Doctor Who | Catherine Cruzan

As we come out of COVID hibernation, as individuals, as a country, and as a world smaller than when we began, I suspect a lot of people are sorting through a cacophony of thoughts and emotions. Personally, I’m exhausted by my own company, eager to start spending time with friends again, thrilled I got a Disneyland reservation for this summer, and reflective of pre-COVID times when I didn’t have to worry about things such as ‘did I leave the house again without a clean face mask’, ‘is it worth the line at Trader Joe’s if I just ran out of almond milk’, ‘certainly if they re-stocked the toilet paper’, ‘what are the best recipes for homemade pancakes and homemade hand sanitizer’…

In the midst of such revelations as: I watched way too much TV in 2020; I can’t remember my last trip to a gas station; my best friend last year was my Alexa dot–and although she will respond to a plethora of crazy things including “thank you”, she will not answer to the eff word or any variation therein; I enjoy spending the entire day in my pajamas earning overtime pay; I may never wear high heels again, but makeup is back on the table; if I’d had the money, I would have redecorated my entire house from sub-floor to rafters; and the fact is… you can spend 3 days online browsing for a table lamp and not get bored, yet 5 minutes of ordering groceries off of Amazon can trigger an emotional breakdown…

I found myself thinking back on how crowded it was at Gallifrey last year, right before the shutdown. I’m admittedly daunted at the prospect of squeezing through a press of strangers on this side of the pandemic, but I’m working my way back to it with limited exposure to recreational shopping, early hours at the Aquarium, yoga at the park, and a handful of backyard parties. Come what may, though they were a salve during stranger days, Conventions via Zoom are NOT THE SAME!

So let’s reminisce about our pre-pandemic favorites, shall we? I am absolutely jonzing for a new Doctor Who season! Come on BBC!!!
https://www.doctorwho.tv/

Every Whovian I’ve met has their favorite Doctor, with a host of wonderful reasons why they love them so much. And of course we all remember our first Doctor. I am oddly ashamed to admit my first Doctor was of the modern era. I was not exposed to the original series Doctors until I sought them out after falling in love with Eccleston and the rest. (But hey! At least my dad reared me on the original Star Trek!!!)

It may be cheating to declare my favorite Doctor is Who-ever I’m watching in the moment. There is something magical about each and every one of them, and their companions and story arcs span enough important, clever, imaginative topics, I could blog about Doctor Who for months and not run out of things to say. Right now I am NOT ashamed to admit Jodie Whittaker is my favorite Doctor. I adore what the ladies have brought to the show in terms of fresh writing and production, etc.

I was privileged to meet Jodie’s supporting cast at Gallifrey One, 31 Flavors 2020. Yet none of that excitement was able to detract from my primary focus–the fact that Christopher Eccleston was there in person at the Convention. In his one and only season, Eccleston was a glorious introduction to the world of the Doctor for those of us not already indoctrinated into this special fandom. Meeting him last year was the most amazing experience, and here we are now reminiscing about it.

I will delve into the fun details in my next post. There is a lot to share.