According to Guinness World Records, Doctor Who is the longest running science fiction television show in the world.
Geeks rejoice as it’s also named the most successful sci-fi series of all time based on ratings, DVD and book sales, iTunes and black market downloads.
For those of you who have been trapped in a TARDIS all this time, here’s the background.
The Doctor is a time-travelling humanoid alien who explores the universe in a malfunctioning spacecraft – cleverly disguised as an old police box – to save civilizations and fight evil.
His adventures began in 1963 and continued until 1989. Then in 2005, he reappeared.
Time travel is exhausting and every so often, the Doctor must go through a regeneration, taking on a new body, a new personality and a new actor. I had a mini-crush on the fourth regeneration played by Tom Baker. His Doctor was mid-’40s, funny, a little odd and wore a 12-foot scarf.
Unbeknownst to me, there was much controversy in the ’70s attempting to come between me and my totally inappropriate infatuation.
Originally, Doctor Who was intended as a Saturday night family show about science and history. Instead, it was rated the most violent of all dramas, and critics felt that its frightening and sometimes gory contents were not suitable for children.
Yup, that was me – freaked out by killer daffodils, homicidal dolls and blank-faced policeman.
Everything that was supposed to be safe became a source of fear. But I couldn’t stay away from my Doctor.
And the most heinous of all? The Daleks.
Now before I go any further, I must concede two points: first, growing up, my imagination had a life of its own. Second, it’s entirely too early in the year to be talking about Christmas.
Back to my point … Originally created as a metaphor for the Nazis, the Daleks lived in a tank-like shell, and with a grating, metallic cry, lived to “Exterminate!” all other beings.
While I was a little young to catch the historical reference, my fear of the Daleks often joined my nightmares.
All these years later – and a hefty amount of logic-laced therapy – just the thought of their voices sends chills up my spine.
So I was understandably horrified to discover that British toy store Hamleys had recently released a list of must-have toys for this year’s Christmas season.
The top item? A battery-powered Dalek you can sit in. Okay, probably not you or I. It’s child-sized.
However, guaranteed there are damaged adult psyches out there that will actually try to jam themselves into a life-sized Dalek.
The TARDIS police box? Sure. But the Dalek? It’s the grand-daddy of all space villains!
And now manufacturers want mom and dad to shell out three hundred bucks to snuggle their precious little one into evil’s belly?! Are they mad?
I’m hoping common sense will prevail once the snow flies. Until then, I’ve done some Googling and I’m keeping ol’ Tom on speed dial just in case.
Geeks rejoice as it’s also named the most successful sci-fi series of all time based on ratings, DVD and book sales, iTunes and black market downloads.
For those of you who have been trapped in a TARDIS all this time, here’s the background.
The Doctor is a time-travelling humanoid alien who explores the universe in a malfunctioning spacecraft – cleverly disguised as an old police box – to save civilizations and fight evil.
His adventures began in 1963 and continued until 1989. Then in 2005, he reappeared.
Time travel is exhausting and every so often, the Doctor must go through a regeneration, taking on a new body, a new personality and a new actor. I had a mini-crush on the fourth regeneration played by Tom Baker. His Doctor was mid-’40s, funny, a little odd and wore a 12-foot scarf.
Unbeknownst to me, there was much controversy in the ’70s attempting to come between me and my totally inappropriate infatuation.
Originally, Doctor Who was intended as a Saturday night family show about science and history. Instead, it was rated the most violent of all dramas, and critics felt that its frightening and sometimes gory contents were not suitable for children.
Yup, that was me – freaked out by killer daffodils, homicidal dolls and blank-faced policeman.
Everything that was supposed to be safe became a source of fear. But I couldn’t stay away from my Doctor.
And the most heinous of all? The Daleks.
Now before I go any further, I must concede two points: first, growing up, my imagination had a life of its own. Second, it’s entirely too early in the year to be talking about Christmas.
Back to my point … Originally created as a metaphor for the Nazis, the Daleks lived in a tank-like shell, and with a grating, metallic cry, lived to “Exterminate!” all other beings.
While I was a little young to catch the historical reference, my fear of the Daleks often joined my nightmares.
All these years later – and a hefty amount of logic-laced therapy – just the thought of their voices sends chills up my spine.
So I was understandably horrified to discover that British toy store Hamleys had recently released a list of must-have toys for this year’s Christmas season.
The top item? A battery-powered Dalek you can sit in. Okay, probably not you or I. It’s child-sized.
However, guaranteed there are damaged adult psyches out there that will actually try to jam themselves into a life-sized Dalek.
The TARDIS police box? Sure. But the Dalek? It’s the grand-daddy of all space villains!
And now manufacturers want mom and dad to shell out three hundred bucks to snuggle their precious little one into evil’s belly?! Are they mad?
I’m hoping common sense will prevail once the snow flies. Until then, I’ve done some Googling and I’m keeping ol’ Tom on speed dial just in case.
