It has “genuinely changed my entire life”: The cultural and personal importance of Doctor Who
On the 59th anniversary of Doctor Who, superfan Josh Carr explained how the BBC TV Series “changed [his] entire life.”
When Doctor Who was first broadcast on November 23rd, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, and Martin Luther King Jr delivered his “I had a dream” speech. Sure, it’s been well-over half a decade and fourteen Doctors but little has changed, including Doctor Who.
Over the years Doctor Who has touched the lives of many, but none more so than superfan Josh Carr.
My Doctor Who Journey
Josh’s passion began in 2005 with the revival. “I remember I was at my dad’s, and I got this fixation – I need to watch this program. After that, I would go to my dad’s on a Saturday night, go to Sainsbury’s and get some of those three-pound sweets,” he said.
Josh was “bullied” growing up, but his loving family was his rock, “My mum, bless her, I remember her driving four hours to Cardiff for the Doctor Who Exhibition,” he said.
Before Lockdown in 2020, Josh Carr, 25, was a Helpdesk Advisor from Norwich, until the Pandemic, an ideal opportunity to express his creativity and passion. “I got a bit bored, so I started doing graphic design stuff, like Title cards for spin-offs - I did a couple of Twitter threads on that, they went a little big, a few hundred likes, then it snowballed from there,” said Josh.
Hit Doctor Who Podcast, Who Knew? followed.
Josh’s first guests were from the Fandom, such as Youtuber Mr Tardis. Before long it spiralled out of control, and cast like former companions Sophie Aldred and Katy Manning appeared on the Podcast.
“I get starstruck about everybody that I interview. The Podcast has genuinely changed my entire life,” he said.
But Josh was just getting started. His next project was to produce and write his own fan-led audio series: The Peculiar Adventures of Doctor Who. It received an overwhelming amount of interest, with 650 auditions for 75 roles.
The amazing reaction was recognized by MCM Comic Con, who invited him to host a Panel with three former Doctors: Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Paul McGann.
He said, “It was one of the most insane experiences I have ever had.”
Doctor Who and Culture
Josh explained, “Doctor Who is one of the rare things that makes me feel patriotic, the fact it was made by a Canadian Immigrant [Sydney Newman], a Jewish woman [Verity Lambert], and a gay Asian man [Waris Hussein] in the 1960’s,” means it’s a positive statement of Britain’s diverse culture.
Since then, the media, like The Times, has praised the show for being representative and quintessentially British.
Verity Lambert was the youngest and only female drama producer at the BBC when she took the role for Doctor Who in 1963, according to BBC Archives. And, Director, Waris Hussein told the Radio Times, “I was the very first person doing what I was doing” even with “sideways speculation about immigration.”
Recently Doctor Who continued this trend casting its first black Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, The National Scot reported.
According to the BBC, Sydney Newman, BBC Head of Drama, created Doctor Who in 1963 because sci-fi is a “safe way” to say, “nasty things about our own society.”
It’s abundantly clear that the British Institution has made a massive impact culturally and personally. Josh said, “Without Doctor Who I wouldn’t be the person I am today, it means absolutely everything to me, I don’t think I’ll ever feel lonely again.”
On the 59th anniversary of Doctor Who, superfan Josh Carr explained how the BBC TV Series “changed [his] entire life.”
When Doctor Who was first broadcast on November 23rd, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, and Martin Luther King Jr delivered his “I had a dream” speech. Sure, it’s been well-over half a decade and fourteen Doctors but little has changed, including Doctor Who.
Over the years Doctor Who has touched the lives of many, but none more so than superfan Josh Carr.
My Doctor Who Journey
Josh’s passion began in 2005 with the revival. “I remember I was at my dad’s, and I got this fixation – I need to watch this program. After that, I would go to my dad’s on a Saturday night, go to Sainsbury’s and get some of those three-pound sweets,” he said.
Josh was “bullied” growing up, but his loving family was his rock, “My mum, bless her, I remember her driving four hours to Cardiff for the Doctor Who Exhibition,” he said.
Before Lockdown in 2020, Josh Carr, 25, was a Helpdesk Advisor from Norwich, until the Pandemic, an ideal opportunity to express his creativity and passion. “I got a bit bored, so I started doing graphic design stuff, like Title cards for spin-offs - I did a couple of Twitter threads on that, they went a little big, a few hundred likes, then it snowballed from there,” said Josh.
Hit Doctor Who Podcast, Who Knew? followed.
Josh’s first guests were from the Fandom, such as Youtuber Mr Tardis. Before long it spiralled out of control, and cast like former companions Sophie Aldred and Katy Manning appeared on the Podcast.
“I get starstruck about everybody that I interview. The Podcast has genuinely changed my entire life,” he said.
But Josh was just getting started. His next project was to produce and write his own fan-led audio series: The Peculiar Adventures of Doctor Who. It received an overwhelming amount of interest, with 650 auditions for 75 roles.
The amazing reaction was recognized by MCM Comic Con, who invited him to host a Panel with three former Doctors: Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Paul McGann.He said, “It was one of the most insane experiences I have ever had.”
Doctor Who and Culture
Josh explained, “Doctor Who is one of the rare things that makes me feel patriotic, the fact it was made by a Canadian Immigrant [Sydney Newman], a Jewish woman [Verity Lambert], and a gay Asian man [Waris Hussein] in the 1960’s,” means it’s a positive statement of Britain’s diverse culture.
Since then, the media, like The Times, has praised the show for being representative and quintessentially British.
Verity Lambert was the youngest and only female drama producer at the BBC when she took the role for Doctor Who in 1963, according to BBC Archives. And, Director, Waris Hussein told the Radio Times, “I was the very first person doing what I was doing” even with “sideways speculation about immigration.”
Recently Doctor Who continued this trend casting its first black Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, The National Scot reported.
According to the BBC, Sydney Newman, BBC Head of Drama, created Doctor Who in 1963 because sci-fi is a “safe way” to say, “nasty things about our own society.”
It’s abundantly clear that the British Institution has made a massive impact culturally and personally. Josh said, “Without Doctor Who I wouldn’t be the person I am today, it means absolutely everything to me, I don’t think I’ll ever feel lonely again.”
Post a comment