Earning My Geek Cred
After careful deliberation and soul-searching, I feel the time has finally come for me to come out: I am a geek.
I know my family and friends will find this news shocking, but the signs were there for anyone who cared to see them: I build my own computers, and have several in my home. I prefer open-source software and open standards. I read books on theoretical physics and evolutionary biology for fun. I rarely buy a consumer electronics device that is not subsequently hacked, cracked, or otherwise made to do something it's manufacturer never intended. And, most telling? I have a deep and abiding love for science fiction.
In order to fully realize my geek potential, however, there are certain benchmarks within the sci-fi realm; I've met most of them. I have a near-encyclopaedic knowledge of comic books; I have seen all the Star Wars movies (with the exception of Empire, they're quite bad); I have seen every episode of every Star Trek series (the animated series doesn't count, as it's not in canon); I've read many of the classics, including the Foundation and Rama series (interesting concepts, but tedious and poorly written), and the original Dune series (quite well-written, but thoroughly uninteresting); I'm frequently able to watch The Big Bang Theory without reference to Wikipedia; I'm still pissed at Fox for canceling Firefly; and I worship Joss Whedon as a god. Yet there is a final prerequisite to be met in order to achieve true geekdom: Doctor Who.
Doctor Who was a BBC series that followed the adventures of the time-traveling Doctor and his ever-changing string of companions as they fought aliens, put right what went wrong, and, sometimes, set a few things wrong themselves. Doctor Who is considered one of the classics of sci-fi television, right alongside Star Trek; it also has the distinction of being the longest-running sci-fi series in history. That kind of continuity is daunting, particularly when one's only exposure to the series is via the occasional PBS rerun, which seemed to air on no particular schedule, in no particular order. Factor in the Doctor's talent for "regeneration", whereby he escapes death by regenerating into a completely new body (and a completely different actor), and such non-chronological viewing becomes highly confusing, and hardly worth the trouble. It's no surprise I didn't know Who.
All that changed when the series relaunched in 2005. That seemed the perfect jumping-on point for a new viewer. I was not disappointed. I have enjoyed the new series immensely, having caught up via Netflix On Demand. The series is quirky, campy, cheesy, silly, and, at times, utterly ridiculous, but it's all done so deliberately and self-consciously that it remains entertaining without becoming annoying. It also manages the occasional flashes of sci-fi brilliance, such as the Series 3 episode "Blink".
But Doctor Who 2005 was a relaunch, not a reboot; the series introduces us to the 9th doctor (and later, the 10th and 11th). Everything that happened in Classic Who still happened, and it's still a continuity of which I am largely unaware.
So, in order to fully attain my geek status (and hopefully receive the membership card and decoder ring), I am hereby announcing an ambitious new project: the Complete Doctor Who. 26 Seasons. 8 Doctors. Over 700 episodes. In chronological order. I will watch them. Bad writing, silly storylines, cheesy effects, big hair and all.
March 25th, 2011 - 17:29
First of all, fuck you for saying that Foundation and Rama are poorly written. I don’t remember them being as such (Asmiov and Clarke were the twins gods of my childhood reading). Also fuck you for saying that Dune was not interesting. I rather enjoyed it (although if you want to see REAL poor writing, check out the newer Dune books written by Frank’s son). Oh and fuck you again because I’ve seen every episode of the animated Star Trek series and I must have watched those 6 episodes you taped for me back in the day of the original series about 100 times a piece.
All that being said, good luck on your quest for Doctor Who completion. The hard part will be the first two Doctors because most of their episodes were destroyed because they were taking up too much shelf space. The second Doctor is barely represented on film due to this. I started this project last year sometime and have been working on it on and off. I’m part way through the 5th Doctor as we speak.
March 25th, 2011 - 17:42
Yeah, I’ve found a torrent that is said to include at least some of the “lost” episodes, but, you’re right, that was a big concern. I’m still downloading, so I don’t know how complete they are. I’ll procure the ones I can legitimately (iTunes or Amazon VOD), but anything else should be in there.
I liked lots of Asimov’s short stories, but the novels I’ve read almost felt like, well, like they should have been short stories. And I’ve never really cared for Clarke, but I admit my opinion of him might have been forever colored by the eye-bleedingly horrific awfulness of “3001″.
March 25th, 2011 - 17:42
So…Classic Doctor Who. Sadly, They do not all exist. But for the lost episodes, you have the option of getting the novel, or the audio. Tom Baker was my first Doctor, thanks to PBS. But when PBS started to show the re-runs, I watched those as well. As for owning the dvd’s, I’m sticking to the Tom Baker years. There are still a few dvd’s of the Baker years to be released, and I am in the middle of building a Tardis shaped case for the dvd’s. As a fellow geek, there is another series that you did not mention, and I thought you might be interested. If you can handle classic Doctor Who, then you should look into Blake’s 7. The only problem is that no region 1 dvd’s have ever been released. But Region 2 that will play on a computer. And if you are into companion guides, check out the ‘About Time’ series. You can find them on amazon. Enjoy!
March 25th, 2011 - 17:55
I am aware of Blake’s 7, and it is on my list; however, I suspect the Doctor will keep me occupied for some time
March 25th, 2011 - 18:21
I love Dr. Horrible ‘s Sing along blog
March 25th, 2011 - 18:23
Me too!
March 25th, 2011 - 21:33
No shock to this family member. I’ve known it all along. You are much geekier than I am. ROFLMAO!
March 26th, 2011 - 00:23
Also, I’ve started watching my classic Doctor Who dvd’s in order. Instead of powering thru the two or three hours, I only watch one episode a day. In my humble opinion, this is the best way to view the classic stories.