How exactly did you end up being a fan of this wonderful show?
And, if you don’t mind me asking, what have you done over the years to show your devotion?
I do some of my best musing while taking the dog for a walk. The dog in question is called Freya. She’s a rescue, all the way from Romania, who over the course of the last year has quietly taken over my life. Treats and poo bags are a permanent fixture in all my pockets. Two brown eyes now force me to go out for a stroll three times a day, even if the weather looks as if it would make Bear Grylls think twice.
And I have discovered, much to my surprise, that it is possible for a dog to intensely sniff at a single blade of grass for ten earth shatteringly long minutes. But it still goes without saying that I love Freya to bits. Despite my little moans, I would have it no other way and I hope that we carry on with our daily adventures for many years to come.
The reason I bring any of this up, tenuous though it may be, is that the idea for this article began to form during one of our walks. The other reason, which again is pretty loose, is the daily interaction that I have with little Freya. Spending time in her four-legged company makes me happy. I sometimes take this for granted because it’s just become a regular and very normal part of my day.
Who Based Trinkets
And how is any of this connected to Doctor Who?
Well, I feel much the same way about my preoccupation about the show. Hardly a day passes without me thinking about something that’s connected to Doctor Who. Whether I’m watching an episode or reading a novel. Sorting out my collection of ‘Who’ based trinkets or adding to them. Listening to Big Finish or wishing that I could write for them in some way.
After all these years, Doctor Who still makes me happy. Admittedly there might be a few frustrations, here and there, and my interest might occasionally wane, but I don’t think that there will ever be a time when it’s not part of my life. I wonder if you’re the same? And what exactly are your reasons for being so loyal to the show? If you can spare me a moment or two, I’ll share with you a few of the ‘treasures’ and the ‘precious things’ that have helped to secure me as a fan.
Ah, it’s just occurred to me that it might have been wiser to mention my wife when it came to daily interaction and love, rather than the dog. But I don’t take her on walks, or for that matter, require a ‘poo’ bag when in her company, so the dog stays in the above comparison. Let’s just park all that for now and get on with the treasures.
When it comes to showing my own devotion to Doctor Who, there’s a carefully curated selection of trinkets that continues to pile up in my man cave. I’ve invested more of my time and hard-earned cash in this pursuit than any other hobby. You might have a collection of your own that’s been built up over many years. Is there something in it that’s more important than anything else? It doesn’t have to be valuable but there might be a personal significance that makes you prize the item above all others. In my case it’s undoubtedly…
The Doctor Who Monster Book (1975)
A guide to the monsters that the Doctor had faced up to that point. Black and white photos or drawings were used to illustrate each of the creatures. While their terrible deeds were recorded in a series of small pieces of text that was written by the great Terrance Dicks. The book was purchased by my Mum for the princely sum of 50p and given to me as a present.
As a six-year-old, I carried it just about everywhere, both at home and at school. It featured the likes of Omega, Ogrons, Mechanoids and a gallery of other monsters who had all appeared in the programme long before my time. As VHS tapes, DVDs and the internet were still a fair way off, the book gave my grubby little fingers a chance to access the history of the show in a way that would have otherwise been out of reach.
I can’t tell you how many times I looked at those pictures. Pouring over each page as if it was some form of sacred icon. But the best thing about it, if I’m being totally honest, wasn’t really the contents. More than anything else, it was the glorious cover that was drawn by Chris Archilleos. On a white background, you have Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor right in the middle, with Davros, Daleks, a Cyberman and a Sontaran surrounding him, plus a few more ‘big bads’ from the Jon Pertwee era.
The cover was also repeated, in an even more exciting turn of events, as a ‘pull out’ poster, which lay behind two staples at the heart of the book. It was the only thing of any colour that you’d find within the monochrome pages, but this never bothered me in the slightest. It was the 1970s, we didn’t have any colours then, apart from brown or beige. If you should ever look for ‘The Doctor Who Monster Book’ on eBay, and believe me when I say you should, it’s always this poster, in good nick, that’s the hardest thing to find.
But I still have mine!
Both the book and its poster, fifty years down the line, are still with me and very much loved. I did, however, part with the poster for a brief time last year. With much trepidation, it was posted off to Cygnus Alpha Events for a signing by Tom Baker. The poster now reads…
‘To Graham’
‘Tom Baker’
Along with the book, it is by far my most prized treasure. The poster is now framed and on the wall of my man cave. I’ve never had the good fortune of meeting Tom, but this will do for me. In many ways, I feel as if it’s a bit of a full circle moment. Something from my childhood, signed at long last by my hero.
