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| (Banner by Studio D) We are so excited to be a part of Erica O’Rourke’s and Eliza Evans' The 13 Days of Doctor Who! Many of the girls here at Tangled Up In Words are Whovians and we are so happy to be counting down the days until the Doctor Who Christmas Special with you! Don't forget to check out the details at the end of this post to learn how you enter to win the grand prize: Season 6 of Doctor Who on DVD! 
Patricia: The first time I met the Doctor, I wanted nothing to do with him. It was Memorial Day weekend in 2008 and my husband and I were flipping though the channels trying to find something to watch. After passing three channels playing various episodes of Doctor Who I began a conversation that would change everything for me when it came to the Doctor:
Hubby: What do you want to watch?
Me: Anything but Doctor Who. I mean seriously, it's on every freaking channel. Who watches that?
Hubby: Huh... Have you every actually watched an episode of Doctor Who?
Me: ...No. It looks stupid.
Hubby: Let's watch one.
Me: Yeah, no thanks.
Hubby: Just watch ONE. I think you'll like it.
So we watched one (Season 3, Episode 6: The Lazarus Experiment). And then we watched another. And another. And another. And then 11 hours later it was Monday morning and the marathon was over and I almost cried over the fact that I was going to have to wait four more hours until the stores opened so we could go buy Seasons 1-3 and watch them all.
Which is all we did. Over the next week or so, we would go to work, come home, eat, watch as many episodes of Doctor Who as we could until I fell asleep and then rinse and repeat until we caught up the season in-progress. From that moment on, Saturday nights at 9pm were all automatically reserved for new episodes of Doctor Who.
I've come a long way from that fateful day in 2008. In fact just today we had a very different conversation at my house.
Me: So I printed out a tiny TARDIS to tape amongst the glow-in-the-dark stars for (5 year old son's) bedroom.
Hubby: Really...
Me: And while I was looking for a wall decal I found a full, door-sized TARDIS.
Hubby: Huh.
Me: Like for a bedroom door.
Hubby: Yeah.
Me: Like for OUR bedroom door.
Hubby: Um, no. *SIGH* Remember when you didn't even want to watch that show. When you thought it was "stupid". Now look at you!
Me: I have no idea what you're talking about. Also, I just bought the TARDIS. It will be here on Friday.
Danielle: The first time I met The Doctor I had no clue how much I would love him.
I think that's the truth for most people. For me, meeting The Doctor
was a three-step process. The first step? Saying no. I was 21 and living
in Nashville. My Rebecca
told me I should watch it--and I vehemently and repeatedly declined. (I
was pretty stupid back then.)
Then I moved to Boston. Most of the friends I made here were bloggers and writers--and all of them LOVED Doctor Who. I usually sat in conversations and said nothing. When they told me to watch it, I gave a non-committal shrug. A few months later I went back to Nashville for a weekend visit, during which Rebecca asked me again. And I said I would. During that weekend we watched the first the first few episodes--and I decided it was okay. Then, somehow, the whole first season was over before I even left. And I really liked it--but I went home and had no Netflix and it was fine. I didn't really care. And then one day I did. I can't explain it. I woke up and OMG I wanted to watch Doctor Who. That was step three. I bought Netflix. For the last week of December--a year ago!!--I started with "Christmas Invasion" and watched DW. I finished the last Tennant episodes on New Years Eve. It's all I did--watch Doctor Who. I barely slept because I had to watch it. Then, on New Years Day, BBC had a series 5 marathon and I watched those also. I watched that season twice actually. In the same weekend. From there the Monster was born. I found Tumblr. I found other friends who liked DW. I converted people to DW (including Christina and 8 others. I keep count). I love it. A lot. I never miss an episode and I love talking theories, fandoms and every little thing in between. I will never NOT be a Doctor Who fan. The first time I met The Doctor I had no clue how much I would love him. But now I do. It's crazy how much a show can mean to you--how it can change you and teach you and make you laugh through your tears. That's Doctor Who. The reason I think I love The Doctor so much is because when you meet him, you meet 100,000 other people you never expected. Whovians unite. They come out of the woodworks. Talk to you on busses. In lobbies. Online. In grocery stores. There's something unifying about The Doctor. Once you meet someone else who is a Whovian--you always have something to talk about and it never gets old. That's the thing that people don't understand before they experience it. And even when you try to explain it to them, you can't. It's part of the experience. The first time you meet The Doctor you'll never forget it. Because knowing The Doctor changes you. It may not be a profound way for everyone, but at the very least you'll never look at bow tie or an angel statue the same way. That's the power of Doctor Who. I am very glad I met him.  
Christina: The first time I ever watched Dr. Who was at the insistence of Danielle.
