Why I'm Less Disappointed With Doctor Who Than You Are
Recently my Friends page has been spammed to the hilt with people complaining about the new series of Doctor Who. I'll admit, Doctor Who does SEEM to be complete rubbish but frankly it always HAS. And even though I was shouting at my TV, along with the rest of you...I've now sat down and compared Doctor Who to my own life and come to the conclusion that maybe some of the most popular (and apparently obvious) complaints about the programme aren't as cut and dried as they seem. Life is "stranger than fiction" after all, isn't it?
Plot Holes: People complain that Doctor Who is full of "plot holes" but so is MY LIFE and I'm fucking REAL. My Ex was an alcoholic adulterer, who suddenly (after 16 years) ran off with a Born Again Christian and started preaching Creationism (IN THE UK!). I was the brightest kid in my whole school for YEARS and yet I now wipe ARSES for a living. I was in a hideous car crash, where the car looked utterly FLATTENED but I DIDN'T DIE even a bit. Plot holes? Don't talk to me about plot holes.
Unbelievable Characters: I know a man who jumped naked into a SHARK TANK in the Brighton Sealife Centre JUST TO PROMOTE A SMALL COMEDY NIGHT. I know a gay man who was SEXUALLY MOLESTED by a DWARF. Even today I worked with a 48 year old woman who claims never to have heard of DIANA ROSS. Please. Compared to them that Cthulu-headed Dalek bloke in the pinstripe suit seems totally NORMAL.
Unbelievable Dialog: "Diana Ross...Who is SHE?". I shit you not. People say the most UNREALISTIC stuff in Real Life. I have endlessly inane chats with REAL PEOPLE but nobody stops us and says "Sorry, nobody talks like that, shoot your writers" do they? I don't think the dialog in Doctor Who is any worse than everyday banter in the UK. And even the mental voices the Daleks use sound JUST like Stephen Hawking.
Wobbly Sets: OK, this applies more to OLD episodes of Doctor Who but people often accused it of being unrealistic because the sets "wobbled". How does this compare to real life? Well, when Unimag stayed here it RAINED ON MY STAIRS. Yes, INDOORS. And my bannister is JUST as likely to give way as that one in that episode of Doctor Who where the bannister gave way really easily. Real Life wobbles, get over it.
Deus Ex Machina: "He solves everything with that Sonic Screwdriver". Yeah, we know. I solve everything with my SWISS ARMY KNIFE. Am I, therefore, MADE UP? No.
Suspension Of Disbelief: If I had a Pound for every time somebody accused me of inventing a story about my life, I'd have about TWENTY THREE Pounds. Even though I barely lie, ever. I think we should not suspend our disbelief when watching Doctor Who, we should EMBRACE it. We should see that the very feeling of disbelief itself PROVES how REALISTIC the show is. I believe everything on EastEnders, I can predict almost every plot "twist"...That's how I know it isn't real. But Doctor Who isn't like that. Like Real Life the plot of Doctor Who just jumps up and grabs you from behind. How could it BE more REAL?
Doctor Who, like Real Life, should be enjoyed in the moment and not taken too seriously. The more I think about it, the more I see that we should quit all the analysing and lose ourselves in the wonder of it all. Even those who watch Life (and Doctor Who) from behind the sofa, are enjoying it more than those who deliberately scan everything for continuity errors and anomalies. Nothing could be more real than a bunch of surreal characters and inexplicable mistakes. Doctor Who, we salute you.
(I dedicate this entry to the celebration of unimag's Birthday today. Have a good one, dear.)
Plot Holes: People complain that Doctor Who is full of "plot holes" but so is MY LIFE and I'm fucking REAL. My Ex was an alcoholic adulterer, who suddenly (after 16 years) ran off with a Born Again Christian and started preaching Creationism (IN THE UK!). I was the brightest kid in my whole school for YEARS and yet I now wipe ARSES for a living. I was in a hideous car crash, where the car looked utterly FLATTENED but I DIDN'T DIE even a bit. Plot holes? Don't talk to me about plot holes.
Unbelievable Characters: I know a man who jumped naked into a SHARK TANK in the Brighton Sealife Centre JUST TO PROMOTE A SMALL COMEDY NIGHT. I know a gay man who was SEXUALLY MOLESTED by a DWARF. Even today I worked with a 48 year old woman who claims never to have heard of DIANA ROSS. Please. Compared to them that Cthulu-headed Dalek bloke in the pinstripe suit seems totally NORMAL.
Unbelievable Dialog: "Diana Ross...Who is SHE?". I shit you not. People say the most UNREALISTIC stuff in Real Life. I have endlessly inane chats with REAL PEOPLE but nobody stops us and says "Sorry, nobody talks like that, shoot your writers" do they? I don't think the dialog in Doctor Who is any worse than everyday banter in the UK. And even the mental voices the Daleks use sound JUST like Stephen Hawking.
Wobbly Sets: OK, this applies more to OLD episodes of Doctor Who but people often accused it of being unrealistic because the sets "wobbled". How does this compare to real life? Well, when Unimag stayed here it RAINED ON MY STAIRS. Yes, INDOORS. And my bannister is JUST as likely to give way as that one in that episode of Doctor Who where the bannister gave way really easily. Real Life wobbles, get over it.
Deus Ex Machina: "He solves everything with that Sonic Screwdriver". Yeah, we know. I solve everything with my SWISS ARMY KNIFE. Am I, therefore, MADE UP? No.
Suspension Of Disbelief: If I had a Pound for every time somebody accused me of inventing a story about my life, I'd have about TWENTY THREE Pounds. Even though I barely lie, ever. I think we should not suspend our disbelief when watching Doctor Who, we should EMBRACE it. We should see that the very feeling of disbelief itself PROVES how REALISTIC the show is. I believe everything on EastEnders, I can predict almost every plot "twist"...That's how I know it isn't real. But Doctor Who isn't like that. Like Real Life the plot of Doctor Who just jumps up and grabs you from behind. How could it BE more REAL?
Doctor Who, like Real Life, should be enjoyed in the moment and not taken too seriously. The more I think about it, the more I see that we should quit all the analysing and lose ourselves in the wonder of it all. Even those who watch Life (and Doctor Who) from behind the sofa, are enjoying it more than those who deliberately scan everything for continuity errors and anomalies. Nothing could be more real than a bunch of surreal characters and inexplicable mistakes. Doctor Who, we salute you.
(I dedicate this entry to the celebration of unimag's Birthday today. Have a good one, dear.)