“It’s like the line in a Hindi song, safar khoobsurat hai manzil se bhi (The journey is more beautiful than the destination itself). We know the good guys win, sometimes it takes time, but what happens till then is a cinematic marvel.”
I have always maintained my view that the degree of your liking for a show or film depends on the moments in it that remain etched in your heart for a long period of time. It can either be dialogues or scenes that don’t leave you long after they are watched.
Foreign TV shows were quite unheard of in the non metro cities of India. The Internet was costly. Films were easy to access but shows, not much. Then came the Jio revolution in 2016 that shook India on its axis. Everything on the Internet was in the hands of the Indian Youth and in a heartbeat foreign shows captured the Indian market.
For most of the people in their 20s and 30s, the ritual was simple. Their introduction to Foreign TV was with the worldwide sensations like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and sitcoms like The Office, Friends, How I Met Your Mother.
For me, personally, it was Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock. The British accent was hard to catch but wasn’t hard enough to stop me from watching Mark Gatiss’ brilliant work. But I’m not here to talk about Sherlock, although I love it. I’m here to talk about Doctor Who. It started airing in the 60s in Britain and after a long hiatus was back again in 2005.
Doctor Who isn’t very popular in India and taking this as granted, here’s a brief outline for you.
The main lead of the show is The Doctor. Doctor Who, you might ask? Well, no point in that cause you’re never going to find out. His name is the Doctor, just the Doctor. He comes from a planet very far away called Gallifrey, which he *thought* was destroyed many years ago. His was a planet of Time Lords. He was the only survivor. He’s got a time machine, the Tardis it is called, which has taken the form of a 1960s police box due to a circuit failure. He can travel anywhere in time and space. He now travels around planets, universes and galaxies, helping people on the way. Travel with him do his companions who he picks with precision. He doesn’t die. He regenerates into a different person.
I walked away from the Last Great Time War. I marked the passing of the Time Lords. I saw the birth of universe and I saw as time ran out, moment by moment, until nothing remained. No time, no space. Just me! I’ve walked in Universes where the laws of Physics were devised by the mind of a madman. I’ve watched universes freeze and creations burn. I have seen things you wouldn’t believe! I’ve lost things you wouldn’t understand. And I know things, secrets that must never be told, knowledge that must never be spoken…
The 11th Doctor’s speech in the Rings of Akhaten
We’re good to go now.
There’s something soothing about Doctor Who that calms the soul. The show, in the end, is like many we come across regularly – the good guys vs the bad guys – but maybe its the process that makes it different. It’s like the line in a Hindi song, safar khoobsurat hai manzil se bhi (The journey is more beautiful than the destination itself). We know the good guys win, sometimes it takes time, but what happens till then is a cinematic marvel.
It captivates your heart, your mind but most importantly, it captivates your soul. The enthralling thing is, it is able to do that without high budget sets and grand CGI- they are sometimes laughable when compared to some of its contemporaries. The spaceships seem like a school play setup and the fires look like crackers going on in an Indian wedding. But as someone in love, you tend to live with its imperfections simply because what is presented to you on the screen, the dialogues, the storyline, is enough to immerse you completely.
A friend of mine who has worked with clients from the United Kingdom tells me that people over there often use Doctor Who references in day to day life, much like we use Shaktiman (our own OG superhero) references for the lack of a better example.
Doctor Who has a cult status. It is venerated by fans of science fiction, but it’s the emotional part of the show that has got it where it is now. To connect with fans for 26 years and then again for so long after such a long break is no easy feat but Doctor Who has managed it and managed it well to become the longest running science fiction show of all time.
There is something you better understand about me ’cause it’s important. One day, your life may depend on it. I’m definitely a madman with a box.
The 11th Doctor to Amelia Pond
Sure thing when it aired for the first time in 1963, it was an enigma, using the concept of time travel and regenerations, but the main reason for its long lasting popularity is the way it has connected to the fans. From the outside it may seem a simple story of one man saving different planets with the help of his companions, but at its core is the emotional drama that thrives on the virtues of being kind and merciful.
Never be cruel, never be cowardly. Remember, hate is always foolish and love is always wise. Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind. Laugh hard, run fast. Be kind.
The 12th Doctor’s regeneration speech
In 2005, after 16 years (there was a TV film released in 1996), when BBC resumed the series, a new era started. Christopher Eccleston may have been the Doctor for one season but when he tells Rose Tyler (played by Billie Piper) that he could feel the turn of the earth, it set the ball rolling for what was to follow.
The much revered David Tennant took over the role and gave the show the popularity it massively deserved. His adventures with Rose, Martha and Donna have become legends in British TV. It is mostly this role that has given David the stature that he now commands in Britain Television industry.
How can a man so young have eyes so old?
William Shakespeare to the 10th Doctor
But Matt Smith, who took over from David, is my favourite Doctor and to this day remains my favourite TV character alongside Sofia Helin’s Saga Noren of the Norwegian blockbuster ‘The Bridge’.
He was young and raw and took me by storm. His funny jokes and humour and his hairstyle (don’t laugh) glued me to the screen and made me admire him more and more with every passing episode. His incarnation as the 11th Doctor was when we delved deeper into the life of the Doctor and the war on Gallifrey. His camaraderie with Amelia Pond (Nebula in the MCU) and Rory Williams and then Clara Oswald is one to remember just as his feistiness with River Song. I say this with guarantee that his Doctor had the most amazing speeches and monologues of them all. I still remember crying when he regenerated. For the next many days, he was still in my thoughts. It was as if a real person I knew and was close friends with for a long time suddenly disappeared from my life. I wish I could describe that feeling better but I just can’t.
Peter Capaldi was just as old as Matt Smith was young when he became the Doctor but he never let that get in the way. He too dealt with pain and the loss of friends but showed kindness and mercy, the very traits the Doctor is known for. He was like a breath of fresh air that helped me with the pain I felt after Matt’s departure.
From watching the volcano erupt at Pompeii, to helping Vincent van Gogh, to saving Shakespeare, to sailing on the Titanic in Space, to finding Agatha Christie, to fighting demons during the Partition of India, to assisting Rosa Parks (there are more but these are some at the back of my mind) Doctor Who touched people in a way they could relate.
It took the Doctor 54 years to be a woman (Jodie Whittaker) and now 4 years later for the first time, a person of colour is going to play the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa).
All this is good but the creators should not be left out. The music is serene and whenever I hear the theme music I start jumping in excitement. The dialogues as I mentioned earlier are just great. Steve Moffat is one hell of a writer.
One of the most brilliant things about the show is the time when the doctor regenerates into a new one. The moment we all dread arrives and sweeps us off our feet. Sometimes there are speeches and sometimes there are very few words spoken, but one thing is assured, it is sad. The doctor leaves all of his adventures behind and goes into a new body. From William Hartnell’s ‘I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back’ to Peter Capaldi’s ‘ Doctor, I let you go’, every regeneration scene speaks volumes about the Doctor and where he is headed. Christopher Eccelston, like he admitted, was fantastic. David Tennant did not want to go and Matt Smith will not forget a thing.
We all change. When you think about it, we are all different people all through our lives. And that’s okay. That’s good. You’ve got to keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be. I’ll not forget one line of this, not one day. I’ll always remember when the doctor was me.
Matt Smith’s regeneration speech
Neither will I, Matt. Neither will I.
adeebsays 