"You think I'm an incompetent old fool do you?"

On November 23rd, one of television's greatest achievements and an all time personal favourite of mine, the incomparable and simply wonderful Doctor Who will turn 50 years old. The earliest memory I have of this iconic show is from the age of roughly 6, half-watching and half-constantly questioning my mum about a marathon that was being aired through the night, presumably on a BBC channel as part of a celebration of the programme. My most prominent recollection is simply the feeling of being really really really creeped out. Just extremely uneasy about the whole thing. I think even then, I understood the staggeringly common tendency viewers of all ages will admit to of 'hiding behind the settee'. I was also pretty mesmerised by Tom Baker's scarf but I'm sure that's perfectly understandable.
But anyway back on topic, to mark this milestone for such a brilliant show that has recently managed to break into global recognition and thus stolen the hearts and imaginations of so many, I'm watching it all. Yes. All of it. From the very start. Every episode, the 25th anniversary special I have on DVD, the movies.. I'm enduring the tediously slow plots, the horrific monochromatic quality, and Susan. (Ugh, Susan. But more on that later.)

One can argue that I won't be able to watch all the seasons in entirety considering there are still episodes lost and unfound to the world, but I'm doing as much as humanly possible, alright? And there are animated versions of certain missing serials available, so shush.
I do expect this endeavour to take a long time, and in no way do I expect to have completed 26 years of alien adventures in the short amount of Summer I have left. I'm fitting in the occasional episode between my tottering stack of books waiting to be read and the hundreds of gb worth of films and television waiting to be watched (made my way through Orange Is The New Black - it's like an odd mashup of Bad Girls and Desperate Housewives but so much BETTER, watch it, watch it now), so I do hope to have made some headway in time for the 50th anniversary. It's just something I've always wanted to do, and I don't feel I can class myself as a true fan until I'm completely caught up. I'm also hoping it might open my eyes to some Easter Eggs hidden in newer episodes relating to the 'classic' series, many of which are often pointed out by my eagle eyed -and original giver of Whovian genes- mumma bear. (See: John Simm's Master offering Jelly Babies)

I'm currently nearing the end of the first series, and I have to say, William Hartnell is incredible. To those implying that our new Doc Capaldi is 'too old' to fill the shoes of the recent regenerations and keep the show interesting, you're ridiculous. I can vouch for the older dudes, Hartnell has been nothing but entertaining, the nonchalantly delivered line "yes, I made some cocoa and got engaged" may need some context to understand and find amusing, but it's a personal highlight so far. His general indifference and sharp wit is what attracted the attention of viewers in the first place, I'm sure this era can cope with a loss of frantic running around and cute quirky mannerisms that appeal to the casual watcher. Mostly of the female variety and age of teen. Not that I'm huge on the stereotyping but seriously, have you ever visited Tumblr?

Peter Capaldi, regardless of my hesistance to accept him into both of my Time Lord hearts as our new man considering he was already a pretty prominent character in a previous episode(!!!!!!!!!), will be a spectacular guy to transition into. I am keeping my fingers crossed for that accent to remain though, Tennant already let us down!

But back to season one, it really is a delight. Difficult at times to really keep up, and the characters aren't the easiest to sympathise with, honestly even if you thought Martha Jones was bad, the Doctor's granddaughter is the most irritating individual I've ever had the displeasure of watching on the show. ("OH GRANDFATHER I CAHHHN'T! IAN! BARBARAHHH!" ..I'm cruel. And I'm not even sorry.) Ian and Barbara aren't exactly a bundle of laughs either, and their departure won't be a great loss to me, however I am eagerly looking forward to seeing how they adjust back to their roles as school teachers, and if Susan will return to said school as their pupil. I also totally ship them together. There, I said it. I doubt a secured romantic entanglement will evolve, but it's a possible angle that has certainly heightened my enjoyment so far.

Safe to say this journey through time (yeah I did) has pleasantly surprised me, and I'm pleased that despite the hilarious costumes and excruciatingly bad acting I'm not even remotely tempted to quit. It's certainly been an eye opener, and solid proof that Doctor Who isn't a show that needs extensive amounts of CGI shoved in your face or dramatic love triangles. It's simply a show with a lot of history, a lot of heart, and a unique ability to appeal to generation upon generation of families over these many years.

That being said, I think I will breathe a sigh of relief when I reach episodes in colour and of a slightly better quality. I'm also so very excited to finally meet my parent's 'Doctors' (everyone has their firm preference of course), but I do worry that the introduction of Sarah-Jane Smith will make me sob violently into my fish fingers and custard. RIP Elizabeth Sladen.

And so this post doesn't end on such a gloomy note.. This will make better sense to me soon. Ah, Rose. I for one, miss you dearly.

Geek before it was Chic.

