The first part of David Scott’s article took us through my journey with Doctor Who, which started in 2005 with the show’s return to television.

By the end of 2009 I had very much become a fan, and had just started discovering the classic series. Over the next five years, my interest would very much develop in to an obsession and a major influence on my life.

 

2010

By the time the Eleventh Doctor showed up, my life had changed once again. I’d been made redundant and was back living at home. Easter was approaching, and as usual that meant so was the Doctor. I may have been growing up, but the Time Lord wasn’t.

Although still older than me, we now had our youngest ever Doctor, making his debut in the sublime ‘The Eleventh Hour’. Whilst there had been a change between Eccleston and Tennant, the tonal shift between the Davies and Moffat eras of the show was huge. Stories seemed to be ‘darker’, but with a fun undercurrent, a sense of fairy tale and whimsy and some fantastic ideas.

Having always felt older than my years, I related to Matt Smith’s Doctor in a different way to the previous incarnations. Yes, he appeared young, but behind that face were so many years, summed up in lines such as “we’re all stories in the end” and in the fantastic moments between him, Craig and Sophie in ‘The Lodger’.

Although I was venturing in to the ‘adult’ world now, I was beginning to be more open about my geeky interests, including Doctor Who. I expect most of it was down to me maturing, becoming more comfortable with myself and not afraid to be open and honest about who I was.

I imagine though, that the changing attitude of the general public to the show was probably a factor too. Doctor Who had gone from something hidden away in books and audios to a television hit. It was no longer just considered an easily-mocked geeky hobby, but a national treasure. It felt safe, if not encouraged to be a fan of Doctor Who.

Outside of the newest series, I had begun to purchase classic stories on DVD for myself. I started off small, with the usual suspects; ‘Genesis of the Daleks’, ‘The Five Doctors’ and ‘The Caves of Androzani’. I then discovered the wealth of titles available online which, having been available for a while now, were rather cheap.

 

2011

My DVD collection continued to grow, and as I moved in to my girlfriend’s flat, gained its own bookcase in the living room. My knowledge of the various Doctors and their adventures was growing, and I began to dabble in writing fanfiction, something I had started during the Tenth Doctors’ tenure, but now branching out to some of the older incarnations.

In terms of the TV show, I remember this being one of the best years for Doctor Who. Not necessarily for the episodes, as some really do miss the mark, but because the season was split in to two, seven episodes from April and the remaining six starting in September. Not only were we treated to the fantastic ‘The Doctors’ Wife’, but we were also left with a great summer cliffhanger after the reveal of River’s real identity. For the first time, it felt like we had a whole year of Doctor Who.

This was also the year I began to venture in to the world of fandom. In April I travelled to Cambridge where Colin Baker was attending a science festival hosted by Cambridge University. I remember being very nervous, although I wasn’t over familiar with Colin’s Doctor at this point, but I was still meeting the Doctor. As I had been told, and has been proven many times since, he was lovely, posing for pictures and generally having a chat. His autographed picture became the first of many…

 

Continued on Page 2…