If my house was ever on fire, I’d be running back in to collect Freya, The Doctor Who Monster Book, and a framed poster before the flames had any chance to fully catch hold. I have no idea what the Fire Service would think about seeing such a sight, but when all’s said and done, I really don’t care.
The Target Novelisations
I can’t mention Chris Archilleos and not talk about the covers that appeared on the early novelisations. For me, they are as good as anything that you’d see in the Louvre. I collected the twelve that were advertised on the back of the ‘Monster Book’ – going in no order whatsoever from Pertwee adventures like ‘The Sea Devils’ and ‘The Dinosaur Invasion’ to Troughton’s ‘Abominable Snowmen’ and Tom Baker’s ‘Loch Ness Monster’ – which had no mention of any ‘Terror of the Zygons’ on its cover.
It was these books, more than any others, that helped me to really get into the small, quiet joy that reading brings. I happily lost myself for hours in these adventures. They were pivotal, I think, in helping to fire up my imagination and they led me on a path towards so many of the interests that I still follow to this day. As a consequence, I must ‘doff my cap’ to the likes of Malcolm Hulke, Gerry Davis, Brian Hayles, David Whittaker and Terrance ‘The Godfather’ Dicks for all their efforts. If only I’d bought those hardback editions that my library was selling off for 20p as part of their yearly clear out.
Actually, I’m happy to say that I bought quite a few!
The Dr Who Annual (1977)
If truth be told, it has to be said that this is a bit of a monstrosity. For some reason, it’s a different size to all the other annuals that came out, so it never quite fits on the shelf properly. The artwork, both on the cover and within, is about as seventies as an avocado-coloured bathroom. It’s very strange and certainly unique when compared to all the others.
While the stories and comic strip…well, I’ll have one of whatever they were drinking at the time. But there’s still no stopping me from loving the thing! It was the first of a Christmas annual buying tradition that went on to include Spider-Man, Star Trek and just about anything else that you can imagine. Everything, and I mean everything, had its own annual.
Putting all this aside, it’s really what I found within the pages of this annual, things that had been squirreled away and forgotten about, that makes it so prized…
Four Dalek Lolly Wrappers
All mint! But if I’m being precise, they were actually chocolate and mint iced flavoured lollies. Each of them bought and consumed, but only after I’d spent ages carefully peeling off the wrapper and making sure that it had no rips of tears. My word, it has to be said, I was quite a strange little child. The wrappers all include some writing and drawings on the reverse about important Dalek related topics…
‘A Dalek Buggy’
‘A Fleet of Dalek Starships in a Meteor Storm’
‘The great Dalek workshops on Styros’
‘A Dalek Cruiser attacked by Polytrogs’
I have decided, at some point in the future, to devote my life to the study of Polytrogs, but for the moment, this article is more pressing. Needless to say, the wrappers remain within the safe confines of the annual and I have not attempted to check their value on eBay.
But it doesn’t stop there! Also hidden in the annual is a near complete set of Weetabix Doctor Who cards from 1977. These cards all have some wonderful art by Gordon Archer. I consider them to be little masterpieces. Adding to this haul, was my discovery of a Doctor Who ‘Race through Space’ gameboard that was cut from the back of a Weetabix box and three postcards featuring Tom Baker that must have come from the Doctor Who Exhibition that was in Blackpool at the time. There was also a neatly trimmed photo, no doubt taken from Shoot magazine, of the Nottingham Forest centre forward, Tony Woodcock.
Hooked on Who
You see, a collection of real treasures, carefully preserved by a single owner. One day, I will have all of them buried with me in a pyramid, as a sign of my true devotion to Doctor Who. But for all the ‘trinketry’ that I undoubtedly love, the really ‘precious things’ are the memories and feelings that the show has given me over the years.
Oh, I’ve just realised that I probably should have mentioned my wife, especially when it came to getting things safely out of my house in the event of a fire. Don’t worry, she won’t read any of this. She’s always got her nose in one of those Jeffery Deaver murder type thingies or she’s watching a true crime murder spree documentary. Sometimes, with the way that she looks at me, I begin to wonder if this is some kind of research.
