Tonight was
definitely a night for watching television.
This evening saw
the broadcast of the much-hyped fiftieth anniversary special of Doctor Who: The
Day of The Doctor – and I, like many others across the country, stayed in so I could
watch it.
I’ve become
something of a fan of the series over the past few years. I saw it occasionally as a child, during the Sylvester McCoy days, but didn’t
really get into it until its ‘regeneration’ in 2005 (see what I did there). Even then, I was a bit of
a late-starter; I only really started watching properly after I bought a couple
of box-sets for my girlfriend for Christmas.
It’s probably not
that surprising that I would like it. I was always a bit of a sci-fi fan as a
kid (I used to watch Star Trek almost religiously; braving the cold to sit in
my mum and dad’s conservatory each week, as the original series
was repeated on BBC2).
What I
particularly like about the revamped Doctor Who is that it is always built around
a good story. It also doesn’t fall into the trap of being too geeky; it’s as
accessible to those who have been into it for years as it is to the casual
viewer.
They’re also
excellent at making the show scary without being gory; you never see blood – and the ‘baddies’ are always something creepy and suitably dark, that plays upon your mind. It makes for perfect children’s television; the sort of thing you’d beg
your parents to let you stay up and watch, only to spend the rest of the
evening cowering behind a cushion.
Fans of Doctor
Who are a little bit like fans of The Beatles; they are very protective of the
legacy of their obsession – and always feel that they know best about it. As a result, I’ll keep my writing
on the subject brief; I don’t want to step on the toes of the many who know more about the programme than myself.
I will say this,
though – much as I like Matt Smith as The Doctor, tonight’s special did make me
miss David Tennant. I also would have loved to have seen Christopher Eccleston in it again, though I know that was going to be very unlikely.
One question that does play on my mind, is this: I wonder what fee Peter Capaldi got for a shot of just his eyes?