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It's been ten years since NuWho premiered. While it may not seem like a ginormous milestone like fifty years, it's still pretty significant. I wouldn't have gotten into Doctor Who as a whole if the show hadn't come back for a new generation.
How did I get introduced to Doctor Who? Well, it's very Canadian.
I started watching Doctor Who because of hockey.
To be more accurate, it was a lack of hockey. It was the 2004-2005 season and there was a hockey strike or something going on. The players weren't playing so there were no hockey games to air. The CBC, the hockey airing powerhouse at the time, suddenly had this giant gap in their schedule. How were they going to fill all of that air time? For a TV station known more for 1) hockey 2) news and 3) comedy programs (in that order), it was a little strange that they were the ones who picked up the Canadian airing rights for Doctor Who.*
But airing it they were, so there was all of this coverage about the show's return in the Canadian newspapers. My local paper had something. Even the Globe and Mail, the serious national newspaper, had an article. I remember reading these articles, but I don't remember being excited. It was just a new sci fi show to me, one being aired on an unlikely station. I had every intention to watch the premiere, but I wasn't waiting for it with bated breath. I had no idea just how popular and everlasting Doctor Who was.
At the time, Canada was a week or two behind the UK, but back then, I wasn't aware that there could be a viewing gap between North American and the United Kingdom. So I watched "Rose", completely oblivious to the presence of the larger fan community. Now, I should mention, I'm a huge geek. You would have thought that I would love Doctor Who right away. I didn't, though. I watched "Rose" with my dad and my sister and I remember turning to my dad and asking, "So, he fights these guys (the Autons) all the time?" The show didn't make sense to me. Who was the Doctor? What was up with this TARDIS of his? What was the point of the show?
As confused as I was, I decided to keep watching. Nothing else was on, after all. By the time I got to "The Unquiet Dead", I had to go online and research the back story of Doctor Who. I mean, what kind of show forces you to do research? I never had to do that before. But that's when it finally clicked for me. Once I understood that the show had a very loose concept - the Doctor randomly travels around in time and space with no larger mission - it all fell into place. The possibilities of the show were endless because the Doctor landed somewhere new and different every week. The plots weren't restricted to one time and place. You could go anywhere.
I hadn't been blown away by such an idea since Star Trek: the Next Generation. Suddenly, there was this world with this huge playground to enjoy and play around in. How could I stop watching now? I wanted more. So yeah, I was hooked. So hooked, in fact, that I started watching the show through "alternative means" just so I could get caught up with the UK. And I haven't looked back since. :-)
So, thank you, Gary Bettman, for screwing up the hockey season that year. I wouldn't be a Whovian otherwise.
*Actually, it wasn't that strange. Turns out the CBC provided funds for the first three seasons, so that's how they ended up airing Doctor Who. There was Canadian content of a sort, so that fulfilled the CRTC mandate. So, stand proud, Canada. Some of our taxes helped to pay for stuff.
How did I get introduced to Doctor Who? Well, it's very Canadian.
I started watching Doctor Who because of hockey.
To be more accurate, it was a lack of hockey. It was the 2004-2005 season and there was a hockey strike or something going on. The players weren't playing so there were no hockey games to air. The CBC, the hockey airing powerhouse at the time, suddenly had this giant gap in their schedule. How were they going to fill all of that air time? For a TV station known more for 1) hockey 2) news and 3) comedy programs (in that order), it was a little strange that they were the ones who picked up the Canadian airing rights for Doctor Who.*
But airing it they were, so there was all of this coverage about the show's return in the Canadian newspapers. My local paper had something. Even the Globe and Mail, the serious national newspaper, had an article. I remember reading these articles, but I don't remember being excited. It was just a new sci fi show to me, one being aired on an unlikely station. I had every intention to watch the premiere, but I wasn't waiting for it with bated breath. I had no idea just how popular and everlasting Doctor Who was.
At the time, Canada was a week or two behind the UK, but back then, I wasn't aware that there could be a viewing gap between North American and the United Kingdom. So I watched "Rose", completely oblivious to the presence of the larger fan community. Now, I should mention, I'm a huge geek. You would have thought that I would love Doctor Who right away. I didn't, though. I watched "Rose" with my dad and my sister and I remember turning to my dad and asking, "So, he fights these guys (the Autons) all the time?" The show didn't make sense to me. Who was the Doctor? What was up with this TARDIS of his? What was the point of the show?
As confused as I was, I decided to keep watching. Nothing else was on, after all. By the time I got to "The Unquiet Dead", I had to go online and research the back story of Doctor Who. I mean, what kind of show forces you to do research? I never had to do that before. But that's when it finally clicked for me. Once I understood that the show had a very loose concept - the Doctor randomly travels around in time and space with no larger mission - it all fell into place. The possibilities of the show were endless because the Doctor landed somewhere new and different every week. The plots weren't restricted to one time and place. You could go anywhere.
I hadn't been blown away by such an idea since Star Trek: the Next Generation. Suddenly, there was this world with this huge playground to enjoy and play around in. How could I stop watching now? I wanted more. So yeah, I was hooked. So hooked, in fact, that I started watching the show through "alternative means" just so I could get caught up with the UK. And I haven't looked back since. :-)
So, thank you, Gary Bettman, for screwing up the hockey season that year. I wouldn't be a Whovian otherwise.
*Actually, it wasn't that strange. Turns out the CBC provided funds for the first three seasons, so that's how they ended up airing Doctor Who. There was Canadian content of a sort, so that fulfilled the CRTC mandate. So, stand proud, Canada. Some of our taxes helped to pay for stuff.
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