story that took me away from reality for a little while; thus, the comic nerd side of me is appeased with a good story, as long as it has some of the fantastic in it.  Doctor Who incorporates three of the great cornerstones of science fiction: mad scientists, time travel, and killer robots.

I've seen at least a whole episode of each Doctor in action; I am indeed that big of a nerd. There have been eleven Doctors so far, starting with William Hartnell in 1963.  The screen was small, the colors limited to black and white; however, in the very first episode of this show, the granddaughter of the Doctor predicted a day when British currency would be based on the decimal system.  This was about thirty years before the Euro stormed the British markets.

My favorite episodes are the ones starring Tom Baker: the other-worldly, off-beat intensity that he gave the Doctor define the character in my mind.  It was during his time as the Doctor that several other major figures coalesced on-screen: Sarah Jane Smith, K-9, Romana...  The Key to Time story arc added substance to the mythos of the Doctor, and he took on his longest-staying traveling companion - Tegan - during one of the last story arcs. 

If I had to talk about the story arcs that are important to the series, I really couldn't.  I mean, it's not as though there's an over-arching storyline that has happened since the beginning of the series.  Each little vignette is a snapshot of the character of the Doctor.  I'd suggest, however, watching the following arcs of each Doctor for a decent overview of the series:

1st Doctor (William Hartnell) - the original two story arcs, as well as The Dalek Invasion of Earth and The Space Museum.  We see his initial reluctance to take on companions replaced, eventually, by warmth and caring for these human stragglers.

2nd Doctor (Patrick Troughton) - The Tomb of the Cybermen, The Mind Robber, The Krotons, and The War Games.  We see the good-natured, slightly scatterbrained Doctor take on all kinds of surreal and science fiction fiends.  Most of the First and Second Doctors' adventures were destroyed by the BBC - each of the aforementioned story arcs have been preserved.  (And are available to watch online, if you know where to go!)

3rd Doctor (Jon Pertwee) - Spearhead From Space, Terror of the Autons, The Three Doctors, The Time Warrior, and Planet of the Spiders.  I really never liked this Doctor; he's tetchy, sexist, and prissy.  However, he's also been exiled from his home planet, so he's bound to be a little insensitive.

4th Doctor (Tom Baker) - Any and all episodes you can get your hands on.  Special attention, however, to Genesis of the Daleks, Pyramids of Mars, The Brain of Morbius, The Hand of Fear, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Horror of Fang Rock, The Invasion of Time, the entire Key of Time story arc/season (especially the episode written by Doug Adams), Destiny of the Daleks, and City of Death.  All of these stories are well written, show off the characters to their fullest, and touch on all kinds of issues.  Tom Baker is, quite possibly, the best Doctor in my estimation, with David Tennant running a close second.

5th Doctor (Peter Davison) - Black Orchid, Time-Flight, Arc of Infinity, Enlightenment, and The Caves of  Androzani.  After Tom Baker's mania and intensity, the Fifth Doctor becomes a refreshing change of pace.  He also doesn't rely on gadgets as much as the Fourth did, one time saving the world with a tea kettle and a piece of string, all while sporting a stalk of celery.

6th Doctor (Colin Baker) - The Twin Dilemma, The Two Doctors, and that's about it.  This is my least favorite incarnation of the Doctor: he's aggressive, arrogant, loud, and dressed like a patchwork doll.  Colin Baker also has the unfortunate standing of being the only Doctor ever fired.  Apparently, in the audiobooks, he's quite good; however, I've not listened to enough of them to tell.

7th Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) - Time and the Rani, Dragonfire, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, and Survival.  I like this Doctor well enough; anyone who can run like Charlie Chaplin on television is entertaining enough for me.  The original show ended with this Doctor, sadly; apparently, they just couldn't keep the ratings up.

8th Doctor (Paul McGann) - There was a television movie on Fox that attempted to bring the Doctor to life on American television; it didn't work, but this Doctor shows potential.

9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) - Rose, Dalek, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, and Bad Wolf/The Parting of Ways.  When the show was given a reboot, the character of the Doctor became a battle-weary, emotionally scarred time traveler, and Mr. Eccleston does an impressive job of it.

10th Doctor (David Tennant) - Any and every one of his episodes.  As with Tom Baker, anything Mr. Tennant does on screen cannot go wrong.  Entertaining to the last, all the later episodes build on the former, leaving the casual viewer wondering if they've missed an in-joke or thousand.

11th Doctor (Matt Smith) - The current Doctor.  Although the first season builds on itself to the point of self-referential insanity, Amy's Choice and The Lodger are the two brightest points of light from last season.

As ever, I look forward to comments from anyone out there who has seen more episodes, has opinions of their own, or would like to just say something.