I have for a long time been a fan of ‘Dr. Who‘, the British-produced sci-fi television series chronicling the adventures of an alien-born lifeform that can travel through both space and time. I began following the series in the early 1980’s (and it had been on for *quite* some time before that); as a starving adult student, I worked multiple jobs, generally second shift, in order to eat regularly, and the series at that period inhabited the late night time zone of television (along with ‘Up All Night‘ and some other questionable offerings).
It was a perfect accompaniment to a very late dinner (if I was so lucky) and a beer (ditto). The Doctor’s adventures, joined by a series of companions over the years, continuously led to threatening confrontations by the Cybermen, the Weeping Angels (better pay attention to those) and of course the eternal arch enemy the Daleks, while trying to help some pitiful Earthling in a real quandary. My first Doctor was played by Tom Baker (above), a wild-haired eccentric who, regardless of the season, was clad in a long brown overcoat and 6-foot long ruddish scarf.
The show provided an ideal escape from the stressors of the time. Outside my apartment, the area was rampant with crime and abject poverty, but inside my world there were fantastic heroics set amid (admittedly, rather hokey) surreal landscapes and conditions. Strong morals carried the day, The Doctor exercised cleverness that McGyver could one day only dream of, and Good always triumphed over Evil. It was perfect.
Of course, the thing has been on for nearly 60 years, so cast changes are rather frequent. Companions change, and now and then a new Evil is introduced; even The Doctor is subject to occasional regeneration (after, I suspect, a set number of seasons) and arises as a newly-incarnated being. But the lessons of morality and loyalty remain.
Change being the relevant concept here, this discussion takes a darker turn. After being able to watch The Doctor’s deeds for decades unencumbered, the series, in America at least, will now only be carried by one of the many paid streaming services. To their credit, they did announce this a year ago, plenty of time for us to adapt, should we choose to. Every streaming service does its best to snag subscribers with exclusives, things that you can only watch on their particular brand. If you had a half dozen favorites, each of which migrated as an exclusive to a different service, you could end up subscribing to that many different services, with the accompanying dollar costs. I am sure many people do just that and suddenly watching a little television runs a couple hundred bucks a month.
I do not choose to adapt. Given even a year to consider it, it is not a game I choose to play. I may be older and cranky now, but having my behavior manipulated by some corporate conglomerate is nothing I fancy. I have by choice devoted many hours to following The Doctor’s great adventures through time and space, but it is said all good things come to an end, and so will this. It’s been a great ride, but I am getting off this old horse. Goodbye Dr. Who.
In no particular order 