Silly Monsters and Super Science...

I remember a time when a man with a long scarf, a mop of brown curly hair and wide bulging eyes saved the universe with a girl with long blonde hair and their robot dog. It seems like a long time ago now. I was very young then and this wonderful programme came into my life, caught my imagination and never let it go.

It's well known that the first two seasons of Doctor Who I saw were the ones that I still like best of all. Its difficult to pinpoint why. You couldn't really find two more opposite seasons in style and content, and yet I love them both immensely. I think its something to do with the team of time travellers. I've waxed lyrical about my love for Tom, Lalla and K9 a great deal down the years, but there's something wonderful about them. There's an obvious rapport between the three of them. They have a real presence on screen and there is real verve in their performances that shines through. Between them they can handle wit and silliness as well as the more serious stuff when they needed to.

Tom has often been criticised for crossing the line into overt silliness, but I think there's only really the moment at the end of "Nightmare of Eden" (Oh my arms...) where he gets it wrong and seems amateurish. The rest of the time through season 17 he's immensely watchable. You never quite know what he's going to do next. Whether it be hiding in plain sight in the Nimon's control room, checking a giant egg with a teaspoon or reaching in his pocket for his learn Tibetan book, he's wonderful. There have been some less than charitable comments about his performance in this season down the years, but maybe its because this was when I joined the show that it never really seems all that outrageous to me. I'm sure more than anything it was Tom that got me into Doctor Who. He's a huge presence and what a wonderful presence he is.

He is backed up by the most wonderful companion ever (well I think so anyway). Lalla Ward's Romana has a legendary rapport with Tom, for the reasons we all know, and it shines on screen. She's a match for his wit and banters back to him as she has been doing it forever. She is quite capable of doing all the things the Doctor usually does when Tom is off doing whatever takes him. Watch her at the end of "Horns of Nimon" confronting Soledeed or in "Warriors' Gate" when she meets Rorvik. At the same time, she's more than able to do the traditional companion things; she is terrified by the Daleks in "Destiny..." and she can scream bloody well (listen to those in "Full Circle" and "Warriors' Gate"). She's the companion Tom needed at this time and wouldn't have been so at home in the gothic seasons of his early tenure. She's witty, stylish (she's got the best costumes of any companion) and beautiful. What more could you ask for in a travelling companion?

Every fan has a season that they love more than any other. Mine is season 18. Sometimes you have to justify why you love things so much, but I'm not sure I can in this case. I was an impressionable 5 year old at the time it was shown and I was ready for the show to engulf me and boy did it do that. This season made an indelible mark on my memories. I can remember the incredible excitement as I saw the trailer for "The Leisure Hive", and realised Doctor Who was coming back. I saw the trailer recently and was shocked to discover that I remembered exactly what scenes were in it. 24 years later, that's not bad going. It was all about images... Tom being ripped apart; a green claw pulling out wires; Tom and Lalla repairing K9 in the TARDIS Control Room; The Marshmen smashing K9's head off; the Marsh Spiders scuttling around and bursting out of melons... so many of them I remembered vividly and being distraught when I couldn't see the end of one of the episodes because we had to go to a fireworks display. So many things that were wrapped up with Doctor Who in 1980. Looking back on it I wonder how I manged to follow stories like "The Leisure Hive" or "Warriors' Gate" as I sat watching with my Talking K9 but there was always Tom on screen to see me through and that seemed enough at the time. He was my hero. he still is. He could do anything and did and I still get a lovely warm fanboy glow whenever he grins!

So whenever I feel a bit mopey or want cheering up I always pick a story from one of these two seasons to cheer me up. I'm not sure I've been able to explain why I love these stories so much, perhaps its all a case of nostalgia as they are wrapped up with my first days at school, moving house, becoming a fan? Who knows.

Steven and I have been watching Doctor Who backwards for almost a year now, and we've just started Season 17. As we sat watching "Horns of Nimon" together last night, giggling all the way through I realised that's why I love them so much... they're so much fun to watch and share. Just like they were in 1980.