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Time and Space



10 years ago today saw the revival of my favorite television show of all-time.

Doctor Who has been a part of my life since, well.... since I was in short pants. A staple of PBS viewing, I watched it seven times a week (Monday through Friday at 10pm, and on Saturdays at 6:00pm and 6:30pm). There was a Doctor Who convention here in Champaign, in February 1985, where Sixth Doctor Colin Baker came to town. Charming man.

After 26 years on the air, Doctor Who was cancelled in 1989 after waning quality and audience numbers. An American-made TV movie in 1996 did nothing to revive the program, and it looked like Doctor Who was gone for good, relegated to reruns, DVDs, books and the occasional radio show featuring the old actors trotted-out to re-create their roles.

Thankfully, the BBC (original producers of the program) decided to bring it back in 2005 and, on March 26th, it debuted to good ratings and positive word-of-mouth. With show runner Russell T. Davies at the helm, Doctor Who enjoyed a popularity it hadn't had since the late 1970s. David Tennant starred as The Doctor from 2005-2009, and solidified its future.

The revived version of my favorite show has sometimes proved to be a mixed-bag. For every great story such as Blink, where statues come to life and chase people, there's a Love & Monsters, where a woman is turned into a concrete slab and insinuates that she's still able to perform oral sex on her boyfriend. The classic series never would have gone there.

Still, Doctor Who is back. I'm happy it's here, and have mostly enjoyed the adventures of the past 10 years. It will be interesting to see what the next decade brings.


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