Now, I have a healthy love for sci-fi (just ask me about Farscape!) but
I couldn't get over the low-budget look of the first season with
Christopher Eccleston, that and the mannequins coming to life creeped me
out a bit. So after watching only an episode or two, I was ready to
give up on it and move on...until Danielle came to visit. During her
visit she sat me down and made us have a Dr. Who marathon and I'm so
glad she did! I only had to watch a few more episodes of it to realize
how much I loved it. After that I watched seasons 2 through 5 as fast as
I could, in about two weeks. And then had to wait for season 6 online
(which I devoured as well!) I've fall in love with this show and am so
SO glad Danielle showed it to (shoved it at) me love. (But that's what
happens when you find an amazing show that you love so much, you want
everyone else to see how wonderful it is!) And David Tennant will always
be my doctor. <3
Thank you so much for joining us on our blog hop stop! You should tell us about the first time YOU met The Doctor.
"Before I go, I just want to tell you: you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic! And d'you know what? So was I."
-The Doctor
For details about other fantastic stops on the hop, check out the Wibbly Wobbly Schedule.
To enter the grand prize giveaway, please leave a comment with your name and email address. You may enter once at every stop on the blog tour, for a total of thirteen chances. The Grand Prize giveaway is limited to the US and Canada, due to regional restrictions on the DVD. Individual contests will close at the discretion of the author, but the Grand Prize contest will accept entries on any site until midnight CST on December 24th. We will post the winner on December 25th, and notify the winner via email.
Don't forget to check out tomorrow’s stop on the blog hop at Ryann Murphy’s site, http://ryannmurphy.com/. Make sure to comment for another chance to win the Season 6 box set! |
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
13 Days of Doctor Who Blog Hop: The First Time I Met The Doctor
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"I have no idea what you're talking about. Also, I just bought the TARDIS. It will be here on Friday."
ReplyDeleteROTFL!
My first time meeting the Doctor, I'd put a reserve in at the library for "Season One" and was expecting the First Doctor -- something old-fashioned and lo-fi and very weird. I got the DVDs and was thoroughly skeptical when I saw Christopher Eccleston in his leather jacket. My skepticism continued through the mannequin episode, too, but I was intrigued enough to watch another... and with each episode I was sucked further in!
Thanks for sharing your stories.
I had to chuckle, Danielle, when I read your comment about season 1 being "low-budget." I grew up on the classic show, and to me, that season looked like a Hollywood epic! I was so impressed at how much time and money was being poured into the show. Of course, Doctor Who has such a high profile in the BBC, it gets a bigger budget now than even back in 2005, so the effects are better still.
ReplyDeleteBut the one thing that has always carried Doctor Who from the really low-budget days to now is the strength of the stories. When I was a kid, we easily looked past the no-so-great make up and model effects (though sometimes they were actually very good) because we got caught up in the adventure and the characters.
My hope is that this new generation of Who fans won't lose sight of that, because while Who now has a big budget and is the BBC's flagship show, the stories are STILL great. That's partly because a lot of the writers for the new series are people of my generation that grew up with the classic show and understand the importance of great writing. But also the show demands it... and I hope we, as fans, do too!
cds-at-colindsmith.com
I've always been a fan of anything and everything sci-fi, so when I heard about this little British sci-fi show called Doctor Who that had been around since the 60s, I knew I had to check it out.
ReplyDeleteI started with the reboot, and at first I wasn't too impressed. Like Christina said, I had a hard time getting past the low-budget look of the first season. I pushed through, though, and by the time David Tennant stepped onto the screen I realized that I was head over heels in love. It might have had something to do with Tennant's adorkableness, but I now have an appreciation for season one and Eccleston's Doctor as well.
I loved reading your stories! Patricia, your second conversation with your husband is priceless. :D
alyhat(at)gmail.com
I can relate to all your stories, thanks for sharing. I was late to watching Doctor Who, started a couple of years ago. We went on a Doctor Who marathon and caught up far too quickly. I'm definitely more into it than my husband is and I started watching the class Who as well. I just can't get enough!
ReplyDeleteSuzanne Hill
thoozie(at)gmail.com
Hi! I had a friend who watched in the 80s and I watched a couple episodes with her but didn't get into it. When the reboot started I was all "Oh, not interested. Don't own a television and it's too much of a pain to deal with." Then Neil Freaking Gaiman wrote and episode and I had to see it. So, my husband looked up the FAQ on reddit/r/doctor who and we found out what order to see things in. I started with "Rose" from 2005, and I was hooked. The minute he said "Run!" I was intrigued. I fell head over heels when he said "I can feel it, the turn of the earth." Took us a few months to catch up, but we were able to watch the last three or four episodes of season 6 with the rest of the world. Can't wait for the Christmas special.
ReplyDeleteName: Traci Perg
email: tgperg (at) gmail (dot) com
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI first met the Doctor when I was on Maternity leave and had some time on my hands and not much sleep!
