What Does Doctor Who Mean to You?

General / off topic
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Since Wednesday is the 20th anniversary of nuwho (wow), this seems like a good time to reflect! Whether you started watching during the classic era or hopped on last season, what does Doctor Who mean to you?

I started watching when I was nine and going through a really rough time (major surgery and mental health problems all at once, oof), and it ended up being a big source of comfort. It was also something my mom and I bonded over, and helped me make some friends! There was another thread where we talked about this, but I think watching the show so young made the philosophy have a fairly big impact as well. It was great as a kid having a hero who really valued curiosity and peace. It was different from the sci-fi most of my friends were watching.

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What does Doctor Who mean to me?

So so much, for so many different reasons.

It’ll take me a while to get all my thoughts on this together, so I’ll post a full response later.

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The whole, wide world. I have been invested in this show since I was like, 7 and it has stuck with me that whole time. It’s been there through weird times and hard times. It’s brought comfort, joy, friendship. It’s the reason I moved to the USA. It’s brought all of us wonderful people together.

There’s nothing like Doctor Who. No matter what I think of the new series and series to come, I’ll never stop watching or loving it. DW has this power to call people together and I’m glad I’ve listened to that call. I love it. That’s all.

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Doctor Who to me is just a fun show, something I genuinely enjoy engaging with, which for little ol me back in the day when I was a very sad child, meant the world to me. Sometimes the world can be a dark place, it’s nice to know that there is a show out there that’ll also brighten my day.

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My first episode was The Lazarus Experiment, without doctor who i wouldn’t be the person you see before you. It has well and truly changed my life for the better

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I’ll give a serious answer later after work but my joke answer is “not much, but it’s pretty decent I guess… I write on a doctor who forum”

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If I hadn’t watched Doctor Who, I wouldn’t have learned about the amazingly talented Colin and Nicola. The Sixth Doctor era single-handedly brought me back into writing after a very long slump, so I do appreciate that. They’re the strongest muses I’ve ever had. I love their intelligence, their personalities, and who they are as people. They mean the universe to me.

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One of the few things that’s keeping me sane at this part of my timeline.

When I was a kid I mainly liked Japanese manga. One Piece, for example. I used to go on crazy binge watch and re-watchs with it. Joined a lovely forum based here in China for it. I spend all day thinking about it. Never really had friends irl to talk about it, though. I bought two Japanese single volumes in 7th grade when exchange rates aren’t exactly in my favor just to give this presentation about our favorite comic for art class which for some reason never happened only for our class. My friend borrowed the comic and did the presentation I was gonna do in his class. Never had another chance to talk about it since. I still read single volumes when they come out every three months or so. Not quite the same as when I was younger.

Doctor Who took over when I was in high school. And I made the first friend who made me feel normal for the first time, when I was watching The Time of the Angels during lunch break on my phone, which I wasn’t supposed to bring to school in the first place. I had the happiest year of my life (so far) in my senior year in high school, with all the new and exciting BF stories everyday commuting, friends to hang out, and plans for summer holiday and looking forward to university.

Then everything was fine for a while. Then it was not. Then it’s OK again. Till it starts to really go down from a little over a year ago when I started T. I had no plan. I had no realistic plans to deal with school and transition and everthing else at the same time. So I kinda keep getting into fight-or-flight and exhausted all the time. Listening to Doctor Who audios is the only thing that keeps my anxiety and dysphoria tuned down. It’s expansive while predictable for most the of time, so I don’t get overwhelmed.

I guess it kinda represents the best year I had, and all those things I never thought I could do just because I’m trans. The Eighth Doctor said that not fitting in is a perfect start to a wonderful life. Wish some day I’ll truly believe that.

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What a question!

Frankly, it means everything to me. It defined my teenage years. I knew of the show through my childhood but it was 1989 when a friend at school, who was already a fan, encouraged me to get more into it. Almost immediately I was getting DWM, video taping Season 26 and loving every second.

