Doctor, Doctor (is this love I’m feeling?)

Posted on by Barbed Words

dr who posterThere’s great excitement in the barbedwords household as tonight brings the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special episode.   Which, unfortunately, we won’t be able to watch until tomorrow as we’re having an infrequent night out (no spoilers, please!)  I’m particularly looking forward to tonight’s episode as it brings back my all time favourite Doctor – David Tennant (yum yum).   And sees the demise of Matt Smith, who I haven’t taken to for some reason.  Oh, ok – it might be because he has a really big head.  I know that’s not a reason to dislike someone but, seriously, when I’m watching, that’s all I can focus on.

I watched Doctor Who a bit as a child but it wasn’t until the genius of Russell T Davies brought the series back in 2005 that I became a devoted viewer.   Stephen Moffat has been a great successor but gets minus points for writing Blink – the scariest episode ever.

So here are just some of my favourite episodes:

dr whoDoomsday:  In this episode, Rose (Billie Piper) almost slips into The Void (not good) but at the last moment, her (dead) Dad appears to transport her through a breach to a parallel universe.  The breach closes, leaving a devastated Rose trapped in the parallel universe – with the Doctor (David Tennant) on the other side.   Later, she has one last chance to say goodbye to the Doctor when he uses the energy of a supernova to transmit as a hologram via a tiny breach between the universes.   I cried when Rose told the Doctor she loves him just as the breach seals for good and he disappears before he can reply.   Who knew that Billie ‘Because We Want To’ Piper would turn out to be such a great actress?

Boom Town: The Doctor (Christopher Eccleston – my number two favourite Doc), Rose and Jack Harkness (good ol’ John Barrowman) come to Cardiff to meet Rose’s boyfriend, Mickey (the lovely Noel Clarke).   They end up in a huge battle with the Slitheen, an alien family from the planet of Raxacoricofallapatorius, who are noteworthy for disguising themselves as humans in skin suits, using a gas exchange system that causes them to fart loudly.  A lot.

School Reunion: The Doctor goes undercover in a comprehensive school where strange things are happening.  There he meets his former companion Sarah Jane Smith (the greatly missed Elisabeth Sladen) and the robotic dog K9.  Despite some rivalry between Sarah Jane and Rose, they work together to defeat a bat-like race called the Krillitanes and prevent them taking over the universe.  At the end of the episode, Sarah Jane turns down the chance to travel in the TARDIS again (is she crazy??) but at least gets a chance to say goodbye properly to the Doctor.

dr who and donnaThe Runaway Bride: This sees the introduction of Donna Noble (inimitably played by Catherine Tate).  I love Donna’s gobbiness and the matey relationship between her and the Doctor.  Donna materalises unexpectedly in the TARDIS dressed in a wedding dress.  The Doctor returns her to her wedding, after which she discovers her groom is working for the Empress of the Racnoss, a giant (seriously, HUGE) spider-like creature, who is trying to use huon particles to free her trapped children (keep up…) and has a spaceship which begins firing upon Earth. The Doctor offers to take the Empress and her children to a safe planet where they can’t harm anyone but she refuses.  So he drowns her offspring and the Empress teleports back to her ship just as the army destroys it.

Any other Doctor Who fans out there?  Who’s your favourite Doctor?  Do you have a favourite companion?  Would you take the Doctor up on an offer to travel through time and space – or would you rather watch from the safety of your sofa with a nice cup of tea and a custard cream??

Published by Barbed Words

60 thoughts on “Doctor, Doctor (is this love I’m feeling?)”

      1. It took me forever to figure out the second part… I had about ten attempts before I realised what I was meant to do there! And I grew up in the era of platform games… how embarrassing.

        Like

  2. I’m not a huge Doctor Who fan, mainly because there seems to be so many holes in the story lines – I’m sure it’s incredibly tricky making it all make sense when the Dr is bouncing all over time and space! But I also have a huge David Tennant crush!

