Difference between revisions of "Stuff We Love: Doctor Who"
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Since the beginning, Doctor Who has become an entire cultural experience, one whose fans are nothing short of fanatical. Its become something of a religion for many viewers, who harbor a secret nugget of hope that their favorite Doctor, as a time traveler, could technically still turn up for us any day now. In the current Doctors personal timeline, 200 years passed between last weeks episode and this weeks-and as a friend of mine pointed out, he had to have spent that time with someone. Why not her? | Since the beginning, Doctor Who has become an entire cultural experience, one whose fans are nothing short of fanatical. Its become something of a religion for many viewers, who harbor a secret nugget of hope that their favorite Doctor, as a time traveler, could technically still turn up for us any day now. In the current Doctors personal timeline, 200 years passed between last weeks episode and this weeks-and as a friend of mine pointed out, he had to have spent that time with someone. Why not her? | ||
| − | But I | + | But I don't watch Doctor Who because it is a cultural experience. I watch because Doctor Who is (like most good shows) at its heart not just a science fiction joyride or a brilliant story, its a show about people-a more ambitious and optimistic hymn to humanity than any I have ever encountered. The show dwells in darkness with a ruthless tendency of systematically creating and brutally murdering/abandoning/otherwise destroying compelling characters, but it also clings to the light. The Doctor is a man unwilling to compromise his morality in any situation-he would not sacrifice one life to save millions because he holds the importance of the individual above all else. But the show is not foolish or naive in its moralism; lives are lost, plans fail and tragedy often strikes despite the best of intentions. |
I think much of the shows charm comes in its very human self-centeredness: in a universe full of wonder, the oldest and wisest creature of them all just happens to be absolutely head-over-heels infatuated with the human race. Thousands of years in our future, the show assures us that humans are still almost unrivaled in our potential for both good and evil, and the Doctor loves us and needs us despite our frequent ignorance and weakness. Its a sort of reassuring pat on the back from the most powerful man in the universe and one thats a pleasure to watch, despite its admitted self-indulgence. | I think much of the shows charm comes in its very human self-centeredness: in a universe full of wonder, the oldest and wisest creature of them all just happens to be absolutely head-over-heels infatuated with the human race. Thousands of years in our future, the show assures us that humans are still almost unrivaled in our potential for both good and evil, and the Doctor loves us and needs us despite our frequent ignorance and weakness. Its a sort of reassuring pat on the back from the most powerful man in the universe and one thats a pleasure to watch, despite its admitted self-indulgence. | ||
