What is Doctor Who to you? What does Matt mean to you?

Zachary Quinto gazed out at the hundreds, perhaps thousand, people staring at him onstage. They all sat so quietly clinging onto each of his words. I can only imagine what it must be like to show up at a convention and know there are people who are willing to wait hours just to get a glimpse of you and that seeing you in person will make their day or perhaps more. A fan asks him to tell us what it is like for him. "I know that I mean something different to each of you." He says almost to himself with a smile. Those words still linger with me months later. I think celebrities often become symbols for something much greater in our lives. They are rarely just people. So this begs the question: What is Doctor Who to you? What does Matt mean to you?

 

I spend hours without any human contact. Wandering through the city can sometimes make me feel connected temporarily and most of my loved ones are preoccupied with their own lives. I volunteer and hang out with friends when I can, but it's not a daily affair. Then there is a sense I wouldn't want to burden people with my issues. Radios only make me feel more alone as it's this solitary voice calling out to me without a way for me to respond.

In the end, I am left with a small window in my room that allows me to transport to different cities or worlds and watch stories about other people unravel in front of me. During the week, my mind can drift between investigating murders in Hawaii, New York, turn of the century Toronto or modern day St. John's. I can visit magical places, literary adaptions, zombie apocalypses, and join in other tales.

The place I always gravitate back towards is Doctor Who. It is a place of inclusivity where everyone of various sexual orientations, species, religions, and such gather. They are united with one cause and one hope. The wild adventures can make you forget about your troubles. Depending on your doctor, they can mean something specifically to you. I think you can gather from previous posts what Matt means to me and as we get closer to the anniversary and Christmas special, I shall delve further into what he means to me.

Thankfully, there is social media where we can engage with friends we have known for years or new people we met through a common interest. It is through social media I find I can find glimpses of that human connection I want to have and share.

I genuinely would like to engage in a discussion of what the show means to you and what each doctor means to you specifically. I'd love to hear your stories of how you fell in love with the show and doctor. What symbols do they hold for you?

  

Edit: I realized I never spoke about why Zachary's words held such meaning to me. I tend to be the type that devotes themselves entirely to their loved ones and sometimes I can get lost in trying to appease them that I lose parts of my own identity. My friends were getting concerned when they would ask me what I wanted to eat when we were out and I would respond with what my loved ones wanted to eat and not really answering the question. I hadn't noticed that so much of me had become lost.

 

At the time, I was watching Heroes and was reading Zachary Quinto's blog. He had such a poetic soul and one that evoked a lot of memories of who I was as a person. I'm not sure why it touched me in such a manner, but I'm glad it did. I was able to restore a part of myself by journeying along with him. My friends were relieved to see the person they knew for decades have some semblance of themselves once again.

 

One of the things that remained true throughout was the idea of legacy and children. As a child, I had kept a diary of things I wanted to pass onto my child. As I grew older and the idea of genealogy took hold of me, I ventured out on my own to walk in the footsteps of my ancestors in order to get a better  feel of who I was as a person. These trips took me to Hong Kong, Foshan, and Termini Immerse. As I travelled the world seeking out meaning, I kept a diary to pass onto my children. As the years grew on and there still wasn't any sign of these children, I sought out a doctor. I discovered there was a possibility that I may never have children. All the dreams for over thirty years shattered before me. I wasn't sure what to do. 

 

I needed an escape, even if it was only momentarily, so I thought of Zachary Quinto coming to Toronto the following day. I had once waited eight hours to see him at San Diego Comic Con and I knew seeing him at Fan Expo would be much easier than that. Perhaps a glimpse of him could help restore me after hearing such news. This time I only had to wait two hours to see him and it was there sitting amongst the audience that I heard him say "I know I mean something different to each of you." For me, he will always be a symbol of hope and renewal. For others, he will mean something different.

 

I have mentioned a few things that Matt has meant to me and over the course of this blog as we draw closer to the end of his tenure, I will speak more about it. Until then, I implore you to please read the comment section where John has written an eloquent and insightful comment on what the Doctor means to him. I shall respond to it as soon as I can, but I want to take the time to answer properly.

 

Again, I'd love to hear What does the show mean to you? What does Matt mean to you?