Because they’re the current incarnation. And the love story angle, allowing couples to participate.

“City of Death” was a damn fine Who. I just happen to feel that “Blink” is the best episode of any TV series that I have seen (yes, it even trumps “Hush” – or should I not open that can of worms…?).

He was the mad eyed chap on the TV when I was a very little boy, and I remember being totally devastated when the Fourth Doctor fell off that radio telescope in 1981. There was a helluva lot of Tom in the performance, and the man is a total one-off. It’s unlikely that anyone will have any sort of impact as large as his in any series, let alone Doctor Who – David Tennant is doing marvellously to come anywhere close.

BTW: It’s a gorgeous cartoon strip isn’t it?

Tom Baker did say “reverse the polarity” on one occasion — “City of Death”, which was written by die-hard fan (and Series 17 script editor) Douglas Adams. It was a deliberate reference to the Pertwee-era cliche. A reference was also made somewhere this last season, I think.

“Blink” was damn good, as was “Silence in the Library”. Heck, anything by Steven Moffatt seems to rock. But I’m not sure they trump everything from classic Who. There were some damn good stories there too, especially since they had more time to develop. (The majority were four-parters.) One of my faves, despite some rather sad giant rat FX, was “The Talons of Weng-Chiang”, a classic from Tom Baker’s era in which he actually doesn’t wear the scarf — but instead dresses as Sherlock Holmes. He takes Leela to visit Victorian England, and is quickly embroiled in a mystery: a serial killer is stalking the streets of London, and young ladies are going missing. It has elements of Jack the Ripper, The Phantom of the Opera, and, of course, Sherlock Holmes. Oh, and a bit of Pygmalion too. It’s a very good story, well acted — and six episodes long, if memory serves.

And there are a lot of other good stories too. That’s just one of my favorites. It’s also got connections to the new series. Christopher Eccleston (who wasn’t familiar with Dr Who) studied it to get a grip on the character, and one of the actors (Mr Jago, the theater owner) appeared in “The Unicorn and the Wasp” (as the supposedly wheelchair-bound husband).

I was fortunate enough to have to research which of the Doctors (of those I had seen (Four, Nine, and Ten)) was best, for a paper for my freshman English class over the summer (my professor actually suggested the topic). It was easily the best week’s worth of homework I’ve ever done in my life, though most of the kids in my class had no idea what I was talking about.

Now, I’m just hoping to finish my scarf before next Halloween. Stupid homework keeps getting in the way…

The punchline in the Nov. 1st comic (re: “reversing the polarity of the neutron flow”) is a classic line from the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee).

Hmmm … Pertwee was before my time, I’m afraid. To me, that line comes from ST:TNG (usually uttered by LaForge).

For me, Tom Baker and Peter Davison were the classic Doctors; but New Who has a different vibe to it, which has worked well with Chris Ecclestone and David Tennant. Plus, I think “Blink” trumps any story from classic Who.

Just like wearing a Jayne hat in public. You will shunned by most, but every once in a while, you’ll come across someone familiar with that one episode of a somewhat obscure sci fi show, and you’ll get to see grown men jump up and down and point and make high pitched squee noises.

“As much as I loved Tom Baker’s Who, it’s been 20 years.”

Some might even say 30 years. Plus.

“David Tennant would’ve been the way to go.”

While I respect Tennant’s role in reviving (regenerating?) Dr Who, I can’t see anyone toppling Tom Baker. Not only due to his idiosyncratic portrayal – pretty much every episode from that era is a classic. Makes me go all misty-eyed every time I see them again…ah, fond childhood memories.

Dibs on the Tardis.

Tom Baker (and to a lesser extent Pertwee) will remain for me the pre-eminent Doctors.

But yeah, truly, everyone does dress up as the Tenth Doctor. I was at Gallifrey One this year, and there were a bunch! (Although not as many as the big cons, like Dragon*Con or ComicCon.) I like to see more obscure costumes, like, say, anyone other than Ten or Rose XD (WHYYY. WHY SO MANY TEN AND ROSE.)

Just out of curiosity, why do you like Doctor Who so much? I’ve never seen it.

(And I can here it now, someone asking “What’s Purim?”…)