Lovely essay by comedian and actor Laurence Clark at The Independent about the ongoing appeal of Doctor Who for grownups. (From last August, but I just discovered it.) A taste:
The return of the series in 2005 neatly coincided with me becoming a dad, giving me the perfect opportunity to indoctrinate little Tom right from the start. My wife often jokes that, as a baby, he could recognise the theme tune from when he was in the womb. Indeed when a BBC1 documentary about me and my family was recently shown, I managed to get my choice of narrator and, as a result, now realise I now want the rest of my life also to be narrated by David Tennant – preferable in real time so that, everywhere I’d go, I’d hear his sweet, lilting Scottish voice in my head describing whatever I did.
So I guess for me there’s an irreverence and eccentricity about Doctor Who which sets it apart from its peers. Whilst the likes of Star Trek would get bogged down with irrelevancies like science and facts, Doctor Who would never let such things get in the way of telling a good yarn. At its best, the programme can also be incredibly funny – I’d maintain that my favourite story (City of Death) is one of the finest pieces of comedy made for British TV. No wonder then that, as a stand-up comic, so many of the people I work both with and for are also fans. Sometimes it feels like a bizarre, nerdy version of the masons.
That photo above? It’s Clark as an eight-year-old with Peter Davison on the TARDIS set. Lucky kid!
Read the whole thing at The Independent, then come back here and discuss: What is it that makes Doctor Who resonate for you as an adult?
(If you stumble across a cool Doctor Who thing, feel free to email me with a link.)
Should I stop checking for your review of the Christmas special? It’s coming up on three weeks since it was on, and nothing.
No, you shouldn’t stop checking. Sorry, but real life has interferred. I don’t get advanced copies of DW, and I had family visiting for the holidays through January 6, which left me next to no time for work. I thought I would get to it earlier this week, but it’s taking longer for me to catch up than I hoped. On top of all that, I have to find a new place to live before the end of the month, and that’s not something I can avoid spending time on. I wish I didn’t have to, but there it is.
I’m delighted that so many people are eagerly awaiting my comments on the episode, but, you know, there are only so many hours in the day. I’m doing the best I can.
But, but, but … what are we supposed to think about the episode without you telling us :)
Good luck house hunting, I understand it’s a real pain in London.