Back in 2004, just as I was creating a non-existent blog, The BBC announced that they would be bringing back Doctor Who. Not only that but Russell T Davies of Queer as Folk fame would be writing it and Christopher Eccleston would be starring.
God that sounds so long ago now. The revived series has been back for 10 years? Really? I can't be that old surely?
Of course this announcement was met with huge surprise and joy by fans. And one fan in particular decided to do something special...
I was already aware of Neil Perryman from the excellent and very funny Tachyon TV website and magazine. Now of course he is the internationally famous writer and best-selling author of Adventures With The Wife In Space. Back in 2004 he created "Waiting For Christopher" - a collaborative blog to celebrate his love for Doctor Who and to count down to the new series.
It was a truly excellent website and reignited my love for the series (which to be honest had waned quite a bit during the Wilderness Years after the show came off the air). Part of the blog was called "Stripped Down", where Neil, fellow writers and general fans could post episodic reviews and commentary on Classic Who serials.
So, a few weeks before the start of episode 1 of the new series, Stripped Down started its reviews with "Spearhead From Space" and finished the first batch with "The TV Movie" the night before "Rose" was to be transmitted.
It was a heady time to be a fan. Stripped Down was a brilliant excuse (as if we needed one) to indulge in all those old stories and share your thoughts and memories with fellow enthusiasts. It changed my world. Suddenly I remembered why I had loved Doctor Who all those years ago. I wanted to be part of this again - part of fandom.
Eventually we were no longer "Waiting For Christopher". He had arrived and was fantastic. Stripped Down continued to a second batch of stories, and this time I was not just commenting, I was writing!
Starting with "Dalek Invasion Of Earth", I offered up my pitiful excuses for reviews to the website and they actually published them. How I laboured over that first set of reviews. How terrible they read now. I couldn't keep up with the daily pace of the others so dropped away after four stories, but I kept coming back.
The website regenerated into Behind the Sofa. Same people, same ideas, new name. Volume 1 is here and Volume 2 is here. We moved onto reviewing the New Series and again I contributed a few paltry posts. My stuff certainly wasn't anything special but it made me feel part of 'something'. I needed that.
Anyway, if you really want to subject yourself to my inexperienced attempts at reviews, my clumsy humour and my way with a twisted metaphor, the Classic Series reviews I posted can be found here, here and here.
A couple of my New Series offerings (including why I think RTD can't do endings) are here and here.
I will be eternally grateful to Neil Perryman (follow him on Twitter at @wifeinspace). It's down to him that I found a new love for Doctor Who. I've re-embraced what it means to be a fan. Found new friends. Spent a huge amount of money rebuilding my book collection. Thanks Neil.
Next time we are going to jump forward a good few years to when the inner fan meets the outside world...
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