SPOILERS - The Angels Take Manhattan

Yes, I am at least 3 months late with this post. My excuse is the difficulty of watching the damned thing without crying. Today is the closest I've come to it and there were still tears at certain points where Murray Gold's music swelled. Damn you Murray!

So, the final farewell to the Ponds. As you can probably tell by all the crying, I loved it!

I know there were plot holes (The Statue of Liberty is not made of stone, and also, how could it not have been seen?), but I just don't care. This entire series 7a hasn't really been about plot. It's been about the emotional stories. The relationship between Amy and Rory. The relationship between the Ponds and the Doctor. The Doctor's guilt over the effect he has unintentionally had on people(his comments about the victims in A Town Called Mercy). The relationship between the Doctor and River in this episode.

Speaking of which, River was very interesting here. Now a Professor, out of prison because the Doctor doesn't exist any more, she musn't be too far away from the library. It was definitely an older, calmer, more mature River. It showed in the friction between them when the Doctor healed her wrist, only for her to slap him. Will we see her again? I suspect she will be at Trenzalore, but that may not be for a while. With Amy and Rory gone though, some of River's relevance is also gone.

Rory. Goddess, I'm going to miss Rory. I'm not all that attached to Amy. I don't hate her or anything, but she's not quite Donna. I adore Rory though, and his relationship with the Doctor was much different to most. Perhaps a somewhat more mature, adult relationship than what many other companions have had. He sees the Doctor's flaws and had to actually grow to like him rather than being awed by him right from the start. His first reaction to the TARDIS and his conversation with the Doctor at the end of The Girl Who Waited come to mind.

What else can I say about the episode, apart from the two 'death' scenes turned me into a complete wreck?

I did like the film noir style to it, and Amy playing pooh sticks amused me. Oh! I'm still competely terrified of the weeping angels. Goddammit those cherubs were fucking creepy with their freaky giggle. *shivers* Definitely the scariest part of the episode.

I guess that's it. The Ponds are gone and this blog post is finally done. Next up, either my trip to the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular or The Snowmen, depending on my mood.

Toodles.

The Three Doctors

So, after stalling on The Aztecs, I have continued my occaisional exploration of classic Doctor Who with... dum dum dum... The Three Doctors!

I figured that I hadn't yet seen any Jon Pertwee or Patrick Troughton, so why not do both at the same time! And I really enjoyed it.

I got to see the Brigadier and Jo Grant, both of whom I had only seen in the Sarah Jane Adventures befor this, which is not quite the same.

Dear Bod, I love Jo Grant! She's utterly adorable. Yes, okay, she can be a bit ditzy, but I don't really mind that. And she and Benton just made me squee in all the scenes they had together. I got all mushy.

I don't know enough about science to judge the possibility of the story (and black holes frankly scare the hell out of me), but I quite liked the story. It was light and fluffy-ish, but I like my Doctor Who like that.

I'm not entirely sure what else to say about it. It was a good intro to some Doctor's and companions that I had yet to come across (the Brig not being able to handle the concept of multiple Doctors was hilarious) and I enjoyed it.

Toodles!

SPOILERS - The Power of Three

Another good one from Chris Chibnall this week. The plot itself was a little light on, I must admit, but this was more a character piece than anything.

It was about how the Doctor relates to the real world, how he affects his companions and all the other people he comes into contact with. I was most touched by the character of Kate Stewart - Daughter of the Brigadier. I've never seen an episode with the Brig, apart from his turn on the Sarah Jane adventures, but I understand that he definitely viewed things from a military point of view. Yet, through meeting and working with the Doctor, he brought his daughter up saying that 'science leads'. Brilliant. This is the more traditional role for the character, rather than the angry, vengeful man that was in A Town Called Mercy, although I think both sides of him a perfectly valid.

While I'm discussing Kate, her gentle, dry sense of humour was fabulous."Yes, I've got officers trained in beheading, also, Ravens of Death."

Ravens of Death! Ha!

There was a lot of gentle reflections on Doctor Who's past in this. A reference to K9 and the conversation between the Doctor and Brian where the Doctor was forced to disclose the fates of previous companions. Of course, Brian is worried about Amy and Rory. But it is a much gentler worry than, say, Jackie Tyler. The forshadowing at the end was once again fairly obvious though. It's been happening all season, and I really think it could be subtler. We know Amy and Rory are leaving. We don't need a dramatic pause everytime it's referenced.

