Dr....Who?

I told you it was inevitable. I just won’t write about things in a normal way or just describe things simply. This isn’t what this blog is for, it is more of a mean to go over the top and have a cheeky look at things. But enough of my delusions of grandeur, there are bigger things than me and you at stake (not really but I always wanted to say that….for the time being writing it will have to do…lol). Today, as I was lazily seating on my ass in the living room, TV switched on and running, I heard a familiar theme tune coming from it. It was a theme, I hadn’t heard in a while and it brought back memories. Memories from the time I was a kid in Karpenisi, Greece around 5-6 years old and the couple of public TV stations available back then were broadcasting an abundance of BBC made programs to fill in their then pristine schedules. One of those TV series was “Dr Who”.

These are the 10 incarnations of the character, throughtout the years. Thanks fuck his haircut improved since the old shows. Man check out those mullets, I bet they were self aware as well... creepy!

Although not really a kid friendly program, I had watched certain episodes back then (blame it on my parents being too busy or my kid curiosity thriving I managed to watch uninterrupted). I don’t remember much about it, just that Dr Who was a totally nuts dude, dressed in a cowboy hat, a trenchcoat and a green scarf (hardly a superhero outfit then, lol) played with gusto and flare by a guy with curly hair (later in my life I learnt that the actor’s name was Tom Baker, more useless knowledge plaguing my ever diminishing brain capacity then, lol). For the uninitiated among you, Dr Who was a time travelling dude that was shifting chronological eras and possibly planets using his ever trusty time travelling phone booth to reach new places (I told you it is nuts but hey it is a BBC program after all it doesn’t have to make sense just look at the abundance of gardening and antique shows on it, at least last time I checked, lol).

Parking space availability is not an issue for this baby...heh

Regardless if the so called “Dr” was more of in need of a doctor himself (blame it on his insanity or genius I always have trouble distinguishing between the two, lol) he had a certain wild charm that I appreciated (no one said that I have good taste so bare with me…). From what I can recall this guy had some eternal enemies that looked like huge tin robots with massive globes sticking out of them and kept shouting “exterminate, exterminate, exterminate” (I guess the script writers didn’t have a thesaurus at hand for variety’s sake so they stuck with that throughout…). The temporary effect of watching this wacky show on TV was a couple of restless nights for kidpoolite (heh), where I dreamt of those tin robots chasing me in my house as I was attempting to take a leak (so for all the parents out there DO WATCH OUT what your kids watch on TV, this was a selfless advice by Deadpoolite, for additional help call the Merc with a mouth hotline: 0101-0101-1979, individual charges apply depending on your pockets depth, lol).

Exterminate, exterminate, exterminate... it may look like a glorified old fashioned trash bin with delusions of grandeur but boy did it scare me as a child...

Forward to the present day then, when I heard the familiar tune (albeit remixed) playing once again on the TV set. This was “Dr Who” remastered for the next generation with a youthful little chap playing the central part. It was all played tongue in cheek as before with a distinct retro quality to the whole affair. In one intense moment, the “Dr Who of 2007” started screaming and gave one of his trademark wacky stares to the unfortunate victim of his verbal abuse. At that particular moment I grinned with content (now being a guy in the second half of his twenties instead of a kid) and recognized the same nutjob character that had made an impression on me as a boy. It seems they pulled it off once again and the current production is much better than the old one overall, albeit they got the means to make this whole sci-fi gig work better. However, it isn’t predominantly a matter of technological superiority over the old show that made me once again be sold on this show. It is more a case of the makers of this one retaining the soul of the series intact and respectfully updating it for the current generation of viewers. Their soul is in the right place it seems and I like that in those soulless times we live in…

Let's give the good doctor some credit shall we...he sure doesnt pick his sidekicks from the bargain basement... as Johnny Bravo would say..."Whoa, you sexy mommas!"...

I like my “Lost”, “Prison Break”, “Heroes” fixes as much as the next guy. Regardless, I only got all “puppy eyed” when I heard the eponymous “Dr Who theme” once again. It is a matter of acquired taste this show, some will deem it “too retro”, some will say “it’s crap”, some will just not get it… it is all good. After all this is an intelligent sci-fi show that doesn’t try to “out-Gollum , Gollum” with its special effects. Instead, this show is wearing its proverbial heart on its sleeve and doesn’t take itself too seriously… For the people that “do get the joke” it seems to be just what “the doctor” ordered (excuse the pun couldn’t resist it, lol). So, I am now looking forward to watch the rest of the episodes of this series’ rebirth… or maybe not… it is the thought that counts after all…

"He looks absolutely daft in this picture but I forgive him, he does a wonderful job portraying Dr Who , go Tennant!"

p.s. I like the “Orbital remix” of the “Dr Who theme” best. For some reason I wanted to say that…go figure…..lol!