The Charm of Doctor Who

Our wedding cake was the TARDIS, of course!

The Charm of Doctor Who 

by Cynthianna 

 Before the new series of Doctor Who starts up again, I wanted to reflect back on the classic series for a moment. The world’s longest running science fiction/fantasy television show began in November 1963, the same day Kennedy was assassinated. These events live on in our imaginations, albeit for very different reasons. The young president’s death demonstrated the harsh realities of the human condition, while the wandering Doctor and his companions emphasized our capacity to overcome adversity through the use of science, with a splash of courage and derring-do added in for fun. Admit it—sometimes we long for a brief respite from the horrors of the world, a chance to catch our breaths and see the “good guys” win. This much desired escapism the classic series of Doctor Who delivered, and it’s why it continues to strike a chord within its fans. 

The First Doctor’s charmed us with his outwardly crusty mannerisms that hid his inwardly caring nature. London school teachers Barbara and Ian were the perfect foils to reveal how the Doctor wanted to make a difference without being seen as a superhero rushing in at the last moment to save the day. The First Doctor’s true charm was his sense of humility, his sense that he could advise and help others, but, in the end, they needed to solve their own problems and live life on their own terms. After all, he lived his life on his own terms when he took off in the TARDIS, leaving his home world and people behind. Why would he act disrespectfully by telling others what to do? 

The Three Doctors

The Second Doctor charmed us with his sense of endless curiosity. The universe—and its dimensions beyond—was this recorder-playing piper’s playground. He and his companions often found themselves involved in convoluted scenarios on planets they weren’t always welcome on. Ever the stranger, he soon became a trusted confidant to those he helped. In the end, his punishment was to be exiled and his closest friends’ memories of their adventures together—all except their first encounter—were taken away. What could be worse for a “cosmic hobo” than to lose his traveling buddies and their shared escapades? 

The Third Doctor charmed us with his James Bond-like skills of Venusian Aikido and his love of fast cars and boats. Both his crustiness and his caring heart were evident as he scolded the Brigadier and his friends at U.N.I.T. for their tendencies to shoot first and ask questions later. The Third Doctor felt trapped in his exile on Earth, yet didn’t take his frustrations out on his adopted people and planet, doing his best to help humans and aliens to live in peace and harmony. Was it really any surprise to him when they ignored his sage advice? 

The Fourth Doctor

The Fourth Doctor charmed us with his whimsical foresight. You could say he’d be around the block now in his four regenerations, and human beings and their self-defeatist antics didn’t faze him much, even though he often voiced his disappointment in our apparent lack of wisdom. The Fourth Doctor is sometimes seen as a clown in his long scarf, floppy hat with the ever-present bag of jelly babies (sweets) in his pocket, but his strength came in allowing his adversaries to underestimate him. His deep, caring nature and humility, along with the cosmic hobo’s sense of curiosity, drove him to do better, to help out, to become more involved—sometimes as the cost of his own safety. How would it feel to be seen as being something less than you really are, yet all the while you intuit others have come to depend upon you for so much? 

The Fifth Doctor charmed us with his athleticism and his uprightness. His crustiness and world-weariness revealed themselves in his reserved manners and tendency to preach to his young group of companions. But there was never any doubt the Fifth Doctor still cared for the human race—the sacrifice of his own life by giving all of the spider’s poison antidote to his last companion demonstrated his humility and caring. Would anyone expect less of the Doctor? Would the Doctor expect any less of himself? 

The Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Doctors

The Sixth Doctor charmed us with his unexpected energy and driven disposition. Time was catching up with the Time Lord, and sometimes his rudeness showed his impatience with the fact that although he had changed, the occupants of the universe hadn’t. They gladly accepted his assistance, but they didn’t give credence to the good he did and often tried to undermine him. The Sixth Doctor continued to care and to serve in spite of his own people’s cruel betrayal by putting him on trial. Misunderstood and ridiculed, was the Doctor growing tired of helping ingrates who couldn’t see the compassionate individual behind his coat of many colors? 

The Seventh Doctor charmed us with his need to put things right. A long life wanderer throughout time and space, his travels had taught the Doctor that he had an obligation to clean up some of the messes left behind by him and others. Evoking his whimsical side with his question mark umbrella, he was seen as a clown, a role he used to great advantage. Underestimated and reviled, he continued to lend a hand wherever and whenever necessary, expecting and receiving neither honors nor acknowledgment. A hero to the end, was it his simple love of humanity that drove him onward in spite of insurmountable obstacles? 

The past year we’ve enjoyed watching (and re-watching) the remaining episodes from the classic series of Doctor Who. When you consider the great actors, writers and producers who created the series, is it any wonder its genuine charm hasn’t faded over the years? The new series of Doctor Who hasn’t quite lived up to this great wealth of good-feelings generated by the classic series character of the Doctor, alas. We wait to see if “Nu Who” can yet be redeemed, hoping it's not completely devolved into a teenage-oriented soap opera focused on photogenic young companions that doesn’t quite demonstrate the charm of the humble, caring, heroic original Doctor. 


What's your take on classic Doctor Who. Do you think the new series has come close to the charm of the original? Leave your comments in the comment section below. Thank you.
 
