Over the
course of the next few weeks/months/years/centuries (delete as
applicable), I will be letting people guest-blog and be interviewed
on this very site. Maybe. Or maybe not. And to start this brand new
series that may or may not actually become a series is Mrs Evil
herself, Tricia Hayes, who has written a rather sweet little piece
about how Doctor Who led her to love. It isn't for the cold-hearted,
as there is romance involved. It also highlights just how much Doctor
Who can mean totally different things to different people. Everybody
has their own unique relationship with the show, which is why there
are such a diverse range of fans out there, and a massive variety of
opinions and theories on the show. And that is brilliant.
But anyway, without further ado, here is my amazing girlfriend,
talking about stuff. Enjoy!
The first episode of Doctor Who I saw was 'Rise of the Cybermen'.
I didn't see it on its' original broadcast, but a few years later
when BBC 3 started showing repeats of the television show that would
change my life, in a way I never could have imagined.
I
had seen the Paul McGann TV movie a few years before and had enjoyed
that, so I'm not sure why I didn't watch the series when it returned
in 2005. Then again, I guess everybody discovers Doctor Who in their
own way! Anyhow, I started watching regularly from the repeats of
'Rise of the Cybermen and 'The Age of Steel' onwards, and it had me
right from the opening credits. I started watching whenever I could,
and the DVD Files helped me build up my knowledge of the earlier
episodes I had missed, and fill in the gaps. I have been a fan ever
since.
By
now, I had seen four actors in the role of the Time Lord known only
as the Doctor. McGann, Eccleston, Tennant, and Smith, but what about
the other seven before them? Soon enough, I would get to experience
stories from Doctor Who's past, as my life changed unexpectedly. Here
is how it happened....
I
joined Facebook in February 2012. I had never bothered or thought
about it before, but it was the curiosity of signing up to the site
that led me to a Doctor Who Page, and caused a series of events that
would spiral out of control. I can't remember the name of the page I
liked, but on it were lots of people moaning and complaining about
various aspects of the show. And then, amongst all that, there was a
lovely, positive comment from this chap called Cory John Eadson. It
was so nice to see somebody with such an optimistic attitude, and I
decided, rather nervously, to send him a friend request.
We
became friends on Facebook in March, and if you are wondering how my
life has changed since then, well, in just under four weeks time we
will be celebrating our 10-month anniversary together as boyfriend
and girlfriend. I live in Ireland at the moment, but I am writing
this in a notepad in England, sat on Cory's bed surrounded by his
amazing Doctor Who collection.
Doctor Who has changed my life in a way that I could never have
imagined. It introduced me to my very own Time Lord, Cory John
Eadson. I would never have thought, sitting down to watch 'Rise of
the Cybermen', that a few years later I would be sitting in a
different country with the love of my life. In fact, the very first
time we met physically was when Matt Smith returned in 'Asylum of the
Daleks', the first episode we watched together.
It
is through Cory that I have a fondness for 'classic' Doctor Who. I
was inspired to watch 'Remembrance of the Daleks' at home by Cory,
and afterwards we had a little chat about it. He also had a star
letter printed in Doctor Who Magazine, an article on Season 6B
published in a fanzine (and HERE), and had done a great many short
stories based on the Doctor, all of which deepened my interest for
the old series. One of Cory's stories involved Eight regenerating into Nine in a different and original way to what actually is
believed to have happened, and it was a beautiful piece that really
fired up my imagination.
Cory has taken me on a great adventure through time and space,
introducing me to every Doctor I hadn't seen before, many amazing episodes, and
telling me things about the making of the show that I never knew.
Me
and Cory have also had a great many adventures of our own, away from
the escapades of the TARDIS, and I know we will continue to have them
for Evermore. We might have met through Doctor Who, but it is because
of us that our relationship is so strong, because of us that we are
in love.
I
am fond of Doctor Who, but I am in love with my Cory John Eadson. And
I will be, forevermore.
Tricia Hayes, January 2012
