No, this is not related to either Hamlet or the awesome episode of Batman: The Animated Series. This post is a recollection of my most recent Doctor Who inspired dream. I've had a few before, each being exceptionally good story fodder for my writing--this one included--and I will recount them in dream form as well as possibly craft a short story around them on this blog.
In this particular dream it didn't start off as a "Doctor Who" dream. At the beginning I am in a high school (or what looks like a typical public high school only with elementary age students) meeting David Tennant in a class room which he is teaching in. He is of course wearing the brown pinstripe suit we are accustomed to seeing on the show. He's even speaking in his "Doctor" voice. At a glance, you would think that he is The Doctor in my dream, but I refer to him as David. We also speak about his performance as The Doctor. Mainly I speak of how the "End of Time" two-part special featured some of his best acting, and he gets that teary eyed smile we all love. I also speak of how my sister and fiancee think as I do and regard him as the best Doctor.
As he begins to teach his class the principal (I think...Matron?) arrives and begins to berate the children in a very kindly and polite manner. She's very much like Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter books only resembling the Nanny from the "Partners in Crime" episode of series four. A mixture of the two characters perhaps. Somehow she did not notice me standing in the back left (from my perspective) corner of the room. There was also a stack of random junk there that nobody seemed to notice. Perhaps it was a perception filter. Also I found it hard to stand up, as if the room was shaking or tilting. She left after a minute or two and somehow it was getting close to bedtime for the children. Doctor Tennant and I were going to investigate some strange goings on in the school. Before leaving I bade the kids to hide in the corner if someone came after them. I then picked up an exceptionally long scarf and proceeded to put it on. David then snatched it from me. Upon further inspection, the long scarf was pieced together from various Hogwarts house scarves.
"I'm a bit of a fan," admitted David, "Allons-Y"
Before exiting, I ran back to the corner and grabbed an old crumpled Fedora, which I knew was one of mine and handed it to him. We then ran down the halls until finding the teachers' lounge. Upon entering we found all of the teachers uproariously shouting at one another. How could this be? Strangely many of them were actually acquaintances from the community theatre I act and direct at. Instinctively I placed myself between them in attempts to quell the situation. Somehow my words were coming from their mouths. Did I now posses psychic powers?
Eventually a lunch lady entered to speak to David. However, this lady hadn't a stealthy bone in her body and her "whispers" may as well have been shouts. She spoke of how David was correct in thinking something was wrong with the food. She had sneaked something that resembled a poison from the kitchen. Her outburst alerted the teaching staff that we were not who we appeared to be. A rumble broke out (ala West Side Story) There was a lot of snapping and dancing. Again I couldn't stand up and slid all over the slippery wooden floor. Suddenly the rumble was over, and Doctor Tennant gave me some chewing gum to balance me. It had it's side effects but seemed to work.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
The Doctor and I
Doctor Who is not only the most successful Science Fiction show in television history (according to the Guinness Book of Records,) it is also an integral part in my own life. Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by both Science Fiction and Historical Fiction; Doctor Who combines the best of both. It is fun, exciting, dramatic, comical, suspenseful, alluring, innocent, and wonderfully mad (crazy) -- sorry I will often use British slang even though I myself am Home-grown American. That is only a fraction of the effect this show has, not just on me, but the world.
Of the things I can remember of my childhood, chiefly among them I can trace back to Doctor Who. Living History/ Reenacting stems from and has contributed to, my great love of historical fiction. Often, The Doctor would find himself in a historic city or meet an influential figure in human history. The other is my fascination with the fedora. Until recently I never understood it. For many years I rarely wore hats apart from the odd baseball cap and "beanie"--from which derived my college Nom de Plume. But whilst in college I also became reacquainted with the fedora. It felt so right to wear them; although I didn't know why. Then one day I was glancing through old family photo albums and spied a picture of myself at age three wearing a fedora. My mind began turning, flashes of heroes clad in fedoras. Indian Jones, Dick Tracy, and The Doctor. The Doctor stood out more prominently in my mind.
Yet, as I grew older (from age 3) I had almost forgotten about The Doctor. Everything from the old days had vanished until one day in 2007. It was during summer break, and I was home from college. Flipping through the channels, something caught my eye. On the SciFi (now SyFy for some stupid reason) Channel I saw a tall thin man wearing an overcoat and converse shoes fighting an army of metal men. I was mesmerized. Watching the show I had realized that it was Doctor Who. I didn't even know they had new episodes. I stayed in and watched all day long--it was a marathon. Ever since then my love was rekindled. The spark of inspiration and maybe a little insanity burned in my brain. The Doctor was back and his popularity was growing. The next couple of years I again lost touch -- not by choice. I could never catch episodes when they aired. However, I always looked forward to the summer when I could watch the marathon with my dad who introduced me to The Doctor when I was very young.
