Blog 233 > Five Decades of the Doctor

Greetings, my Time-Traveling Toyboxers! After two years, your Toymaster has teleported from the time vortex to return temporarily to the Toybox. Are you ready? Are you ready for the Doctor? As the entire science-fiction universe already knows, November 23, 2013 is the “Doctor Who: 50th Anniversary” broadcast event “The Day of the Doctor”. Not only have I been a long-time fan of the classic “Doctor Who” TV series (1963–1989) with Doctors #1 through #7, I’ve also finally caught up on all 7 seasons since the current TV series (2005-2013) rebooted with Doctor #9. So let me ask you again: Are you ready?

Part 1 of 2 > Videos

When I recently told my brother about the upcoming event, he replied:

Wow, I can’t believe that the show has gone on so far. I have not kept up. In fact, I haven’t watched episodic TV at all in years. Would it be insane to try to cram in all 50 years into the next week? And how does the 2005-on portion compare that its predecessor?

Here was my enthusiastic answer:

Oh man, you don’t have to cram all 50 years, since we watched most of the classics anyway. But the 2005-on portion is absolutely incredible. Here’s a spoiler back-story from the 2005 season (let’s call it Season 1): After the Great Time War with the Daleks, the Time Lords were destroyed. Our 900-year-old Doctor is the Last Time Lord. That’s how the series is rebooted, and it’s the first thing that differentiates it from the classics. None of the cheesy effects or stale acting, it feels so much more alive and intense and captivating and inspiring than any classic series, not just the superb acting that brings you to tears, but the epic music that makes you cheer, and the grandest scales that feel like mini-movies. And of course, each episode and each series continuously ties mysterious and ominous plots to the next episode and next series, so every climactic finale to a season is like an “Avengers” movie. Having said all that, I can’t imagine what this 50-year 12-doctor event is going to be like. But wait, here’s a YouTube playlist that might help you too! If you have a few minutes to spare, here’s a quick playlist of videos I’ve collected that captures the essence and excitement of the series…

Here’s a quick collection of videos featuring Doctors #9, #10, and #11.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part 2 of 2 > Wallpapers

Why stop with the videos? Here’s a quick collection of 1920-pixel wallpapers to help you remember all of Doctor #11’s Season 7 adventures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Flashback

Finally, here’s a fantastic wallpaper mashup of Doctor #10 and Rose with Doctor #11 and Clara.

So let me ask you one last time: Are you ready for November 23? Yes, I believe you are.