Five plus years ago, when I decided to start this blog, it seemed to me that most of the opinions I was reading online about Doctor Who were being offered up by “old school” fans—the ones whose formative years included watching Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, or Peter Davison and who really seemed to know their shit. I’d been searching for a way to talk to more people about what I thought of the show, and figured writing a blog that came at it from the POV of a newb (I’d been a fan for only about two-and-a-half years at that point) could be my niche.
Since then, of course, fandom has continued to grow. Being “new to Who” is hardly uncommon these days—there’s even a Twitter hashtag about it. Further, as time marches on I have moved gradually toward that Old Guard territory, especially as I include the entirety of the pre-Hiatus/Classic run in my personal brand of fandom. I feel like some sort of weird hybrid (no Series Nine capital letter there, though) between those drawn in by the modern revival and those forever faithful to whichever flavor of the original run they grew up with.
At my core, though, I know I am still a neowhovian. Much as I adore the serial format and other hallmarks of the pre-Hiatus years (not least the various Doctors), I still view those stories through a lens of history rather than one of nostalgia. For me, nostalgia comes firmly in the form of the Ninth Doctor and Rose. Every time I hear the synthesizer sting screaming into those brass-heavy bars and the frenzy of the strings’ “Chase,” a sense of rightness and anticipation washes over me. To my brain, nothing will ever be so quintessentially Doctor Who as Series One.
And that’s the thing—no matter how much I love any story or any Doctor from before 2005, it’s only the episodes from these last ten years that have visceral meaning for me. By the time I stumbled upon Our Show, my sense of how television “should” be done had progressed along with the times, and the post-Hiatus stories were exactly what I wanted.
Truth be told, I think most (if not all) viewers change their expectations over time to match the conventions of the industry, as the state of the art advances. If a brand new science fiction show comes along, we have very particular ideas about effects, pacing, and even some plot elements that should be used. It’s only the unusual nature of Doctor Who‘s history that made anyone think there might oughtta be something more retro about the storytelling.
Perhaps, if things had played out differently, we would barely notice the way the show has evolved over time. After all, the Seventh Doctor stories of the late 80s bear little resemblance to the Second Doctor stories of the late 60s, but because the progression was continuous, it seemed natural. In contrast, by the time the Tenth Doctor was ending his run in the late 2000s, McCoy’s era seemed not only vastly different from the new episodes, but almost completely disconnected from them.
Yet, at a relative newcomer, none of that bothers me. I may not always like a particular story or arc, but the basic format and overall style of new episodes are what feels right to me on a gut level. So when it comes right down to it, regardless of my love for the entire run of the show, I will always and forever be a neowhovian. And I’m okay with that.
Why shouldn’t you be?
My first introduction to Doctor Who was Tom Baker. That was who the character was. Later, when I found out about different actors and different incarnations of the role I embraced those stories enthusiastically. And since my exposure was limited to the Target novelizations they were just stories, with the different acting styles of the previous actors played out only in my imagination.
Having now seen Hartnell, Troughton and Pertwee in action I can see that my imagination wasn’t far from the mark. But having seen them first on the little movie screen in my brain, they are just as personal to me as Tom Baker is.
Later classic incarnations made different impressions. I liked Peter Davidson and thought Colin Baker was obnoxious (throughly the fault of the writers I guess). I’ve still only seen a few of the Sylvester McCoy stories but reviews I’ve read indicate that the quality of the writing continued to decline though McCoy’s portrayal of the character was quite gripping from what little I’ve seen. I thought the TV movie was incredibly mediocre at the time. I’ve seen it again and revised my opinion of it upwards a little, but not much. Again, it was the writing that let it down, not the actor.
I’ve been on the edge of my seat to watch the New Who from the first scene of Rose. And again I feel that the various actors in the role of Doctor have been excellent. What fault I find in the show is purely the fault of the writing. Some stories have been incredible and some have been excerable. Most have been somewhere in between. I think I’ve held forth sufficiently on my feelings about the writing for the last few seasons that you know how I feel.
The stylistic differences between Classic and New Who are a product of their times. Styrofoam boulders, wobbly sets and silly costumes were part of Classic Who’s charm. Now the production standards match the best TV has to offer. The current show has had a series of companions from current day Britian, all young and mostly female. Classic Who, not obsessed with providing a current day character as an audience stand in, had companions of both sexes, different ages, from different planets and different species. The Doctor is more emotional than he used to be and far more needy and dependant on his companions for friendship and emotional support. The current Doctors seem to fall in love at the drop of a hat and are frequently defined by romantic relationships. The Classic Era Doctors were ALWAYS the controling partner in their personal relationships, and were never romantically involved with even the companions they were closest to.
So, a lot of big differences. But still the same show.
Your preference is your preference. No apologies needed. It’s all good. And differences of opinion make for more interesting conversations.
Self-reflection
My comments were offered primarily by the way of self-reflection, rather than apology; I’ve long since learned to embrace what I love regardless of what others think. 🙂
I like your summary of the differences between pre- and post-Hiatus Who. There are still a few ways I would like to see the current show hew closer to its precursor, but it is what it is, and I will continue to love it no matter what.