About 5 years ago, I decided that by the time Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary rolled around, I’d be playing the Doctor’s companion… Or at least I’d have some role on the show… Or at least be involved with the production somehow. Well, I didn’t quite manage that (yet… I live in hope!), but, I do work for the BBC, and for an American living in America, I think that’s about as close to reaching that 5-year-plan as I could have realistically expected. :)
What I did not expect, 5 years ago, was that by the time the Doctor’s 50th anniversary rolled around, when I tell people (in America) that I work for the BBC, they’d reply, “Oh, you guys air Doctor Who! I hear about that show all the time!” I did not expect that I would see people on the NYC subways wearing Doctor Who buttons on their backpacks (aside from NYCC days), or that there would be a bar in Brooklyn whose restroom is a TARDIS, or that the anniversary episode would be simulcast around the world and shown IN THEATERS, even here in America. When I made that plan 5 years ago, I could count on one hand, literally, the number of people (in the States) that I knew who watched Doctor Who, and didn’t need all of my digits to count the people who had even heard of it. I cannot believe how far Doctor Who has come here, in such a relatively short span of time (1/10 of its whole existence!).
What I did not expect, 5 years ago, was that by the time the Doctor’s 50th anniversary rolled around, when I tell people (in America) that I work for the BBC, they’d reply, “Oh, you guys air Doctor Who! I hear about that show all the time!” I did not expect that I would see people on the NYC subways wearing Doctor Who buttons on their backpacks (aside from NYCC days), or that there would be a bar in Brooklyn whose restroom is a TARDIS, or that the anniversary episode would be simulcast around the world and shown IN THEATERS, even here in America. When I made that plan 5 years ago, I could count on one hand, literally, the number of people (in the States) that I knew who watched Doctor Who, and didn’t need all of my digits to count the people who had even heard of it. I cannot believe how far Doctor Who has come here, in such a relatively short span of time (1/10 of its whole existence!).
But, actually, I can believe it. Because I knew as soon as I saw my first episode of Doctor Who (“Love and Monsters” … I know!) that the show deserved this level of recognition. And, moreover, that the Doctor himself deserved it. I think the world can use a few more heroes like him - the ones who favor “intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism” (thanks, Craig Ferguson!). I mean no disrespect to our American superheroes, but sometimes it’s nice to see another possibility: someone whose first reaction is to try and make peace (and then regrets the times when that wasn’t possible for the rest of his - very long - life), and someone who, well… kinda seems a bit more like us (despite being an ancient, time-and-space-traveling, regenerating, alien genius).
The Doctor isn’t built like a bodybuilder, he can’t fly or teleport or use X-ray vision, and he was never injected with magic-science-serum or hit with gamma rays or whatnot. (Sorry, Thor, Superman, Captain America, Hulk, Spiderman, et al… Love y’all too!) But he saves the world anyway, over and over again, with his sonic screwdriver, some psychic paper, and a TARDIS - and, of course, with his brilliant mind, his two hearts, and some help from his friends. And occasionally a satsuma. Never underestimate the power of a satsuma! (Jammy Dodgers or bananas are also acceptable, and Jelly Babies are always good for a distraction - who can turn down sweets? If none of the above work, try reversing the polarity of the neutron flow; that oughta do it. World saved, with minimal to no damage done by the good guys!)
The Doctor finds magic in the everyday, sees the greatness in the “average,” and is constantly fascinated by the world around him - whatever world that may be. He has plenty of character flaws, to be sure, but that just makes him more… well, human, funnily enough. (I’d list them, for the sake of an unbiased report, but it’s his birthday, so I can’t be mean to him today!)
