Doctor Who

Been busy over the weekends - Nope, not with work but with watching television series! LOL… Actually, I wanted to do my journal readings over the weekend, but ended up watching ‘Doctor Who’ instead. The temptation is just too much for me to resist! I finished like 1.5 seasons of the series over the weekends, and all 3 seasons of the series in a week! Initially when I saw the first episode, I find it rather crappy, and a bit silly. But as I go on watching it, I’m captivated by it – by the different aliens and plots presented in the series. Ok, so what is ‘Doctor Who’ about?

The main character of the show is a time traveler of the alien race, Time Lord. He always goes by the name ‘Doctor’, and when he says his name is ‘Doctor’ to people or aliens alike, they will always replied with “Doctor who?”. And thus, his name and the title of the series. This BBC production is the longest running science fiction series ever, running since the mid 1900s. The previous television broadcast was in 1989 (I reckon!). Thereafter, it lay dormant for about two decades before BBC decided to revive it in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Pipper as his human sidekick. As the Doctor died at the end of season 1, and having regeneration powers, the Doctor is casted by David Tennant. Personally, I would still prefer Christopher Eccleston to play the part of Doctor, probably ‘cos he looks more mature and mature equates knowledge? Or probably it’s just the first impression that counts? Similar I prefer the Billie Pipper playing as his sidekick rather than Freeman Agyeman as well – oh! The character Rose (casted by Billie Pipper) was trapped in a parallel universe at the end of season 2, and so the Doctor took a new companion Marta Jones played by Freeman Agyeman. Anyway, like I said, I like Rose – not because of the actress, but rather the character. Throughout the two seasons, Rose has transformed from someone who takes after the Doctor, to a more independent character with the ability to tackle difficult situations when the Doctor is preoccupied with a mini-adventure of his own. In a sense, it’s like seeing Rose grows up in that two season, and it’s really sad to see that she have to leave the Doctor. Moreover, sparks are flying between both of them, and it has to be dampened even before the fire started. As Shakespeare would say, “Parting is such sweet sorrow”.

And so the duo went round time and space to explore different world, from seeing the destruction of Earth by our swelling sun in the year 5 billion, to the past in the 1500s, to another parallel universe. Along the way, the duo fought off alien invasions, mutant humans etc – to save Earth and at times the Universe. But much more interesting that these are the bits of information that are revealed by the characters over the episodes that ties everything together into the finale, as well as understanding and glimpsing into the Doctor’s past, and how and why he becomes what he is today. But even till the finale of season 3, I’m still left with questions about the Doctor’s history – probably more will be revealed come season 4 in 2008. And I’m looking forward to the Christmas special come 25th December!