New to Who

There is no more "New Who" this year- sadness. Before launching into a new review/who topic (so many ideas just came to my brain - profiles on each Doctor, companion rankings, older episode reviews - Ahhh! So much fun), I think we need to discuss the journey that it took for Jana and Kristin to throw in the towel, throw up the white flag, and finally succumb to being full-fledged Whovians. It actually wasn't long into the surrender that we just went along willingly, but still.

The Resistance - How It Proved to be Futile

The first episode of Doctor Who I LOVED and wanted
to watch again!

Jana - For years (years, I say), I had been told to watch Doctor Who. My brother begged me to watch it, my HP friends were obsessed and nagged me to watch it and yet I did not give in. Finally, when it was recommended AGAIN on Netflix, I caved. This was 2008 - I watched Rose. The whole episode - I swear, you could check my Netflix records. I didn't hate it, but I wasn't intrigued. I just didn't need to see the next one. Then (and I know I'm giving away our "Whovian age" here) in February of 2012 - Kristin and I decided that we both needed to give the Doctor another chance. I still resisted - I just didn't see it happening. Kristin decided to take the plunge - she'd watch and report back. Let me know if I was really missing something fabulous. The first few episodes, she stated, were much the same as Rose. I'll be forever grateful that she's an English teacher because if she didn't have so many damn papers to grade, she may never have reached the 9th episode and then Sundays would not be Who days. By the time she called during the Christmas Invasion, trying to let me hear The Doctor quote The Lion King, I knew we were turning a corner - a new obsession was coming. The end of Season One and the beginning of Season Two were both watchable, but  once I'd seen "The Girl in the Fireplace," I fell for both Tennant and the Doctor and knew I'd found my new favorite thing! 

The moment that was too good not to share.

Kristin - I can't remember ever being told by someone to watch Doctor Who.  It came up on my Netflix repeatedly, and I recognized Billie Piper on the front from a few other things that she'd been in.  I have always been a bit more into sci-fi television than Jana, so it isn't surprising that I dived in first.  I decided that if Netflix was so insistent that this be watched, I should try.  I watched both "Rose" and "The End of the World". Sorry, but I wasn't invested enough to keep at it. (At this point I didn't know anything about the history of the show, Jana & I have since developed an appreciation for these early episodes!)  A year or two later, I got on Pinterest.  I adore Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all things Whedon, along with many other geeky things, so I started following boards that posted about Buffy and regularly looking at the "Geek" category on Pinterest.  Doctor Who related images were being pinned constantly by people who cared about the same things as me, and I saw most pins were about different doctors than the one that I'd seen in "Rose".  I became determined to give the show another chance, and see if the show took a turn that I would like with the new actor.  One weekend when I knew I would be working in the living room for a while, I turned on the television and barreled through the first season.  I texted Jana my reviews throughout, since she was interested in the show as well, but it wasn't until "The Empty Child" that I began to appreciate the magic of the Doctor.  Honestly, I found Captain Jack really likable and then realized I was thoroughly enjoying the story.  I texted Jana and told her to skip to episode nine.  I made it to Tennant's Christmas special, and before it was over I had realized that this little British show was something I could totally love.  It was before I made it to "Tooth and Claw" (Tennant's third episode) that I wanted to see everything, know everything, and adore everything touched by Doctor Who. 

If you are still on the fence, give it a chance!  Some people find their entrance right away in "Rose,"  some people need to meet Tennant, and there are people out there who find their entrance through Matt Smith and the entrance of the Moffat era.  There's something about Doctor Who for everyone, you just need to find your way in.  

DFTBA and Stay Shiny,
Jana and Kristin