And that’s all just in the show! I know first-hand that the Doctor can affect the real world, too. How? Well, I can only speak for myself, but I think I have some fairly compelling evidence, if only for its volume: 1. I have my current job because “Doctor Who” inspired me to watch more BBC content, which then inspired me to want to intern there (a program I found out about because a friend of mine - whom I’d met because of “Doctor Who” - interned there first), which then led to me becoming a paid intern there, which then led to me getting hired full-time. 2. “Doctor Who” (and “Torchwood,” even more so) made Cardiff look like such a cool city that I wanted to see it for myself, so my parents and I spent a couple of days of our England-centric holiday to stay in Cardiff. The moment I stepped off the train in Cardiff, I felt at home... To the extent that after only 2.5 days in the city, I decided I wanted to spend 5 months studying abroad there. And the choice to study at Cardiff University in 2010 is one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life: not only did I learn a lot (academically and culturally), and not only did I make wonderful friends with whom I still keep in contact - I also found my home-away-from-home in Cardiff, and I probably never would have even thought to visit Cardiff without “Doctor Who.” The show introduced me to the place that became my favorite city in the world; a place that I feel so lucky to still be able to consider “home,” even 3.5 years after the last time I was there. (Because I know Wales will “keep a welcome in the hillside and a welcome in the Vales” til I come back. It’s what Wales does.) 3. I made most of my friends in college - my American one - because of “Doctor Who,” as I joined CSF (our sci-fi/anime/geekery club) because I really, really wanted to find other people who had heard of the show. I had plenty of other interests in line with CSF, of course, so I likely would have wound up there eventually, but it probably would not have been the activity I was most determined to join in on during my first couple of weeks away at college. Most - though certainly not all! - of my close friends at Fordham (and who remain my closest friends, post-graduation... my boyfriend included!) were made through CSF, and I may never have spent so much time with this fantastic group of people if I hadn’t been so excited to meet people who knew the Doctor existed. The fact that this group of people was (and is!) truly fantastic is what kept me going back to the club, but it was the Doctor who made going in the first place such a priority. 4. “Doctor Who” - or more accurately, David Tennant and Billie Piper’s behind-the-scenes video diaries - are what got me back into acting, after I had given it up for a bit. (Thus, indirectly, it also had a hand in inspiring me to switch my major to Communications, as I had entered college as a Computer Science major… Which, turns out, I really just do not have the patience for.) I now have two acting credits under my belt - both of which have the added bonus of supporting great charities! - and hope to add to my resume as time goes on. On both shoots, I made great friends with whom I still keep in contact (seeing a pattern, here?) - people I never, ever would have met if I hadn’t taken part in these projects. And I never would have auditioned, or even known about the auditions, if David and Billie hadn’t reminded me, with their video diaries, of everything I love about acting. (I didn’t do too much theatre in college, but my one TOP production deserves a mention, too; I probably wouldn’t have gotten involved in that without being inspired by David and Billie, either.) 5. I may never have traveled with the Doctor, but just like the rest of his companions, quite frankly, the Doctor saved me, too. I was a lot like Rose when I started watching the show - I wasn’t really going anywhere; I knew there must have been somewhere to go, but, I couldn’t figure out where, let alone how to get there. Watching the show, though, I couldn’t help but think, “Well, if Rose was special enough to be chosen to travel with the Doctor, then might I be, too? If he sees the potential in her, maybe I have it, too!” Rose herself said it best: “The Doctor shows you a better way of living your life.” And he can do that for anyone - you don’t have to be a character in the show to learn from his example. He doesn’t need to grab your hand and tell you to “Run!” with him, through all of time and space, to show you what you’re capable of. You just need to be paying attention to what he’s saying. And I’m so, so glad that, even if it took 50 years, we’re all paying attention now. Congratulations - and a heartfelt thanks - to everyone who has ever worked on bringing “Doctor Who” to our screens, books, radios, etc, over the past 50 years. You’ve done the world a great favor, in my humble opinion. You’re all brilliant… And I can’t believe I can call some of you my co-workers!! I’m honored. :)
And of course… Happy 50th Birthday, Doctor! And even though I know you won’t hear it (you never do stick around quite long enough...), thank you. <3<3
