Doctor Why

I watched the premiere of the new season of Doctor Who today (don't worry, no spoilers) and I started thinking: what is it with this show? Doctor Who first aired in 1963. Granted, it hasn't exactly been continuous since that time, but the fact remains that over fifty years later we're still watching it, with more or less the same idea and format that it started with. Why? What gives it this staying power?

Some credit, of course, has to be assigned simply producing an excellent tv series. The twelve men who have played the Doctor have all delivered excellent performances. So too have the many actors and actresses that have filled the roles of the Doctor's various companions. There have also been dozens of writers and producers, without whom, of course, the actors would have nothing to do. But that can't explain the show's success on its own.

Smarter people than me have no doubt examined this question, but I still think I'll toss my humble hat into the ring. One aspect, no doubt, is just the entertainment factor. An ancient, wise, and powerful alien snarking at his enemies while he saves the universe, that's just quality television. But there really is more to it than that. For one thing, the show makes us think. The very nature of a time travel story raises all sorts of questions about predestination, fate, destiny, that sort of thing. like most science fiction, it develops its own rules about how those things work, and sometimes contradicts itself, but I tend to see a few consistent themes. Actions, it shows us, have consequences. The Doctor has lived a long time (over 2000 years as of the current season) and done a lot of things. We often see him haunted by pain he's caused. It may have been for the very best of reasons, acts taken to protect and preserve countless innocents, sometimes even the entire universe, but he always regrets hurting anyone. His suffering reminds us that even the best actions we take have costs,  and that we must take responsibility not only for what we do wrong, but for all that we do, and all the effects we might have on others, intended or not.

It also reminds us that sometimes, there are things we just can't fix. Even the Doctor, with all his knowledge, his power, and his time traveling blue box, can't always fix his mistakes. He often rejects this truth, denies it, but in the end he has to sometimes face that what's done is done, and he just has to own up to it, take responsibility, and deal with it. And he's really, really bad at that.

I think that, right there, is the key point: ultimately, we see ourselves. The Doctor is a Time Lord, the very nature of his existence is said to be beyond human comprehension, but there's something very human about the character. We see our own struggles, our own doubts, insecurity, and pain, in this time traveler. Who of us doesn't have regrets, things we've done that we'd doing anything to change, but simply can not? I could give you a list a mile long. What the Doctor shows us is that we can acknowledge that truth, and be better for it.

"Doctor" is not the name he was born with. In the show's mythos, Time Lords' true names are closely guarded secrets, shared with almost no one. The name they use is one they choose. The Doctor once said that the name you choose is "a promise that you make". (The Name of the Doctor) That idea fascinates me.It makes me ask myself what I would choose as my name. I define myself many ways: Christian, American, brother, son, friend, but what truly exemplifies me? I don't know. The message, I think, is that ultimately, we choose who we are.The Doctor chose that name, chose to be defined as the healer, the one who makes people better, and Doctor Who, in a nutshell, is the story of him trying to be that man, trying to fulfill the promise. And again, we see ourselves: even if we don't we realize it, we've all made a promise, and we can only strive to be faithful to it.

Oh, and there's one other theme: he is absolutely a madman with a box.