Why Who? Series 1-7, 2005-2013

Have you ever met one the 'those' people? The people that stare at statues, trying not blink as if their life depended on it? Freak out when they can't remember why they did something? Treat numbers as if they are people? Have emotional breakdowns whenever you use the words 'Rose' and 'Pond' and seem to think that 'Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey' is a perfect response for just about everything? Well, odds are you've encountered a Whovian. As defined by the Oxford Dictionary, a Whovian is: 'A fan of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who'. Doctor Who holds multiple world records, including Longest Running Science Fiction TV Show in the World. Now you are asking yourself, 'Great, but what is it about?' That is a very complex question to answer.

If you were to ask a a person who only watches Doctor Who casually (that is, if you can find one) what Doctor Who is about, they will probably tell you something along these lines: “Doctor Who is about a time traveling alien called The Doctor, who travels about time and space in a blue police box from the 60's. The Doctor picks up people to adventure about with him as he fights monsters.” But if you were to ask a dedicated Whovian (easily identifiable by the traits mentioned above), they will likely stare at you and laugh quietly to themselves. Then they will tell you: “There is too much to tell. You will have to watch it.” Then they may go into a long rant about how to start watching and which episodes to avoid. Now that you have found out (to a certain extent) what the show is about, you'll be wanting to find out whether the show is appropriate for everyone.

The positive themes and content of Doctor Who far outweigh the negative. The Doctor, troubled as he may be, always does what is right, with the help of his companions, who provide an anchor to the real world for The Doctor. The general themes of Doctor Who involve, as cheesy as it sounds, love, friendship, doing the right thing and sacrifice. These themes are woven so deep into the show's fabric that it could not exist without them. Every episode has a message, even if it is buried deep. As far as negative themes, Doctor Who deals with a few heavy subjects. Death is one of the most common negative themes, and is by far the darkest. The rest generally deal with power, corruption and greed. At the end of each episode, The Doctor has righted most of the wrongs. Thankfully, the writers of Doctor Who kept language to a minimum. Innuendos are sprinkled throughout the seven season run, and a few characters drop some double meanings. To answer the question, 'Is Doctor Who a show for everyone?', I would have to a say 'Yes', with the possible exception of those who are easily affected by movies and TV shows.

Now that we are done with the tangible 'this is good, this is bad' aspect of the review, it seems time for me to give my opinion. If you can not already tell, I am a Whovian. Doctor Who is one of the few shows, to my knowledge, being made today that just about everyone can enjoy.; from grandma who only watches a show for the characters, the younger brother who just loves action, the people who love a good plot with twists and turns, to teenage girls who will fall madly in love with The Doctor, (trust me on this, I know many). On a scale of 1 to 10, I'm giving Doctor Who a 9.5.

By Ronald Murphy.

Doctor Who is owned by BBC.