Another moment, that was very Doctor-ish and touching was his referring to humans as 'creatures of hope'. Even though the Human race can make him so angry sometimes, he still thinks we're amazing.

I didn't have any issues with the fate of the villains - as far as I can tell, not actual people were really killed. Even the alien was an 'automated interface'. But then, having a villain wasn't really the point.

I think all my other comments are random moments of amusement. The Doctor being disdainful of Twitter, the Doctor playing the Wii and being unable to keep still. Brian being the complete opposite and being happy to sit there, staring at the cube day after day. The Doctor's pathetic little 'run' before the explosion. I found Brian's sitting up like a startled rabbit on the trolley hilarious! A perfect bit of physical comedy by Mark Williams.

I think that's pretty much it. I suspect I may need tissues on hand next week...

SPOILERS: A Town Called Mercy

I’ve been holding off on this review for a bit, trying to sort out what exactly I think about it. I’m still not entirely sure, but maybe writing it out will help.

I certainly liked the episode, let’s make that clear. But something doesn’t feel right.

It’s entirely possible that it could just be me, I mean, September and I don’t get along, as a rule. Maybes it’s just the fact that A Town Called Mercy was a much more serious episode then even Asylum of the Daleks.

Here, we’re considering the very heart of the show. What kind of man is the Doctor?

I listen to podcasts and I read the occasional blog or facebook post. The general view of the Doctor seems to be that he will not kill. This is reinforced by moments such as in The End of Time, when Tenth Doctor is constantly refusing to take the gun that Wilf is pressing on him. There are definitely moments throughout the show where this crops up. But there are also moments when the Doctor has a choice to make, and that choice is not always the best one.

There is also the fact that the Doctor is somewhere around 1,200 years old. He has led a long, adventurous and sometimes violent life. He has destroyed the Dalek race (multiple times) not to mention his own race. He ensured the Pompeii eruption and sucked the Cybermen into the void. He’s watched the Master subjugate the earth and countless other enemies kill people that he cares about.

And he never responds well to travelling alone, something Donna notices the first she meets him in The Runaway Bride.

There are interesting parallels to Captain Jack Harkness in Children of earth, where it is revealed that half way through his century long wait for the Doctor, just didn’t care anymore and gave up 13 children on orders. Jack is another immortal. Perhaps it is simply the fact that by living so long, a person is always going to have moments where everything becomes too much.

I don’t know if I’m making any sense, so I’m going to stop.

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship! **SPOILERS**

I was somewhat torn about this episode in the lead up. On one hand, it was stuffed full of stuff guaranteed to interest me - dinosaurs, Queen Nefertiti, Ruper Graves. On the other hand, while I don't spew forth the vitriol about Chris Chibnall that much of fandom seems to, I've never been particularly impressed by his Doctor Who episodes.

What do you, know, Chibnall managed to come through!. I thoroughly enjoyed that. There may have been nothing startling about the plot, no high brow concepts to explore, but it was good, rollicking, traditional Doctor Who adventure. And the acting of everyone (and there was a fairly large guest cast) was excellent. I was thoroughly enthralled.

Speaking of which, Chibnall managed to make sure that all the guests had a purpose, had something to do. Rupert Graves probably had the least important role, to be honest, yet it still wouldn't have been quite the same without him.

There were a few of great quotes. "I've got a gang. Yes!" "Just don't wake the baby" (In reference to a sleeping T-rex) "Spelling it out is hereditary, wonderful."

Was Amy's jealousy over the Doctor possibly having companions other than her and Rory really necessary. I suspect it's one of those hints that are leading up to the end of the Ponds in episode 5. There were a few of those in this episode I think. Amy's obsession with the Doctor can be a little scary sometimes. It's not really healthy. Another of the hints was right at the end of the episode. When the Ponds and Brian were looking out over the Earth, the Doctor was standing behind them, and his face kind of fell. He looked a bit left out. The danger of allowing companions to have lives separate to him I guess.

Speaking of Brian Williams - Mark Williams was excellent in this as Rory's Dad. There were enough similarities to show that they were relatives (see quote above about spelling it out), but he was his own character. In the, end, he was there for a reason as well. I liked the way it linked back to the idea of gene chains and there for father and son were the ones flying the ship. Brian was so very, very English (sitting in the TARDIS door eating a sandwich and having a cuppa while looking out over the world) and obviously set in his ways, yet still able to have his horizons expanded by the utterly bizarre experience that he was going through. I loved the fact that after they got back he went travelling, sending Amy and Rory postcards from all over the world. It reminds me of Donna's plans after The Runaway Bride, but with a happier ending (we hope!).

