11 Ways to Live Like Doctor Who

At 10:35 am on Sunday, January 2, I accepted Matt Smith into my heart.

I’d been resisting. I shuddered at his horrible Flock of Seagulls hair in the initial publicity photos. I shook my head at his age – damned kids! I frowned at his post-regeneration “Geronimo!” I kept myself emotionally distant from the entire run of his episodes, dismissing him as too goofy, too young, too something to really be The Doctor, the character I’d been watching since Pertwee.

I had hardened my heart against him.

And then, that fateful Sunday morning, as I dressed for church, I made a decision. I would put on a bow tie.

I’m not really a bow tie guy, even though I have an honest-to-goodness tie-it-from-scratch bow tie. I hadn’t worn it in years, but that morning I decided I would put it on, along with, yes, my tweed jacket. In short, I decided to dress like Matt Smith.

I don’t usually dress up like anyone in particular. Sure, I own a long Tom Baker-esque scarf. And I searched for glasses frames that were as much like David Tennant’s as possible, and now wear them every day. But otherwise, I keep my Star Trek insignia in my dresser drawer, my Indiana Jones fedora on the closet shelf and my Timothy Dalton-as-James-Bond leather jacket—oh, wait, I guess I do wear that one fairly often.

But I don’t often dress like Doctor Who.

Yet that Sunday I quite intentionally Matt Smith-ed myself. And as I did it, as I fumbled with and (with my wife’s intervention) finally tied that bow tie, I realized that I was looking forward to the next series. That I had accepted Matt Smith into full Doctorhood.

And it put a smile on my face. I looked at the bow tie and glasses look I’d affected, my own Tennant-Smith hybrid, and I began thinking about the Doctor, about all the wonderful blog posts I’d been reading at Tor.com. And I realized that more than just accepting Matt Smith in the role, I could go a step further. I could welcome the Doctor himself into my heart.

It’s a New Year, a time for (I have to say it) regeneration. And why not take to heart some of the lessons I’ve learned from the Doctor over these many decades. Why not try to be a little bit more like him—each one of him, in fact…

1.     Take action. The Doctor stole a TARDIS and went gallivanting around the cosmos. He landed on Skaro with his first companions – who promptly wanted to leave – so he sabotaged his own ship to give them a reason to hang out and explore. When he finds something evil, someone doing harm, he takes action. He doesn’t let tradition or overwhelming odds deter him. He does what he thinks is right.

2.     Be playful.  Play a musical instrument. The Doctor toodles on a recorder from time to time. And never underestimate the power of humor. He’s as quick with a joke as he is with the answer to a complex calculation. And just when you dismiss him as a meddling fool, he shows his true colors.

3.     Ask questions. Don’t blindly accept authority, especially authority figures. The Doctor rushes in to find out what’s really going on behind strange, seemingly impossible projects, to find out how things really work. He recognizes pseudo-science and does his best to expose the truth and help people choose the right path. And he only resorts to violence when absolutely necessary – and when he does so, it’s Venusian Aikido! Hiiii-Yah! Oh, wait I seem to have moved away from the idea of asking questions…

4.     Smile. Before the new series, the image most folks had of Doctor Who was the smiling man with the floppy hat and long scarf. And for good reason. This was a Doctor who disarmed folks with his good cheer. He confounds foes by offering them candy. He’s charming and brilliant and, for many people, he still is The Doctor.

5.     Feel compassion. The fifth Doctor brought with him a deep sense of feeling, of compassion for both his companions and everyone he encountered. He made the ultimate sacrifice for a companion he’d only known for one adventure (unless, of course, you count the many stories that Big Finish inserted into the gap between those two episodes).

6.     Wear whatever you want. Say what you want about the sixth Doctor’s horrible jacket, but it once again shows that fashion, for the Doctor, is whatever you make of it. Fortunately, you don’t ALWAYS have to dress in such an outrageous way, but it’s okay if you do so. Once in a while.

7.     Observe. The Doctor always knows what’s going on. No matter what he might seem to be doing at any given moment, he’s always keenly aware of his situation and surroundings. He makes connections. He looks for patterns. He connects the dots.

8.     Embrace change. Whether it’s an unexpected regeneration or an unexpected revelation, the Doctor doesn’t hesitate to accept changing circumstances. Wake up in a morgue? No problem. Just find a new set of clothes and go on with your day. And go ahead and kiss the girl. It’s okay.

9.     Know when to say No. Sometimes you have to put your foot down. Say “no” to unreasonable demands. Even if it seems like the odds are stacked against you and giving in is your only course of action, don’t be afraid to say “no.”

10. Dive into the unknown. Unable to predict the outcome of a certain choice? Don’t worry about it. Just go ahead and jump in. Strange new world ahead? Find out what it’s all about. Take that other road, make that left turn. See what’s out there. You never know what you might discover.

11. Be positive. There’s almost no situation that can bring the Doctor down. He always looks for the bright side. He’s optimistic even when it seems idiotic to be so. He sees the potential in everything and everyone. He doesn’t worry about what others think, because he knows in his hearts that bow ties are cool.

Need more advice on how to live life? Why not try to live more like Spock...

10

First I read Lisa Adams' version. Then Jennifer Mendelsohn's. And so I decided to join in. Because, you know, why not.

So here are ten favorite things, things that just make me happy, in no particular order. May include nerdity.

1. My wife's hair. Thick, deceptively curly and gifted with a mysterious, hard to name combination of blond, brown and red tones, depending on the light.

2. Sinatra. His voice, his style, his essence. It's still Frank's world. We just live in it.

3. My books. I have way too many of them, but I love them all. And I had the chilling thought yesterday that I may not actually get to read all of them. There are so many, and so many more come out every year, and there's only so much time in a day...

4. Autumn. I like the crispness in the air, the leaves, the sweaters, the time falling back, the hot beverages and Brach's autumn mix.

5. My glasses. Okay, I both love them and hate them. I hate them because I hate the fact that I need them. My eyesight is deteriorating, so I can't read small print anymore. And it's not just small print. It's small-ish print that gives me trouble now. Still great with regular vision and long distance. But reading is becoming a glasses-madatory event. Which brings me to the glasses themselves. I specifically chose them because they were as close as I could find to the pair worn by David Tennant as Doctor Who. At last, a sort of costume piece I can wear in the real world without anyone giving me a second glance. And not as uncomfortable as wearing my home made Spider-man costume under my regular clothes way back in fourth grade. Yes, I am a nerd.

6. Donuts. I talk about them a lot more than I actually eat them, but I love them. Torus of love. Frosting of light. Sprinkles of peace.

7. Jerry Goldsmith. His music continues to challenge and inspire me. Much more than any of the individual films he scored, I love his music. It's complex, rhythmic and filled with moments that make me smile, or pause, or simply shake my head in awe. Star Trek: The Motion Picture remains his masterpiece, and some thirty years later, I still find myself listening to it all-too-often.

8. My house. It's not the greatest place in the world, it's not my dreamhouse, there are plenty of things I'd change if I could. But I love to be at home. I love to be with my family and my stuff. I love being at home.

9. Pie. Cherry pie, especially, but I also like a nice sweet/tart blueberry pie. I love baking apple pies. Some of my fondest memories involve gathering with friends once a week to bake pie and watch Twin Peaks. My dad recently passed away, and his favorite was always cherry pie. He didn't really care for anything else. I inherited this love of cherry pie and I'm thinking I need to bake and consume one soon in his honor.

10. My kids. I know, a sentimental choice, but I love the way they make me smile, the way they already seem smarter than I am, the way they make me challenge myself to become a better person. And they're both cute as buttons.

Who is Still the Doctor

Following on from this post, I've been thinking more about my early experiences with Doctor Who.

Although Pertwee was my first and (sentimental) favorite Doctor, you can't really think about Doctor Who without bringing up Mr. Scarf.

During high school, these were the episodes running on public tv, and I made sure to watch them regularly. I adored the actual scarf and at one point convinced a college girlfriend to teach me how to knit so I could whip one up for myself. Unsurprisingly, it stayed in a canvas bag in a partially knitted state (probably 1/15th of the total length actually got knitted) for twenty years before I finally admitted to myself that I'd never finish it.

While still in high school, I received a nice present from my parents one year, as my mother had knitted three regular scarves together to form one long scarf. The thought was great and I wore it quite a bit, but the three scarves were each just a single color (a red one, a grey one and a brown one, if I remember right) and though the length was perfect, the effect just wasn't the same.

So flash forward a couple dozen years and the miracle of the internet gets me to accidentally come across a woman selling custom scarves on ebay. Well, what could I do? I got one. What joy! Too bad I now live in a climate where we don't really get a lot of weather that justifies a scarf. Although that never stopped the Doctor...

Once I had the scarf, I started thinking about Doctor Who again, something I'd really not put much thought in for many years. This all happened to coincide with the return of Doctor Who to the BBC, so the universe sent me a sign, I guess, that it was the right time to return to Who viewing.

And so I have.

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.

About TIme

Another item I bought with my gift card was Tat Wood's About Time 6: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who (Seasons 22 to 26, the TV Movie)the latest installment in that series. I've got the other ones, too, and find them amusing, informative and thoroughly readable. Of course, the prerequisite is that you're a Doctor Who fan.

Yes, among other things, I'm a nerd.