Who is the Doctor

So, now I've got myself thinking about Doctor Who.

I first started watching while a wee lad in Iowa. I must have been in fifth grade at the time and somehow started watching a few episodes of this strange and wonderful show about an eccentric fellow who fought monsters and aliens and such. I recall enjoying it and watching fairly regularly, but I really got hooked after an incident at school.

You see, there was this girl.

I'd noticed her almost immediately upon the start of classes. We'd only just moved to this part of town, so this was a whole new school and I was once again the new kid, so there was little chance that I would be able to connect with this new cute girl. Making friends with the other boys was hard enough.

I don't know now why or how it even came up. But somehow during class one day, I mentioned this show Doctor Who I'd been watching. After class, she rushed over to me.

"You watch Doctor Who?" she said.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Isn't it great!"

This changed everything. We had something in common. I could hardly wait for the show to start each evening, hoping I could discuss new plot developments with her on the playground the next day.

Of course, I never really spoke to her again. She rejoined her socially superior group of girl friends and I slowly became acquainted with other nerds on the periphery.

Today, I don't remember her name, I don't really even remember what she looked like. But I remember that feeling, that small connection I had with her.

And that's why, so many years later, with seven other actors tackling the part of Doctor Who, Jon Pertwee remains my favorite.