Not even two years after its 50th anniversary, Doctor Who is now celebrating its (second) tenth birthday, a scenario normally reserved for the timey-wimey plots of the show itself.
2014
Whilst the Doctor had some dark days ahead of him, the first half of the year was going to be particularly joyous for me, with my wedding in the July.
Of course, Doctor Who was mentioned in various speeches (not mine!) and unknown to most people, my cufflinks were decorated with the Seal of Rassilon. I’d joked, of course, about going further; table numbers decorated with the face of the relevant Doctor or fish fingers and custard on the buffet. But realistically I knew the Doctor was going to have to take a back seat, for a day at least.
For the first time for a few years, we were finally going to have a full uninterrupted season of episodes, this time airing in the autumn months. There’s something about watching Doctor Who for me which is just suited to that time of year; it should be dark outside, not with sun shining through the windows. I don’t know where that comes from, as I didn’t have any nostalgia to fall back on, but for me it’s the season is where Doctor Who should belong.
Whereas I avoiding watching ‘The Day of the Doctor’ in the cinema, we went to our local branch to see ‘Deep Breath’. I’d said the previous year that I didn’t want to have to deal with people talking over the episode, but it seems like I needn’t have worried.
Again, there was a vast range of people, but they all fell silent as the Twelfth Doctor stepped on to the screen. Naturally, as the episode ended talk fell straight to Peter Capaldi. Many, myself included, weren’t convinced. I saw the influences of Doctors such as Colin Baker and William Hartnell, I could see the direction the character was being taken in, but I just didn’t like him.
As the season went on, however, I realised that I wasn’t supposed to like this Doctor, not straight away. He wasn’t an instantly loveable character, it took work to understand him and it really made me think.
It wasn’t until ‘Kill the Moon’ that I started to see the Twelfth Doctor as the Doctor. I can pinpoint it exactly to the point where he exclaims ‘The moon’s an egg!”. The enthusiasm and joy in that statement, in finding something new and exciting summed up the Doctor I’d been watching for the past nine years.
It was there in Ecclestons’ “Everybody lives!” in Tennant’s admiration of the werewolf and in Smith’s realisation of just who River really was. The face, the voice, the personality may have changed, but this was still the Doctor.
2015
And here we are, in the present. Whilst there doesn’t appear to be anything planned to mark ten years since ‘Rose’, hype is already starting to build for a second season with Peter Capaldi.
Jenna Coleman is staying for at least this year, which I’m personally pleased about; Clara grew so much in Season 8, and I’m hoping for more of the same. With her, comes Michelle Gomez’s Missy, a character who ultimately wasn’t as controversial as I (and probably Steven Moffat) thought she would be. After ten years, or fifty two, depending on who’s counting, there are still big things on the horizon.
It’s been a huge decade for Doctor Who, for me, and for many other fans like me. I’ve covered the main events of each year, but that’s just skimming the surface. We’ve had missing episodes found, rumours of new Doctors, companions and showrunners, we’ve had scripts leaked online and claims that the show was on the verge of cancellation. It’s nothing the show hadn’t seen before, and as it always has, it’s come out of those less fortunate events stronger and more popular than ever before.
And, as a fan, the same can be said for me. My life is so much different than it was in 2005, but that’s okay, because things change. I may not have regenerated, but my companions have changed, I’ve travelled from place to place, and I’ve had many adventures along the way.
And, just like the Doctor, there are many more adventures to come.
What are your favourite memories of being a Doctor Who fan over the past decade? Let us know below…