tardis_stowaway | TV Meme, Days Four (Favorite Show) and Five (Hated Show)

I'm back in California after my travels! I may try to post a little about what that was like later, but the short summary is college reunion in Philadelphia = utterly wonderful, if overly humid and far too short; New York = expensive but generally fun; return trip by train = gorgeous, peaceful, a great experience, but boy was I glad to finally get a shower at the end.

With all of that traveling, I fell way behind in the TV meme that I foolishly started right before departure. Rather than inundate you with all my thoughts about TV in one fell swoop, I think I'll post two or three a day until I'm caught up.

Day 3: Your Favorite Show Ever

Do you know like we were saying? About the Earth revolving? It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me. Clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go...That's who I am. Now, forget me, Rose Tyler.

“Forget me,” he said, but Rose couldn’t, and I couldn’t either. Doctor Who has a place in my heart that no other show except Buffy even approaches.

rosa_writes wrote a brilliant post about her love for Doctor Who that is made of truth and beauty, and I should probably just link you there, but I feel like rambling.

I love this show like I love a family member: I see its flaws, and I fret about those flaws in a way I never would about flaws in a casual friend, but I love this show utterly anyway. In some ways, I care about it more because it sometimes has preposterous storylines, uneven characterization, insensitivity to sexism and racism, and unnecessary whumping of beloved characters. Imperfections make me want to read and write fic and discuss it with other people, and the more I participate in fandom, the more a show tends to get lodged in my heart. Besides, the things the show gets wrong are usually dwarfed by the things it gets so very right.

Doctor Who is actually many shows. One week it’s a silly historical murder mystery with a giant wasp and some charades. A few weeks later it’s a dark, paranoid psychological thriller. Then it’s a massive space opera with lots of things blowing up. Whatever the plot and tone of the week, it’s about love, sometimes but not always the romantic kind. It’s got thought-provoking moral quandaries about the use of power, and it’s got farting aliens. Yet, at its core, this is a show about a mad man, a magic box, and the fantastic people who travel with them. This show is bigger on the inside.

Not only that, this show regenerates. It’s changed lead actor, companion, format, tone, TARDIS interior, and pretty much everything else, over and over. I'm fondest of RTD-era DW, especially Nine, but I care deeply for both this show's past and its future. Change is in Doctor Who’s DNA. We fans won’t like all changes equally. That’s okay. For good or for ill, this too shall pass.

The earth is spinning under your feet with dizzying speed. If you let it, Doctor Who will take you by the hand and teach you to feel the turning.

For video confirmation of what exactly is so amazing about Doctor Who, I present to you this vid by seduff, which is about as marvelous a trailer for RTD-era DW as one could hope for:

So, the Doctor's great. However, possibly even more than I love him, I love Doctor Who for its awesome women on journeys of discovery. This vid by the talented

kaydeefalls shows the magnificence of the womenfolk and brings across the sense of wonder that I consider so important to this show.

Find more videos like this on BAM Vid Vault

Day 4: A show you hate

I nominate the entire Fox News channel. Every time I find myself exposed to Fox News I feel bile welling up in my gut. This channel distorts the news and encourages some rather venomous strands of right wing extremism. While I respect the importance of having voices from across the political spectrum reporting news, Fox News is more conservative than any of its competitor 24-hour news networks are liberal. Then it has the temerity to brand itself “fair and balanced.” The only redeeming feature of this channel is how much material it creates for Jon Stewart to mock. Yeah, they have every right to do what they do, just as I have every right to dislike it. I value diversity of opinions, but Fox News doesn't want to engage in reasoned debate. It seems to want to promote conspiracy theories and replace news with propaganda.

~~Day 01 - A show that should have never been canceled~~
~~Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching~~
Day 03 - Your favorite new show ( aired this t.v season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite t.v show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite t.v show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you’ve watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best t.v show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First t.v show obsession
Day 29 - Current t.v show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death