    Like

    1. As one who is currently attempting to write a time travel novel, it is tricky! So tricky! In fact, my head hurts sometimes as I try to keep to some consistent rules about what the characters can and can’t do! Glad you’re with me on the David Tennant worship!

      Like

      1. that’s the one! season 3 kicks off mid-Jan in the US, but not UK date has been announced yet. bc of your post I am wiki-researching Doctor Who. I knew of the Moffat connection but the premise (or leads) never held any appeal for me.

        Like

  4. I would travel through time with the Doctor at any time – just tell me what time he’ll be round. He’d have to leave me that Tardis though. My favourite is Tom Baker – I’d kill to have that scarf. Don’t do David Tennant – his eyes scare me. He never blinks. Ick.

    Like

  5. That Benedict Cumberbatch is one of the creepiest mofos on the planet. Never got into the Doctor either! Give me a bit of Criminal Minds any day! Mmm, Matthew Gray Gubler… 😉

    Like

    1. BC is a bit creepy, isn’t he? He should really be the baddie, not Sherlock. I’ve had a few recommendations for Criminal Minds so will check it out, especially if there’s some hottie in it…

      Like

            1. Indeed. Downton Abbey had me in its grasp for a full week after I discovered it on netflix. I kept finding excuses to sneak off:’Just taking the recycling out, dear.’ ‘Why are you taking the laptop with you??’ 😉

              Like

  7. Tom Baker was by far the best Doctor (admittedly not much on the eye candy front for the girls watching). Always wanted the hat and scarf.

    Whats the problem with big heads!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Like

    2. Big heads are a phenomenon that I’ve noticed on TV in recent years. I’m happily watching a show, suddenly realise that the lead character has a BIG head and – bam! – that’s it ruined for me 😦 Are you concerned you may have a big head problem of your own??

      Like

  8. Have you watched the special yet?? Ooh, the power! Well, what happens is the Doctor decides to try an online, inter-species, galactic dating agency. He has dates with the Master, a Sontaran and a Cyberman before settling down with a nice Dalek in a flat in Chiswick (you did know the Doctor was gay, didn’t you??)

    Like

      1. Did you watch it yet? Did you enjoy the wedding between the Doctor and the Dalek?? Elton and David turning up was a surprise!

        Like

  9. Oh yes, another Doctor Who fan here! Tom Baker was the main one for me (he had a bit of a cult following amongst students 🙂 ) and K9 was hilarious. However, all that changed when the lovely David Tennant came along. There were some good stories with his doctor too which made it all the better. I enjoyed the Doomsday one – so sad. One of the other stories of the ‘modern era’ of the Doctor was the ‘Are you my mummy’ one with Christopher Ecclestone – now that was a good, creepy one.

    Like

  10. Same here – I remember enjoying it as a kid, but it’s New Who, and especially David Tennant (my husband, as it happens, though unfortunately no one has seen fit to tell him, or his wife 😦 ) that really grabbed me.

    Have you read The Writer’s Tale? It’s a giant, inches and inches, thick collection of emails between Russell T Davies and the editor of the Doctor Who magazine, while Davies was writing the second two Tennant series (leading up to David’s departure). Some of it is a bit writer-y, but I think it would be interesting to anyone who loves the show, reading about him brainstorming Donna Noble!

    I think that all of series 4 is gold, but possibly my favourite is Midnight – so simple and scary, and so The Doctor.

    Like

    1. David Tennant does have a lot of lady fans, doesn’t he? Although I have noticed his staring eyes now after MM mentioned them…but I still love him 🙂 Midnight was a cracker, lots of tension and plenty of David.

      Thank you for the tip about The Writer’s Tale – it looks fabulous and I have immediately added it to my Christmas list.

      Like

    2. We are currently watching this series. ‘Midnight’ was great, but just watched ‘Turn Left’ which was excellent too, as well as ‘The Library’ and ‘The Unicorn and the Wasp’. In fact, you’re right, the whole series is fantastic, especially with Rose (Billie is the men’s David) turning up. Looking forward to the series finale with Martha, Sarah-Jane and everyone combining to save the universe.

      Like

Anything to add?