This is a response to Kayla's recent post about Doctor Who. And yes, you have to watch it, for research purposes.
I also ran across a few articles about Doctor Who while reading through the newspaper, gleaning culture bits. But unlike Kayla, I have been...obsessed...with Doctor Who since last summer. Here's how it happen: I was in Boston on an internship in an apartment without air conditioning during Boston's one heat wave. As I am a Utahan through and through, the humidity almost killed me. I couldn't run, or even go outside because that entailed moving. So I laid on my bed, sweated, and watched Doctor Who because that was all I could get on my laptop. I've been in love ever since then with the Doctor and the show.
Doctor Who is British culture. Unlike US shows, it is clever and funny. The characters are not the perfect models you always see on TV here. I think especially telling are the Doctor's companions. They are pretty, of course, but not stick thin and not always blond. They actually look like real people. In general, the characters aren't glorified and glamorized; they are someone you could learn Englishness from.
Watching Doctor Who is a great preparation for the field study. Truly. Now, I know exactly how to react when Big Ben is destroyed by aliens. Actually, it typifies English reactions (just don't react) and their relationships with each other (don't ever verbalize anything and always underrepresent what you think).
Only a week and a half until the end of Lent--then I can go back to watching Doctor Who.
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