Amy was in pretty good form this episode, without being overly perfect, which I like. She's still a flawed character, as the jealousy and her issues with the Doctor show. However, she got the chance to be the Doctor, complete with her own companions, and she did a good job. Loved the comment about learning from the Doctor that when you walk into a strange place, you press buttons. She, Nefertit and Riddell managed to find some key information and let the Doctor know what was going on.

I loved the character of Nerfetit, and that she was willing to sacrifice herself for innocent creatures and her friends. She was truly noble, yet also feisty. I love the fact that Amy is a bit of a Nefertiti fangirl. I suspect it will be a case of bring on the Nefertiti/Riddell fanfiction. Rupert Graves had just the right amount of sleaziness for Riddell.

Now for the villain of the piece. Not a redeemable feature of him. So icky. Killing the triceratops (who, btw, was absolutely adorable, rather like a puppy) made me so angry. To be honest, even more so than the genocide of the Silurians, probably because we were given a chance to connect with the triceratops. And the insinuations about 'breaking in' Nefertiti made me feel dirty. Ugh! So horrid. Which meant, in the end, when the Doctor behaved so coldly, leaving Solomon to die, and was almost triumphant about it, I didn't have a problem with it. It wasn't a very Doctor-ish thing to do, but then, he's always had a dark side, it just takes a lot to set him off. This guy managed it.

A couple of small points to finish off. The Doctor not being identifiable by the computer system, was much more subtle than the Daleks asking 'Doctor Who' last week. I definitely prefer subtle.

Is the Doctor being one of the musicians in a piece of music going to be in every episode now? Because I suspect that will getting annoying if it becomes a 'thing'.

Asylum of The Daleks - SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

So, thanks to ABC iView, I was able to watch the brand new episode of Doctor Who as soon as I woke up this fine, but chilly, Sunday morning, instead of having to avoid the internet for a week until it airs on TV here in Australia next Saturday.

Oh.

My.

God.

I don't think I've ever shrieked at a computer screen quite so much. I don't know how they managed to keep it a secret, but new companion, Jenna Louise Coleman, made her appearance a few months early.

As a psychotic Dalek who believe's she's human (well, she used to be).

*major flailage moment*

Okay, now I've spoiled it, let's reverse back to the opening, to a woman's voice telling her daughter, Hannah, a story. We open on a very miserable Skaro, a cloaked woman and the Doctor. It is, of course, a trap and the woman is a Dalek drone (the eyestalk coming out of people's foreheads? Very creepy.) The we flash to the Ponds, who are getting dovorced, Rory having turned up at Amy's modelling shoot to get her to sign the papers. (this was hinted at during the prequel Webisodes - Pond Life). They are also kidnapped by dalek drones. Oh dear.

So, the Dalek parliament (Daleks have a PM now?) is terrified because the security on they're Asylum world, where only the most mad and crazy Daleks are imprisoned, has been breached. They want the Doctor to go in and let down the shield so they can blow the place up. Right.

By the way, the Daleks finding hatred beautiful? So perfectly horrid.

Now, not being a Classic series expert, I couldn't really pick out all the classic daleks. But I am very pleased the the Dalek Wiggles barely made an appearance, apart from the white Supreme Dalek. And I've just noticed th connotations in that. Huh. I much prefer the bronze Daleks.

There was a lovely little character moment through all of this, where Amy was doing a running commentary on what the Doctor was thinking based on his facial expressions and body language. Very funny.

While all this is going on, the lovely JLC is trapped in a room, listening to Carmen and baking souffles (or trying to) while Dalek voices can be heard outside a barricaded door.

So, off go the Doctor and the Ponds, with little wrist bands (sensing a theme here Moffatt) to protect them from the nanocloud (also a theme). Rory of course gets seperated, Amy and the Doctor run into the now dead and turned to drone crew of Oswin's (JLC's) crashed ship, the crazy Daleks start to wak up... and Amy loses her wristband and starts turning into a Dalek.

Oh Dear.

Ther eis lots of running about, the Doctor manages to trick Amy and Rory into sorting out their issues (nice moving little scene there), then walks through the intensive care ward, which is full of Daleks who have survived him. Excellent fear acting by Matt Smith when the Doctor is begging for Oswin to open the door as the crazy Daleks surround him.

Oswin, mnages to delete all knowledge from the Doctor from the Dalek hive mind. Huh. The door opens...

