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Confession #30: I Want the Doctor’s Constitution

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Although we see it precious little (regeneration sickness, hand getting cut off), one kind of has to assume that over his hundreds of years, the Doctor gets sick or injured from time to time. So how does he make it through? Who doctors the Doctor?

During One’s era, we occasionally saw the TARDIS crew take advantage of the First Aid kit, though Vicki didn’t necessarily trust its contents not to be barbaric, given the time from which her crewmates originated. There was also the Zero Room when Five was having a rough time of his regeneration, and that “device” Three had Sarah Jane retrieve when he was ill on Metebelis III well before the incident that caused his own regeneration. Other than that, though, we haven’t really seen much in the way of medical facilities on the TARDIS. Does she have a sick bay? Even if she did, who would be qualified to treat the Doctor there?

I suppose there are several options. Either (a) the Doctor is immune to most diseases and injuries, (b) he is incredibly lucky, (c) he is able to heal himself off-screen with facilities or abilities never introduced to the audience, (d) he carefully selects a facility he trusts somewhere in time and space and has the TARDIS take him there, or (e) he uses that healing with regeneration energy crap he pulled recently to heal River.

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Confession #29: I Just Can’t Think About It All the Time

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I thought I could do it – I really did. I thought I’d be able to get through this month participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and keeping up with the blog. There was only one new DVD out in November for me to review, and G and I had a pretty regular schedule going, so I’d have Retro-Views to post in the other weeks. It was all coming together.

Or so I thought. As the middle of the month crept up on me, it simply didn’t pan out that way. Much as I love Our Show, sometimes I need a break from it. I got Doctor Who fatigue, coupled with a big ol’ smack upside the head from Real Life.

Aside from the time commitment involved in trying to write a (rough draft of a) 50,000-word novel in 30 days, we got the unexpected news that my father has a critical illness. He is undergoing treatment, but we don’t know how much it will help beat back the disease, or how much longer he might have. Obviously, that situation has pushed things like blogging to a back burner – especially when I ended up spending three days visiting him in the hospital due to An Incident instead of the day and a half I’d planned to spend with him there. I have absolutely no regrets of any kind about putting my family first, but it has kind of put a kink in my regular schedule.

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Confession #28: I Grok the Paleowhovians

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Once before, I referred to long-term fans, or those who came to love Doctor Who through the pre-Hiatus series, as “paleowhovians.” I liked the symmetry with my own self-description as a neowhovian, since neo- and paleo- are the opposing prefixes from the Greek, but I thought maybe it didn’t sound very… complimentary, somehow, so I didn’t use it again.

It seems I’ve been proven wrong, though, since blogger friend Paul Greaves has appropriated it – and the title of my blog – for a post of his own. (I’ve officially been parodied. Does that mean I’ve arrived?) Some of the comments I read on Facebook about the post included the idea that the term “paleowhovian” would be embraced by at least some long-term fans, with no rancor whatsoever. So, for the purposes of this post, I’m going with it.

Many the things Paul mentioned in his confession are things that – despite my post-Hiatus entry into the fandom – completely gel with me. For instance, he echoed something I’d said in Confession #11, saying that the modern 45-minute episodes don’t really do anything for him. Even though that’s what stories were like from the beginning, from my perspective, I find that I prefer the slightly slower, more drawn-out pace of the pre-Hiatus serial format. True, sometimes it resulted in random padding and extraneous “plot” points, but I find that preferable to an incomplete or rushed storyline. So I’m with the paleowhovians there.

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Confession #27: I Get Crabby About the 50th

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As we ramp up toward the festivities for the show’s 50th anniversary, I have often found myself getting (unreasonably?) crabby about the whole affair. Yes, I’m looking forward to a celebration of our favorite show. Yes, I’m sure there will be a ton of lovely specials (e.g., the recently announced An Adventure in Space and Time by Mark Gatiss). Yes, I know Moffat’s got loads of “exciting” things up his sleeve. It’s been said he approached the whole thing as a life-long fan himself: what would I want to see?

But that’s just the problem. Whatever it is we get – and I’m not denying that it will, at least in part, be brilliant (how can it help but?) – it will be what Moffat would want to see. And I’m not Moffat. None of us is.

Just look at the fan reaction to any given story to see why this is a problem. In pre-Hiatus Who, there are certain “sacred cows” that are seen as untouchable classics (witness some of the vitriol spit at the Wife in Space for daring to voice (or her blogger husband to post) her own, extremely valid opinions to the contrary), and I dare say there are some post-Hiatus stories that would garner the same reaction to criticism from their fans.

