Welcome to the first post in this new blog. The intention is to review each and every Doctor Who story from 1963 through to the current series (whatever that might be when I reach it) in chronological order of transmission date.
This blog will run in parallel with my similarly named YouTube channel, which may raise the question of whether one or other is actually redundant. I will defend my decision to run twin tracks for these reviews on two bases; firstly, that the two attract differing audiences and secondly, that, although having broadly similar content, the two are not simply reworkings of the same material. I think the the blog will tend to have more detail and be more 'considered' while the video channel will give a more spontaneous reflection of my responses.
I should, I suppose, introduce myself (especially given the post title). I have been a Doctor Who viewer since early in the show's history. Although I've no memory of the very first stories, being only 3-4 years old at the time, I certainly retain some memories from later in William Hartnell's era. Like most boys of the time I was a regular viewer on Saturday evenings through Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and into Tom Baker's long run. It was just about as Tom Baker left that, coincidentally, I pretty much stopped watching--not because I had lost interest but because I had just started my career in the Royal Air Force which meant that I wasn't often around a television at the appropriate time!
I saw no more than a handful of episodes from Peter Davison or Colin Baker, mainly caught in passing, and didn't see any of Sylvester McCoy's, perhaps adversely swayed by my memories of his performance in the long running series aimed at deaf children, Vision On. Like many casual viewers of my vintage, the suspension of production of Doctor Who (which was never officially cancelled by the BBC) didn't make a great impact and the various rumours of new a series that sporadically surfaced over the years were no more than a mild curiosity. Nevertheless, again like many of my contemporaries, I did tune in to watch the TV movie starring Paul McGann in 1996. Without wanting to spoil the surprise when I do the review, I thought it a mixed bag and couldn't really see it leading on to a full series. In my mind that pretty much sealed the fate for Doctor Who which was consigned to that corner of my mind labelled 'things I used to enjoy... long ago'.
Not having been in contact with the world of Doctor Who fandom, the arrival of the new series in 2005 was a total surprise. I watched the opening episode and most of that season but didn't really begin watching regularly again until Peter Capaldi took over the role some nine years later. Once hooked I decided that I needed to go back and catch up.
Being the obsessive completist I am, 'catching up' meant going back to the beginning. The real beginning in 1963, rather than the 'new' beginning of 2005. So began my efforts to gather together, in some form or other, the whole story. Through luck, persistence and the wonders of the internet, I have now managed to get a full set of classic era stories in old off-air VHS recordings that were still in the back of my cupboard, commercially released VHS tapes found in the same cupboard or in car boot sales, a few DVDs (my wife would have questions if I spent too much on this obsession) and, in the case of lost stories, reconstructions painstakingly put together by enthusiasts (which will, doubtless, be the subject of a later posting).
Now that I am sure that I can get the whole series (the new series episodes I don't currently have are all easily available through commercial DVD releases or streaming) I can go ahead and actually start my mission to watch every story. My rules are to view the episodes in chronological order of transmission, to avoid referring to events and characters which have not yet appeared and to try, so far as possible, to view them in the context of the time they were broadcast. The last point is the most difficult because, even for those of us who were around when the older episodes first aired, we have greater expectations of visual effects while being, generally, a lot less tolerant of slow pacing.
So why write a blog and/or create a video series? Mainly to help me 'keep the faith' and stick to my plan. If I write about my experiences I am (probably) more likely to keep going. If I am writing and talking about the stories I am also more likely to pay attention and not sleepwalk through episodes. Finally, I am doing this because of my disappointment with so many, particularly on YouTube, who start out on similar missions and then disappear in midstream without comment. Hopefully, I won't join them.
This is an epic journey through over 260 stories, more than 800 episodes, spanning 53 years and 12 (or 13) Doctors (at the time of writing). I hope to review two stories each week which means, all being well, around two and a half years to bring myself up to date. I hope you will join me on this journey.
Next time: Season 1, Story 1, An Unearthly Child
