2 min read
I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong about Doctor Who.
Like the gravity of a dying star, Doctor Who’s vast legacy is hard to escape. So naturally, I’ve seen an episode here and there like everyone else but I've never actively sought out the series.
At a glance, Doctor Who just seemed far too silly for my liking. A guy in a fez pointing a magical screwdriver at bucket-shaped aliens that shout “Exterminate” in funny voices on repeat? Not my cup of tea. Or so I thought.
When I heard that a group of friends were gathering to watch the new specials together at the end of 2023, I was intrigued. What sway did this show have over these people to warrant an in-person viewing party?
Once you learn to accept some of the silliness, everything fits into place. For me at least, the specials featuring David Tennant that introduced Ncuti Gatwa as the fifteenth incarnation of The Doctor were the perfect jumping on point. I immediately went back and started binging the (old, new) Doctor Who that kicked off a revival back in 2005.
After spending some more time with the Doctor and his companions, I’ve discovered that the silliness often pays off with some solid slapstick humour. But when it shifts gears and introduces high-stakes drama, it really swings for the fences.
It’s a story about the resilience of humanity through the lens of a man with two hearts who travels the galaxy inside a big blue telephone booth that’s actually a time-and-spaceship.
In the vastness of space-time, the black hole that is the Doctor Who universe has finally managed to suck me in.
I’m onboard the TARDIS and adventure awaits.
The most recent Doctor Who episodes and specials are available on Disney Plus but you can find series 1 to 10 on Prime Video and series 11 to 13 on Foxtel Now.
