# What the hell is it about Doctor Who? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584 "2010-01-04T04:31:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/1 "2010-01-04T04:31:22Z")
Yeah, many years ago I read Harlan Ellison’s explanation why this series is different, but it isn’t enough. I’ve watched all of them, from Star Trek and Star Wars through B5 and both iterations of BSG, as well as other books and shows, both before and after. It doesn’t matter. From the cheesy effects at the start through the wonderful programs now I’m captured, glued to the TV screen, repeatedly. Why? ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/2 "2010-01-04T04:34:47Z")
Who? ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/3 "2010-01-04T04:41:32Z")
I haven’t kept up with it as I should, but I just saw an episode that made me wonder why I haven’t kept up with it as I should, and made me wish I had kept up with it as I should. “Blink” I watched it because I’ve become a fan of Carey Mulligan, who will almost certainly be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in An Education. That was the first I’d seen her, in that movie. If I’d been watching Doctor Who 2 years ago and seen her as Sally Sparrow then, I would have already known who she was before seeing An Education. And, it’s a great episode! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/4 "2010-01-04T04:52:43Z")
Personally, I was glued by an [attractive](http://shillpages.com/dw/story/d3/st--3p80.jpg) [carnival barker](http://shillpages.com/dw/story/d3/st--3p41.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Sealemon2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Sealemon2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sealemon2.0)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/5 "2010-01-04T04:54:20Z")
It’s a science fiction show that doesn’t take the science seriously at all (unlike Star Trek: TNG which pretended to take the science seriously). It’s a fun show that mixes light hearted fun with true drama, and in some cases, with true dread (Blink is pretty creepy, and The Empty Child freaked me right the hell out). I dunno, but I love the show now more than ever (Watched Tom Baker, the Forth Doctor as a kid on PBS). ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/6 "2010-01-04T05:09:13Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > “Blink” Greatest. Episode. Evah. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/7 "2010-01-04T05:31:59Z")
_Blink_ was a little different because it didn’t feature David Tennant in every scene. It was a way of stretching the filming schedule. I wouldn’t mind seeing them do more episodes like that. Not all the time. Maybe two or three a season. It gives us a chance to see other strong characters (like Sally Sparrow) that carry the episode with limited help from the Doctor. > [@](#): > > Just as in 2006’s “Love & Monsters”, the Doctor and his companion have very little screen time, allowing another episode to be filmed simultaneously. It is consequently referred to as a “Doctor-lite” episode. > **[Blink (Doctor Who)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blink_%28Doctor_Who%29)** > > "Blink" is the tenth episode of the third series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 9 June 2007 on BBC One. The episode was directed by Hettie MacDonald and written by Steven Moffat. The episode is based on a previous short story written by Moffat for the 2006 Doctor Who Annual, titled "'What I Did on My Christmas Holidays' By Sally Sparrow". > In the episode, the Tenth Doctor—a time travelling alien played by David Tennant—is trapped in 1969 ... ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/8 "2010-01-04T05:41:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > _Blink_ was a little different because it didn’t feature David Tennant in every scene. It was a way of stretching the filming schedule. > > I wouldn’t mind seeing them do more episodes like that. Not all the time. Maybe two or three a season. It gives us a chance to see other strong characters (like Sally Sparrow) that carry the episode with limited help from the Doctor. > [Blink (Doctor Who) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blink_%28Doctor_Who%29) They did something similar in series 4 with “Midnight” & “Turn Left.” Each featuring only one of the two main stars so the other could do filming for other episodes. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/9 "2010-01-04T06:11:13Z")