I can pinpoint the exact moment that I became hooked on Doctor Who. I was five and there was a fella with white hair on the telly. He seemed to be important; I could tell that he was in charge of things, and I also knew that there was going to be some kind of trouble whenever he was around. But the memory that really sticks out from that time is that I was terrified of the ‘Giant Spider’ that had latched itself onto Sarah Jane’s back.
Utterly traumatised, I hid myself behind several cushions, turning them into shields that formed part my fluffy fortress, and I prepared myself for an imminent attack. If my mum hadn’t promised that we were having lamb chops for tea, I’d still probably be there now.
Sometime later that year, I’m not sure how long had passed, Mum was driving the car through the thriving metropolis that is Cleveleys – a coastal town that’s not too far from the much bigger and definitely louder resort of Blackpool. I was next to her, slouching down under the window, not wearing a seat belt. Health and safety? Well, that’s another thing that we didn’t have much of in the 1970s. There was also no such thing as a soft play surface on our playgrounds. Instead, we had the pleasure of falling onto concrete that had been laced with sharpened spikes, which I suppose was just some kind of ‘rite of passage’ that was put in place to test out survival instincts.
Anyway, it was a really hot day, the windows of the car were fully wound down, and mum had stopped at the traffic lights. We were in the right-hand lane, heading on towards Woolworths. To the left of us, there was a turning that took you along the coastal road to Blackpool. A car ended up pulling in there, but I was much too busy with my Beano comic to pay it any attention. Then I happened to hear the voice of the driver, who was talking to his passenger.
There was something that was very familiar about that voice, it was very distinct, but I still couldn’t put my finger on who it belonged to. So, I sat up and had a peek at the man who was talking. My movement must have caught this person’s attention because he ended up looking in my direction at exactly the same moment. As I remember, I then proceeded to see things in the following order…White hair. Warm smile.
Jon Pertwee.
“Well, hello there, young man, how are you today?”
“You’re him! I don’t like you! You’re a scary man!”
I ducked down, beneath the car window and hid myself, as Mr Pertwee began to chuckle. When the lights changed, he turned his car to head in the direction of Blackpool, as he continued to chuckle about our meeting. To this day, I can still remember the sound of that gentle laughter, so close at first, then gradually falling into silence as he ‘dematerialised’ into the distance. This, dear reader, was the exact moment that I became a fan of Doctor Who.
The next time I watched the show, I’m not sure if that was weeks or months later, I found out that the guy with the all the white hair had gone, but we had a new one with curls, like mine, and a long scarf. So, it all seemed to work out rather well.
My Tiny Show
After that, there’s a lifetime’s worth of memories. Tom Baker’s run as the Doctor. The sheer, scary joy of it! Visiting the Doctor Who Exhibition in Blackpool, where the entrance was an actual Tardis. You went through the doors and then almost immediately downstairs, it had the effect of making you feel that it was actually bigger on the inside. Then there’s running through the house to tell my Mum that the Cybermen were back! All thanks to the surprise conclusion of the first episode of Earthshock!
The pain of the first ‘hiatus’ and feeling that it was unfair because the Seventh and Ace were proving to be a great team. Meeting Jon Pertwee again when I was a student in Liverpool. There he was, standing right in front of me, and I couldn’t bring myself to speak or even say a word.
Regularly watching Ceefax in the hope of seeing any news of Doctor Who coming back. The excitement of the T.V. Movie and the eventual disappointment of it not leading to anything. Big Finish coming along to give us some much-needed adventures. And the glorious return on television that led to over twenty years of this modern era.
Seeing the newfound success of ‘my’ little show has made me incredibly proud.
And finally, coming around in another one of those ‘full circle’ moments. Having a brew on playground duty, in my role as a teacher, and the unexpected delight of hearing the little ones ‘Exterminating’ each other as they played. Wow! Just wow!
I suppose this is just a long-winded way of showing you that Doctor Who has been one of the most constant companions in my life. After many years, I now have an accumulation of reasons for all the time and love that I continue to put into the show. And when all’s said and done, whatever the ups and downs, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
So, what brings you to the Doctor Who Companion? We’d love to hear about your memories. Can you remember your first episode? Is there a particular moment when Doctor Who stole your heart and you became a fan? Do you have something in your collection that means a lot to you?
Your views are always welcome on the DWC, so please add a comment below.
