"I don't need a doctor, damn it, I am a doctor!"
Leonard McCoy, Star Trek
"Oh, did you move?"
"No, my girlfriend moved in with me."
"That's great! Which one is she, Star Trek or Doctor Who?"
I laughed and said neither, but it's an interesting question when you consider the two options. My girlfriend Karli is fully aware of my interest in Doctor Who, and I've suggested that we watch a couple of episodes** at some point so that she can get an idea of how the show works. (In return, I've kept track of what's been going on in The Bachelorette, it's important to share things in a relationship.)
It would never occur to me to make a similar suggestion about Star Trek. Whether or not someone has watched any episodes from the original series or seen either of the reboot films, the characters and concepts are inextricably embedded in the pop culture matrix - why would it be necessary to introduce anyone to Kirk and the Enterprise at this point in time?
Doctor Who, on the other hand, may be one of the last remaining bastions of pure geekdom. It's very much a revered institution in the United Kingdom, but outside of the broadcast zone of the BBC, it's still a niche show, one that would never be shown during prime time on CBS, for example. Similarly, I've revealed a couple of pivotal plot spoilers from Doctor Who to Karli without even thinking about it, because I don't really expect that she'll decide to catch up on the last nine seasons of the Doctor's exploits, let alone sit down with 50 years of the show.
But who knows, perhaps I'm doing both Karli and the Doctor an injustice. For all I know, she'll be intrigued enough by a sample of the adventures of the last Time Lord to watch some more episodes. But she certainly doesn't have to - I think she'd agree with me that emotional compatibility is far more important to our relationship than whether or not she knows why the damn thing looks like a police box.
- Sid
* Yes, my company has a skateboarding department, which occupies a pivotal role in our marketing and community relations strategy. It also has a small skate park in the lower parking area at our head office if you're looking for a spot out of the rain to do some lip tricks or grinds.
** I'm thinking Blink and The Doctor's Wife, if you're curious. Blink because it's such a good episode, in spite of the fact that the Doctor doesn't play a huge part in the plot, and The Doctor's Wife because Neil Gaiman's treatment of the relationship between the Doctor and his TARDIS is so well written and acted. However, I'm open to other suggestions.
