I don't think there has ever been a better time to be a Doctor Who fan - 2013 will be a special and spectacular year. The 50th Anniversary is looming, and I have decided to embark upon my very own countdown. A televisual feast, and more besides, to celebrate this 'Golden' event. As I took the first steps of my trip, I found myself falling in love with this amazing show all over again. This isn't unusual. It happens to me all the time. Just once in a while Doctor Who reminds you, of the reason why you find it so wonderful.
I lost track on my original countdown journey, for one reason or another. So I've decided to restart it from the beginning - to let my hair down, to have fun, and to see where it goes! My mission - to watch two stories from each Doctor, to travel from William Hartnell through to Matt Smith. To make it personal & unique, I'll be viewing those stories that matter the most to me. And it won't all be in chronological order either, not entirely. That's how I became a fan and that's how I enjoy Doctor Who. It's more fun that way! It feels like I'm capturing a little of the early days of the show, the excitement of not knowing where the good Doctor will take you (aside from into danger & trouble, most of the time!). I love to mix it all up a little bit. The past, the present, the future or sideways - hopefully that's where my path down memory lane will go. And to keep it out of sequence, I will end at 'The Beginning' - somehow that seems the most appropriate place for my voyage to take me. I'm not going to witter on and on about each story, this is supposed to be lighthearted and snappy! So I'll restrict any postings to a summary - 100 words or less, about why I enjoy the story in question. Hopefully that will keep everything quick and enjoyable. And readable. Here then, is the list of stories that I'll be watching. Anything else Doctor Who related, that I encounter along the way, I'll write about too. Best wishes, and stay tuned!
The Chase
The War Machines
The Ice Warriors
The Invasion
Planet of the Daleks
The Daemons
Pyramids of Mars
The Talons of Weng-Chiang
The Awakening
Earthshock
The Trial of A Time Lord
Remembrance of the Daleks
The Curse of Fenric
Doctor Who - The Movie
Rose
The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
The Christmas Invasion
Human Nature/The Family of Blood
The Eleventh Hour
Vincent and the Doctor
The Five Doctors
An Unearthly Child
The Daleks
The Edge of Destruction
*LATE UPDATE - I eventually lost track of this countdown. Life got in the way (as it so often does!), and, in the event, it all transpired rather differently. I watched The Chase and The War Machines as I had originally planned. Then I watched The Ice Warriors, Planet of the Daleks, Pyramids of Mars, The Awakening, and The Two Doctors, all in rapid succession (and all favourites!), before ending with Remembrance of the Daleks. Remembrance of the Daleks has always been the 'Fan' 25th Anniversary story in my eyes, and that made it an appropriate place to end, 2013 being it's own '25th Anniversay' and all that. Time flies, at least aboard the TARDIS it always does, journeying from 1963 through to 1988, and then on to 2013 (with all the bits in the middle, and even beyond). (I should say here - I'm not dismissing Silver Nemesis at all, I'm actually pretty fond of the 'Official' 25th Anniversary story, wobbly bits and all!). There is a whole new story in all of this, and the rest of my 50th Anniversary experience to tell, a tale that I very much hope to relate to you all, one day. Time will tell. It always does in Doctor Who.