I know I said I wouldn't bore the comic-book exclusive folks who read this blog with any of my meanderings on science fiction but...



I finally caved and picked up the first two seasons of the new Doctor Who series.  I'm pretty damn excited.  Up until now I've pretty much settled for catching whatever loose episodes I can on the Sci-Fi Channel or watching flash videos of clips on the internet.  But after having done that, I'm really glad I saved up the money and actually spent it on the DVD sets because, well, they're really nice looking DVD sets.  The box for the second season is even better looking than the first, with a nice holographic cover and some sweet illustrations and pictures on the insert (I like to refer to them as "liner notes"). 



One of the other reasons I'm particularly psyched about the second season is that, in the beginning, Christopher Eccleston was somewhat unconvincing as the Doctor for me.  He seemed to hard all the time.  Sure the Doctor could be an asshole a lot of the time, but I always saw him as a somewhat playful character and Eccleston failed in that department for me.  To be fair, the level of "play" he adds to the cast of Heroes has made him one of my new favorite characters on that show.



The fact that an actor like Eccleston can find success on two perofmances steeped so high in the Science Fiction genre is somewhat astonishing to me.  Hardcore Sci-Fi nerds, similar to comic book nerds, still hold a bit of resentment towards the mainstream public in spite of recent success in the genre.  I mean, comics and sci-fi never went away.  There was always Star Trek and there were of course the Justice League and X-Men cartoons, but on some level the prime-time viewing audience was not quite ready for a show like Battlestar Galactica or Heroes until now. The fact that both shows are doing so well is a boon for fans, but I feel that it creates a strange riff between supposed new-comers and those of us who have remained faithful.



I mean, at this point it really comes down to whether you mutter "frakkin' bitch" under your breath at work or "fraggin' bastich". It's a moot point, but still one still large enough to draw a thin line in the sand.



I honestly believe that if shows like Doctor Who and BSG had originally premiered on major networks like NBC or CBS, they would have done just as well as Heroes and Lost (yes, I choose to include Lost as part of the science fiction genre's oeuvre). I mean, at this point, BSG has probably done a better job of attracting new viewers than Lost has of keeping old viewers interested. And most West Wing fans I am friends with have already given up on Studio 60, while finding solace in the socio-political drama of BSG .



So, all that being said, I'm off to watch some TARDIS action. I will undoubtedly scare off any social interaction with my roommate or his little brother for the evening with my loud cries of "EXTERMINATE!", muffled only by my bedroom door. Oh, and if any of you are on the fence about purchasing the DVDs instead of just downloading episodes or watching them on Youtube, I give you three words:



SIMON MOTHERFUCKING PEGG

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