THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR

You know, I really, really didn't want to go to a cinema to see the Doctor Who fiftieth anniversary special. For me, watching the telly is an intimate experience best enjoyed with your nearest and dearest, whom you can ask to "shush!" without risking the glaring stares of the kind of complete strangers who can attend these things with a sense of entitlement that they can leave their mobile phones on, rustle their popcorn, indulge their little "darlings" and generally prattle on when I'm trying to actually listen and watch…

Maybe that's unusual.

Maybe it means that I'm not a "proper" fan…

I do have the Target books, the videos, the DVDs, more than twenty sad old scrapbooks of cuttings compiled during the seventies and eighties, a thirty six year membership of the Appreciation Society, and a stack of editions of Celestial Toyroom dating back almost as far as that with which I could dispute the assertion, of course, but because I'm not prepared to wrap myself in a stupidly long scarf and be seen in the company of other similarly-minded non-individuals, if that makes me not be a "proper" fan, then so be it.

After all… I can't be, can I?

Especially as I don't appear to have a book out at the moment...

Perversely, you see, there is a snag. As the programme itself has become something more akin to a "Global Phenomenon", I've actually found that I like it less. Oh, I'll still sit myself down and watch it, of course, but somehow all of the prattle and excitement of all of the people in the cyberverse makes me feel less like it's my thing and just makes me feel like I've transformed into one of the herd, instead of having a private, unique joy which nobody else really understands.

This is why, I think, that, whilst I am prepared to prattle on about it endlessly in these pages, I'm less inclined to involve myself in any form of discussion about it, especially amongst the insane, the grate, and the not-so-good of the interweb, and those who'll most probably move on just as soon as the series' "trendiness" begins to fade.

William Hartnell's Doctor could take the plot of an entire 25-minute episode to just get himself out of a room, whereas these modern Doctors just wave a magic wand and are out in a couple of seconds, but somehow I still find the former far more fascinating to watch over and over again, and indeed have done so many times in the past.

This is why, I think, that, to be honest, I'd been far more looking forward to the nostalgia-fest written by Mark Gatiss, "An Adventure in Space and Time" than this particular programme anyway. I generally tend to prefer my drama more cerebral than to be full of all of that running, jumping and shouting, which is, incidentally, why I adore the six-hour version of "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" even though it takes almost three times longer than the already languid film version to tell exactly the same story.

Anyway, we had our own little "Day of the Doctor" at home, listening to Graham Norton broadcasting live from the "Celebration" at ExCel, watching the very first story, "An Unearthly Child" in its entirety, and watching the last episode from the latest series, "The Name of the Doctor" and the Mini-episode "The Night of the Doctor" before settling down for what some were still insisting upon calling "Event TV", otherwise known as "The Day of the Doctor..."

So…

What did I think of last night's extravaganza, seeing as I saw it for free on a normal sized television screen in glorious 2-D with the phone unplugged and little in the way of potential distractions…?

Well...

It was alright I suppose... ;-)

Aw...

C'mon...

CAPALDI!!!

THE MIGHTY TOM!!!

What wasn't there for me to like...?

:-)