Not baffled, just wanted Tom Baker...
As part of my Acting course we do a module called Improvisation and Devising. In this module the aim is to create a character from scratch by stealing characteristics from people we know and strangers we stalk follow in the street. (It was an achievement no one was arrested for stalking following people this year, as according to our teacher Dave it's been known to happen lol.) The end result is a mish mash or personalities, and what do I end up with? An obsessed Doctor Who fan. Can anyone say Jackpot?
My character is called Sarah-Jane XD. Her favourite Doctor is Tom Baker and she has to have a stage full of Doctor Who props ( I have the Radio Times with a picture from the Children in Need Special, a wallet with psychic paper, a Dalek pen that makes Dalek noises and, of course a sonic screwdriver, that I made myself out of a 'Make Your Own' book. It's sooo fun to play with!). I think it's fair to say I absolutely LOVE my character. When I first was assigned with Sarah-Jane, I thought I would be a funny character and therefore have a funny monologue, but it didn't turn out that way.
I'm not sure why I'm posting this, but I am. I feel like I'm posting something really personal, which is silly considering she isn't me. Maybe I fear a real Doctor Who fanatic is going to come and blow holes through all of my facts :-S
*takes deep breath* Anyway, here goes. This is my monologue for my assessment next Friday.
I love Doctor Who. It has to be the greatest ever science fiction TV programme. Did you know it’s been running since 1963, Ok so there was that big gap when production ended in 1989, but with the TV film in 1996 and the new series with Christopher Eccleston 2005, it been alive for nearly 44 years! I used to watch the old episodes with my dad all the time, he was obsessed with it as a kid and it rubbed off on me I guess. He was the one who named me Sarah Jane because his favourite Doctor was Tom Baker. Sarah Jane was his assistant then, from 1973 to 1976. Tom Baker is my favourite Doctor too. Well he is the most iconic Doctor, I mean you think Doctor Who and you think long scarves and jelly babies, you know because the fourth doctor liked jelly babies, or maybe you didn’t know that. I don’t much like jelly babies myself. But I do like the scarves. My favourite one’s this one; my dad got me it when we went to an expo in London. I loved my Dad; he always did spoil me when it came to Doctor Who stuff.
We went to Blackpool once. There’s a big museum in Blackpool full of costumes and old props. Some of them are even real, the actual ones they used for filming. They even had the original Doctor's Stellar Signal Receiver. It’s a special device he used in the Pyramids of Mars; it’s a Tom Baker episode, his 8th one actually. It first aired on 25th October till 15th November 1975, it was a four parter you see. That’s something I really like about that era’s Doctor Who; the stories seemed to last longer. Well anyway this Stellar Signal Receiver, the doctor; the fourth one, he used it to translate a message, more of a warning really, about this alien called Sutekh. ‘Beware Sutekh.’ When I saw the receiver at the museum I was in awe. Cause Pyramids of Mars is my favourite episode ever. It’s really neat, because the doctor uses his scarf to stop someone from getting shot. No really he uses it to pull the gun from the baddies hand so the other guy doesn’t die! He still gets shot mind. Anyway, I knew what the receiver was straight away. I knew it was made by Ian Scoones; he was one of the most famous visual effects designers working at the BBC then. I didn’t need to read the little plaque next to it, telling you what it was, when it was used and who by, I just knew. I let him tell me anyway, my Dad. He had a way of making anything sound really exciting, like it was some dark mystery story, even if it was a bunch of dates, or just a shopping list. That’s one of the things I really miss about him. He was always there to join in the fun.
Mum’s not fun like Dad was. She doesn’t get Doctor Who, in fact she thinks it’s childish. She says it’s a complete fantasy and that I should get my nose stuck in my science books instead of glued to the TV screen. Says it’s not healthy for a girl my age to be this obsessed with a kids show. But it’s not a kid’s show, it’s not. It’s so much more than that. Every time I watch Pyramids of Mars or Revenge of the Cybermen, I remember the first time I watched them. I remember my dad, the way he held my hand when I was scared. And I feel safe. I watch them and I feel him there with me. I remember him.
I have watched every single episode of Doctor Who, all 737 at least 3 times each. All of them except one. Father’s Day, the one where Rose goes back to the day her Dad died and saves his life. Eighth episode of the new series with Christopher Eccleston…aired 14th May 2005. Three months after my Dad died. I can’t…I can’t watch that one again.
Hope you enjoyed it. Despite what I said above I really would appreciate any comments or criticisms on the facts or the writing.
Man, why is this so scary to put up? *is actually baffled now*