A little over a year ago I realized that I needed to make a change in life.  That change was really quite simple because I wasn’t changing who I was, just enjoying it more.  I decided to embrace the fact that I am in fact a geek and I shouldn’t be ashamed of it.   I actually got the chance to write about it on a different site and if you wanted to take a few minutes to check it out you can at this link Embracing my Inner Nerd.  No longer do I try and hide it.  Now most days when I leave the house I have on either a Superman t-shirt or some other geeky shirt that has a different superhero or the TARDIS on it.

There are two really big benefits that I have been able to enjoy over the last year or so.  The first is that there is a whole plethora of awesome geeky and nerdy things out there that I am just now being able to discover and explore.   That is one of the best things about being a geek is that it doesn’t get old.  There is always something new out there.  Whether it be a comic that has been out for decades you’ve never seen or something new that is just being released, there are many different worlds in the geek-o-sphere to choose from.   The second is that I get to share these new discoveries and the old ones I am enjoying more fully with my nine year old daughter.   That is very important to me because it is something that I get to have with my daughter that no one else can.   Now I don’t want you to think that I am pushing it on her or forcing her to like stuff, in reality I am just giving her the opportunity to see and learn about something and make the choice on her own.

One of my biggest and best discoveries over the last six months is something that I wish I had found years ago.  The wonderful timey  wimey, wibbly wobbly world of Doctor Who.  For those of you fellow Whovians out there you all know how amazing it really is.  If you haven’t jumped into the TARDIS and ridden with The Doctor yet I strongly advise it.   Last January Naki wrote a great article listing her top episodes from the series featuring the 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th Doctors that will give you a great feel for the show without sitting through 7 series of episodes.   I for one really wish I had that list when I started and I am in full agreement with her list.  They are great episodes, some of them standalone and some multi part.  Naki’s list will get you through the first part of Series 7 so I am going to give you a few from the second part to fill out her list.

The first that you need to watch is the Christmas Special titled “The Snowmen”.  Unfortunately not all of the Christmas specials are available on Netflix but they are up on Amazon and some of the older ones are included if you have Amazon Prime (same thing for Series 7.2).   That episode will lead you directly into the first episode of Series 7.2 “The Bells of Saint John”.  From there, without going into full reviews of each episode I think you should watch “The Rings of Akhaten”, “Journey to the Center of the TARDIS”, “The Crimson Horror”, “Nightmare in Silver” (which if you have seen the other Doctors you will hear things that sounds very familiar) and the season finale that has been built up to for two plus series titled “The Name of the Doctor.”

When I started watching The Doctor travel through space and time it just happened to be on a weekend that I had my daughter with me.  At first she wasn’t really that interested and gave me her typical “Nerd Alert” look and went on with her business of playing.  But then the most amazing thing happened.  She sat down and watched with me one afternoon.   All she said was that it wasn’t so bad and that she thought it was “pretty cool.”   Well fast forward to the next morning and seeing as it was about 1030 I decided to see why she hadn’t come downstairs for breakfast yet.   What I found brought a tear to my geeky eye.   Laying in bed my daughter wasn’t watching Disney Channel or some other cartoon.  She had actually fired up the Netflix on the Roku box and was watching Doctor Who all on her own.  She went and found it in my Instant Queue and chose to watch it herself.   When I asked all she said was that it was fun and that she could use her imagination while she watches it.   From then on when the new episodes came on BBC America I knew that she would be sitting there next to me seeing where the Doctor and his companion would go next.

Of all of the things that I think are magical and “fantastic” about The Doctor that I find the most amazing is that it can and does speak to people of all ages.  While I find the time and space travel mixed with tech fascinating, my daughter seeing the humor and joy in the Doctor and it works for both of us.  Never has this been more evident than when my daughter has run inside from playing to tell me that she thought she could hear the TARDIS and asked me if she could go with The Doctor.  Of course my response to that was only if I could go too!!

Now though we are enjoying the summer movies and great weather, but deep down we are both counting down to November when the 50^th Anniversary Special airs leading up to this year’s Christmas Special where we will meet the 12^th Doctor.  On that I have a theory on who the next Doctor will be but I am going to save that for another article.   In the mean time though my daughter and I will enjoy seeking out new areas of the geek-o-sphere together with our Sonic Screwdrivers in hand.   If you have other areas that you like too that you think we should check out feel free to leave me a comment.