So I couldn't sleep last night and whilst lying in bed I came up with an idea for a new feature on the blog- Unleash the Geek!!
Now I have never made a secret of the fact that I like a lot of geeky things so I thought I would do a weekly post looking at various television programmes video games etc- who knows I might tempt you to watch something new (or old)! Please note this will be my mind spew!!
To start the series I thought where better to start than with Doctor Who especially in light of the fact that it has just celebrated 50 years. So here is my personal journey with the Doctor.
I grew up watching Doctor Who, my first vague recollections are of Tom Baker and the Doctor Who scarf that my mom knitted for me, but my first proper Doctor was Peter Davison and I loved him. I was just the right age to be captivated by this man in a strange cricketing outfit and would sit with my brother every week to watch (one of the few times we would sit without squabbling!).
My first Doctor Peter Davison Image source
My first heart breaking moment was when I witnessed my first regeneration and Colin Baker took over and he was quite a different doctor- brash, arrogant and at times quite rude to his companion Perry and his outfit was shocking! Despite all of this I stuck with it, but Colin Baker's doctor was the victim of poor story lines and bad writing but of course as the lead actor he took the brunt of the blame, but having watched some of his episodes again recently there a few gems to be found.
Colin Baker Image source
When it came time for Colin Baker's doctor to regenerate he refused to be in the scene as contract negotiations had broken down it wasn't actually him regenerating into Sylvester McCoy.
Poor old Sylvester McCoy he had an uphill struggle from the start, viewing figures by this time were on the wane and again bad story lines and writing marred his time. Me personally I liked him and he does have some amazing episodes such as Remembrance of the Daleks which if you have never seen it, have a try you may be pleasantly surprised. He also had a fantastic companion called Ace who greatly appealed to me as she was quite the tomboy and was great at blowing up Daleks!!
Sylvester McCoy Image Source
Sadly this was to be end of Doctor Who for quite some time, the audience who had once loved it, wobbly sets and all had grown tired of it and the BBC cancelled it so it was farewell Doctor.
Doctor Who was briefly brought back for a TV movie in 1996 and this time the role of the Doctor was played by Paul McGann. I have to admit that it is only very recently that I actually watched this and it 's not bad, we get to see Sylvester McCoy for one last time but as it is just a one off we never get to fully explore the new Doctor but I think Paul McGann could have been a fantastic Doctor.
Paul McGann Image Source
Then nine years later it was announced that Doctor Who was finally returning to our screens with Russell T Davies at the helm and Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor. Even though it had been many years I was excited to see it return and it didn't disappoint. Christopher had a gravitas and a real presence you could feel the anger and emotion pour out of him as the character was still struggling to come to terms with the Time War and the destruction of the Time Lords. I was unsure about the casting of Billie Piper at first but she was fantastic (to use one of the Doctor's phrases!) and a perfect companion. My biggest disappointment was that he only stayed for one series and that even now Christopher Eccleston doesn't want to re-visit or get involved with Doctor Who which is a shame as for many youngsters he was their first Doctor.
Christopher Eccleston Image Source
Who knew (see what I did there!) that the next actor to play the Doctor would be so hugely popular- step forward David Tennant. Now he is my son's first Doctor (yes I have passed my love of Doctor Who on!) and what a Doctor he was, charming, witty, good looking and a total heart breaker! I cried when he and Rose were split up it was truly heart wrenching stuff! I have to admit to not being so keen on Martha but I loved Donna and again her departure had me in tears! I my only bug bear was that made his character too arrogant towards the end and it grated occasionally but overall when his time came to regenerate I have to admit the tears flowed when the line "I don't want to go" was said!
David Tennant Image Source
I'm sure a lot of people were nervous about the new Doctor after all David Tennant had been hugely popular and was about to replaced by a much younger and not very well know actor could it all be a total disaster? Well no Matt Smith has proved to be a very popular Doctor, and as time has gone on he has really come to make the role his own. He is a much more physical Doctor and there is a definite air of Patrick Troughton about him and only he could make a fez look cool! I will admit I was a bit indifferent to Amy and Rory- especially Rory he just seemed like a bit of a non- character some of the time but when the time came for them to leave I still shed a tear as it was beautifully acted and so heart breaking. I will also say that I am still on the fence about Clara she is OK maybe we just need more time to see the character develop.
Matt Smith Image Source
This post wouldn't be complete without a quick round up of the 50th Anniversary episode- I was worried as there was so much hype surrounding this episode that if it didn't live up to expectations then it would be a huge disappointment but thankfully it was everything and more you could have wanted. There where some nice little nods to the past doctors as although the show has been re-vamped if it wasn't for the classic series we wouldn't have it on our screen today. I think the biggest shock was actually seeing Tom Baker on screen it made me so emotional and he still captured the spirit and character of his Doctor. The one thing that made me squeal was seeing not only all of the old doctors flying all of their Tardis's but a quick glimpse of the new Doctor nothing could have prepared me for that!!
So what does the future hold well in the words of the 4th Doctor Who Knows!!
So I will leave you with a glimpse of what is to come the next Doctor...
Peter Capaldi Image Source
A future Doctor maybe?!!!!
