Obsession with the Doctor

I've recently re-discovered an old fascination.

I used to be terrified of Doctor Who when I was a kid. Prior to Tim being around as a functioning child-who-watched-TV, Chris and I had very regulated TV viewing. We were only allowed to watch channel two and only between the hours of three-thirty and six... or something like that. This was before I was 12 mind you, so it wasn't really a problem. The problem was that Doctor Who was on in that time slot, and I didn't for the life of me want to give up my TV privileges but I really, really, really didn't like the Doctor. So I spent a lot of time running out of the room, or hiding under a bean bag with my ears plugged, terrified and Not Wanting To Know. The Doctor gave me nightmares! I have seen a lot of the JonPertwee (Doctor 3) and Tom Baker years (Doctor 4)... or rather I remember when I was older quickly changing channels when a Jon or Tom Doctor Who came on. I have only vague memories of Doctors 5 and 6 (Peter Davidson and Colin Baker) as they were on at the time I was running and hiding, so I never really saw those. But the one's that really stuck with me, the one's that really scared me, were the Sylvester McCoy programs. They started appearing on my TV when I was about 11 and getting to the age that running out of the room because I was scared of a program was no longer cool behaviour. I still didn't like them and they still gave me nightmares and yet the paradise towers with their cannibalistic grandmothers, and thekangs with the deadly cleaners, and the cool Ace and that ditsy red-head Mel have stayed with me, through no TV repeats what-so-ever. They well and truly stuck. Just mentioning them gives me a delicious shiver right now. Tom Baker and the brigadier were not so scary - probably because I was older the second time I saw them, and mum was always a big fan so I guess I wondered what the fuss was about. But I still didn't like them. And I never watched them if I could help it.

But now, Doctor Who is back. Has been for four years now in actual fact. And since I am now a firm Sci-Fi and Fantasy Fan, I decided to try to get to know the Doctor once more. My first attempt was made when I was in the UK. It being the home of the Doctor and a place with a huge fan-base of the series it was easy to be reminded three and four times a week that there was this new version of Doctor Who around. I bought the first series, and watched the first two episodes I think... it didn't stick. I saw the occasional new program on the BBC but was never interested enough to watch the rest of the DVDs I had. So I came home, none-the-wiser. Until about a week or so ago. The first part of the finale of the fourth season of the new Doctor was on TV and Carol was watching it, so I sat down whilst eating my dinner... and got hooked. I bought season one again (I left my original in the UK!) and watched it end to end. I bought season two, and ditto. I am now in season three and have been very patient,eeking each episode out one-a-week, so that I don't devour them too soon, hanging out until the fourth season gets released in November. Doctor Who has finally caught my obsessive tendencies.

And I've just now heard they're going on hiatus for 2009.

NOOOOOOOO.