BY ORANGECHAIR
If you have never seen Doctor Who, this may probably will not make sense to you. I have recently started watching the reboot of Doctor Who, starting with the ninth Doctor. Also, if you haven’t seen the end of the 2005 or 2006 season, the ninth doctor and the first season of the tenth doctor, SPOILER ALERT, EXTERMINATE, SPOILER ALERT
I have held off as long as physically possible before posting about Doctor Who because once I start, I fear it will be very difficult to stop. The show started in 1963 and ran until 1996, chronically the adventures of the time traveling Doctor and his many companions that he picks up along the way. The Doctor (doctor who you may ask?) is in fact an alien and has the ability to, instead of dying, drastically change his appearance and personality so the same actor has NOT played the Doctor since 1963. There have been, to date, eleven doctors. In 1996, Doctor Who took a long hiatus until BBC decided to pick up and reboot the show in 2005. BBC restarted the show in such a way that the new generation of Doctor Who fans (expressly people like me) could start watching the 2005 episodes and not be lost in the slightest (well not more lost than the characters on the show). The show is still cranking out new episodes today but I have only just starting watching the show’s reboot.
It didn’t take me long to finish the 2005 and 2006 season. The ninth doctor left us at the end of the 2005 season, giving us the best Doctor so far, David Tennant. I found the end of Series 1 (the 2005 season) to be very difficult to watch and cope with, considering it was the first time we saw the Doctor change appearance and personality. While it was tough to watch that, it didn’t come close to preparing me for the end of series 2. Series 2 ended with an all out battle between the Cybermen and the Daleks that was ripping a whole between two parallel universes and threatening to destroy both of them. The final two episodes both opened with Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) admitting that this was the story of her death. Rose however, does not actually die; what happens to Rose is much worse. The series ends with Rose being trapped in another universe, a universe without the Doctor.
It is quite difficult to explain the true devastation I felt when I realized what was happening. I could deal with the Doctor changing appearance again and I could even deal with Rose Tyler dying. I didn’t want her to die but I had spent the entire episode preparing for the increasingly likely possibility. What I wasn’t prepared for at all and couldn’t deal with was what happened. Rose was separated from the Doctor, doomed to live in a parallel universe forever without the Doctor. Those of you that have seen more of the Doctor than I have are probably laughing at me right now because, judging by the whole tone of the show I’m sure Rose and the Cybermen are going to return but I’m devastated none the less. I can’t imagine seeing what Rose saw and then being forced to live a normal life….well as normal of a life as she can in a parallel universe. Then to add insult to injury, Rose and the Doctor are able to talk one last time. Rose is able to tell the Doctor her feelings for him but the tear in the universe closes before the Doctor is able to reciprocate the gesture.
In the two season that I have seen so far, Doctor Who has proven time and time again that it is one of, if not the best show on television. The last two episodes of Series 2 were not only epic in themselves, but they were shocking and devastating all at the same time. It was an amazing episode and though I’m quite upset about the outcome of events, the it was absolutely perfect. I know I will be devastated again in the future but I can’t wait to see where the Doctor is going to take me next.