And then it got cancelled and the Wilderness Years began. But they weren’t a wilderness for me. During that time I met almost all of my very best friends - most of whom I met because of Doctor Who. We went to signings and conventions together. Every summer we went to the Doctor Who celebration at Longleat. I have so many wonderful memories of those years and that’s entirely because of Doctor Who.

During these years I also met my wife and at the time I was rewatching the entire series from beginning to end. When we started dating, I was watching The Invisible Enemy. I knew she was the one for me when she joined me from Full Circle onwards and watched every story through to the TV Movie. And she would listen to BF audios with me on car trips!

Our wedding was the summer after Series 1. My brother’s wedding was the summer of Series 2 (we went to the hotel room to watch Army of Ghosts while everyone else went off to watch the footie in between the wedding breakfast and the evening reception).

And then the show became something I could introduce my kids too. My eldest has waxed and waned in their interest but I still have happy memories of taking them to various Who events and have some of my favourite photos from those times.

Doctor Who has entertained me for 37 years of being a ‘proper’ fan. I never fail to be excited by a new series or itch to buy a new book or audio. I always have something fun to listen to, read or watch. I’ve even been able to see it at the theatre, play it as a game on my computer or in real life. I’ve written my own fan fiction, I’ve knitted Yetis and Aggedors, I’ve got a knitted K9 my Mum made me. My eldest has got one she knitted for them. I’ve got so many memories wrapped around the show I don’t think I’d even be who I am without the show.

And then this place happened. At a time when I was getting very low with how fandom was behaving in other online places, I met @shauny and became involved in TARDIS Guide and then we launched the forum and I met all of the amazing, funny, wonderful fans who joined us. I won’t name you all because you know who you are (and I don’t want to accidentally forget anyone) but I, hand on heart, consider you all to be friends and can’t thank you enough for the huge amount of fun I’ve had in the last year or so purely because of this place.

It’s been pointed out before how like LINDA we are - a group of friends who have come together because of the Doctor but found they have so much more in common.

TLDR: Doctor Who means everything to me and I love you guys.

:heart_eyes:

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One of my first ever memories is watching the beginning of Silence in the Library. There have been times where I’ve fallen in and out of hyperfixating on it (as a kid I didn’t love series 6-7 and was very much into other stuff from circa 2017-2020) but it’s always been around, knocking about in the back of my head. It would take a lot to make me stop loving it.

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So much, to be honest. I’ve been hooked on this show since 2005 when I was 5, about to turn 6. I really don’t know how none of my family did or still have, pointed out that I could be neurodivergent because my Doctor Who special interest has been the most oblivious thing in my life :sob:

My interest in the show has always been prominent, but I’d say that since delving into Classic Who (which I’ve now finished) and the EU, its become even more of a all-the-time thing than it was before. Its no secret around here my love for Big Finish is huge, and I really can’t get enough of them.

I have poured so much time as everyone here has into the show, through merchandise and cons and lots of different things. I’ve met friends thanks to the show, I’ve went to conventions and had some great times with my dad at them. He used to come with me despite not caring for the show, but he knew so much about it because of me!

I think, to echo what Delta said, I’ve never really found a Doctor Who space online, or anywhere else for that matter, that I’ve felt so accepted and welcomed as I have this place. It’s really great to be here, and I’m loving getting to know lots of you more.

I could ramble a lot more, and put more cohesive thoughts down, especially since its early when I’m posting, but I wanted to just put something out there :sob:

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I was a kid when i first saw 9 and Rose travelling through time and space
There was something magic about the show
Then came 10 - i loved the show even more when he was the doctor. I remember being upset when he left. To the point where i told myself i hated 11 (this didn’t last long) - Growing up and getting to see classic who as well.
This show has always been a comfort through tough times as well some really happy times.

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I’m leaving a reply so I don’t forget- I’m about to sleep for now, but I’ll come back to this later… Because this is gonna be a loooong answer.

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I was about 12 when I first watched The Lazarus Experiment at my mate’s house and I hated it. Wrote off the show. A year later I was bored at my Nan’s, put on the telly and Fires of Pompeii was on. Loved it and a new special interest was born. I binged on a LOT of Doctor Who, both NuWho on DVD and classic on DVD and the SciFi channel, that year.