And that’s all just in the show! I know first-hand that the Doctor can affect the real world, too. How? Well, I can only speak for myself, but I think I have some fairly compelling evidence, if only for its volume: 1. I have my current job because “Doctor Who” inspired me to watch more BBC content, which then inspired me to want to intern there (a program I found out about because a friend of mine - whom I’d met because of “Doctor Who” - interned there first), which then led to me becoming a paid intern there, which then led to me getting hired full-time. 2. “Doctor Who” (and “Torchwood,” even more so) made Cardiff look like such a cool city that I wanted to see it for myself, so my parents and I spent a couple of days of our England-centric holiday to stay in Cardiff. The moment I stepped off the train in Cardiff, I felt at home... To the extent that after only 2.5 days in the city, I decided I wanted to spend 5 months studying abroad there. And the choice to study at Cardiff University in 2010 is one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life: not only did I learn a lot (academically and culturally), and not only did I make wonderful friends with whom I still keep in contact - I also found my home-away-from-home in Cardiff, and I probably never would have even thought to visit Cardiff without “Doctor Who.” The show introduced me to the place that became my favorite city in the world; a place that I feel so lucky to still be able to consider “home,” even 3.5 years after the last time I was there. (Because I know Wales will “keep a welcome in the hillside and a welcome in the Vales” til I come back. It’s what Wales does.) 3. I made most of my friends in college - my American one - because of “Doctor Who,” as I joined CSF (our sci-fi/anime/geekery club) because I really, really wanted to find other people who had heard of the show. I had plenty of other interests in line with CSF, of course, so I likely would have wound up there eventually, but it probably would not have been the activity I was most determined to join in on during my first couple of weeks away at college. Most - though certainly not all! - of my close friends at Fordham (and who remain my closest friends, post-graduation... my boyfriend included!) were made through CSF, and I may never have spent so much time with this fantastic group of people if I hadn’t been so excited to meet people who knew the Doctor existed. The fact that this group of people was (and is!) truly fantastic is what kept me going back to the club, but it was the Doctor who made going in the first place such a priority. 4. “Doctor Who” - or more accurately, David Tennant and Billie Piper’s behind-the-scenes video diaries - are what got me back into acting, after I had given it up for a bit. (Thus, indirectly, it also had a hand in inspiring me to switch my major to Communications, as I had entered college as a Computer Science major… Which, turns out, I really just do not have the patience for.) I now have two acting credits under my belt - both of which have the added bonus of supporting great charities! - and hope to add to my resume as time goes on. On both shoots, I made great friends with whom I still keep in contact (seeing a pattern, here?) - people I never, ever would have met if I hadn’t taken part in these projects. And I never would have auditioned, or even known about the auditions, if David and Billie hadn’t reminded me, with their video diaries, of everything I love about acting. (I didn’t do too much theatre in college, but my one TOP production deserves a mention, too; I probably wouldn’t have gotten involved in that without being inspired by David and Billie, either.) 5. I may never have traveled with the Doctor, but just like the rest of his companions, quite frankly, the Doctor saved me, too. I was a lot like Rose when I started watching the show - I wasn’t really going anywhere; I knew there must have been somewhere to go, but, I couldn’t figure out where, let alone how to get there. Watching the show, though, I couldn’t help but think, “Well, if Rose was special enough to be chosen to travel with the Doctor, then might I be, too? If he sees the potential in her, maybe I have it, too!” Rose herself said it best: “The Doctor shows you a better way of living your life.” And he can do that for anyone - you don’t have to be a character in the show to learn from his example. He doesn’t need to grab your hand and tell you to “Run!” with him, through all of time and space, to show you what you’re capable of. You just need to be paying attention to what he’s saying. And I’m so, so glad that, even if it took 50 years, we’re all paying attention now. Congratulations - and a heartfelt thanks - to everyone who has ever worked on bringing “Doctor Who” to our screens, books, radios, etc, over the past 50 years. You’ve done the world a great favor, in my humble opinion. You’re all brilliant… And I can’t believe I can call some of you my co-workers!! I’m honored. :)
And of course… Happy 50th Birthday, Doctor! And even though I know you won’t hear it (you never do stick around quite long enough...), thank you. <3<3
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