Doctor Who: I should have been British

It only took me like three years, but I'm finally caught up on Doctor Who! Resolution #2 technically fulfilled!

You know it's funny, as a huge Anglophile as well as a sci-fi geek, it makes perfect sense that I would be a fan of this show. And I mean, the concept is so great. Time and space travel allows for both fun ventures into the past as well as dreamt up visions of the future and other planets, the Doctor "regenerates" so the series can continue even with different actors playing the role, companions come and go...it's so sustainable. But somehow it took me awhile to really warm up to the show, and while there were plenty of superb episodes in the first four seasons and truly great performances from David Tennant and Billie Piper and Catherine Tate, among others, I don't think I really became a devotee until season five when Matt Smith took over as the Eleventh Doctor. It's probably not the most popular opinion, but he's definitely my favorite so far. Maybe it's because he's a little younger, a little less manic but a little more geeky?

And um, I kind of have a huge girl crush on Karen Gillan (the Doctor's companion, Amy Pond). She's Scottish, red-haired (or ginger as the British say), tall, gorgeous...I kind of want to be her. And I love love love Amy's husband Rory, too...they're so adorable together. Traditionally the Doctor has just a female companion so it's a nice change of pace to have a couple as his companions. There's been reference to them being his "best friends" which I find just really cute because the Doctor, despite his love of humans and interacting with them, is inherently a solitary guy (last of his race and all). Ok...girly ridiculousness over.

Also really interesting has been the development of River Song (played by Alex Kingston). She first appears in season 4 as a fellow time-traveler whose timelines intersect with the Doctor but in roughly reverse order (the last time she meets the Doctor is the first time he meets her). Apparently this storyline was actually inspired by The Time Traveler's Wife (which we're fans of on this blog) and River and the Doctor both keep diaries to keep track of their meetings and avoid, as River often proclaims, "spoilers!" Recently a big piece of River's identity was finally revealed, but there's still plenty more to explore, especially hints of a future romantic relationship. Alex Kingston is quite a bit older than Matt Smith but they have a fun, flirty chemistry that really just works.

I love that BBCAmerica is airing new episodes concurrently with the UK, and even better, they're available on demand in HD! Netflix has seasons 1-5 on streaming too!