Doctor Who: The Doctors United

Fifty years ago, the BBC debuted a show about an alien who traveled through time and space with his granddaughter in a blue police box. It was designed to teach some history and science lessons. No one thought it would last. But it did. It did more than last—it ingrained itself into British culture. And then it made its way across the pond, becoming a part of “nerd culture.” It faded away for a while but came back with a roar, this time exploding across the world. Eleven men have played the Doctor and countless others played his companions and enemies.

And now it’s celebrating 50 years in style. To the point it almost overshadowed the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination. Note I said almost. So, how did Doctor Who celebrate? Let’s reverse the polarity, fire up the sonics and set the TARDIS into motion for…

Day of the Doctor or "THE FEELS! THE FEELS!"

Bad Wolf guides the War Doctor through his biggest decision ever. Ten courts Elizabeth I trying to fight the Zygons. And Eleven joins Clara and the Brig's daughter to solve a mystery. But they all gather together to save Gallifrey. ALL of them.

My Top 10 of 2010

Where did 2010 go? Seriously, where did it go? Anyway, as the year draws to an end, many lists start popping up all over the place. And I love lists! So, while I go search for where 2010 went, you can read my top 10 list of memorable events from TV, movies and Broadway from 2010!

10. Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane at the Tony Awards. Months later, when I’m still trying to remember who won all the awards, I still remember these two. They came out and had a series of jokes that were quite funny before revealing they were presenting the awards for Best Actor and Actress in a Musical, the very categories in which they were snubbed. Their reactions were even more memorable. Bravo to the two!

9. Betty White’s Snickers Commercial. I am not a big sports fan. You can ask my former co-workers who teased me mercilessly when I confused rules and terms. So, I am one of the hundreds who watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. And I loved the Snickers commercial that saw Betty White running around on muddy field and insulting the other players.

8. “Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit” from How I Met Your Mother. For the show’s 100th episode, the creatives finally let Neil Patrick Harris have a song of his own. When Barney is given an ultimatum—lose the suits or lose the girl—he sings this song about how much he loves his suits. Ted, Robin, Marshall and Lily even get involved as well. Great song, great sequence.

7. Tangled and Toy Story 3. Of course, I love everything Disney. Well, most things Disney. I can admit that I hated the fact that they took over “Doug” and ruined everything. But, I loved Tangled. Rapunzel and Flynn were great heroes to root for and Mother Gothel has to be one of Disney’s cruelest villains. And Toy Story 3 was a great addition to the series and nearly made me cry. Long live Woody and Buzz!

6. Neil Patrick Harris as Bryan Ryan on “Glee”. Glee’s premiere season was awesome. For a new show, it managed to secure some great guest stars—Josh Groban, Eve, Kristin Chenoweth, etc. But in an Emmy-winning turn, Neil Patrick Harris starred as Bryan Ryan, a former member of the Glee club and rival to Matthew Morrison’s Will Shuester. Their duet of “Dream On” was a highlight. Bravo!

5. Ann wins “America’s Next Top Model”. She limbered into the competition as one of the tallest models in the most recent cycle. She took best photo a record breaking 5 weeks in a row. Sure, she wasn’t the best runway nor the best commercial, but Tyra was focusing on Vogue this year. And Ann won one for the awkward girls!

4. Jane Lynch recreating Madonna’s “Vogue” video. Glee knew this was so epic, they released it ahead of the episode. It was a shot-by-shot remake of Madonna’s video and proved that Jane Lynch could hold her own with the other cast members. I half-expected Benny Ninja to actually show up as well! And extra points for all of Sue’s shots at Will’s hair.

3. Brandy is eliminated from “Dancing With the Stars.” In the first results show, hosts Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke teased that there was a surprise elimination that night. But the real surprise came during the semi-finals result show when Brandy and her partner Maks was eliminated from the program. Derek Hough’s face said it all—he did not hide his surprise. Both Lacey and Jennifer Grey also did not applaud for Bristol’s safety. While many believed every Republican and Tea Party member was voting for Bristol, I think Maks was the pair’s ultimate downfall as his teaching methods had been called into question and he argued with judge Carrie Ann Inuba.

2. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”. Probably one of the year’s most anticipated movies, Harry Potter’s seventh film delivered. It set up part two and kept viewers on the edge of their seats. Bring on July!

1. David Tennant Passes the Torch to Matt Smith. Okay, I’m a big Doctor Who geek. And the “End of Time Part II” is still with me, despite airing on Jan. 2 of this past year. While it had a good plot with the possible return of the Time Lords and excellent performances by John Sims and Timothy Dalton, it was really a good-bye to David Tennant. He visited past companions and some special guests (though I would’ve liked one more appearance from either Dr. Ida Scott or Jenny) and then regenerated into Smith, who has been doing a wonderful job as the Eleventh Doctor.

Honorable mentions:

“Memphis” wins Best Musical. This musical had music from Bon Jovi’s David Bryant and was up against a musical filled with music from Green Day. But the story of a radio DJ who integrated the airwaves in Memphis and put colored music (Rock and Roll) in the center of the dial won the Tony voters. And my family.

Paul Byrom leaves Celtic Thunder. While this wasn’t an earthshaking moment nor even one that made the mainline news, it was still an important event. Celtic Thunder is very popular here in the United States and Paul has a lot of fans—myself included. While I am certain the group will continue, it will be interesting to hear how their sound changes. And I wish Paul all the luck in the world on his solo career.

The Chilean Miners are rescued. For months, the fate of these men was world news. They were stuck underground, trapped but alive. And the government was racing to get them back to the surface. Their predictions said they could free the miners in time for New Year’s and they kept the miners alive with assists from NASA. Then in October came the word that they were able to bring up the miners sooner than expected. As every news station broadcast, the first miner was lifted to the surface and embraced by his son. The rescuers sang the Chilean national anthem. Thirty-six hours later, all miners were rescued. Since then, one has ran in the New York City Marathon and all have been invited to Walt Disney World. It was the feel good story of the year and only made the honorable mention because I needed another countdown to remind me of it. And this is the list of things that made 2010 memorable to me.

So, that’s my list. Agree? Disagree? Find 2010? Share!

Doctor WHO?

The BBC has announced the identity of the Eleventh Doctor. And filling David Tennant's converses will be...

Matt Smith.

Don't worry. No one else seems to know who is either. The BBC and Doctor Who executive producers decided to go with an unknown for the next regeneration of the time traveler. Here's to guessing the type of personality he'll give the new Doctor. 

I Wish You Well

Academy Award-nominated actor Joaquin Phoenix has announced he will retire from acting after his next movie. He wishes to focus on a singing career, an ambition born from playing Johnny Cash in the biopic "Walk the Line," a role which earned him his second Academy Award nomination. (His first was for "Gladiator"). Good luck with the new career!

Also, actor David Tennant has announced he will be leaving popular British sci-fi show "Doctor Who" in 2010. Tennant has played the tenth incarnation of the time-traveling alien since 2005, taking over for Christopher Eccleston. There will not be a proper series (or season, in American terms) in 2009 due to Tennant's involvement with the Royal Shakespeare company. To accomodate for this, the BBC ordered four specials to be made which will be broadcast throughout 2009 and 2010. When the fifth series/season resumes, creator/producer Russell T. Davies will also be replaced as head writer by Steven Moffatt.

Tennant has been one of my favorite aspects of Doctor Who though I do agree it is time for him to move on. Perhaps though, neither he nor Eccleston will object to a special with whoever the new Doctor is--a la "The Two Doctors" or "The Five Doctors" from the original series. It will be interesting to see how the regeneration occurs...

And of course, who will play Eleven? Any ideas?

Also, Happy Halloween! I'm still waiting for a good ghost story...