NBC isn’t the only network to remake BBC shows. A few years ago, NBC was lambasted for remaking Coupling, but is currently praised for its reigning Emmy winner for Outstanding Comedy Series, The Office, starring Steve Carell. No, no, NBC is not alone. Even the BBC itself isn’t exempt from remaking BBC shows.
In 2005, the network relaunched its landmark sci-fi series Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and last surviving Time Lord. Joining him on his adventures this time is 19-year old Rose (Billie Piper). Together the two use the TARDIS to travel mainly around Earth, albeit during various periods of the planet’s timeline. They manage to get into (and cause) quite a bit of trouble.
I vaguely remember watching old Doctor Who episodes when I was a boy. Of course, I was usually alone while watching the show because no one else liked it. Or at least I vaguely remember being alone. But it helped becoming involved in the show because being alone helped you feel as if you were The Doctor’s companion, too. Traveling alongside him and knowing you two were the only ones who knew your place relative to the rest of the universe.
That’s what makes Doctor Who so captivating. The show strives to bring perspective to the public consciousness. Things like running water might seem basic nowadays, but this wasn't always the case, and that becomes noticeable when you travel back in time to the 17th century when well water was still the norm. The inclusion of various alien races also helps to reinforce the idea that viewing differences like ethnicity becomes minute in lieu of more important aspects of individuality like emotion and integrity.
In the episode “Dalek,” The Doctor and Rose meet the last surviving member of the Dalek race. The Daleks and the Time Lords were bitter enemies, and, in the end, destroyed each other in the Time War. The Doctor is surprised at discovering he isn’t the only survivor of the war. Both The Doctor and Dalek want to destroy each other, but over the course of the episode (I don’t want to spoil anything), we learn people can change. The Doctor thinks the Dalek is nothing more than a killing machine, but could the Doctor be wrong?
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