When I was a very small child, my father used to watch Doctor Who. I used to watch it as well (or hide behind the couch) . It is scary t think that I have watched it for almost forty-four years. I suppose that makes me an old fart.
What I love about Doctor Who was that an eccentric Gallifreyan was running around Time and Space looking out for others. He was my superman, the hero in a blue box that can always could be relied on to do his utmost to help – no matter who you were; whatever race, whatever your philosophy, whether from Earth, an alien, man or woman. It did not matter.
Over the years, I have watched 9 regenerations and am now looking forward to the 10th one (I did not see the first one… I think). There has been one Doctor I really didn’t like, another that was very ‘ meh’, three I adore immensely and another that comes really close to that. The wonderful and unique thing about Doctor Who is that we all get that choice; we get to choose our favourite. It is like a smorgasbord of Doctors and, with modern DVD technology, we can pick and choose which to watch depending on our mood.
But in all that time, most fans were like a big happy family who had very interesting discussions and the most in depth debates about our hero, his friends and companions and which version of the Daleks or Cybermen we liked the most.
On Monday, the actor to play the 12th regeneration of the Doctor was announced. Though in the past there has been controversial decisions, never have I seen such vitriol on social media as I have seen in the past twenty-four hours. I am so disappointed that some ‘fans’ are attacking an actor they do not know and demanding a younger more popular ‘star’ for the role.
The BBC & Moffat (whether you like it or not) are running the show. They do the hiring. It is their decision. Personally, I am not a massive Moffat fan; I have been left cold by some of the decisions made (especially making it more Americanised for the launch into the US market). But I am not writing/producing the show. I am however, a Doctor Who fan. I will watch it. I even kept watching when they chose Colin Baker (my least favourite Doctor ). Don’t confuse this as not liking the actor or the man. He was just not what I envisioned the Doctor to be.
Acting is a vocation; it is a job like any other and it is up to those hiring to decide who they envision is right for the job. An actor should not be measured on just how pretty their face is, or how well they rate in social media ‘likes’ but on their acting ability. Obviously there are those who are not happy with the decision. I am actually looking forward to discovering our new Doctor and going on a new journey. The possibilities are open to us!
Now is the time for all good fans to show their mettle and be open to change, respect the opinions of others and revel in an outstanding show that has endured over the past fifty years. Let us revel in a unique show that encourages us to help others and find the good in even our enemies.
Doctor Who is about change, about acceptance of others, about the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor (which ever regeneration) and about the people who travel with him during his entire life. There are four favoured Doctors that I have; I cannot just choose one. Each time there is a new Doctor, I have to reassess my list. Doctor Who is like a box chocolates! You never know what you are going to get but all chocolate is delicious, in different ways.
Be excellent to one another.