By accident, I’ve fallen back into watching Doctor Who regularly for the first time since… fuck, three years? Four? I dropped out a few episodes into the first season featuring Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor due to a combination of circumstances — this was the period just after leaving my ex-wife, after all; my attention was elsewhere — and, to be blunt, not really enjoying the show that much anymore, due to what seemed to be a general downtrend in writing. Subsequent attempts to catch up were plagued with that feeling continuing; maybe it’s because I was such a fan of the Steven Moffat era, or perhaps my head was just in a different place, but Doctor Who didn’t feel like a show for me anymore.
Nonetheless, I have fallen back into the rhythm of watching weekly, thanks to (a) it being available to stream without additional cost for the first time that I can remember, and (b) being curious enough to try out the “all season is telling one large story, also, it’s only six episodes this year” experiment. I’m not sure if the show has improved significantly since the last season that I temporarily dropped into, only to dip back out of, but something has changed to keep me tuning back in, week after week. (It’s still not a great show, but there’s enough to keep me watching.)
What’s been particularly surprising about this whole thing is how… happy I am to be into the show again; it’s as if I’ve reconnected with an old friend, if that doesn’t sound too ridiculous. It’s surprisingly pleasing to be watching Doctor Who again, to be excited at the prospects of seeing a new episode every weekend, again. A fandom reborn turns out to be a very good thing indeed, as it turns out. It almost makes me want to check out other old favorites again, just in case.