Some of my other essays on Doctor Who include:

Doctor Who: The Last Christmas Special Ever?

Doctor Who vs. Agents of SHIELD: Creating Strong Female Characters

The Death of Doctor Who

I Got the Doctor Who Let Down Blues

Racism: Not MY Science Fiction!

 

I'm a nerd. Like my earrings?

Some days I have to pinch myself and ask, "What year is this?"

To be clear, I don't drink and I'm not on any medications. It's just that sometimes people and events strike me in such a way that I can't quite believe I'm living in the twenty-first century. For a writer of speculative fiction, it's doubly odd to think that others who love to read, write, and discuss science fiction/fantasy books, TV, and film like I do would hold onto outdated beliefs of racial superiority and want to celebrate these beliefs by honoring a publication that prints such content.

I won't mention the names of the publication,the  sci-fi convention, or the individuals involved because this isn't a rant or tirade to tear down the reputations of these institutions or individuals. (I'm honestly worried about them.) This is just an attempt to come to terms with the horribleness of a situation that fills my heart with fear and dread. And, as a writer, I work through weighty problems in prose.

I think the Twilight Zone moment came for me when I expressed my horror on an online forum at the idea that a beloved sci-fi con would even contemplate honoring  a science fiction-oriented publication that would print racial slurs as "humor". I was told I was on a "witch hunt" and trying to "censor" free speech. When I tried to explain that an editor of an ezine is both legally and morally responsible for the contents of said publication and must take responsibility for the outrage that its content could incur, it seemed to fall on deaf ears. Here's what I said:

A "compiler" (of an ezine) is still considered an "editor"--they are the person or group of persons who put together a magazine or ezine. They put their name(s) on the publication as the person(s) who take responsibility for its contents. If this editor doesn't want to take responsibility for the contents of his ezine, then he should have struck his name off it a while back. I have nothing against the man personally--never met him--but as a professional writer/editor I have to make judgement calls on what is suitable for publication all the time. (I'm paid to do this!) If the writing of a manuscript is substandard--the book doesn't make it out of the slushpile. If the content is offensive to the majority of readers in 2014 (that's 2014 not 1854), I have to tell the publisher that the content is possibly something they wouldn't feel comfortable publishing. It's the way the publishing world works. If you are "self-publishing" you are essentially taking on all the legal responsibility of a publisher upon yourself as "editor/compiler". 

So, once again, does the convention want to "honor" (give credit and glorify) racist jokes? I would think the majority of convention attendees would be adults who wouldn't find racist humor funny. I never said that this editor couldn't attend the con or that he has never helped out at other cons. Good for him! However, if he has taken on the responsibility of publishing racist commentary and his name is on the publication, then he must accept the outrage publishing such racist commentary can incur in the year 2014. 

 That's about it. I grew up loving science fiction in the era of the original series of Star Trek where Mr. Spock talked about "infinite diversity in infinite combinations" and other such nonsense. Thing is, I believed it. Uhuru was an African professional woman who worked alongside an Asian navigator and people from diverse Caucasian backgrounds on the bridge of the starship Enterprise. They didn't make juvenile racist jokes at each other's expense. They reflected Gene Roddenberry's dream that some day soon all of mankind would live in peace and harmony. 

It's a beautiful dream. Why are some folks in the twenty-first century trying to kill it?

Are they afraid it's coming true? You look into any elementary school these days and you won't see what I saw when I entered first grade in the South. You see white kids and black kids and red kids and yellow kids and brown kids and kids who are something altogether unique. We've become a multicultural and diverse society. Star Trek is coming true! My heart soars!

But for others... they're afraid. They don't like change. They want to live in the nineteenth century where slaves and women knew their place and don't speak back to their superiors. And so they lash out through the glorification of demeaning, bigoted humor to put people of color, women, homosexuals, and other minority groups in their place. The worse thing of it for me is that these haters dare to call what they write science fiction.

Oh, Gene! Please come back! We truly need your shining optimism about mankind's diverse and peaceful future!

Do those who espouse racist beliefs have the right to exercise free speech under the U.S. Constitution? Absolutely. Do these same people deserve to have their racist speech honored at a volunteer convention where some of the volunteers aren't white, heterosexual males of a certain age and social status? No, they do not. If the white heterosexual males of a certain age/status can't see why some volunteers might feel nervous and uncomfortable knowing they're not really accepted by the convention's board of directors because of the color of their skin, their gender identity, or other minority protected status, then it might be time to take the board to a first grade class and introduce them to the next generation of science fiction fans.

Because what it comes down to is this: a fan-run sci-fi convention is about the fans. They are a diverse and lively lot, and they live in the year 2014--not 1854. 

Let's not take a step backward. Let's "boldly go where no one has gone before!"

True science fiction fans celebrate diversity. They do not attempt to squash it.

(Feel free to leave a comment below. Please act like adults and use your manners--no profanity,  name-calling, or finger-pointing. In other words, plese refrain from cursing or other nasty words. This is a family-friendly blog. Thank you.)

(P.S. If you like my TARDIS earrings in the photo above, check out my hubby's Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheophilusSaxe )