Do Your Family and Friends Let You Down Over New Who?

[Si Hunt]

... or do they do you proud?

You know, considering how well trailored Doctor Who is, it's amazing the sheer number of people who are (i) related or known to me (ii) actually in the house on Saturday and simply don't bother to remember to put the TV on.

I'm not one to inflict my tastes on other people, but you know I can't help feeling a bit let down, knowing how much it means to me, when certain family and friends don't even bother to give it a go. Not all of them - Mum and Dad are great, and Nan actually rung me the other day and said "I'm not going to buy one of those pills!". But others are less successful at remembering to watch, and it wouldn't hurt would it? Just to watch once to give it a go? Given I've been spouting about this series since I was four, y'know. When "Rose" was on would it really have killed them to suggest a viewing party, instead of going down the pub? Would it really have mortally wounded them to catch just ONE episode in the last three years just to say "Hey Si, I saw Dr Who on Saturday! It was quite good!"

Or maybe I'm on another planet altogether.

So do your friends and family watch? And have you ever got annoyed at those that never have?

Si.

[Antony Cox]

To be honest I've never given it a thought, and now I have, it doesn't bother me at all. Even Martin's given up on it now but that doesn't bother me either - I'm quite happy to watch it on my own!

[Si Hunt]

I think if they watched it once they didn't like it that would be fine. But they all either like it and still don't watch, or have never even given it a go.

Si.

[Pip Madeley]

My dad is an avid Torchwood viewer, but he doesn't bother with Who. Meanwhile my sister will watch Doctor Who (not usually on transmission, afterwards) but she doesn't do Torchwood.

[Antony Cox]

I think if they watched it once they didn't like it that would be fine. But they all either like it and still don't watch, or have never even given it a go.

Si.

But surely you could say that about any TV programme? Not being funny, but does it really matter that much?

[Wayne]

Not being funny, but does it really matter that much?

I'm afraid i'm with Ant on this one, Si. I don't really know where you're coming from getting annoyed over something like that.
Conversely, my sister watches, but my Mum & Dad aren't interested & have never even tried it. I couldn't get annoyed with them for it though.

[Si Hunt]

I don't think I'm going to be able to explain so I'll give up trying!

Si.

[enzo1701]

What bothers me more is when people phone me during it!!!

I would have thought that BT and all the mobile networks would be dead during this particular 45 minutes of the week!

[Larry]

...
, when certain family and friends don't even bother to give it a go. Si.

I think I can see the point your trying to make Si, I've a friend at work who refuses to watch and when ever the subject of Doctor Who comes up just dissmisses it as a load of rubbish. Her opinions are based on the old series and just the first 2 episodes of series 1, and yes it dose annoy me when people have this attitude with out really giving it a try.

I some times want to say yes you don't like it but at least go away and watch episodes such as Dalek, The Empty Child/Doctor Dances and Human Natur/Family of Blood before saying it's a load of rubbish.

[Simon R]

I know what Si is getting at but it's difficult to explain. Imagine if you were obessed with something all your life and all your friends and family knew about it. You'd think they might want to try it just to see where you're coming from in your obsession. They might think "we'll if they like it it must be worth trying". I've no interest in football at all but if I have to I'll watch it on TV if everyone else is.

[Lord President]

What bothers me more is when people phone me during it!!!

I would have thought that BT and all the mobile networks would be dead during this particular 45 minutes of the week!

It is the only 45mins every week when I actually switch my phone off!

[Paul Monk]

My parents are avid viewers of Doctor Who and my sister watches whenever shes not working but they watch it entirely off their own back. And I wouldn't want them to watch something just cos I liked it either.
Jody on the other hand watched quite a few of the first news series and even enjoyed Empty Child/Doctor Dances but doesn't like it now.

[enzo1701]

It is the only 45mins every week when I actually switch my phone off!

Now why didn't I think of that??? I already do that during Grands Prix and Welsh Rugby matches so why not during Doctor Who?

[Si Hunt]

One of the main things that inspired it was the night of "Rose", although I've honestly not mentioning it because I'm still bitter three years on, it's just something that still crops up.

On that occasion, it was the big night that Doctor Who was back. I was back in Clacton. All my old friends know this is something that has been my "thing" since I was 4. And they all went down the pub. I stayed at home on my own watching it. I just thought, would it have hurt them to have suggested we all watch it? To have put up with this one, new show for that night? But they were happy to all go down the pub and for me to walk in on my own half-way through.

Si.

[Antony Cox]

I remember you mentioning something about that at the time, Si!

I quite appreciate the sentiment of what you're saying, but for me it's just not that big an issue.

