Doctor Who is a sci-fi phenomenon that has spanned decades. How can you really become a fan? Or at least figure out what your boyfriend is babbling about when talking about Gallifrey, the TARDIS, and the latest companion?
Step 1
Locate Your Doctor Who Sources. There are many seasons--past and present--of Doctor Who. Consult your TV guide to find out what stations carry this series (UK: BBC's 1&3, Watch. US: BBC, BBC America, American PBS, etc.) Alternatively, you can find Doctor Who episodes on VHS or DVD; likely soon Blu-Ray as well.
Step 2
*There are clips of Doctor Who on www.youtube.com including official trailers for episodes in the current series from the BBC web site.
Step 3
Learn the Doctor Who Basics. To really enjoy the series, you need to understand the following about the series:
Step 4
* We know the Doctor is a Time Lord, an advanced humanoid race that has harnessed the power of manipulating time. Their home planet is Gallifrey. The Doctor is constantly traveling through time and space. In the most recent Doctor Who series, the Time Lords have been exterminated in a huge war.
- The main character of Doctor Who is known only as "The Doctor". We're not actually sure of his real name. The show's title is not a reference to his name but rather an occasional joke in which someone asks "Doctor Who?" when he identifies himself as The Doctor.
Step 5
* Time Lords, while they can die, more typically regenerate into entirely new individuals in body, temperament, and outlook. However, they can only regenerate twelve times (thirteen bodies) we think. However, it has been speculated that this was only a superficial limit imposed by Gallifrey's leaders on other Time Lords, and the Doctor, being the last Time Lord, will probably be able to regenerate as many times as he wants. We presume gender as well, because the Doctor has never become female. They are not immortal, as all but two of them died in the Time War.
Step 6
* The Doctor is always very intelligent, cares about Earth and humans, and defending what's right. He solves problems chiefly through his wits, rather than violence, although he will engage in combat if needed.
Step 7
* The Doctor never goes long without a companion or two. Usually these are attractive young females, although he isn't very romantically motivated, though he did fall in love with a recent companion, Rose Tyler.
Step 8
The TARDIS. This is the Doctor's spaceship--he cannot travel in time without it. It looks like an old-fashioned British police box. However, inside it's a sophisticated spaceship, and many times bigger inside than it is outside. The Doctor is fiercely protective and proud of his TARDIS. The TARDIS stands for Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space. For more information check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TARDIS
Step 9
K-9. A robotic dog-like companion that the Doctor relies on. (Notably through the Tom Baker Years, with a guest appearance in the recent series). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-9_%28Doctor_Who%29
Step 10
The Sonic Screwdriver, a multipurpose tool the Doctor uses: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_screwdriver
Step 11
The Doctor has many Enemies:
Step 12
* Daleks. These are an army of cyborgs, genetically engineered mutations inside a bonded polycarbonate shell that look like R2-D2s bad-ass cousins. They tend to yell "Exterminate! Exterminate! A lot. These are reoccurring antagonists. For more info, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalek
Step 13
Old or New Series? Doctor Who, as a series, reaches back into the 1960s. The style, writing, special effects, and so on vary a lot from one season to another. If you enjoy classic sci-fi (original Star Trek, for instance), try classic episodes. If you prefer more current sci-fi, you can start with the current series.
- Try and track down the W.H. Allen/Virgin Publishing Ltd. Target novelisations of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s Doctor Who adventures. These are long out of print, but you can still obtain them from specialist dealers. Second-hand bookshops usually stock them too. Also, check out the original Doctor Who novels from BBC Books, which are set in suitable gaps between the Doctor's television adventures and take the series' concept into areas that television technology and budget limitations could never do.
- Seek Doctor Who Knowledge. While you can certainly enjoy Doctor Who without knowing the elaborate history, mysteries, and so on that has developed over the decades, learning these details can greatly enhance the experience. Learn from other fans, web sites, blogs, and so on.
Tips
- Amazon.com is a great place to buy the older episodes and the two movies. Also you can find The Curse of Fatal Death there.
- The 1996 TV Movie starring Paul McGann wasn't released on VHS in America. But you might be able to find a copy on an online store or auction site.
- Four Doctor Who television stories – five if you chose to count the unfinished and never broadcast Shada (1979) – were never novelised as part of the Target Books range (see Steps above) for a variety of legal reasons, so it's useless looking for them. These were The Pirate Planet (1978), City of Death (1979), Resurrection of the Daleks (1984) and Revelation of the Daleks (1985).
- When referring to the character call him "The Doctor", not "Doctor Who". 'Who' isn't the Doctor's surname, and it annoys everyone, I mean everyone that watches Doctor Who, and you probably will be yelled at. Never get Doctor Who fans (known as Whovians, or Whooligans) mad.
- Remember, for your own sake. The creator of the Daleks is Davros, and first appeared in Genesis of the Daleks (1975).
- Memorising the name of every actor who's played the canonical Doctor, and the number they were. Remember some of that Doctor's traits and what monsters he has (or hasn't) faced. Number 1 was William Hartnell, 2 was Patrick Troughton, 3 was Jon Pertwee, 4 was Tom Baker (not to be confused with that guy from that Andy Warhol film. That'd be embarassing!), 5 was Peter Davison, 6 was Colin Baker, and 7 was Sylvester McCoy. Number 8, Paul McGann, only appeared on-screen once. 9 was Christopher Eccleston (who quit after just one season), and 10 was David Tennant. Tennant is starring in four specials in 2009, after which Matt Smith will take over as 11. Also remember, Doctors 1-3 (Hartnell, Troughton and Pertwee) are all dead and Tom Baker and Colin Baker (4 and 6) are not related.
