Abrimos un espacio para las personas que nos han acogido en este país. Los llamamos con Ñ de Wallace o Ñ from Wallace. Ellos nos han facilitado la compresión de su cultura, de sus tradiciones y se han interesado por las nuestras.
Les hemos pedido que nos descifren conceptos y su forma de ver la vida. Bristish Icon que te hacen perder al Trivial.
Doctor Who, a British Icon
Given that the new trailer for this year’s festive special has just been released this is a perfect time to write about the ongoing appeal of Doctor Who.
Who is Doctor Who?
For those that don’t know, Doctor Who has now been going for 57 years. The basic premise is the Doctor, a Time Lord, who is a centuries old alien, who has a time machine (The TARDIS, which looks like a blue Police callbox and is much bigger on the inside than it is on the outside), and re-generates into a different body when he dies, travels the universe through space and time, usually with 1 or 2 human companions, generally righting wrongs and doing good. Every week a new amazing planet is visited, or they would visit a period of Earth history such as Cleopatra, or visit Van Gogh or Rosa Parks. He has a soft spot for Earth and protects us from the horrors of the universe.
The series is famed for although being a children’s show, it does have rather terrifying aliens which famously caused millions of children to hide behind the couch in terror when they appeared. The classics such as Daleks, Cybermen and the Doctor’s evil nemesis The Master, have been joined in the recent years by Weeping Angels, Rani and a hundred other deadly aliens.
As premises go they don’t really get more far fetched! As the Doctor re-generates when he “dies”, the main character is re-cast every so often with a new actor playing the same Doctor, but with new characteristics and motivations. Thirteen actors have played the role now, most are usually fun, with a few taking the character in a darker direction. Whilst he is usually benevolent and helps people, he can also destroy whole civilisations, imprison people for all time, and has no mercy for his enemies.
Expanding horizonts
Initially there was a lot of mystery around the Doctors past, but over the almost 60 years it has been broadcast, writers have been able to create and explore a massive mythology, expanding the Doctors origins and history in exciting new ways.
I was introduced to Doctor Who at a very young age, my mother was a huge fan so it was watched religiously in our house. Whilst the 5th and 6th Doctors were no doubt on the TV when I was young, the first Doctor I really remember watching is the 7th, Sylvester McCoy, and his companion Ace. Not regarded as one of the best Doctors I loved this version who played it very much as a wise magician character. Doctor Who has a long history of strong female characters, and his young and sexy companion Ace was brilliant and saved the day many times.
Long live for the Doctor
The 7th Doctor was the last for a while due to a decline in ratings, with the 8th Doctor appearing in a movie in 1996 (it wasn’t very good) before the TV show was re-started in 2005.
The 9th Doctor was only around for 1 season before passing the torch to David Tenant who played the role for 5 years before Matt Smith took over. For me both Tenant and Smiths runs are fantastic, both actors bringing something very different to the character, and backed up by great writing with both good individual episodes and excellent story arcs over various seasons. And their companions Rose, Donna and Amy were all outstanding as well.
It´s Christmas on the inside
As one of the longest running sci-fi shows, and British made, it made it almost a source of national pride as a great British export, even people who didn’t like sci-fi would watch Doctor Who. The tradition of a festive special at Christmas or New Year is a new one, only started when the new show took off in 2005, but has become a major part of many families festive viewing.
The show attracts a huge range of actors, with Simon Pegg, Timothy Dalton, Carey Mulligan, James Corden, Sir Ian McKellen, Andrew Garfield, David Morrisey, David Walliams, Matt Lucas, Bill Nighy, John Hurt, and Kylie Minogue only a small few of the huge list of actors who have appeared as guest characters in the show.
Both serious and funny, science fiction and fantasy, complicated and simple, action packed but family friendly, at its worst it is always fun, and at its best it is thought provoking, exciting and very emotional, not ashamed to say it has reduced me to tears many times! Pretty much anything with the Doctor and Amy Pond, Vincent Van Gough getting to see his drawings on display in the current day, the War Doctor, but even the littlest guest characters fate can elicit some strong emotions.
Allways, the Future
The time travel rules are incredibly complex, but summed up nicely by Matt Smith as “People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but *actually* from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint – it’s more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly… time-y wimey… stuff” which sums up the show nicely.
The newest Doctor, who re-generated as a woman for the first time in the shows history, played by Jodi Whittaker is doing a good job but hasn’t really had the same writing talent behind her, fingers crossed the new season can attain the magic of previous seasons.
Oh and the theme music is awesome as well!