Of Doctor Who and Whovians

When trying to think of what I could blog about for my first entry, there was never really any question in my mind about the subject matter. I wanted to do something meaningful, but just a little obscure. And obviously it had to be something I'm a fan of. So... I figured why not blog about the current focus of my existence? (College! my Mum would say. Grades! Succeeding in life! No, no, and no.) This entry is about the British sci-fi television show, Doctor Who.

One of the better-known logos for the series.

I first heard of Doctor Who about three years ago, maybe even four. My friend Brittany was telling me about it, and to be honest, I wasn't all that interested. She said I should check it out, I agreed to, and then promptly forgot about it for the next thirty-six months or so. 

Then I got to college. My roommate Megan watched a lot of TV shows online, and one of which was Doctor Who. All I could remember is that my friend Brittany liked it. I saw a few clips here and there throughout the year, but somehow still never got into it. 

It wasn't until this summer just past that I started watching, as per Megan's suggestion. She wanted to start a roleplay storyline, and I offered to play Rose Tyler from the show, with her playing The Doctor. At first I just made stuff up as I went along, but then I felt bad and decided I should probably explore my character more. So I started watching from the beginning of the new series. And that's when the madness started. 

The TARDIS. Yes, it looks like a
police box from the 1950's.

Doctor Who, shown on the BBC, is the longest running sci-fi show in history, with it's 50th anniversary coming in 2013. (Click this link to go to BBC's official site for the show.) It follows the adventures of the Doctor, who is an alien known as a Time Lord, along with various companions, as he travels through space and time in his TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space). The thing that's kept the show running so long (a brilliant idea on the writer's part) is the fact that when the Doctor gets injured badly (something that would kill him), because he's a Time Lord, he can regenerate into a new person; still with the Doctor's memories, but an entirely new personality and appearance. Meaning basically, whenever an actor playing the Doctor either wants to leave or isn't getting the show good ratings, they can have the Doctor regenerate and therefore bring in a new actor. Whenever the Doctor regenerates, it's always an important scene, and with the improvements on special effects over the years, these scenes have gotten more dramatic throughout the years. If you feel like comparing all of them, click here. Be warned, it's a long haul, especially if you don't know what's going on.

Since the show's been going on since 1963, there have obviously been many changes since its' first broadcast. For one, it was originally done in black and white. The theme song originally used during the title sequence was the first song ever to be done entirely with synthesizers. It's morphed throughout the years to match the show, along with the title sequence itself. If you're into overanalyzing things like I am, you might enjoy this video, which shows how the sequence has changed throughout the years. Another long haul, but more non-Whovian friendly. 

What is a 'Whovian' you ask? Basically, it's a fan of the show. I proudly consider myself a Whovian. Since the show took such a long break (it was cancelled from 1986 - 1996, and then another break was had between then and 2005), people who just started watching in 2005 can still be considered loyal Whovians, despite their failure to have watched 'classic' Doctor Who. (Here's a brief video explaining the appeal of the show, made by Whovian and popular Youtuber Charlie McDonnell.)

The cover art for Chamelon Circuit's
Trock album. Do I own it? Why
yes. Yes I do. 

Whovians can range from catching the show now and then, to watching it obsessively and making music videos for it, to composing their own songs about the show and releasing them on CD's that people pay money for. This genre of music, known as Trock (Timelord Rock) is hugely popular in certain circles, but basically unknown to most. One particular band that I want to highlight call themselves 'Chameleon Circuit', named after a certain contraption on board the TARDIS. Here is a link to the band's official Myspace page, where you can check out their music. 

Now, you say, this is sounding ridiculous. I mean, it's sounding as big as Star Trek! They can't possibly have their own conventions though, can they? Well... try clicking here. This is where you can buy tickets, if you really want to go. (I DO. SO BADLY.)

The fact is, particularly in the UK, the show is huge. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone over there that hasn't at least heard of the show. And because they keep bringing in new actors, the show is a big part of British pop-culture. Billie Piper, for one, was a singer before she starred as Rose Tyler in the show's revival in 2005. Scottish actor David Tennant, who played the Doctor from 2006 - 2010, has become a beloved figure and is renowned as a brilliant actor. A popular site that keeps up with the latest Doctor Who news is actually a blog known as Blogtor Who, and you can access that by clicking here.

Billie Piper as Rose Tyler and David Tennant
as The Doctor.

I'm going to end this before it gets even more ridiculously long-winded and my geekiness is made any more apparent. (If that's at all possible.)

PICTURE SOURCES (Which I forgot to add at first):
Logo: http://www.doctorwhochronology.com/doctorwho/images/doctor-who-logo.jpg
TARDIS: http://regmedia.co.uk/2007/11/09/flying_tardis.jpg
Chameleon Circuit Cover-art: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51brV52wAcL._SL500_AA280_.jpg
Billie Piper and David Tennant: http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/doctor_who_and_rose.jpg