...and reveals the fact that Oswin has been turned into a Dalek but has convinced herself that she is still human.

At this point I'm fairly sure I started shrieking loudly enough to wake my neighbours.

Oswin saves the day and drops the shield, the Ponds (now reconciled) and the Doctor teleport back to the Dalek parliament (but manage to aim at the interior of the TARDIS)... and we discover that OSwin managed to wipe knowledge of the Doctor from the whole Dalek race, not just the crazy ones.

Cue the Daleks asking 'Doctor Who?'

Phew!

So... loved it! Still not particularly scared of the Daleks, but it was a much better use of them than there has been in recent times. I'm very glad that the Ponds marital issues have been sorted in one episode... it dragging on all series would have been plain annoying.

I am intrigued about the Christmas special and JLC's companion character now - I note that the Doctor never actually saw what Oswin looked like.

I do believe I am going to grab some breakfast and watch it again. Otherwise...

BRING ON DINOSAURS ON A SPACESHIP!

William Hartnell - The Keys of Marinus

At last!  A post! Having had the DVD waiting for a month already, I spent my sick day today watching the 1964 William Hartnell story The Keys of Marinus, written by Terry Nation.

First things first... I'm now fairly sure that whatever story terrified me so much as a child it was a Hartnell one. I remembered the opening credits (in fact, they creeped me out this time around as well).

Anyway, what did I thing of the story itself? I didn't mind it. The plot made sense, though the idea of the conscience machine being used to control people does creep me out. Too much like the supression of free will, thanks.

Oddly, while in other Doctor Who I've seen I've been fascinated by the Doctor as a focal point, in this it was Ian and Barbara. What a pair of characters they are! Intelligent, practical - as sharp as a pin, both of them. You could tell they were teachers, particularly in the first episode when they were discussing the makeup of the sand and the architecture of the building on the island.

I didn't think that much of Susan, she seemed to shriek and lose it every 5 seconds, which I thought was weird for the Doctor's Grandaughter. Then, listening to the commentary, the actress, Carol Anne Ford, seemed to the the character was written younger than usual in this particular story, but she couldn't figure out why. I'll have to wait and see her in another story to get a better idea.

I enjoyed Barbara's martial arts moment in the seond episode in escaping a brainwashed Ian and smashing up the brain aliens. Which, EW! Brains with snail eyestalks. Creepy.

Episode 3 had the one quotable moment I enjoyed:
"I do wish Ian wouldn't treat us like Dresden china" - Barbara
Quite appropriate the episode after she kicked his butt.

I also liked the concept of the jungle attacking and how it was explained scietifically, as speeding up the process of nature. Although it would have been nice to get a why.

I wasn't a huge fan of episode 4. In the ice tunnels, they were talking about finding something to replace the bridge and then their purpose was to look for the key with nothing to transition the two ideas. It was a bit jarring. I did appreciate Susan finally showing some courage in crawling across the makeshift bridge though.

The only note I made for episode 5 was 'TENSE!!'. The political/legal drama of that episode very much sucked me in. In episode six I laughed at the Doctor's comment about applying skepticism to the investigative process. I also saw Ian's switcheroo with the fake key coming a mile away.

Still, overall I enjoyed my first foray into the Hartnell era.

The Companions That Never Were

The Doctor has companions, we all know that. But he comes accross other people as well. Other people who could be such brilliant companions, but who never travel with him - usually due to being killed. So they are in one, maybe two episodes of the show, they affact the Doctor, they get along with him, but they never step inside the TARDIS.

So here are a few of my favourites, the companions that never were, but should have been.

Lynda Moss

Lynda Moss, also known as Lynda with a Y, met the Ninth Doctor when he was plucked from the TARDIS and inserted into a game of Big Brother during the episode Bad Wolf. She was the contestant that came over and made sure he was alright, she was kind and cheerful, and explained what was going on. When she confessed to being nervous about what the viewers thought about her back on earth, the Doctor called her sweet. And she really was.

What I loved about her was the cheerful innocence. The attitude of 'oh that sounds like fun, I'm in!" She looked like she would love the running. She was brave too. Standing there, all on her own in The Parting Of The Ways, listening to people dying around her, but still calling out the Dalek's movements. There's a moment, just after they've gone down and slaughtered the people who refused to fight, where she visibly gathers hersel and it's just so moving.

Sally Sparrow

Sally Sparrow - the woman who fought the Angels and survived to live her life. Appearing in Blink, I don't think she ever actually wanted to travel with the Doctor, though she would have been brilliant if she had. Maybe she did, or will one day.

