I can't say for sure how old I was the first time I saw it.  Fairly young I think.  Maybe 8?  I simply remember a fleeting glance and a quick dismissal of, "That's weird."

I'm pretty sure I was 11 when I had my real introduction.  Again the details are a bit fuzzy.  I can't nail down the exact moment.  I'm not even clear on the specific episode.  I do however remember my first Doctor.

Who?

Yes.  Who.

What?

No.  Who.

Doctor Who.

Cue theme music.  Bum bum bum bum.  Bum bum bum bum.  Bum bum bum bum.  Bum bum bum bum.  Woo eeee ooooo.   Ooooo ooooo ooooooo.




My first Doctor was actually the Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee.  His companion . . . Sarah Jane Smith.
Now I can't claim Jon Pertwee was my all time favorite Doctor.  That honor is somewhat divided between Doctor # 4 - Tom Baker, #5 - Peter Davidson and more recently #10 - David Tennant.  I also can't claim Sarah Jane was my all time favorite companion.  That honor is also somewhat divided between Adric, Romana, Martha and now Amy.  What?  So I have a lot of favorites!

And who could forget K-9 but that just goes without saying.

Still.  Sarah Jane and Jon Pertwee are up there.  I would rank them as second favorites.  Plus as I said before, they were my first.

Why am I telling you all of this?

Elisabeth Sladen, the actress who played Sarah Jane, lost her battle with cancer this morning.  I know it's silly but I kind of feel like a friend has died.



She wasn't just Jon Pertwee's Doctor's companion.  She was also Tom Baker's.  She also came back during the new series and had episodes with David Tennant as well as her own spin off The Sarah Jane Adventures .  This in addition to her previous spin off of the original Doctor Who series, K9 & Company .  Also apperances on Torchwood, another Doctor Who spinoff.  (Don't ever watch Torchwood .  Not that I'm bitter or anything.  Just consider yourself warned.)
I know to some of you I might as well be speaking Gallifreyan.  You probably don't even know what TARDIS stands for.

Time And Relative Dimensions In Space (It means it's bigger on the inside than the outside.)

For those of you who have been so deprived, tune in on Saturday for the new season.



Yes, I'm a geek.  Your point?

I've also gotten my husband addicted, along with my sister-in-law, nephew and two nieces.  We have family Doctor Who watching parties. :)

Until Saturday feel free to catch up.  You can start with season two of the new series.  (I like to pretend the Christopher Eccleston season never happened.  Can you tell I have strong feelings regarding this series?)
Or you can get a taste of the original series.  Five Doctors in one. (Ok, really more like three because Doctor #1, William Hartnell was recast since the actor had already passed away, though they do use his voice in a voiceover, and Doctor #4, Tom Baker has a single scene taken from old footage.)  Doctors, companions, Cybermen, Daleks, The Master what more could you ask for?

The theme music still gives me chills.  Along with the sound of the Daleks.

EXTERMINATE!

Fear the plunger! And the egg beater. FEAR IT!!!