A couple weeks ago, my HBO Now icon disappeared, as HBO Max officially took over. Once I signed on the for new service (which cost the same), I was pleased to see, among the new listings available, the complete catalogue of the revival of Dr. Who. I had watched several seasons, up until Peter Capaldi took over (12th doctor, Series 8, 2014), and I’d wanted to watch the newest Doctor’s antics. So to get caught up, I decided to re-watch the whole shebang. And, in an effort to get back to blogging, I thought I’d write up my thoughts here.
For those of you living in a cave, Series 1 (2005) stars Christopher Eccleston as the 9th Doctor, traveling in his TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space)–a time-machine disguised as a police public call box that’s “bigger on the inside”–with his companion Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper. Also appearing regularly are Rose’s boyfriend, Mickey Smith (Noel Clark), her mom, Jackie Tyler (Camille Coduri), a con-man and former “Time Agent” from the 51st century, Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), and, briefly, a wunderkind named Adam Mitchell (Bruno Langley).
Series Bests
I thought I’d weigh in on my picks for the “bests” in each series/season, because, as High Fidelity (1995) author, Nick Hornby, writes: “I agreed that what really matters is what you like, not what you are like… Books, records, films – these things matter. Call me shallow but it’s the f@*#’in’ truth” [emphasis mine]. So what follows in the Dr. Who category are my takes on a few aspects of the series: Best Alien(s), Best Quotes/Exchanges (pt. 1/pt. 2), and Most Disturbing Premise (pt. 1/pt. 2).
