We're in a bit of a Doctor Who, ehm, vortex, if you will, 'round 'ere. Mr. Terrible is half British (it's true, he's got two passports an' all! and I hear phrases like "an' all" all the damn time!) and the show is absolutely a cultural institution over there; it's been on for yonks, everyone and their mum's mum has seen it, and it's really, really...British. I tried to have a laugh with Mr. T about the fact (and it is a fact) that the British are distinguished by a sort of innate cheesiness, but he went all nationalistic and serious about it and tried to make me "defend my thesis".
Uh...let's pick up a Daily Mirror then pop round our Kenny's and turn on the telly.
Sheesh.
Anyway!
I had a brush with the good Doctor back in junior high, when my nerd friends* watched episodes of the old Tom Baker series. I think it was just too "vintage", and as a rule I don't enjoy old TV at all (films, yes, TV, no, I have no idea why). The reboot that happened in 2005, however, is...oh dear Lord, I can't help myself...fantastic. I've been watching an episode or two every night for a bit now, and it's crazy addictive. It is actually a LOT like the Buffy the Vampire television series, which I didn't think about until Anthony Stewart Head showed up in a season two episode and I went: Huh...Scooby Gang...silly and snarky humor...science fiction/supernatural monsters...soft core horror...OHHHHHHH, no wonder I like this show.
My kid caught onto this whole thing, though, which is sad because the show is totally inappropriate for her. Cheesy, but still horrific and scary. I've cherry picked some clips to let her watch, so she's enthused about the premise of the show.
This one cracks her up (no spoilers here):
Most of all, though, she ADORES the theme song. Can't say that I blame her. Here's the wicked Orbital version:
Good taste, our kid.
She wants to do up the house in a Doctor Who theme for Halloween next year; no doubt we'll have moved on to whatever obsession is just beyond our current horizon by then, but it's a fun idea.
But, no sneaking in the Doctor early for the kiddo, like we did with Harry Potter.
And yet...somehow I ended up watching my two year-old charging down an aisle in Target growling "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"
Fan...tastic.
*I don't have any other kind of friends.