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Confession #26: I Wish We’d Seen More of the Shalka Doctor

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Now I can by no means claim to be an aficionado when it comes to BBC webcasts, but I have to say I am rather inordinately fond of Scream of the Shalka. I say “inordinately” because I’ve only seen it the once.

Shalka holds a rather unusual place in Who history. It was first intended as an “official” extension of the televised series, released in six 15-minute parts over the 40th anniversary from 13 Nov – 18 Dec 2003. When it was announced in July of that year, it was assumed this would be the new direction for the franchise – continuing televised stories seemed like a pipe dream – so this Doctor, voiced by Richard E. Grant (known to some as the “lick the mirror handsome” Doctor from the 1999 Comic Relief special “The Curse of Fatal Death” – not to mention Withnail from the 1987 cult classic Withnail and I costarring Eighth Doctor Paul McGann), was billed as the Ninth Doctor.

Before this first new story even saw the light of day, though, it was doomed to become some sort of obscure footnote. By the end of September 2003, the return of Doctor Who to our screens had been announced. For a brief time, there was question whether or not the Shalka Doctor (as this “alternative Nine” has come to be known) would remain the Ninth Doctor (making Eccleston’s on-screen Doctor the Tenth) or not. I guess we all know how that turned out.

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Confession #25: I Love Alternative Media

It was after I first saw The Movie that started to dip my toe into “alternative media.” I’d really enjoyed McGann as Eight, and wanted more of him. Of course, there was no more in the most-often-held-as-canon televised sector. Even then, though, I knew there are more versions of “canon” out there than there are fans, so I wasn’t too worried about where these other media might take me, especially knowing that many Old School Fans (OSFs) grew up reading Target novelizations and such (though, come to think of it, I might not have known about those at the time). Suffice it to say, the lure of Eight was strong enough to overcome any minor misgivings I might have had.

I started with Shada. OSFs will know this as the Four story that never (quite) was. Filming began, but was never completed, due to a labor dispute not directly related to the Who team. Re-imagined as an Eight story – but still with Romana II – the webcast version gave me a chance to learn about both a famous yet unfamiliar story and a still unfamiliar Doctor. It was a nice way to get a first taste – but I wanted more.

Enter Big Finish. For ages, Big Finish (BF) has been creating audio dramas (and other good stuff, but I have been most familiar with their audio work) in various fandoms. Their original content for Doctor Who is top-notch. I was lucky enough to come across some of the first, second, and third series of The Eighth Doctor Adventures that had been (re?)broadcast on BBC Radio 7. (Thank you, Interwebs!) Game over. I was in love with BF, and even more with Eight.

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Confession #24: I Want the Daleks to Go Away

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I got to thinking about this after a lively Twitter conversation the other day. It’s no surprise the Daleks are coming back for the first episode of Series Seven (or S33, depending on how you count) – and if it was till just now, I’m sorry for the “spoiler” (and you need to tell me how you managed to avoid it till now!) – but my question is “why?”.

Don’t get me wrong; I like Daleks well enough. I’m just really, really tired of them. Think about it. Series One (I’ll use the post-Hiatus numbering for simplicity) brings them back with the lovely Dalek, in which Nine has to face the horrible truth about the Time War, and then ends with a Dalek extravaganza. Series Two combines Daleks and Cybermen. Series Three doesn’t use them as the Big Bad, but does include a (lame) two-parter appearance. Series Four goes back to RTD’s basics, throwing both Daleks and Davros into the mix for the finale.

Moving onto The Moffat Years, we get new, glossy, candy-coated Power Ranger pop-up toys Daleks in Series Five. Only in the most recent series are they – very nearly – absent. In the end Moffat couldn’t resist a few-second cameo, so they still appeared.

Anyone noticing a trend yet?

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Community of Bloggers

Today, Paul Greaves of goldfish & paracetamol fame (I’ve referenced him often before) did me the honor of naming me (or, more specifically, this blog) as one he follows regularly for The Versatile Blogger Award project. I’m thrilled to be so dubbed a Versatile Blogger! So thank you, Paul, for the shout-out.

As an awardee, I’m asked to list 15 blogs or bloggers I’ve “recently discovered or follow regularly.” At this point, I fail mightily, as I ~ahem~ don’t actually read that many blogs. However! I will still do my best to share a few of my favorites.