Summer of 2010 we finally got BBC America and could watch Doctor Who properly, not a year after the fact. But there was a different Doctor. I was put off at first and didn't watch until the marathon. This time it was in the middle of winter. I liked this new Doctor. After the marathon there was a commercial. A new season was beginning. Finally I would do it. I would watch a show properly. I have never been so excited about a television show. I had just about given up on TV over the past couple of years. With all of the "reality" shows and fake soap opera-like dramas about teenagers, I had all but stopped watching; and then along came Doctor Who, reawakening that fedora wearing child inside of me. I can honestly say that the 2011 season of Doctor Who is the first weekly series I have ever invested any of my time, effort, and emotion into. For that I applaud the cast and crew.
And earlier this year, my fiancee and I signed up for Netflix. I had Doctor Who at my fingertips. I can watch any time. And thanks to it I have introduced the majesty of the series to her and my sister. Now we spend family time gathered in front of the telly to watch our own mini-marathons of Doctor Who. Pass the popcorn and soda and let the cats in it's time to watch our favorite Doctor.
But why am I doing this? Why have I created a Doctor Who related blog when I have so many others that I've been neglecting. Because Doctor Who HAS had such an influence on me and my views of fiction, I have developed strong opinions on the subject and wish to share them with the world. Will anyone read these posts? I hope so. Will I affect the show in any way by voicing my opinions? You never know. Do I hope (even though I'm not British, Welsh, Scottish, or Irish) to one day work on the show? Yes. Do I wish that I could eventually portray the Doctor (even though et cetera, et cetera)? Hell yes.
What I will do on this blog is share my thoughts and opinions about The Doctor, his companions, his adventures, his enemies, his creators, the actors, and the series. I will also share some of my own designs, concepts, and creations based on the beloved series and its characters. So I hope that you all enjoy it, and if BBC and the Doctor Who creators are reading: I'm available, I'm an artist, I have acting, writing, and directing experience, and would love the chance to work on my favorite Television show.
Of the things I can remember of my childhood, chiefly among them I can trace back to Doctor Who. Living History/ Reenacting stems from and has contributed to, my great love of historical fiction. Often, The Doctor would find himself in a historic city or meet an influential figure in human history. The other is my fascination with the fedora. Until recently I never understood it. For many years I rarely wore hats apart from the odd baseball cap and "beanie"--from which derived my college Nom de Plume. But whilst in college I also became reacquainted with the fedora. It felt so right to wear them; although I didn't know why. Then one day I was glancing through old family photo albums and spied a picture of myself at age three wearing a fedora. My mind began turning, flashes of heroes clad in fedoras. Indian Jones, Dick Tracy, and The Doctor. The Doctor stood out more prominently in my mind.
Yet, as I grew older (from age 3) I had almost forgotten about The Doctor. Everything from the old days had vanished until one day in 2007. It was during summer break, and I was home from college. Flipping through the channels, something caught my eye. On the SciFi (now SyFy for some stupid reason) Channel I saw a tall thin man wearing an overcoat and converse shoes fighting an army of metal men. I was mesmerized. Watching the show I had realized that it was Doctor Who. I didn't even know they had new episodes. I stayed in and watched all day long--it was a marathon. Ever since then my love was rekindled. The spark of inspiration and maybe a little insanity burned in my brain. The Doctor was back and his popularity was growing. The next couple of years I again lost touch -- not by choice. I could never catch episodes when they aired. However, I always looked forward to the summer when I could watch the marathon with my dad who introduced me to The Doctor when I was very young.
Summer of 2010 we finally got BBC America and could watch Doctor Who properly, not a year after the fact. But there was a different Doctor. I was put off at first and didn't watch until the marathon. This time it was in the middle of winter. I liked this new Doctor. After the marathon there was a commercial. A new season was beginning. Finally I would do it. I would watch a show properly. I have never been so excited about a television show. I had just about given up on TV over the past couple of years. With all of the "reality" shows and fake soap opera-like dramas about teenagers, I had all but stopped watching; and then along came Doctor Who, reawakening that fedora wearing child inside of me. I can honestly say that the 2011 season of Doctor Who is the first weekly series I have ever invested any of my time, effort, and emotion into. For that I applaud the cast and crew.
And earlier this year, my fiancee and I signed up for Netflix. I had Doctor Who at my fingertips. I can watch any time. And thanks to it I have introduced the majesty of the series to her and my sister. Now we spend family time gathered in front of the telly to watch our own mini-marathons of Doctor Who. Pass the popcorn and soda and let the cats in it's time to watch our favorite Doctor.
But why am I doing this? Why have I created a Doctor Who related blog when I have so many others that I've been neglecting. Because Doctor Who HAS had such an influence on me and my views of fiction, I have developed strong opinions on the subject and wish to share them with the world. Will anyone read these posts? I hope so. Will I affect the show in any way by voicing my opinions? You never know. Do I hope (even though I'm not British, Welsh, Scottish, or Irish) to one day work on the show? Yes. Do I wish that I could eventually portray the Doctor (even though et cetera, et cetera)? Hell yes.
What I will do on this blog is share my thoughts and opinions about The Doctor, his companions, his adventures, his enemies, his creators, the actors, and the series. I will also share some of my own designs, concepts, and creations based on the beloved series and its characters. So I hope that you all enjoy it, and if BBC and the Doctor Who creators are reading: I'm available, I'm an artist, I have acting, writing, and directing experience, and would love the chance to work on my favorite Television show.
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