The Reblog Void

It may seem more logical to start with a new doctor or new companion story / season opener, and yes that's exactly where I'd send them after Fires of Pompeii. But most season openers carry a little bit of baggage from the previous run and even the ones that don't often don't cover the standard who formula. They don't give a one episode microcosm of the show as a whole like I will argue Fires of Pompeii does while being beginner friendly. But there are two great choices here if you did want to start someone with a season opener. Smith and Jones and The Pilot. Both of which are basically perfect in every way and cover so much of the show's core appeal while carrying next to no baggage (even if the series they continue on into very much do. ahem Series 3)

Most can agree you shouldn't really start with stories like Heaven Sent, Human Nature and Waters of Mars because while they do work incredibly well as singular stories they're absolutely best experienced in context of the arcs they're part of and carry baggage new viewers might feel they're missing out on.

Maybe controversially I absolutely wouldn't start with something like Blink or Midnight because while they're near perfect stories they are exceptions to normal DW structure and wouldn't really communicate to new viewers the normal tone and dynamics of a Who episode, thus you can't really gauge if the show is something they'd enjoy as a whole from those eps alone.

Fires of Pompeii is a companion's first outing in the TARDIS which means they have some rapport from previous stories which eases new viewers in while also delivering a lot of key exposition naturally. The story is based around a highly memorable historical event with immediate built-in stakes even before the aliens show up. Then the story sets up a gut wrenching and tense moral dilemma which gives us incredible character work, establishes yet more of the mechanics of time travel and tells us that yes Doctor Who is a wild and silly show but it will also emotionally challenge you! And THAT to me sums up Doctor Who, slightly goofy mystery carried by incredibly strong characters and moral drama.

If someone vibes with Fires of Pompeii they're going to love most of what the show has to offer, they know what the formula is and how well it can be used by the writers. They know how the who universe functions, key ideas like fixed points and tardis translation. They know the Doctor/Companion relationship is fun besties but also occasionally cold and alien. They know who the Doctor is to his core, the good and the bad. They can then identify when the show is playing with its conventions because they've seen it in full swing.

I have always considered it the "best 'Doctor Who' episode". In the sense that yes there are better episodes, but they often twist the formula in some way or would be better viewed as part of a wider arc. Whereas Fires is the Doctor Who formula done perfectly. It is every core element of the show executed in perfect harmony without bells and whistles or major subversions of structure. This is quintessential Doctor Who elevated.

Series One starts with a wonky tone problem because the show was finding its feet, and Rose (the episode) is uhh shall we say imperfect. But if you show someone The Fires of Pompeii first, they know where the show is going, they know the tone levels out (for the most part) and the highs it will hit if they stick through the occasional janky parts.

Here are some great new episodes that have leaked

asked benjamin callins aka the va of trans icon terry himself for terry doodle ideas and he bestowed upon me the following:

terry doing binder stretches

terry’s hair changing colors with the seasons

terry’s horns growing in

terry playing the ukulele

terry in a bee costume

Peter Pan edited by Anne Hiebert Alton (2011)

(sorry to interrupt joke post but) this is true!

Children not clapping did happen too, (and some were even expected to have hissed, which was later written into the 1928 playscript and 1911 novel). But my all time favourite anecdote about it is from Pauline Chase (who played Peter)'s intro to Peter Pan's Post Bag 1909:

Children love to clap their hands at the play because then they feel that they are really part of it, and you can see them holding their hands poised ready to seize an opportunity. Their great chance is when I ask them to clap their hands if they believe in fairies, and so save Tink's life. But they are very wrathful if any one claps who has the reputation of being a cynic, and once there was quite an uproar in the front row of the dress circle because of a girl who clapped. Those about her pulled down her arms angrily. "How dare you clap," they cried, "when you know you don't believe in fairies!" There was one dreadfully hard-hearted little boy who came to the theatre not to clap. That was his object for coming, and he came round "behind" to tell me so in the middle of the play. His teeth were firm set. "I won't clap," he said doggedly; "I'm not going to clap." And when the time came he didn't clap; above the clapping of all the others I could hear him shouting from a box, "Peter, I'm not clapping."

If the above stretch ain’t compatible with you for reasons like having bitch ass knees, here are some alternative and amazing stretches for the muscle in order of easiest to hardest (but imo least to most helpful) to perform:

However, just keep in mind that none of these stretches will help you if you have a herniated disc, which compresses the nerve roots that protrude from the spine itself! For that you’ll for sure need some different medical intervention.