Well I've finally done it. I finally stepped inside the T.A.R.D.I.S. and I'm, no doubt, off on a long, long, looong journey through space and time, all from the comfort of my living room reclining loveseat.
Now at least I'm not actually starting from the REAL beginning, the 1963 beginning that is! Not sure if HBO Max has all of that, I haven't even checked...no, I'm starting at the beginning of what the Who-vians (or what ever the show's fanbase is called) know as the RTD Era, the re-start of the series beginning in 2005 with the eleventh Doctor played by Christopher Eccleston and his companion Rose Tyler played by Billie Piper.
Of course I'm talking about the iconic British sci-fi television classic "Doctor Who."
I'm not sure how many years or seasons (or should I say "series" as the Brits say) or total episodes (since British shows like to do Holiday Specials sprinkled in) but it'll be a slog I'm sure. And I say that not just from the perspective of the amount of time I'll be investing, but the whole "vibe adjustment" thing.
You see, the big thing is British shows for me tend to be a little bit tough to swallow. Their pacing, the way things are acted, cultural references, surroundings and what to them would be familiar environments, phrases and slang, the lower production values especially in these early 2000s CGI effects are quite the spot of tea. And, to top that all off, for this show in particular, the whole "sacred cow" feel that I get regarding iconic aspects of the show that for people like me, the uninitiated, seem, well, silly: the TARDIS being in the form of a blue police phone booth with the interior vastly more enormous than the exterior with a simple metal house key to open it, the Doctor's seemingly incompetent hapless, even goofy aspect (maybe it's just this actor's portrayal, but reddit fans love him as one of their favs), and the absolutely silly aliens I've seen so far, especially the much-fan-adored Daleks. Oh brother, this'll be a strong cuppa with no lemon, milk or honey to cut the bitterness, love.
But I'm game. I'll not binge it back to back marathon style like I have some shows. Too much going on right now with The Gilded Age, assorted new movie releases and, of course, Foundation. But it's a great filler for an episode or two on an evening I want to have a snack and chill, and join The Doc on an adventure or two.
Oh, the fandom of the show would probably rail me right so if they heard me irreverently call him "The Doc" wouldn't they? Doctor Who fanatics make Trekkies look like normal folks, especially with their vast encyclopedic recall of show trivia since the canon stretches back to, in many cases, their grandparents' generation.
Blimey, love! (as I spit-take my cuppa) What's this! That's right! The old original episodes started only a few months before I was born making me as old as this ancient fuckin' TV show!
EDIT: Made it about a week in but didn't even get past the fourth or fifth episode of the "new" doctor David Tennant (1st iteration, so I've read) and the goofball factor finally wore me down.
A redditor in the Doctor Who sub said it well when he likened most fans being ones that grew up with the series and just accepted the zaniness as a pre-pubescent geek kid. Maybe like comic book fanboy kids who grow up to be adults who finance lock stock and barrel the whole mega blockbuster Marvel and DC Universe movies (including the current Superman film). Since I was never one of them, I guess I never will be.
To give it its due, the production values noticeably increased through the seasons as I did flit through portions of random episodes plucked from the show's seasons list on HBO Max. But the hokiness remained a constant. And understandably so since that's what's fans want and expect.
So to my somewhat aborted binge of this iconic series, I salute you and wish you well....wait a minute, no I don't....I'm secretly a sleeper agent for the evil Dalek Empire to which, of course, I have but one word shouted ever so shrilly and computery as hokey-dokey sci-fi geek possible:
EXTERMINATE!!!