55 Things I Love About Doctor Who

Happy Whoniversary! 55 years ago today, the first episode of Doctor Who was broadcast. And so, a (necessarily incomplete) celebratory list!

1. Every actor who has ever played the Doctor (not gonna play favorites). Yes, even the Curse of the Fatal Death ones.
2. The opening theme.
3. The .wav file I used to have that replaced the computer shutdown sound with "That's the trouble with computers... no imagination."
4. That it got a university friend who went to Morocco to bring me back a fez.
5. How vast the extracanon is, and how much of it counts.
6. The pun implicit in the term "UNIT dating".
7. That it was the brainchild of a Canadian, who handed it to that rare female producer who put it in the hands of an Asian director.
8. Timey-wimey-ness.
9. The TARDIS exterior.
10. Elisabeth Sladen.
11. The old historicals.
12. The layered writing of Marc Platt (Ghost Light, Auld Mortality, Spare Parts...).
13. The partnerships and friendships I've developed over the Unofficial CCG, Expanded Universe Sourcebooks, and Who-related podcasts.
14. "Sleep is for tortoises." (My most quoted line.)
15. "Brave heart, [Tegan]." (My second most quoted line.)
16. "There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against everything we believe in. They must be fought." (My most posted video clip.)
17. When a companion leaves and it's emotional.
18. Barbara and Ian in their final still shot montage.
19. Capaldi playing the guitar.
20. Fluffy yeti.

21. Matt Smith showing up in An Adventure in Time and Space.
22. How my favorite Doctor/companion/era/monster/story is your least favorite and vice-versa.
23. My sister doing the '70s Dalek gun sound.
24. Cubicle 7's role-playing game, specifically its initiative mechanic and other ways it gets Doctor Who right.
25. That it's had writers like Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman and Douglas Adams over the years.
26. The look of the original Cybermen.
27. Speaking of which, "This is excellent news. Earth WILL be destroyed." (Pretty high up there too in terms of frequent quotes.)
28. The Chibnall-era cinematography.
29. Selfie videos of people watching any given Doctor's regeneration.
30. Leela.
31. Ace.
32. Martha taking control in "The Sound of Drums".
33. How Donna Noble revealed Catherine Tate's range.
34. Doctor Who as Buddhist fable.
35. The music in "The Rings of Akhaten".
36. Series 8 Clara Oswald.
37. The nursery rhyme that brings the Doctor back at Amy and Rory's wedding.
38. The giant clam they like to cut from Genesis of the Daleks when they do an omnibus edit.
39. The Five(ish) Doctors.
40. Roundels.

41. The way Moffat repurposed "the Moment".
42. The About Time series of guide books.
43. The accumulation of trivia that makes throwaway references possible in any given episode.
44. How the 7th and 8th Doctors technically had the longest runs thanks to pretty impressive book and audio ranges.
45. The Holmes-Hinchcliffe Victorian console room.
46. That the 13th Doctor uses Venusian Aikido.
47. Soliloquies to camera in "The Caves of Androzani".
48. When video games (I should count the pinball machine too) make the Doctor regeneration and even change the rules to fit the other incarnation.
49. The chair agenda.
50. River Song.
51. Whenever I see a Doctor Who alumni in anything else (cuz I'm such a nerd!).
52. How Colin Baker's cat badges were made by a fan and are based on his actual cats.
53. Capaldi's speech in The Zygon Inversion.
54. Tom Baker's scarf.
55. That it keeps reinventing itself!

Hope you got the day off, on this, one of the SBG's mandatory paid holidays!