How I Became a Fan
Contrary to popular belief, it was not a dark and stormy night. In fact, it was a pretty bright and sunny day...
The Setting & Some Background
It was March 7th, 2015, and my boyfriend Paul and I were going over to our mutual friend Nick's house to watch movies. One of the DVDs Paul was bringing was the Eighth Doctor TV Movie (often referred to as "Doctor Who: The Movie"); he had recently watched it and Nick had expressed an interest in it.
I, however, wasn't too sure about it--I wasn't actually looking forward to watching more Doctor Who. I'd been trying to take an interest in it since around 2006, when I first started hearing about it at college, but I just couldn't connect with it...which was super WEIRD. "This is British and it's sci-fi," I had often thought to myself. "I should be all over this like white on rice, but instead, I'm just...ehhh?"
All my fellow nerds at college were nuts about Doctor Who, though, and so I had tried to enjoy some episodes of David Tennant's run, then Christopher Eccleston's, then Matt Smith's, all to no avail. Once my Paul became a fan of the series in 2013, I joined him in watching some episodes of William Hartnell's run, plus feature-length episodes like The Three Doctors and The Five Doctors which introduced me to Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, and Peter Davison, but still, I wasn't what I would call a fan. Thus, I envisioned I'd likely be bored to tears with the movie.
The Movie Begins
We settled in to watch it, however, because I wasn't going to rock the boat; I sat there as the opening sequences rolled, phone in hand, scrolling through Facebook and Pinterest for a bit. The Seventh Doctor, portrayed by Sylvester McCoy, breathed his last onscreen, a result of a tragic "wrong-place-wrong-time" scenario somewhat engineered by The Master, and yet I only paid scanty attention. #adhdproblems
Then, about 20 minutes into the film, the new Doctor, the Eighth, emerged from the morgue, young, confused, clutching a white sheet around him with only a halo of auburn-brown curls to grace him...and I cracked my first joke: "Looking like Jesus: 72% complete!" Paul and Nick chuckled, as did I; those who know me best know that when I start making jokes or comments about a film, I'm starting to connect with it. Plus, this new guy was, uh, easy on the eyes, especially in that bedsheet getup, y'know what I mean? But I firmly restrained myself: "I'm not going to be one of those crazy fangirls who just likes a character because the actor looks good. ...OK, OK, he is hella fine, but I'm gonna reserve my judgment on the character until the end of the film. No exceptions."
Eight tottered down the darkened hospital hallway, and just by the way he moved and the look in his eyes, you knew he was thoroughly disoriented, scared, and lonely. "Oh, the poor thing! Bless his heart!" I thought--and then caught myself. "Nope, nope, I'm not gonna fall for him just because he looks so adorable and sweet. Nopenopenope." And while caught up in this self-restraint, I judged Eight's scream of "WHO AM I?" to be a liiiiittle overdramatic. I still wasn't sure what to think.
The movie caught up with the supporting characters after this, following Grace Holloway as she struggled with her supervisor to find out what had caused the death of her patient, and with Chang Lee as he investigated the Doctor's belongings. Meanwhile, Eight picked the vaguely-19th-century-looking costume out of a staff locker, and the next time I saw him, he was fully dressed (minus shoes) and looking like he was about to play me some Chopin or something. I mean, the curling hair, the sculpted features, the whole elegant Romantic-era outfit, and last but not least, his bearing, nervous but restrained...just--DANG. My redneck penchant for talking to TV characters overtook me, and I blurted out, "DAAAAAAYUM HE FINE!"
Paul and Nick both busted out laughing; Paul patted my hand and said, "Well, at least I know you're paying attention now!"
"DANG RIGHT I'm payin' attention!" I joked back. "Hot guy on the screen, and you think I ain't gonna pay attention?" I winked at Paul (because we joke like this all the time). He just grinned and we kept watching as Eight caught sight of Grace for the first time, remembering her but not knowing why; I thoroughly appreciated the way McGann played this, conveying all these flickering complex emotions and thoughts without saying a word.
I have to admit, I didn't expect his voice to sound the way it does when he says his first (calmer) words to Grace in the elevator--"Puccini! We've met before!"--but after that I began to fully appreciate the sheer artistry in McGann's voice as he spoke each line, sometimes afraid, sometimes forceful, sometimes quiet, sometimes loud. I was still pulling myself up sharp, though: "I ain't even seen the whole movie yet, how can I judge whether he's my favorite Doctor yet?" I thought. Yet it was a fact by this time that McGann's Doctor was already far more compelling for me than any other I had seen (and I had seen them all except Six).
The Fateful Moment
After the movie caught up with the Master again, there was a fantastic scene with Grace and Eight at her house, when she finally understands that Eight's telling the truth about having two hearts...there was something magical afoot for me in this scene, watching them both grapple with the reality in front of them (Grace with Eight's identity, Eight with his shattered memories coming back together slowly). But little did I know, the best (for me) was yet to come. Between a couple of scenes with the Master and Chang Lee, Eight and Grace take a walk together in the evening, after she's tried to figure out scientifically just what he is and where he comes from. As they walk, Grace tries to jog Eight's memory with a few questions, and this beautiful scene happens:
Grace: (musing) "Maybe you're the result of some weird genetic experiment."
Eight: (shaking his head) "No, I don't think so."
Grace: "But you have no recollection of family?"
Eight: "No." (pause) "No, no, no, wait, wait, wait. I remember, I'm with my father, we're lying back in the grass, it's a warm Gallifreyan night..."
Grace: "Gallifrey?!"
Eight: (excited) "Gallifrey! Yes, this must be where I live! Now where is that?"
Grace: (surprised) "I've never heard of it! ...What do you remember?"
Eight: (taking a few steps) "A...a meteor storm, and the sky above us was dancing with lights!" (broad gesture) "Purple, green, brilliant yellow--YES!"
Grace: (joyful) "What?"
Eight: (dancing in place) "These shoes! They fit perfectly! Yes!" (adorably takes off running)
At this moment, all my restraint fell away; all my attempts to withhold judgment till the end of the movie were moot. "OH MY GOD you precious poetic little darling!" I thought. Not only was Eight adorably ADHD, smart, and musically inclined, but he was just a touch dramatic and gently charismatic (make a rhyme every time xD). In that moment, I became a staunch Eighth Doctor fan, and the rest of the movie only served to bolster it with its portrayal of Eight's courageous endurance.
Other Things I Shouted at the Screen
"OOOOO GIRL YOU SEE THE WAY HE'S LOOKING AT YOU??? YOU BETTER GET THAT GIRL"
"OOO!!! GO 'HEAD GRACE GET YOU SOME DOCTOR!"
"AHAHA THIS! IS! AN! AMBULAAAANCE!!"
"Aww my precious silly cinnamon roll ♥"
"Dr. Grace Holloway and guest? More like Dr. Grace Holloway and HOT DANG GIRL where'd you find that one? And does he have a brother???"
"Look at that smooth operator right there ♥"
"oMG literal ANGEL BABY EIGHT ♥"
"GRACE TAKE YOUR HAPPY BUTT BACK IN THAT TARDIS AND GO WITH THE DOCTOR--GOOD LORD"