Wow - last day of the meme. And I saved the mushiest for last.
First, a video that'll probably convey more meaning than I ever blather on about (this was one I made and that I'm particularly proud of). So, if you're one of those people that doesn't want to get too personal, watch the video and consider that you've gotten the point:
If that didn't do it - let me spell it out for you -
My reasons for loving "Doctor Who" are actually very deep and personal. I'm going to say right now that it's strange that this show means so much to me (trust me, it was a surprise to me). When I discovered "Doctor Who," I was in a really rough place in my life. I didn't have a job, I was living with my parents, my family was going through some really bad times and I didn't know what to do with myself. I had very little to be happy or excited about. Everywhere I looked, there was more bad than good and I hated it. I wanted something to help me get my mind off my misery, but everything else I found just reminded me how sad and depressed I was and how terrible things were for me. But then I found "Doctor Who" and it was amazing. It was as though someone had grabbed me by the shirt collar, sat me down and said "There are things to be happy about and I'm going to show you something to be happy about and you will just love it."
As things in my real life got worse and worse, I turned to "Doctor Who" more and more. I was enchanted by the wonderful stories of a kind, wise and funny alien that shows his human companions the wonders of traveling through time and space. Everyone in real life was angry and negative about their circumstances, but the Doctor could always help me see the good things and that there were so many reasons to be happy. Even though he constantly runs into so much trouble, there is still something fun, uplifting and even hopeful about his adventures.
I actually didn't realize any of this until Series 5 - after so much had actually gone wrong for the Doctor, ironically enough. But there are two quotes that will always stick with me:
1. From "The Beast Below" - "If you were that old and that kind and the very last of your kind, you couldn't just sit there and watch children cry."
- I know this scene gets some flack from the fandom over being too obvious or too sentimental, but this line of Amy's meant the world to me when I heard it. It seems like it was meant just for me (haters to the left). Compared to the Doctor, everyone is a child. He's a 900+ year old Time Lord and he's seen so much, yet he chooses to spend his time traveling with human companions who will only ever live to be a tenth of his lifespan (he even says at one point that 90 years old is considered to be "just a kid" for Time Lords). Personally, I had done so much crying over the past few months and I don't know whether to call it fate or a blessing or whatever - but that's what happened to me. The Doctor (or whatever) saw me crying and he came into my life and showed me something good and I am so grateful for it.
2. From "Vincent and the Doctor" - "Every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't always spoil the good things or make them unimportant."
- While I was watching "Doctor Who" for the first time, many of the people who were causing so much grief and negativity scoffed at me for watching this show and becoming - well, honestly - kind of obsessed with it. Some of them even went so far as to say that there was nothing good in life anymore so I shouldn't even bother trying to be happy. But I was determined that nothing was going to ruin this one good thing in my life. It might not have been a job or a romance or a friendship or any of those other things most people equate with happiness, but "Doctor Who" was important to me. I hesitated to share it with anyone else (in real life or online) because I was afraid someone who come along and ruin it for me, much the way Harry Potter had been ruined for me by some in the online fandom (luckily - for the most part - "Doctor Who" fans are pretty mature in their conduct and there are so many different opinions that I don't feel like I have to agree with everything everybody says).
To sum up - I love "Doctor Who" because of how much happiness and hope it brought to me at a time when I sorely needed something to be happy and hopeful about. I was living with a very narrow vision of the world around me and the Doctor came along and showed me the wonders of the universe and expanded my vision. In that sense, I feel like I've become one of the Doctor's companions, traveling in the TARDIS, saving planets, fighting monsters and running through time and space. And just like the Doctor's other companions, my life will be forever changed for it.
(And no, I don't feel like it's over-the-top to say that.)
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