TARDIS Tales & Transatlantic Triumphs

Fast forward to 2025. Now 28, I’m getting ready for a summer binge of
sci-fi goodness with both Doctor Who and
Andor. In 2022, Doctor Who was rejuvenated (and scored a major cash
infusion) when Disney Plus became its
new international broadcasting hub. Given that this show is sometimes jokingly called
‘One Piece for British viewers‘ due to its staggering number of episodes stretching back to its debut in
1963, the wider availability of Doctor Who was truly exciting.
(On a side note, I was also eagerly anticipating the summer of
Varada Sethu, set to appear in both Andor and as the latest companion to
Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor. I was thrilled to see how these shows would
showcase one of my favorite actors. Spoiler alert: it didn’t go as planned.
My apologies, Varada Sethu!)

After a
rather chaotic season, I decided to revisit the entire series to rediscover the magic that had
captivated my younger self. However, I wasn’t going to do it alone. A
friend from Texas, a devoted Star Wars fan, had expressed curiosity about
Doctor Who, presenting the ideal opportunity to test their
interest.

The thing is, my years away from the show’s inception had made me forget a
critical detail. Doctor Who is undeniably British.

Image: BBC

Now, I need to clarify that this isn’t some sort of nationalistic
declaration, the type that would come from a
gammon
– one of those excessively pro-Britain, anti-everything else people.
Doctor Who has championed diversity and embraced varied storylines
(though the quality of that representation is debatable), but it’s still a
show deeply rooted in British sensibilities. Heck, there’s a whole scene
where a proper cup of tea cures David Tennant’s 10th Doctor from his
regeneration woes. You can’t get much more British than that!

I had completely forgotten all this, and I’m actually thankful I did.
Watching the 2005 pilot episode “Rose” for the first time through my
friend’s eyes – and then diving into the first four seasons of the revived
series together – became one of the most hilarious and surreal experiences
I’ve ever had. What was perfectly normal for me was, at times, utterly
alien to her, much like the Daleks were to Rose.

I was suddenly tasked with explaining what a “chippy” was (a fish and chip
shop) and why Rose and her family enjoyed having one every night. While
this seemed unusual to my friend, it was a nostalgic trip for me. A fish
and chips dinner, especially back in 2005, was viewed as the ultimate
treat for the British working class. In my own home, chippy night was
reserved for Fridays, and only if my parents could afford it and still have
enough money for the electricity and gas meters.

Image: BBC

Growing up in poverty isn’t exclusively ‘a British thing’, but this show
happened to follow an alien who chose a companion from that specific
background, my background, and whisked them away on incredible
adventures. While other shows depicted the lives of the working class at
the time, many reduced them to caricatures. In Doctor Who, we
could be heroes, we could matter, and yes, we sometimes had chippy suppers
and knew that dodgy bloke down the street selling cheap SIM cards because
there was no way we were paying full price at Carphone Warehouse. Explaining
all this to my friend and seeing her gradually understand was truly
rewarding.

It also made me realize just how absolutely bonkers this show must seem to
anyone not steeped in British pop culture. From cameo appearances like
EastEnders‘ Peggy Mitchell (played by the iconic Barbara Windsor)
yelling at ghostly aliens that the only spirits she serves at the Queen Vic
are “whiskey, gin, and vodka,” to an entire episode parodying British reality TV and game shows like
Big Brother UK and The Weakest Link (but with aliens),
it all felt both bizarre and completely normal to me.

Image: BBC

My friend, however, remained perplexed. She couldn’t grasp why these
appearances were so momentous or why I found them so amusing. At one point,
Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman, EastEnders) showed up in an
episode where the 10th Doctor and a London bus full of passengers get sucked
through a wormhole. Ryan is a British television icon, famous for her role
as Zoe Slater in the soap opera EastEnders and for her legendary
scream of “YOU AIN’T MY MOTHER.” It’s become such a pivotal moment in British television that it’s
referenced again
and again
on TV. Seeing her, and other British legends (like comedian Lee Evans, who
starred in the same episode), on Doctor Who was a real treat.

It wasn’t just the show’s pop culture references that had my friend baffled;
it was also the humor woven into the writing and the character dynamics,
particularly in Eccleston’s season. British humor is often
self-deprecating, with a willingness to laugh at ourselves and the awful
situations we often find ourselves in. Sometimes, we even playfully tease
each other, which is reflected in the interactions between the Doctor, his
companions, and their families. Having visited the US a few times, one of
the most striking things was how friendly everyone was to each other.
Strangers would strike up conversations simply because they could. In
comparison, Brits are a bit miserable. Then again, if you lived on a small
island where it rains constantly and the buses are perpetually late, you
probably would be too.

Image: BBC

Despite these cultural differences, it would be a lie to suggest my
enjoyment of the show diminished. Actually, as a huge nerd, I found joy in
giving mini history lessons on why the Doctor Who era of 2005-2009
was so keen on holding a mirror up to the shifting attitudes in British
society, especially around family life. More importantly, the show
emphasized how ordinary things – like Rose’s council estate home, Martha’s
unenviable role as the eldest child in a big family, and even Donna’s
endless cycle of temporary jobs – could be transformed into something
extraordinary. The stakes might not have been as dramatic as in later
seasons, but this version of Doctor Who was incredibly
relatable, even against the backdrop of galactic adventures.

And despite how much Doctor Who has evolved over the years, it
remains a quintessential
British show. There’s simply no other show out there where a
Time Lord with a Mancunian accent faces off against aliens during The Blitz,
nor have I ever seen an American equivalent of The Doctor arguing with the
UK Prime Minister.

We’re now just one episode away from the arrival of Matt Smith’s 11th
Doctor, and I can’t wait to show my friend the episode where The Doctor, in
his typical fashion, tries to save the world using the greatest British
biscuit of all time: the
Jammie Dodger. I think it’s going to blow her mind.