The blogs I regularly follow (or, in some cases, would if they updated more regularly) include:

  • goldfish & paracetamol
    Paul is also part of the TimeVault podcast team, but this is his personal blog, where he shares thoughts on things that interest him – Doctor Who, James Bond, film, TV…
  • Adventures with the Wife in Space
    This is one of those blogs that “needs no introduction” – it already has a ridiculous following, vastly larger than than mine. Neil Perryman and his eponymous wife Sue sit down together to watch all of Doctor Who from 1963-1996. The catch is that Sue has never seen (the vast majority of) them, so brings a “non-we” perspective to the table. It’s much like my Nu-Views, except done better.
  • Armillary Observations
    AO is run by a friend of mine from college and a friend of his. They’ve not been updating often, but they always have a point or two I’ve never considered regarding whichever Doctor Who story they’re reviewing.
  • Rich’s Comix Blog
    I got drawn into Rich Morris’ work by his “The Ten Doctors” webcomic, but the Comix Blog has a lot more to offer. Not only are there the occasional Doctor Who and Who-crossover stories, but he’s also got other storylines, like the “Fairies” one (set in the same universe as his long-running, more adult webcomic “Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic”) which is being written in collaboration with his four-year-old daughter.Plus, Rich is responsible for all the fabulous art that graces this site.

I hereby nominate all of these lovely blogs for the Versatile Blogger Award!

Finally, the VBA rules state that I’m meant to tell the person who nominated me seven things about myself. Why keep it quiet when I can share with everyone, eh? So yeah… Here goes.

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Confession #23: I’m Disappointed by the New Companion

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As filming begins on the 2012 Christmas special, in which we will be introduced to the as-yet-publicly-unnamed new Companion being played by Jenna-Louise Coleman, the first official photos of Jenna and Matt on set are being released. And excited as I am for a change-up in the TARDIS team, I have to say I’m disappointed in what I’m seeing.

Sure she’s cute, and based on early reports, the chemistry will be great, but the new Companion (according to someone who was supposedly on set, her name is “Clara”; I’ll withhold judgment on the veracity of that designation until something official comes down the pike, but for ease of reference, I’ll use it as her name here) appears to be another run-of-the-mill, modern Earth human. Clad in a short-skirted dress, jacket and bright red shoulder bag, Clara strikes me as this decade’s answer to Jo Grant: fashionista pixie.

Since Doctor Who returned to our screens in 2005, we’ve been treated to an endless parade of Companions designed specifically to be the point of reference for the audience. Almost to a one, they’ve come from 21st Century England: Rose, Mickey, Jackie, Martha, Donna, Wilf, Amy, Rory – even Sarah Jane. Adam (if we can count the idiot who had a door put in his forehead as a Companion) was also modern, though he was American. Jack and River – multi-story Companions, though not strictly “regulars” – both hailed from the 51st Century, and off-world, but are still quite human (even if 51st C. sexuality is not of a variety that’s currently considered “mainstream”). You have to get into The Specials from 2009 before you get Companions from either the past or the future (Astrid Peth, Jackson Lake, Adelaide Brooke) – and they’re all still human – British ones, at that (OK, Astrid was meant to be an off-worlder, and I can’t remember whether or not she Britted up her Aussie accent – but my point stands).

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The Neowhovian Experience in Paper!

It's here!

The Neowhovian Experience - Print Edition cover

It is with great pride and pleasure I present to you the print version of The Neowhovian Experience 2011. If you enjoy the blog and wanted

  • all of it in one place without all those clicks
  • exclusive bonus reviews (Victory of the Daleks, The Dominators, Meglos), or
  • just to show your support for the blog

but didn't have a Kindle, your time has come!

This 6"x9" book has 300 pages of Neowhovian goodness, including all the Confessions, all the Nu-Views, and all the Reviews (both Series Six and DVDs) from the blog during 2011. Not only that, but it also has several of the unclassified posts (presented as "Musings") and the reviews of each Doctor's era that I did during my marathon leading up to Gally 2012 ("Impressions") along with those exclusive bonus reviews.

Given the fact that all that material turned into such a tome, the price ended up a little higher than I'd have liked. However, you can still get all of this for little more than you pay for a mass market paperback novel these days. I hope you'll feel it's worth it.

Thank you all so much for your continuing support!

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