Doctor Who: The Complete First Series

If you are not already a Whovian and you just don't understand the total obsession people seem to be infected with when it comes to Doctor Who, you are not alone. In fact, many of us who end up loving Doctor Who—myself included—start off completely clueless. What is this strange show? A TARDIS, a Time Lord? It all sounded like childish silliness. I didn't understand the infatuation, what was the intrigue?

To start things off, I watched the pilot of the new series and it didn't do very much for me, honestly. To an American very unfamiliar with British humor the pilot seemed not only tacky but unrelatable and ridiculous, honestly. The new series is also a decade old and on new legs, so it hadn't really reached solid ground just yet. I found it hard to believe that the series had such an overwhelming following, but you can't judge the new series on a single episode.

Just a few episodes and you will be hooked. While I cannot say a lot about the original series which started out in black and white, I know the show has changed a lot since then, and for better or worse I do not know. It was, even then however, very popularly watched and loved in the UK, and it is an important part of the Doctor's heritage. The new series does stand alone, and it is geared towards this culture, so I would recommend beginning with the new series—especially if you tried to start with the First Doctor and the first season but found it uncharming. I am sure people would argue with me on that, of course.

There are, in all honesty, multiple reasons why Doctor Who has been an outstanding show throughout the many decades. I have heard it said that Doctor Who is science fiction for those who do not like science fiction... and while I myself personally do like sci-fi, therefor I cannot say that is true, I do think it is much more than just another show for science fiction junkies.

The Doctor is a Time Lord, the last of an ancient race of aliens who lived on a beautiful planet called Gallifrey and possessed incredible power and knowledge. The Doctor is brilliant, eccentric, passionate, and often very humorous and sometimes even childish, but he is also endearing. He has a great compassion for humanity and a void and loneliness in his life that is very human. As empathetic beings we grow to feel for The Doctor and understand how he thinks. Although Doctor Who is about adventures and saving the world, it is also about principles, forgiveness, and love. To me, that is what makes the series so wonderful—because it is not just science fiction, or drama, or a romance, nor is is just comedic, it endeavors to teach the value of human life and companionship, which in today's society I feel is exceptionally needed. Doctor Who has never failed to make me laugh and to make me cry, but beyond that it also explores the limits of human creativity and imagination, from visiting a planet-library to the end of the universe.

If you are not already a Whovian and you just don't understand the total obsession people seem to be infected with when it comes to Doctor Who, you are not alone. In fact, many of us who end up loving Doctor Who—myself included—start off completely clueless. What is this strange show? A TARDIS, a Time Lord? It all sounded like childish silliness. I didn't understand the infatuation, what was the intrigue?

To start things off, I watched the pilot of the new series and it didn't do very much for me, honestly. To an American very unfamiliar with British humor the pilot seemed not only tacky but unrelatable and ridiculous, honestly. The new series is also a decade old and on new legs, so it hadn't really reached solid ground just yet. I found it hard to believe that the series had such an overwhelming following, but you can't judge the new series on a single episode.

Just a few episodes and you will be hooked. While I cannot say a lot about the original series which started out in black and white, I know the show has changed a lot since then, and for better or worse I do not know. It was, even then however, very popularly watched and loved in the UK, and it is an important part of the Doctor's heritage. The new series does stand alone, and it is geared towards this culture, so I would recommend beginning with the new series—especially if you tried to start with the First Doctor and the first season but found it uncharming. I am sure people would argue with me on that, of course.

The Cast