New Who Now

We finally got to see the new season premiere of Doctor Who tonight.

Two and a half years ago, I’d never seen an episode.  Now I’m an addict.  As addictions go, it’s not so bad.  There are all kinds of support groups, though unlike AA they are more focused on helping people like me further our addictions than actually get over them.  There are t-shirts, mugs, and other paraphernalia so you can identify your compatriots.  There are even conventions for likeminded souls to gather and share, and someday I’ll probably get to one. 

But mostly there are the shows, which are fun to watch and occasionally even thought-provoking. 

It took us months to get through the backlog of the New Who episodes on Netflix, but it was nice to have them there, waiting for us, anytime we were ready for them.  And then we finished them.  But that was okay!  Because the 50th Anniversary special came right up, and then the Christmas episode that year. 

And then there was a wait.  A very long wait, which ended with Series 8 and a brand new Doctor.

And then there was another wait.

Fortunately, we have lives so we didn’t just sit around staring at a blank television screen, tempting as that may have been when the GOP debates were on.  There were other shows to watch!  Other things to do! 

Naturally, when tickets went on sale for a 3D version of the last two episodes of Series 8, strung together to make a movie, we jumped on them the way any good junkie would when presented with a fix.

We went down to the next city south of us Wednesday night to see it.  There weren’t nearly as many people there as I thought there’d be, which is perhaps not surprising in hindsight for a 2-hour show at 7:30 on a school night, but the ones who showed up were mostly wearing Who gear and were friendly.  One nice young woman named Courtney – wearing a bright red fez – struck up a conversation with me and Tabitha while we were getting our tickets, and eventually she and her boyfriend ended up sitting with us.  This sort of thing rarely happens at Terminator movies.

The 3D part didn’t add much, honestly, even if it did make the credits more fun.  But we enjoyed seeing the shows again and catching a few things that we had missed the first time around, and there were a couple of throw-ins for the fans that they tacked on at the end.  It was a good night out.

Saturday was the actual season premiere, but we were all busy that night.  Tabitha had to work, and the rest of us were at a family event at my in-laws’ house.  Fortunately we live in the age of the DVR, so this was not a problem.

We ordered pizza.  We shoveled off some space in front of the television – Kim’s office is undergoing some repairs, so everything in it is currently in the living room.  We dimmed the lights.  The show began.

I rather like Peter Capaldi’s version of the Doctor, and his writers are much better (or, if they’re the same people, they’re doing a much better job) than the ones Matt Smith got saddled with.  I’m still not sold on Clara, whose character has yet to solidify nearly three years in, but Missy is turning out to be one of the more entertaining features of the recent shows.

The Doctor is still a madman in a box, who goes wherever there seems to be trouble and tries to help out as best he can.  That’s a hero I can get next to.