I don’t remember the year I bought Sword of Orion and Spare Parts, but they were my gateways into Big Finish. And at uni, a friend lent me a lot of the audios and I really truly fell in love.

For well over half my life now, DW has been one of my biggest special interests. And while it isn’t one I’m constantly obsessed with like One Piece, Pokémon or Ace Attorney, it’s one I always go back to and fall fully in love with again. It was one of my first long lasting special interests even with me getting into it later than most of my generation, and I absolutely adore it and always find myself coming back.

And since joining here my love has only grown! I’ve found myself struggling to find many people, other than my mate @CaI (who I’ve known since before I even got into the show), to talk to about the show who aren’t just casual viewers. So being in this lovely community has been amazing for me :sparkling_heart:

Here’s to another 20 years of revival, and another 62 of the show overall!

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So tl;dr: doccy who’s aight, innit

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It means I have episodes of a TV show I enjoy to watch.

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Incredibly late to the party but I want to answer this question.

It’s been 18 years since I first watched this show so it has accompanied me over half of my live. To me, ironically you might say, Doctor Who means consistency in my live. Which is weird because it’s a show about constant change. But no matter where I am in my live, whether I’m feeling good or bad, I can always watch an episode of Doctor Who or listen to a Big Finish story and feel somewhat at home. It’s like an anchor. Even though there are phases where I’m more engaged in the show than other times, I know for a fact, that it will accompany me for the rest of my live. Which is incredibly comforting.

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Oh god it means the world to me. Been watching since 2006 when i randomly put on the end of the world.

Since then it’s just been an addiction, i have a few friends that have been into it but I’ve unfortunately never had people to really talk to about it until now.

Anytime i chuck on another tv show it just will never match the feeling i get watching any form of who. Certain episodes i know exactly what point of my life i was at when i watched its kinda crazy.

Yeah it’s just so unique and lovely and has been a constant in my life since i was 11. Loved reading through all the replies on this post.

I’ve definitely found my people :blue_heart:

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Doctor Who has been a constant in my life since I first watched it as a six year old. It’s tied in with my dad and sitting down discussing our theories of what will happen to our favourite hero week on week. I have so many happy memories like going to the cinema with him in 2013 to see the 50th anniversary special and then going back into the classic era and discovering new stories and doctors that I love. Big finish is also an incredibly important part of my life I love listening to doctor who, reading comics, books and of course watching it. It’s been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and I hope it stays that way. Every Halloween I’d dress up as the doctor, every birthday my mum would painstakingly put blue icing on a cake to make it look like a TARDIS.

It’s inspired my love of writing and stimulated my imagination for as long as I can remember having thoughts in the first place. I love Doctor Who, I love the people who love it and the warmth (for the most part) shown by those who love it. I couldn’t imagine life without it.

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I love speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, everything in-between) because I see it as the purest form of fiction: No limits, no boundaries, no rules, just whatever the human mind can conceive of. Doctor Who, for me, represents the Platonic form of that ideal. Absolute freedom, from binaries, from authority, from the borders of reality itself. A scientist space wizard who can look like anyone, travelling in a box that can go anywhere. This is why The Mind Robber and The Holy Terror are my two favourite stories of the whole franchise, because they perfectly embody that willingness to show and do and say and feel… well, anything and everything.

It’s easy to get lost in the notion of what Doctor Who could be with that mindset, but I will always love what it already is. Even the moments I don’t like, I still respect as part of the greater whole. RTD1 was where my journey with the show started, and while it took a slight hit during the Moffat era, I don’t see it truly ending anytime soon. No matter what may happen to the main show, it will always be because it stretches so much further than that.

On a more personal level, as someone with a severe brooding habit, I adore the show’s embracing of the idea that people go through many dramatic changes over the course of their lifetime, which is as just as true for the main character as it is for the show around them. Change is constant, change is turbulent, change is good.

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