A blue box.

I had seen it somewhere before. I was puzzled, however, because I’m pretty sure in ‘The Wizard of Oz’, the Wicked Witch of the East is killed by Dorothy’s house, not a blue box. Of course, my interest was peaked. This blue box was in Oz. How did it get there? And what was it, exactly?

So, I did what anyone would do, which is type something into Google. “Blue Box” yielded results, but nothing that provided an answer. I looked at the drawing again and noticed the word “police” on the blue box. So, I typed in “Blue police Box.” Google produced what I wanted to know in a fraction of a second.

I was looking at the TARDIS.

Within the next five minutes, I was able to discover the TARDIS was a time machine and used by The Doctor. ‘Doctor Who?” I literally wondered, I swear to you. I was so curious as to who he was. You may not know, but I am an avid Oz fan. I have seen nearly every adaptation of the story. I was shocked to see I had somehow missed something where a Blue Police Box makes its way to Oz. “TARDIS” “Time Machine” and “Doctor” had only been in my mind a few seconds before I realized this wasn’t directly related to Oz, but was a separate entity. But, this didn’t phase me. I was still interested.

So, I did some quick reading. DOCTOR WHO was a show that had been around for twenty some years, then ended, then was brought back in 2005. It also had a huge following. I came across a photo of 11 different actors playing the same man. Something you don’t see every day.

But, everything kept directing me to a “Matt Smith.’ Mr.Smith was the actor portraying the 11th version of The Doctor. I saw a few things saying he was the ‘best’ and very ‘quirky.’ I was sure I’d run into spoilers, so I stopped reading. I was going to watch the first episode and see if it was any good.

I watched The Eleventh Hour with fascination, as a young girl met with a zany gentleman, who wanted an apple. He said he loved them, but spit his first bite out. He then asked for yogurt. He gulped it in his mouth, but spit it up. “I hate Yogurt! It’s just stuff with bits in,” he said. Next came bacon, beans, bread and butter— none of those did the trick. Finally, he helped himself to fish sticks and some custard. (Or as the Doctor called them, “fish fingers…” ) I was almost in a trance— the food, the bright colors, the strange man, and this cute little girl.

Once the strange man had satisfied his hunger, the little girl shows him a crack in her bedroom wall. And, we soon learn, this crack is not just in the wall, but the universe!

To make a long story somewhat short, I watched the first episode completely and wrote on my Facebook about it. That’s when my cell beeped at me.

We can’t break the law, can we? “You can’t start with 11. You won’t understand what happens. You need to start with nine,” I was later told.

So, I started at the beginning. With Doctor Number 9. Just in case you are lost, when The Doctor is severely injured, his physical form ‘regenerates.’ The result is a totally new appearance, with the occasional slight change in personality. This was the real-world solution to keeping the character alive, but giving reason for the actor to change. Normally, a new actor playing someone else’s character is a big no-no. But, here, it works.

The Doctor uses the TARDIS to travel through time, as well as space. The Doctor always finds himself in a time where something isn’t right, and he must correct it. He is aided by many female companions throughout the series, all of whom eventually develop feelings for him.

My point, I suppose, is that DOCTOR WHO is a wonderful show. The writing is especially good. The majority of the time, an episode kept me interested with plots that were so imaginative and often included twists and turns I never saw coming. In addition, the show largely pays attention to its own mythology, rarely falling into the recon trap. (Rewriting established ideals for the sake of story.) Lastly, while the show follows a ‘monster of the week’ format, there is always a lager plot thread that completes by the season finale. There was a show some years ago, called DOLLHOUSE. Its first season also followed a ‘monster of the week’ format. However, fans disliked that a “larger plot thread’ seemed to never be present. DOCTOR WHO manages to do both, and it’s quite genius.

If you like fantasy, time travel, action, drama, comedy— do yourself a favor and check this show out.

It’s one of the shows I wish I could write for.

It’s simply brilliant.