Woo-Who

As we've discussed on several occasions over the past two months, there's really very little new stuff on TV right now. It's led me to having a hole in my schedule, and I've filled it in the most wonderful way (come on, you knew that I wasn't going to let the empty space lie there unfilled, didn't you?).

I've been spending a lot more time in the TARDIS. I'm sure that in a few years some scientist will state that such an action increases my risk of knee cancer, but for right now I'm pretty sure that the TARDIS is considered a relatively safe place.

Well… maybe not, judging by the fate of its myriad of past occupants. Oh, sure, many of the companions have lived, but none are unchanged by their experiences. The TARDIS (time and relative dimension in space) really can't be blamed for the problems that its occupants find (usually anyway), but the man who controls the TARDIS possibly can be.

The most recent season of Doctor Who ended this past Friday with a whiz-bang 90 minute finale. The Daleks were smote once more, and a great deal of old Who-lore was brought up. And, as the show has been running (with a small break) for decades on end, there is a ton of Who-lore out there (there's probably even a term for Who-lore, but I like Who-lore and am going to stick with it until it catches on).

Thank goodness for me that I recently renewed my subscription to Netflix. A lot of the old episodes are now on DVD, and while one can enjoy the new Who without seeing the old episodes, there's a lot more depth to what's going on today than there appears to be.

The purpose of this column is not to praise Netflix (at least not solely), but they've added a great feature since I was last a member (about 6 years ago). They now, for select titles, allow you to watch the DVDs instantly through your browser. You can watch all the special features and director's commentaries and stuff, but you can watch the main feature, and for me, that's enough (usually).

So, via this Netflix "Watch Instantly" thing, I've been catching up on old Doctor Who (and having discs not available instantly sent to me. It's just fantastic. I've hooked my laptop up to my TV and play the movies out on the TV via my sound system, so it's not like I'm actually watching on the laptop. The quality isn't perfect, but it's pretty darn good.

Because of this setup, I know now more about Doctor Who than I ever did before. I've watched multiple incarnations of the Doctor do their thing and have formed favorites (right now I'm a Tom Baker fan) and favorite companions. I have favorite villains, story arcs, and series writers.

I know, I know, you'd like me to bore you with all the minutiae, all the little bits and pieces of Who-lore that I've learned. That would totally ruin the fun. It, like so many other things, is very different to actually experience than to read about. Okay, "experience" may be an odd term here. But, much like wherever the TARDIS takes me later tonight, I'm just going to have to go with it.