I think the characteristic that defines Sally is curiosity. Right from the start of the episode, she's gone to the old, creepy house, purely out of curiosity. Then she sees a word and just has to rip the wallpaper away to see what the rest of it says. And off she goes. And that's what would have made her a fantastic companion. She'd be poking her nose into things, right alongside the Doctor.

Ross Jenkins

My favourite almost companion of all. Private Ross Jenkins is UNIT soldier, codenamed Greyhound 40, who appears in The Sontaran Strategem and The Poison Sky. Tasked with escorting the Doctor to the Rattigan Academy to investigate ATMOS, Ross carries it off with a wonderful sense of humour. He and the Doctor seem to connect in a way that the Doctor usually doesn't with soldiers (not including the Brigadier here - though I've only seen him in SJA). Ross also shows resourcefulness (finding a non ATMOS car to get them back to base) and bravery (reporting the fact that the UNIT bullets don't work, despite his squadmates having died around him). He places an implicit trust in the Doctor, despite having never met him before, and being a low ranked soldier.

I am probably quite biased regarding Ross Jenkins (and was delighted when he was rescued from BBC Wales by the Primeval fandom) , but I think the Doctor likes him quite a bit as well. My evidence is two quotes. "We like Ross" when scolding Rattigan for being mean, and "His name was Ross" where he scolded Colonel Mace for referring to him by his codename after he died.

My personal feeling is, depite being a soldier, Ross Jenkins would have loved travelling with the Doctor. I think he would have been open minded enough to do things the Doctor's way and he would have loved to run.

Rita

Rita, from the God Complex. What a strong character! Even when frightened, she interacted with the people around her with cheerful good humour. Clearly a very intelligent and logical woman. So much so, that within minutes, the Doctor had invited her to join the TARDIS crew.

I think Rita had one of the most powerful deaths I've seen on Doctor Who. So strong, hiding the fact that she had begun praising and separating herself from the others. And to insist that the Doctor not watch her die, that she wanted to retain her dignity. It broke my heart, because I so wanted her to survive and go on to travel with The Doctor.

So, those are my favourite not quite companions. Does anyone else have any to add?

The Glamour Chase - Gary Russell **SPOILERS**

So, last Friday night, being a bit bored and in a book and Doctor Who mood, I finally pulled the Doctor Who novel my brother gave me two Christmas' ago off my bookshelves. I finished it the next morning. In my defence, it's not exactly an epic - 18 chapters and 243 pages with fairly well spaced print.




The Glamour Chase - Gary Russell

The first couple of chapters had me a little confused. They were completely different entities in a way. The prologue was very much a fairytale.

That reminds me, I should mention that it is a Eleventh Doctor story with Amy and Rory, set before The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood (they keep referring to Rio, and Amy and Rory aren't married yet). In fact from the Rio references I can only infer that it is pretty much directly before the Silurian episodes. I'm drifting. My point was going to be that the prologue definitely fits with Steven Moffat's stated use of a fairytale quality for series 5 & 6.

Back to the story...

The prologue is a previous version of the Doctor (although that is revealed later) doing what he does and promising a little girl that he'll come a say hello one day if she sets of this beacon when she's older and exploring the universe. Chapter 1 has an alien ship crashing on Earth near an ancient village. Chapter 2 is a quaint English scene razed to ashes by another alien race. My reaction was 'well that's a bit grim'. At that point I felt a bit jarred. Each section had been so very different and didn't seem to have anything to do with each other. Without spoilering too much, by halfway through the book I think I'd started figuring out where each bit fit.

The main thing that struck me about the rest of the book was Rory. It's a really lovely Rory character piece. Amy wanders about with the cute farm hand, gets captured, screams a bit, gets replaced by an imposter etc. The Doctor waffles, insults Rory, notices something is odd, insults Rory, and eventually figures stuff out. Rory, however is incredibly compassionate and perceptive. The key to the mystery is a man suffering from what Rory very quickly realises is PTSD. Rory's compassion and need to help, need to heal this man is just lovely and warm. And his medical knowledge (even though he's a nurse, not a psychologist) is instrumental in helping ort through Oliver Mark's issues in order to tease out the very vital knowledge he has. And it Rory's care that lets Oliver trust the Doctor, because he trusts Rory.