ReplyDeleteerin(at)anatomyofaskirt(dot)com
I've always been a fan of sci-fi, but even after having spent three months in the UK in 2009, I still never got around to watching the show. Then, this January, I started my library science graduate program and I was CONSTANTLY getting Doctor Who shoved in my face by my classmates. I finally succumbed in April, first by downloading Season 1 episodes on ITunes, and then shelling out some money for Netflix. Although the first few episodes seemed a little hokey, the stories were wonderful, and I've always been a sucker for time travel.
ReplyDeleteI went back to the UK this summer and was able to catch a showing of Much Ado About Nothing with Catherine Tate (my favorite companion) and David Tennant (my favorite Doctor). It was absolutely magical, and I never would have done it if I hadn't only a few months before, devoured the entire Doctor Who series.
beccavogler(at)gmail(dot)com
Oh goodness, these stories sound like mine! One of my best friends has been a Dr. Who fan since forever and has often encouraged me to give it a try, but sci-fi has always been a hard sell for me. Anyway, my sister developed an interest in it this year and together we finally started watching it, starting with Eccleston's Doctor. It took us a few episodes into that first season before it finally hooked us, and then once we got to Tennant, we were SOLD.
ReplyDeleteI am still that girl who sits in on DW conversations with the glazed look on her face...but I have to admit I am becoming more fascinated with each stop on this blog hop! Maybe I will take a chance and watch one episode with the husband (who is a loooooong time fan, though I sorta fear the mania it seems to incite!
ReplyDeleteName: Heather R. Holsclaw. Email: hrholsclaw (at) gmail (dot) com.
ReplyDeleteI was all of 19 years old, away at college, and my new boyfriend said "OOH! It's time for Dr. Who!" and turned on the tv. And I scoffed at the cheesy effects. And I rolled my eyes at the silliness. And I fell head over heels with the goofiness and lovableness of the Doctor. And his 20 ft striped scarf. And his Jelly Babies. And... Tom Baker is all to blame. I've seen every Baker episode and even own some of them (and I'm not a big one for buying dvds). I enjoyed the other doctors, but not as much as Baker. Just something endearing about him. That was almost 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteThen they did the reboot. And my husband said "eh. i don't really want to watch" so we didn't for a while. Until I said forget that and went out and bought the first season of Eccleston. And once again fell head over heels for a Doctor. I've not seen the Tennant ones or the Matt Smith ones. I know I need to, and I'll get there. The hubby is still not a major Whovian, so it's tough to get him to agree to watch. But he loves Gaiman, so I'm hoping to build toward the ones he's written.
Also? I have a Tardis mug. Alas, it is no larger on the inside than the out. That being said? It is actual Tardis shape, including a lid to complete it. It is glorious.
And... I can neither confirm nor deny that, when I'm drinking tea or coffee out of my Tardis mug in class and one of my students says "HEY! THat's a Tardis! COOLEST MUG EVAR!!" I like them just a teeny bit more than I do the other students. :-s
Loved reading all of your stories :-)
my email address is ettyoop@yahoo.com
Etty
The first time I met the Doctor? Well, my sister had seen a couple episodes here and there and decided to hunt it up at our library. But the only season in our system was Series 4. She and my parents started marathoning it. I was busy and in and out and kind of shrugged my shoulders when they asked if I wanted to watch. Then I sat through an episode. And I fell head over heels for Ten and Donna and watched as many episodes as I possibly could before we had to return it. Then I started netflixing them from the Eccleston series and I fell in love with the Doctor. And it kills me every. single. day. that I don't have the channel and can't keep up with the current series. I love the fandom and everything. <3 <3
ReplyDeletesonshinemusic at gmail dot com
I love hearing stories like these :) Personally, I got into Doctor Who on a whim. My dad had always liked the show as a kid and I was interested in watching the new series. After a few episodes I was completely hooked! I too can't wait for the Christmas special, though I'll have to watch it the next day given that I'm in America!
ReplyDeleteAs a kid, I was always creeped out by the snippets of Tom Baker I'd see on PBS's airing of old Dr Who episodes, but when they offered the relaunch on netflix streaming, my husband and i thought, why not? We've heard so many great things...
ReplyDeletethis comic thus sums up our watching experience:
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/comment/39/2011/12/1fee0f29a8ac1b1ade9bb4fc0cb54e5f/original.jpg
My first experience with the Doctor was Waters of Mars. I was intrigued, but not enamored. Next was the oldie, Ark in Space with Tom Baker, which moved so slowly I could not stand it. Not until I started with Rose and moved through the reboot was I hooked. Several marathon sessions.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness such a cleverly written and sweet idea for a post!!
ReplyDeleteI once pretended that I knew all about Dr. Who because I knew a cute guy who was a Whovian (this was before the reboot--I'm that old). But it wasn't until 20 years later that I was flipping channels, looking for something my then-11-year-old and I would both enjoy, and discovered David Tennant.
ReplyDelete