[Larry]

On that occasion, it was the big night that Doctor Who was back. I was back in Clacton. All my old friends know this is something that has been my "thing" since I was 4. And they all went down the pub. I stayed at home on my own watching it. I just thought, would it have hurt them to have suggested we all watch it? To have put up with this one, new show for that night? But they were happy to all go down the pub and for me to walk in on my own half-way through.

Si.

I can see that must of hurt your feelings Si, even if they were not interested it' would not of hurt them to of hung around for an hour to watch it with you before going out.

[Wayne]

I quite appreciate the sentiment of what you're saying, but for me it's just not that big an issue.

Again i'm with Ant on this. I sympathathize, but on the other side of the coin, a lot of people would probably be thinking 'God, hasn't he grown out of that yet'. I'm not neccesarily saying your mates thought that, but from their point of view it's probably just a tv programme.
But i certainly encountered that kind of thinking from my own mother in the past whenever i mentioned that i bought a Dr Who video during the 80s/90s.
But me being me, i used to just keep right on mentioning it just to wind her up.

[Captain Tancredi]

I think my folks are probably quite happy that I have at least one abiding interest and relieved that it isn't dangerous or illegal- and to paraphrase Wodehouse, it keeps me out of the public houses. They certainly watch the new series (I've kept on about Mum being afraid of the Cybermen several times now) as do my cousin and her children (who are 12 and 10 now if I remember rightly).

[Andrew Curnow]

I do kinda see where you're coming from Si. A few weeks before Rose was on, Zel said she wasn't going to bother watching it, and that she'd probably go upstairs and read a book; Little Miss was equally unbothered. And it did... well, it didn't upset me, as such, but it did feel a bit disappointing to think I'd be stuck watching it on my own.

As it turned out, Zel got a night job after that, so she was legitimately catching up on sleep when Rose went out, and Little Miss more or less by default watched it with me, and the rest, as they say, is history...

As regards to anybody else - my brother and his family all watch it, my parents both watch it (although Mum can't be 100% relied on to stay awake for the whole episode), and certainly at least some of my aunts & uncles watch it (although not because of me, as far as I know).

[Zbigniev Hamson]

One of the main things that inspired it was the night of "Rose", although I've honestly not mentioning it because I'm still bitter three years on, it's just something that still crops up.

On that occasion, it was the big night that Doctor Who was back. I was back in Clacton. All my old friends know this is something that has been my "thing" since I was 4. And they all went down the pub. I stayed at home on my own watching it. I just thought, would it have hurt them to have suggested we all watch it? To have put up with this one, new show for that night? But they were happy to all go down the pub and for me to walk in on my own half-way through.

Si.

That would have annoyed me if they had somehow spoiled your viewing, liek coming round and being really noisy, or phoning you up, or simply not understanding you wanting to stay in to see it. But I wouldn't feel it fair to ask for more than that, Doctor Who is your "thing" and not theirs. I'm sure some of them must have interests or hobbies that you couldn't care less about. If they started trying to involve you with them you'd just end up resenting them.

The only time I've felt like this was when I was younger and it was about something that I wanted to do that actively required parents/brothers/sisters to be involved, like playing a board game I liked but no-one else really did for instance. But watching a programme doesn't really require anyone else to be invloved, so I never felt that way.

[Ralph]

I don't know anybody other than on here that watches it

[Captain Tancredi]

I can think of a few colleagues who've mentioned watching it at times- of both sexes and all ages- although the interesting one was Zoe, who's in her twenties and very much the sort of girl who devours DVD box sets and the latest American imports. She mentioned watching the first series when it was on, then last year when I saw her again at a leaving do the day before 'Last of the Time Lords' went out, she was still watching. I did point her in this direction but she doesn't seem to have appeared.

[Wayne]

I don't know anybody other than on here that watches it

Come to think of it.........
There's my sister. Then there's our bass player's daughter. (& so our bass player by proxy, because he watches it with her. Though his missus doesn't)
erm........ Actually, that's it.
Fans aside, i guess the majority would be children & their parents/families. Just as my Dad used to watch it with me. But when i stopped watching it, so did he.

[Si Hunt]

My Mum rang me up late last night after they'd watched it taped and insisted that the girl in the Adipose offices who got tied up was Martha. I said it wasn't and she said was I sure. "Mum! People on here know if the second extra on the left was once in an episode from 1973! I think someone would have noticed if it was Martha!"

Si.

[Ralph]

My Mum rang me up late last night after they'd watched it taped and insisted that the girl in the Adipose offices who got tied up was Martha. I said it wasn't and she said was I sure. "Mum! People on here know if the second extra on the left was once in an episode from 1973! I think someone would have noticed if it was Martha!"

Si.

I would refer your Mum in the first instance to Jonno, I've always consider him the ultimate orb of knowledge on every detail of the show