"Fear Her": A Testament to Doctor Who

You wouldn't think that I, the Obscure, would like something as Lame-stream as Doctor Who, but I've been addicted since 2006. Me, addicted to something? Never.

Before I became a regular viewer, I had some misconceptions about the long-running program. Here's a synopsis of what I thought the show was about: "A professor in a magic phone booth leaps through time and space, each leap taking him closer to home while also ensuring that his parents meet so he doesn't get wiped from existence. With help from Jerry O'Connell and John Rhys Davis, Mr Who (his first name is probably something like Bertrand or Wellington) constantly does battle with the evil Ransik (played by the villain from Commando), set to the music of Rockapella (and later that annoying musical trio that plays all the other characters). Based on the story by HG Wells."

Yeah, not even close. So one afternoon in 2006, I decided to finally watch an episode of Doctor Who. That episode was "Fear Her," one of the most universally-panned episodes of the new series. As someone new to the program, what did I think? I thought "Holy-Camolie, this show is AWESOME!" I then found season one on Netflix and began from the beginning... of the new series. Then, while I awaited the release of Season Two, I watched a lot of the old series and discovered decades worth of campy, crazy fun. Then I made my way through Season 2 and, when I watched this particular episode for the second time, I realized it was rather weak and ridiculous in comparison to everything else I had seen so far.

But I like to hold this episode as a testament to the greatness of the series: even one of its weakest stories is enjoyable and miles beyond a lot of other crap on TV. An outsider can really be drawn-in by the amazing character that is Wellington Who and the concept of time/space travel. Truly, one of the greatest story vehicles of all time.

On the other hand, if I had seen the episode "Love and Monsters" first, I probably would have reacted by saying: "this show sucks. You Who-vians are a bunch of freaks!"