What Does Who Mean to You?
Guest contributor Jordan Isaac Goodier ponders.
We’re all fans of Doctor Who for different reasons. We may disagree on the finer details, but that doesn’t matter because we all love the show to some degree. But why? Is it simply a great television show? Why do we love the Doctor and his numerous companions? Is it simply down to great writing, directing and acting? Or have these things come together to make something more? In this slightly different article, I’ll attempt to bring to light why the mass audiences of Earth love Doctor Who and I’ll also tell you why I love Doctor Who.
Firstly, I’m going to tell you what Doctor Who means to me and hopefully I can try to get across why it means so much to me. If you have started watching Doctor Who from a fairly early age, then in one way or another it will have helped form you as a person, as will anything if you are exposed to it long enough. Why do I love Doctor Who? Quite simply, I want to be like the Doctor. Not the two hearts and the ability to regenerate (although, that would be frankly stupendous), nor the guilt he feels from committing various atrocities throughout his life. But, despite all this, his unwavering ability to want to do good. His constant need to want to help, to try and be a good man is what I admire most about his character, although he makes mistakes and hurts people along the way.
For the longest time, I thought that the Doctor is actually a very un-relatable character. But actually, if you strip away his Time-Lord biology and the fact he has lived for so long, he is actually incredibly relatable; not only that, but what a great role model, eh? Yes, you could argue that’s daft because of all the deaths he has caused, either directly or indirectly, but if you scale all that back and say that he is simply a normal man who has made mistakes and yet he is trying to constantly be a good person, then you could argue that he is in fact a great role model.
That’s what I love about Doctor Who. It reminds me over and over that everyone makes mistakes and even “heroes” like the Doctor make mistakes, however big or small. The most important thing is that you try, that you strive continuously to be a good person, no matter what. All the extra stuff, like time-travel and all the intriguing storylines on top of that and all the other characters are just a great, big, massive bonus on top.
Perhaps my reason for loving Doctor Who is the same reason as others reason for loving the show? That “good versus evil” is a fairly big component of the show and that we are constantly being shown the best and worst of humanity within the context of the show? I’d happily submit that the reason the show is so loved is because age-old morals are shown to audiences in exciting new ways in almost every episode. Perhaps that is why the show is so loved? Underneath all of the timey whimey references and the characters and the storylines, the show teaches decent life lessons? That’s what I take from Doctor Who, at least for what it’s worth.
I’d be very interested in knowing what Doctor Who means to you! And why do you think the show strikes a chord with audiences the world over?