And yet it worked. Did they ever try that with Star Trek? ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/10 "2010-01-04T10:11:48Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > And yet it worked. Did they ever try that with Star Trek? Not quite taken to the same extent, but I thought of this TNG episode: > **[Star Trek: Lower Decks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Decks)** > > Star Trek: Lower Decks is an American adult animated science fiction television series created by Mike McMahan for the streaming service CBS All Access (later rebranded as Paramount+). It is the ninth Star Trek series and debuted in 2020 as part of executive producer Alex Kurtzman's expanded Star Trek Universe. The franchise's first animated series since Star Trek: The Animated Series concluded in 1974, and also its first comedy, Lower Decks follows the low-ranking support crew of the starshi... Definitely still had appearances from the regular cast, but the emphasis was shifted to four new faces and one returning guest star for an episode. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/11 "2010-01-04T10:22:11Z")
There’s a whole [TV Tropes page](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LowerDeckEpisode) based on the concept (and named after the TNG episode). ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/12 "2010-01-04T13:46:07Z")
It’s the character, I caught just a bit while clicking around, David Tennant plops himself on a bus next to some cute chick (who’s just robbed a museum) and starts prattling on about Easter. He exudes so much confidence, even while looking defenseless, and charming. He’s most like James Bond – you know under the charming, smooth exterior, he’s got some mad skills. I feel the same way about other characters I really like – John Crighton from Farscape, or David Addison from Moonlighting. Or Hawkeye Pierce from early epidsodes of MASH. The smart-aleck lines, delivered with confidence, while still looking vulnerable. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/13 "2010-01-04T14:42:12Z")
It’s a story about a wizard, is why. And he does magical things. It’s not a story about the destination, but about the journey. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/14 "2010-01-04T14:56:56Z")
I agree with the poster upthread who said that it’s a sci-fi show that doesn’t take the sci-fi seriously, which, IMHO, is why the Whoniverse probably has more female fans (Tennant notwithstanding) than any other sci-fi series. Besides, how can you not chuckle whenever you see a Dalek? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/15 "2010-01-04T14:57:26Z")
Well, everyone loves a road trip story and that’s essentially what Doctor Who is. Only instead of a car, he travels in a magic box that can go anywhere, anytime and pretty much produce anything he needs (except he never seems to need anything except for his sonic screwdriver. Who looks at a screwdriver and says “this needs to be more sonic”?) So you can pretty much have and endless number of stories. > [@Arkcon](#): > > It’s the character, I caught just a bit while clicking around, David Tennant plops himself on a bus next to some cute chick (who’s just robbed a museum) and starts prattling on about Easter. He exudes so much confidence, even while looking defenseless, and charming. He’s most like James Bond – you know under the charming, smooth exterior, he’s got some mad skills. I feel the same way about other characters I really like – John Crighton from Farscape, or David Addison from Moonlighting. The main difference between those characters is that the Doctor always seems to be in his element no matter wherever or whenever he is. It doesn’t matter if he shows up in Victorian England or on some undermanned alien firebase under attack on some foreign planet. While most people would have just been summarily locked up or shot, he just sort of takes over within a few minutes, Crighton, Addison (or any Bruce Willis character for that matter) have the intellectual equivalent of “retard strength”. They bumble through situations they clearly have no understanding of. And yet someone they come out on top while their friends and enemies are left scratching their head. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/16 "2010-01-04T15:52:53Z")
Doctor Who survives on the bedrock of all good fiction: good stories. The revival has two fantastic writers in Russell Davies and Stephen Moffat, and Davies as script editor knows a good script when he sees it. It’s also based on what science fiction originally was: adventures in wonderous worlds. The Doctor is also the person we’d all like to be: smart, witty, idealistic, confident, and brave. Davies was smart enough to add “vulnerable” to the list, which gives him more depth. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/17 "2010-01-04T16:09:19Z")
He’s just this guy, you know? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/18 "2010-01-04T16:28:58Z")
Whenever I watch TV, it seems like he’s always on. [sub]first[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/19 "2010-01-06T01:24:47Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > He’s just this guy, you know? Quite so. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584/20 "2010-01-06T06:08:22Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Whenever I watch TV, it seems like he’s always on. > > [sub]first[/sub] I see what you did there. Kudos! 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-it-about-doctor-who/523584.md?page=2)