Doctor Who?
Full disclosure. As you can see, Tom Baker is my doctor. He was my first. I've been on this ride over forty years. I've cycled through 73 different writers. Yup 73!!! I counted!!! Thank you Google. I understand the vitriol and trepidation of the new. You should've heard my comments when Colin Baker became the Doctor. I was less than thrilled. I was not polite about it. My family told me, suck it up or stop watching. I sucked it up. 
Now, 44 years later, I've a 13th Doctor. I reserve judgement. (ish) The writing is lackadaisical. There are plot holes. It does get dreadfully boring at times. There are more misses than hits. What I see is a Doctor struggling to find themselves. How exactly do you do that when you've so much history but don't want to repeat yourself? Well, you repeat yourself. The Daleks have always been a go-to foe. They made their first appearance in season 1. There have been Dalek foes in all but 11 seasons of the entirety of Doctor Who. Like the Doctor, the Daleks just keep regenerating! Then, for so long, the Doctor's identity was tied in opposition to the Master. Now the Master is no more. How do you go about crafting a new identity when everyone you know and love are gone/dead? Granddaughter - dead. Sarah Jane - dead. River Song, the modern love of his life is no more. (please, please, please bring her back! Just like a blitzkrieg attack! We know she has the power. She had many adventures with 8!! And by the way, LOVED that pairing!) Donna - repressed /wiped memories. Amy and Rory are dead. Donna, River and Amy were strong bullheaded characters that kept the Doctor in check. Without them, who is the Doctor? As a being, how do you come to center when so much of what makes you you gone?I like the new companions. They are bold, strong, and intelligent in their own right. They don't "need" the Doctor to tell them how to do things. They have their own ideas and ways and they aren't goo-goo eyed over a seemingly immortal alien. Think of Ace and her baseball bat. Think of (my sainted) Sarah Jane. Mel. and some extent, Leela. I like how they get along with each other. The familial bonds that change with loss and experience (I think of this relationship an allusion to the Doctor with his Granddaughter). The cop that wants to prove herself. No, they aren't 'mates' or 'fam'. 13 struggles to find a word that describes the new relationships. As with every new regeneration, it takes the Doctor time to find themself again, resort the memories. The strong characters to keep the Doctor safe and creates a balance.
Because we all know what happens when the Doctor loses his balance: saving Captain Adelaide Brooke. He goes to far. No one should have that much power. A Time Lord Victorious. No one to stop him. Captain Adelaide Brooke had the audacity to defy him! She took her own life because it was the right thing to do. The Ood came a calling. He knew he went to far. As a result, he regenerated into a bumbling child, burying his past and just out for a good time. Speaking gibberish and waving his hands like a buffoon to cover his deep seated anger with himself. It peeked through here and there. Amy and River kept it at bay and in check. Twelve had Clara. In a weird way (and make no mistake I hated Clara. Hated her more than I hated the Sixth), would've made a "good" Doctor - in relation to what happened to the Doctor the prior seven or so years.
So, where does that leave us? 55 years. 37 seasons. 851 episodes. 13 doctors. 45 companions.
Some good.
Some bad.
Some amazing.
Some forgettable.
But that's the Whoverse!
Is it wrong to say I would like 44 more years of Who?
Comments