As
a kid, I loved watching Dr Who (predominately from the Jon Pertwe/Tom Baker era). After an episode, my brother and I would run
around the lounge room pretending to be the Doctor and Sarah Jane, until my
brother would turn into a dalek, exterminate me and it would all end in tears.
I
saw the movie in the nineties, though I can’t say I remember much of it, but I
was thrilled when the series returned to television. Christopher Eccleston, tough and modern, was a
big change from the Tom Baker Doctor of my youth. Billie Piper as Rose, the Doctor’s companion,
was brilliant casting. Then the Doctor regenerated
into the body of David Tennant, my favourite Doctor so far.
As
my babies got older, it became more difficult to get them into bed before Dr
Who started, so I stopped watching for a while.
I’d miss most of an episode saying goodnight anyway, and if the kids weren't in bed, well, the modern Dr Who is far scarier for littlies than the
old.
Over
the past few months, now that they're old enough for the scary bits, I started letting the kids watch repeats of the show for
the first time. My daughter is now Dr
Who mad. We spent all weekend watching
the Dr Who 50th anniversary specials together, and I was excited to
show her the Doctors that I grew up with. (Her favourite is the current Doctor, Matt
Smith).
So
how do I pick a best bit out of 50 years of Dr Who? Is it the different personae of the Doctor,
the companions, the villains, the time travel, the TARDIS? No, for me the best bit of Dr Who is the
memories of enjoying it with my families – old and new.
