It’s Day 11 of the 13 Days of Doctor Who blog hop! Whether you arrived here via Ryann Murphy’s post about the music of Doctor Who or by some other means, welcome. Be sure to comment to be eligible for two fantastic prizes!

Must Love Doctor Who: An Open Letter to Potential Companions

Hey, you: lattegrrl75, k1ttyl0v3r, twizzlerama, reading my profile, deciding whether I’m cute and clever enough to message. You love baking cookies and downhill skiing, hoppy beers and unagi, Amélie and Haruki Murakami, not to mention solving crossword puzzles on rainy Sunday mornings whilst wearing flannel pajamas and fuzzy bunny slippers…but do you love Doctor Who?

I’m sure you’ve gotten an earful of online dating advice. Stick to the positives. Write in actual words rather than LOLZ. Be honest, be funny, and, for the love of Clom, don’t mention your exes. And remember: some Cybermen are best left in the closet.

But I refuse to conceal my fondness for the Doctor. Why admit something so geeky on my profile? It’s like the Eleventh Doctor and his precious bow ties. He’ll never stop wearing them, insisting, with just a hint of defensiveness, that they’re cool. If you can’t respect my Whovianism, I’ll tell you right now: mutual passion for fish fingers and custard or no, we’re going no-where, no-when.

Now, maybe you haven’t met the Doctor yet. That’s okay. No one is born knowing that 900-year-old, double-hearted, universe-saving Time Lord from Gallifrey. I’d never heard of him before college, when I made a friend who wore a Tom Baker scarf and a Dalek T-shirt, and it was years later that I met the Ninth Doctor and began working my way through the rest of the show.

So, before you click that button to message me (because, after all, I am extremely cute and clever), watch a few episodes. Try the gripping, creepy, and ultimately joyful duet of “The Empty Child” and “The Doctor Dances,” or “Blink,” a mind-bending, breath-taking thriller. Or perhaps the first episode with the Ninth Doctor, “Rose”—the episode where I first stepped into the TARDIS for myself.

See, Doctor Who fans aren’t merely viewers; they’re the Doctor’s Companions, adventuring through the universe across time and space as surely as Rose and Mickey, Martha and Donna, Amy and Rory. The TARDIS has room aboard for you, too—trust me: it’s bigger on the inside—if you can meet a few simple conditions.

Strange people and places should excite you, rather than frighten or bore you. You should enjoy having silly conversations and solving mysteries and pondering big questions. You must not be afraid to be ridiculous. And you should believe people can rise above greed and violence, selfishness and apathy, to create a better universe.

I guess you could say I’m looking not for a companion, but rather for a Companion, in the Whovian sense. It doesn’t matter whether you’re trapped in a banal, soul-sucking job like Rose or Donna, or whether you’ve nearly lost hope of regaining the magic and wonder you experienced as a child, like Amy. What matters is that if the Doctor suddenly appeared in his blue box and unfolded the universe at your feet, you’d go with him. Because that’s what I want: a Companion to have adventures with, across time and space.

So, watch Doctor Who, and ask yourself: are you Companion material? If so, fantastic! Brilliant! Allons-y!

But if not, don’t bother writing, no matter how cute and clever you are. It’ll never happen between us—unless the Daleks have exterminated everyone in the universe but you and me.

And even then, probably not.

Fantastic Prizes!

Grand Prize Drawing

For the grand prize, The Complete Sixth Series on DVD, please leave a comment with your name and email address. You may enter once at every stop on the blog tour for a total of thirteen chances. The grand prize giveaway is limited to the US and Canada, due to regional restrictions on the DVD. Entries will be accepted until midnight CST on December 24th. Erica and Eliza will post the winner on December 25th and notify the winner via email.

ETA: Grand Prize Winner
Erica reports that the grand prize winner is Mrs. S, who commented on Phoebe North’s post about the Doctor as an anti-hero.

Bonus Raffle

Commenters on this post will also be entered to win a signed copy of The Wee Free Men: The Beginning, by Terry Pratchett. This paperback volume collects the first two Tiffany Aching adventures, The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky, about a gutsy young witch who falls in with a clan of drinkin’, fightin’, stealin’ folk known as the Nac Mac Feegle. If you love Doctor Who, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy the excitement and humor of Sir Terry’s Disc World. Shipping is limited to USPS. Contest closes at midnight CST on December 27th. I will post the winner on December 28th and notify the winner via email.

ETA: Bonus Raffle Winner
The random number generator has spoken! Saskia is the winner of the bonus raffle.

Next Stop!

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to visit Pamala Knight’s blog next for her discussion of Neil Gaiman and the allegory of the TARDIS! And if you’ve missed any stops along the way, consult the blog hop’s Wibbly Wobbly Schedule.

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