Hello From a New Forum Member From Northern California!

As the title of this post suggests, I'm a big fan of Doctor Who hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area.  I'd like to tell you all that I'm a lifelong Whovian who as a child used to watch the classic serials on PBS with my Mom and Dad, who spent the whole time trying to coax me out from behind the sofa.  I'd like to tell you about the time I met Tom Baker and Colin Baker at Whovent '86 and asked them if they were related.  I'd like to tell you about the time in high school when my friends and I decorated our homecoming float to resemble the TARDIS, complete with flashing light on top and the tell-tale materializing/de-materializing sounds playing through speakers.  I'd like to tell you about the sleepless nights spent discussing the Cartmel Masterplan with a couple of my fellow fans on rec.arts.drwho.  I'd like to tell you about the breathless anticipation with which I waited for the return of Doctor Who in 1996, as well as the bitter disappointment when it did not lead to a series.

I'd like to tell you all of these things, but unfortunately they'd be lies.  I am a relatively new Whovian; neither of my parents - and indeed little of my social circle - would have heard of the show if not for my wife and I, and for that matter our three-year-old who is crazy for all things Who.  A friend extolled to me the virtues of Doctor Who from elementary school through high school, but I was never interested, preferring at the time more mainstream American franchises like G.I. Joe, The Transformers, and Star Wars.  I didn't decorate a homecoming float in high school, though in senior year I finally gave in and watched a couple serials at my friend's urging.  They were Genesis of the Daleks - today probably my favorite Classic Who serial - and The Brain of Morbius.  I begrudgingly respected the show for its writing while at the same time feeling a bit turned off by the fact that the whole thing resembled a soap opera.  At any rate, it seemed like a dead issue; the show had been off the air for five years at this point, and while I'm sure the TV movie was in development by then I was unaware of it.
 
At this time I was far more interested in Star Wars, which was experiencing a renaissance of sorts, with regular paperback and comic book releases, a new action figure line on the horizon, and a new film expected before the end of the 1990s.  Doctor Who was essentially irrelevant to me, as I had only ever viewed the show as a curiosity rather than with the serious mind of a fan who'd enjoyed it for years, and who could look past the at-times quaint production values to truly appreciate the show for what it was.  And speaking of the TV movie, I first watched it years after its original airing, once the show had been relaunched in 2005 (though I vaguely remember the mother of the girl I was dating in 1996 tuning in).  

I suppose that on a subconscious level it may have been disillusionment with the Star Wars Prequels that led me to give Doctor Who another chance.  I don't consider myself much of a sci-fi fan; I suppose I like the genre as much as, or perhaps less than, the next person, and it takes something a bit more substantial than the typical tropes or conventions to get me on board.  That said, I found all I needed in the first series of NuWho.  Much to my relief, when I finally introduced my wife to the show roughly one year ago, she loved it as much as I did.  She considers the Ninth Doctor her favorite, as he was for her the gatekeeper to Doctor Who fandom.  With my wife's introduction to the show came a complete rewatch of Series 1-6, which was a lot of fun; and eventually an introduction for our daughter as well.  She can name all of the Doctors by sight, as well as more than a few villains and monsters, though she calls the Weeping Angels "Sweeping Angels" as she has no concept of the word "weeping".  It's rather cute.

We've got a sizable collection of Doctor Who memorabilia including a bookshelf full of non-fiction books, most of the individually-bagged Character Options micro-figures (with the exception of the serene Weeping Angel), and quite a few of the Titans vinyl figures.  We've got a few different sonics, including the Fourth, Ninth/Tenth and Eleventh Doctors' sonics in full size, some small keychain sonic screwdriver flashlights, and several other Who-related keychains.  If you've ever been in a Hot Topic or to a Barnes & Noble you've probably seen a good portion of our collection.  We sometimes say that we're a twelve-TARDIS household (at least thusfar).  Here's a picture of the TARDISes we own:



The rickety, angular-looking TARDIS second from the left in the back row is the only one that's not commercially available; it's a jewelry box I made for my wife for Valentine's Day this year.  It's perhaps not as elaborate as the one recently released by Underground Toys, but I'm a Doctor Who fan, not a jewelry box maker.  The interior is painted copper and decorated with an image of the console room, pre-Snowmen, and there's a matching ring tree as well.  I'm happy with the end result, but more importantly, so is my wife.

Anyway, thanks for the warm welcome I've thusfar received in the 50th Anniversary Titans thread.  I'm looking forward to visiting the forum frequently and conversing with you all.

Again, welcome!
 
Don't forget to visit the chat box.  Its a great place to talk to other Whovians here.
 
Oh...and GO NINERS!!!!!

Welcome Shemp 1053.
Fairly new myself, so I can tell you that these guys on WHONA are a brilliant bunch to know.
Hope you enjoy yourself on here.

Greetings and welcome to the WhoNA forums; it's a great place to hang out

Welcome! Hope you enjoy your stay!

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone!

And SeaDevil - go Niners indeed!

As we say in Scotland - "Hi"

Update:  We're now a seventeen-TARDIS household.  



Back row, left to right:  Toothbrush holder, Yahtzee, jewelry box, ice bucket, wastebasket.
Middle row, left to right:  Character Building construction set, Christmas tree ornament, small plush with clip, nightlight, mug, medium plush.
Front row, left to right:  Flashlight keychain, basic keychain, emergency fund keychain, Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS Titan, Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS Titan (green variant), Bad Wolf TARDIS Titan.

Welcome aboard Shemp1053, that's a nice selection of TARDI(?)
do you have plans to collect any other products.
Anyway enjoy your time on the WhoNA forum.
Sorry I don't know what a 49er is....I'm a goddam Brit.......lol

Thanks Ice Worrier II!  My collection is fairly small.  In addition to toys, I've got a shelf of books I should get around to photographing, mostly newer stuff and some of Cubicle 7's roleplaying game supplements.  I've also got quite a few W.H. Allen books from the 1980s, including Peter Haining's Doctor Who - A Celebration, autographed by Sarah Sutton, Nicholas Courtney, John Nathan-Turner, Jon Pertwee, and others.  For more on my collection, check out this thread:

https://whona.forumotion.com/t10163-a-few-pictures-from-my-growing-collection

And the 49ers are a local American football team, which just wrapped up an embarrassingly subpar season.