i really, really love the BBC. part one.

It's hard to admit that you love a TV show whose dastardly villain is an alien-robot-rolling-silver-trash-bin.  Ah, the Daleks.  And don't forget the cat people, who were also nurses in a fancy hospital and drove flying cars.  Or the giant spider lady.

After reading Matt's blog entry "Televisius Maximus", I plopped down on the couch to enjoy a few hours of Doctor Who.  The lead actor is changing, though he'll still be The Doctor, and I am not ready for it.  I have till Easter to cling to the past, and whatever episodes are left on In Demand.

Doctor Who is at once the best and worst TV show in the world.  It's full of nerdy sci-fi fun and snarky, witty one-liners.  The hero is zippy and tortured and unreachable.  It also has the production values of a Korean TV costume drama, and a magic screwdriver.  Well, a sonic screwdriver, technically.  And a spaceship time machine that looks like this:

People who love sci-fi are always looking for something crossover they can use to convince their friends that "these shows really are good, I promise!"  They found this in Firefly.  They will not find it in Doctor Who.  A non-believer, if you will, would not make it through an episode of this show (Exhibit A: my brother Shane).  

Instead of dying, the Doctor "regenerates" when the producers decide they need a change (or David Tennant abandons us, thanks a lot!).  The 11th version of the Doctor premieres in April.  It's a brilliant scheme, much like Bart Simpson being 8-years old forever.  The Doctor gets a new "companion" at a faster clip - a gal pal to bail out of trouble, though the relationships have always been exquisitely-strained platonic. (Almost, Rose. Almost.)  It's also given us spin-offs including Torchwood; an insanely soap-operatic, ass-kicking sci-fi romp featuring the best, most surprising gay characters ever on TV.

I love this show.  I even catch myself dressing like Doctor Who - trousers with Converse sneakers, plus my glasses.  (Real nerds should watch "The Vicar of Dibley" wedding special, in which the sidekick pal wears an exact replica of the 10th Doctor's outfit in her maid of honor duties.  Bonus: Richard Armitage as the anti-Gisbourne.)  The 10th Doctor was epic.  So was his hair.  But I have a feeling that 15 minutes into the Easter episode, I will be a spinning twist of fangirl frenzy, losing it every time the TARDIS is bigger inside than it looks.

PS: The new Doctor has kissing!  This is going to change everything!