Confessions first: I’m not a Whovian. At least not if you consider that a fan of the famous BBC series should know all episodes and all connections within a wink of an eye. Not to mention everything that happens behind the scenes and all the rumours that normally come with that. But I always loved sci fic films and series and I grew up with the original Star Trek which hit German telly and made my Saturday afternoons. While the United Federation of Planets has been with me ever since – and Patrick Stewart’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard will always be my Captain – Doctor Who crossed my way only about two years ago.
He was sort of a side kick of my beloved Sherlock, my effort to watch more in the original version and the lovely guys that are my timeline on Twitter. (Thank you for that – and thank you, internet.) So I found four things: Doctor Who is not on regular German telly, and if he was it never has been on a big broadcaster. Netflix is my friend. Matt Smith’s Doctor is my Doctor. And I somehow knew a few episodes of David Tennant’s incarnation although I was quite sure that I’ve never saw it before.
And so I cried and laughed and spread my brain to get the meaning of every sentence (and failed very often) and found my way to S8E1 “Deep Breath”. And it was a ride! What a start for the new series! Yes, I wasn’t sure about Peter Capaldi when I first saw him after he became the Doctor. And I’m still not sure if I will love him. But I like him at least. His confusion with his new body, the new face and with the people around him and of course his relationship with Clara – all these aspects are brilliantly played and not ordinary or boring at all. As Sherlock would put it. Well, he wouldn’t watch it, would he? And of course there are villains and monsters and old friends and travelling through time and space. Doctor Who is up for a new age, not better or worse, but darker and simply different. Let’s see how things will be without a bow tie.