It;s not just this. It is Rory who discoveres the benelovent alien race and allows the Doctor to figure out who they are. Rory notices the odd comments from Amy that the Doctor also notes when he figures out that it is a fake Amy, though the Doctor does figure it out first. And when the Doctor is trapped in a fantasy world at the end, it is Rory who notices the details and figures out how to get them out.

I found that Rory was pretty much the heart of the story.

I don't think the alien stuff was quite so strong. The Weave was reasonably well explained as a race. A people made of protien fibres that look like wool who can take on any appearance and in fact keep their captives alive and in hibernation because they need a live template. But they also don't use a person without said person's consent. A rather nice race really. The Tahnn are a bit pathetic really. The enemy of The Weave, they get destroyed before they even get close to really being a threat.

And Then there is The Glamour.

An energy source that is used as some form of entertainment by The Weave - I think? It seems to have the ability to recreate the fantasies of the user. Far too powerful to be used by a human mind, so of course when it is released it hones in on a human mind, managing to trap the Doctor in the fake reality. For some reason it is attracted to peopl who desperately want to escape their reality? I didn't really understand that bit.

Although it did provide a hilarious moment at the climax when theDoctor wanted to wake up one of the hibernating humans who in fact was not aware of what was going on in order to scare her into drawing The Glamour back into the ship. In act, she was a proper English lady who was not ruffled at all, much to the Doctor's shock. In fact it was a rather unpleasant character who freaked out and drew it in.

So, yeah, my conclusion - a fun read and wonderful Rory character piece, though some of the Sci Fi elements were a bit dodgy.

'I wanted to see the universe, so I stole a Time Lord and I ran away'

Where did my Doctor Who journey start?

Strangely enough, with not liking Doctor Who.

I was brought up on a diet of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Tolkien, Star Wars, Narnia... all feature heavily in my childhood memories. It wasn't all positive. I have two distinct negative impressions of science fiction. My Dad, bless him, wasn't all that good at judging what was age appropriate. Even The Empire Strikes Back gave me nightmares, though I loved it.

One of those negative impressions has led to my life long hatred of Star Trek, so much so that even with a cast I loved, the newest movie failed to get any reaction other than apathy (The Wrath of Kahn - worms in ears and screaming are not a good combination for a first memory).

The other, even earlier and fuzzier impression was of Doctor Who. I have no idea which episode, or even which Doctor it was. But it definitely involved those imperialistic pepperpots. Yes, the Daleks. For my entire life up until my mid 20s, all I knew of Doctor Who was that the Daleks terrified me and to bring the show up in conversation was a good way to make me to flee into the hills.

So growing up, Tom Baker was a grumpy marshwiggle living in a teepee and eating eel stew, certainly not a time travelling alien.

Oh how times change.

The 2005 revival of the show didn't have much of an impact on me. I wanted nothing to do with it. I knew it was happening, and I think I saw tiny bits of the Slitheen 2 parter (no that I knew that was what it was) while babysitting kids who were fans. It wasn't until friends of mine started talking about this show called Torchwood and how great it was that slash was canon on their own journals that I started to fall into the Who!verse.

2009, the year of the specials, I got hold of the first couple of Torchwood episodes and fell in love with a man called Captain Jack Harkness. And no Daleks in sight! Then a friend brought her DVDs around so I could see some of Captain Jack's original Doctor Who episodes. I was hooked by the end of The Doctor Dances (thank you Moffat!).

Still, I never managed to see anything as it aired. I bought every DVD box set I could get my hands on.

I promptly fell in love with David Tennant.

So I eagerly awaited the release of the specials on DVD. In the meantime I rewatched the previous 4 series and the first 2 Torchwood series over and over again. I had to gird my loins for Torchwood: Children of Earth, knowing my favourite character would be lost. But I watched it (once - I think I've only seen the first episode twice).

I was in a frenzy of anticipation tinged with worry over The Eleventh Hour. It arrived in due course... and left me gobsmacked.

Steven Moffat brought me the sheer joy of watching this amazing show week by week. And Matt Smith...

I will always love Ten. I have a crush on David Tennant a mile high and I adore much of his other work. No one else would convince me to see a horror movie in the cinema, yet I toddled off to Fright Night merely for Tennant (and loved it btw). However...

Eleven is truly MY Doctor.

Looking back, he had me at "Early days. Steering's a bit off."

Steven Moffat's brilliant writing and Matt Smith's fantastic portrayal have given me the childish joy to outweigh the long standing Dalek fear of my childhood.

So, my name is Elanor and I am an unashamed Doctor Who geek.

GERONIMO!