Leopaul's Heaven and Hell: Since when did I became...a DW Fan?

Doctor Who Series 5 DVD

Doctor Who was a British science fiction program that was aired since 1963 and then went off the air in 1989. Don't worry, I didn't know that either....

I'd never heard of Doctor Who. Nor its the actors who portrayed as the venerable Doctor.

I'd always assumed that the Brits can make a sci-fi series that is too popular for adults many. Who wouldn't? But then, in 2005, some guy named Russell Davies got bored for doing absolutely nothing on his free time and do you guess what he did on his time? He brought Doctor Who back, starting from Christopher Eccleston who served as the 9th generation Doctor when the series returned in the Spring of 2005 along with some actress named Billie Piper as his companion, Rose Tyler.

I'm no fan of the classic Who because this is somewhat what your parents used to watch when they were kids but the modern Who is all fantastic and cool and suitable for all ages. Kids love to watch the modern Who, even teens, or parents who got fed of seeing the classic Who.

First glance, when I watched the first series, take note the one when it got back in 2005, I sometimes didn't like Mr. Eccleston's performance but with all of his eccentric ways, his rage, fun, anything, that got me. In episodes like the one when London's been invaded by the Slitheen, that's when The Doctor and Rose showed their true instincts. I have seen it all that this Who is all about the battle of wits. Its the Time Lord's intelligence that will change the fate of the world. Of course, for being the last of the powerful Time Lords, he's your ideal knight in shining armor uh...save that to someone else...Don't mind asking why.

When Christopher Eccleston left the show after the first season ended, where he got turned into David Tennant, this is when it gets interesting. David, for being the shouty type of Doctor, really helped this show's popularity soared into new heights. And if I said shouty, I saw him when he guested on Top Gear Season 10 finale. "SPEED UP!" David Tennant yelled. Heh....not bad for the Scottish-born actor who popularized Doctor Who with his shouty humorous attitude. As I watched all of Mr. Tennant's adventures, I started to adore his attitude. Even when Ms. Freema Agyeman took role as Martha, who served as his companion for Series 3, and then comedian Catherine Tate from The Catherine Tate Show, who was Donna Noble from the 2006 Christmas Special up until she became a full-fledged partner on Series 4, which brought back Billie and Freema and some of his good guys, Doctor Who became a chemistry of laughter, appeal, and surprisingly the emotion that we felt.

Travel through time, fend off against enemies such as the Daleks, the Cybermen, and many others, and saving the universe, that's how The Doctor's been good at but sometimes though, with great power comes great responsibility. The rules of time are fluid, some actions have dire consequences, and some tragedies cannot be reversed. Such examples came from The Fires of Pompeii episode and the 2009 Autumn Special titled The Waters Of Mars. He maybe prevented catastrophe from time paradoxes but sometimes, there is NO ROOM FOR MANEUVER. Some events are fixed and cannot be changed. That made me sad...

Thanks to Mr. David Tennant's contribution, Doctor Who spawned several merchandising rights such as a toy replica of his Sonic Screwdriver, some Doctor Who books to keep them interested, and that's it. Also, it even spawned spin-offs....(sigh) I felt pity about The Sarah Jane Adventures. Even though a good Doctor Who spinoff targeted for the kids in Britain and starred famed Doctor Who actress Elisabeth Sladen as journalist Sarah Jane Smith, I'd never knew that it only spawned five seasons. To put it this way, Season 5 was the last of The Sarah Jane Adventures before Elisabeth Sladen died in 2011. Right before her passing, she even wrote an autobiography, which I really want to read about her achievements as being Sarah Jane Smith from the classic Who right to her last words before her death. Classic and modern Whovians alike can still remember Sarah Jane as one of the all time companion greats.

Aside from Sarah Jane, who can forget a time agent became Torchwood operative, Captain Jack Harkness (played by John Barrowman)? Torchwood is more than just a rated-SPG spinoff of Doctor Who. When I said rated-SPG, it does. Think of CSI meets The X-Files but sadly, I didn't like that show but I'll give it a chance to see one. Count on it. Even they we're branded as spin-offs, they're still a product of Doctor Who's popularity.

When the year 2010 stroke, it was the year Whovians bid goodbye to David Tennant and others, even the man who revived the series, whose name was Russell Davies. Why? Because, this is the year Doctor Who became the coolest and positioned as one of the BBC's flagship programs...thanks to actor Matt Smith and the newly appointed showrunner who was famous for modernizing Sherlock, Steven Moffat.

Matt Smith's now the 11th generation Doctor Who and even though it was the fifth series, it feels like a completely new Doctor Who rather than just a continuation. With good guys such as Amy Pond and Rory Williams, this show is getting cooler than the past Doctor Who seasons. Thanks to Mr. Steven Moffat and Matt Smith, the whole humans became fez-wearing, bowtie-wearing, jammie dodger-eating, Whovians because why? He's unique....VERY VERY unique. Aside from the Eleventh's coolness, merchandising rights are now expanded and luckily, we'd expected a toy version of the TARDIS, especially the Eleventh's Sonic Screwdriver! I once had a TARDIS toy and the Eleventh's sonic screwdriver in my room and you wouldn't guess how my transformation came intro fruition. When I watched the whole of Mr. Matt Smith's adventures, he revolutionized everything! Bowties are cool, fezzes are cool, stetsons are cool, glasses are cool, and bunk beds are cool! Wait, bunk beds are cool? We used to have one of those and I broke one. Sorry....

This show became a global phenomenon and even when classic programs revamped into new ones fail within a minute, Doctor Who is doing very well. So well...it even spawned a video game its very own exhibition in Porth Teigr, Cardiff, Wales!

I am so glad I became one of them...a fez-wearing, bowtie-wearing, jammie dodger-eating, fish custard-eating, bunk bed-sleeping, Whovian. That's my NEW TO WHO story. Because I'm new to Who. Allons-y!

Thanks for reading and as always...NEVER APPLY LOGIC TO WHO...