Let me start off by clarifying that I do not think of myself as a special and beautiful and unique snowflake.

I do not feel that due to my often fanatic love of cult science-fiction and literature of the fantasy genre, my self-pride in being rather well-educated, my tendency to sneer at those who incorrectly edit their own memes, my love for the musical stylings of the ever gloriously nerdy Jonathan Coulton, or even my passionate feelings concerning technology and HTML formatting and sneaky keyboard shortcuts, that I am "not like the other girls". Let's be realistic here.


I'm terrible at any video game besides Sonic and the Lego projects. I've read one manga in my life and I doubt I'll ever read anymore. The only anime I've ventured into is Pokémon and the occasional Studio Ghibli film. I don't understand every single obscure reference made in an episode of Spaced. The only comics I read are included in Scottish Sunday newspapers, or are those that feature a beagle who moonlights as a fighter pilot, or a sarcastic overweight cat who detests Mondays, or a little boy who should really see a psychiatrist about the imaginary tiger that is a recurrent presence in his daily life.


However I am one of the smaller (however forever on the increase) percentage of human beings that would be considered as being slightly less.. - I cringe as I type this - 'mainstream'.

I will happily profess that I am somewhat of a geek. A nerd. A dork. Use whichever Americanism you're most comfortable with. I feel that years of being teased about my mild (heh) obsession with Harry Potter, my seemingly constant ability to embarrass myself, my regular visitation of such websites, never quite blossoming in the subject at school yet giggling/snorting at many a science joke, suffering a period during my teens when I had truly awful frizzy hair and braces and having a continuing decline in the reliability of my eyesight, I almost.. deserve(?) to be known as a member of this stereotype. As though it were a 'cool' thing to be, and not a form of insult as it originally was.

So surely you can understand my confusion and general annoyance when it comes to the odd trend of folk obnoxiously and inaccurately branding themselves as GEEKS, often in the form of a hashtag. If anyone's even partly to blame, I'm pointing a (One Ring adorned) finger at Topshop.

What I'm sure started out as an innocently ironic design, aimed at those who feel it's cute to be viewed as an "awkward and quirky individual with oversized prescription-less glasses who desperately wants a Deathly Hallows symbol tattoo because they think it's pretty and enjoys broadcasting to the world every time they pick up a video game controller and has a 'retro' Game Boy cover for their IPhone", has now spread like a virus and is slowly draining me of happiness. I'm sure you're all familiar with this poor girl who has been the victim of many an internet jibe from those who feel she just isn't worthy to claim the (apparently now highly coveted) title of 'nerd'.

If you're not familiar with her, it's likely that you are her.

Unfortunately these types are only on the rise. Wearing glasses in public now makes you a #geek. Watching The Big Bang Theory yet only laughing at Jim Parson yelling bazinga, you're a #geek. You went to see one of the many new shiny Marvel films that are essentially designed to be suitable for all possible audiences and take the time to explain any potentially confusing backstory? Oh goodness yes, #geek. Forgive my pretentiousness but even if you are fairly immersed in typical activities of the dweebery variety, taking the time to blatantly point it out, or wearing a T-shirt that makes a song and dance about it, you are simply negating any possible credibility. It's that simple.

Items of clothing such as those pictured above are essentially everywhere these days, the latest culprit being Primark and their hideously affordable and thus much easier to stock up range of neon crop tops bearing these stereotypes. Needless to say I had to go the extra mile in displaying my disgust.

Simon Pegg once stated that "Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It’s basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating." And yet I feel the majority of those who don 'geek' apparel or flaunt that they're living the dorky lifestyle take more time to build up this title than they do appreciating things that would make them suitable to be known as such. Approach a casual watcher of Doctor Who that has just exclaimed how excited they are for this week's episode and that they are SUCH A GEEK WOW and attempt to fuel a conversation about your certainty that Clara is either Jack Harkness's daughter or Jenny regenerated or the CAL computer that River Song eventually ends up in and that the fact Neil Gaiman wrote this new episode makes you really happy because his steampunk-esque episode last year was sensational and you're so ridiculously excited to see what he's doing with Cybermen - and the chances of them responding with a vacant stare or simply a dirty look is high. Because they're just not programmed to think about specialised fiction that way. And yet they have the audacity to try and steal a role that has taken so long for Us (yes, we are a United People) to become at ease with and eventually even feel proud of. 

I can only assume that I've come across as one of those Holier Than Thou bastards that condemn anyone without a wardrobe full of cosplay outifts as JUST NOT NERDY ENOUGH ZOMG STAHP!!!!! but I'm actually just trying to reclaim a tiny bit of justice. Don't attempt to be a poor imitation of those you once deemed outcasts. In this you will only fail.

(..epicly. ;DDDD)