Memoirs of a Geek Part 1

Late on New Year's Day 1984, the neighbourhood kids went tobogganing down a local hill. Unusually for the Comox Valley (below the mountains that is), it was snowing and everyone wanted to take advantage. My friend Dwayne came knocking at the door to call us out (my sister and I). She quickly donned her ski pants, mitts and hat. I wasn't to be moved. Doctor Who was on, and the story was really engaging. It was The Talons of Weng Chiang.

I often reflect on that night, about my choice. From one perspective, I was just another TV-addicted 1980s kid who'd lost sight of the more important things in life. As my dad used to say, "if I didn't live my life to the fullest, I was going to wake up one morning and find that it had passed me by."

Thing is, I've spent many an afternoon plowing head first into a snowbank, before and since then. I've had some pretty great adventures out in the world. I've always had an over-active imagination, where a bike ride can become epic or a walk around a new city can take my breath away. I've sailed in waves so high I thought the boat would tip, and I was once convinced to go water-skiing on a whim by two strangers who needed a third.

And yet, I still recall the excitement and fun of that night more than 25 years ago when I was completely drawn into Robert Holmes faux-Victorian epic. I remember distinctly grinning from ear to ear as I watched Leela taking supper with Professor Litefoot. Or entranced by Jago and Casey exploring the depths of that creepy old theatre.

The magic is still there, more than 25 years later. Sure there is the rather problematic issue of the representation of Chinese characters (in particular, John Bennett's casting as Li H'sen Chang), but one has to take the rough with the smooth. For an excellent article on the subject I recommend Graeme Burk's excellent article "Talons of Stereotyping" originally printed in issue #113 of the fanzine Enlightenment and reprinted in 2010 as part of the Mad Norwegian Press anthology Time Unincorporated.

The edited Talons "movie" was one of the first stories I bought on VHS. It took to squeaking in my machine after a while, but I still loved nothing more than to sprawl out on the couch on a Sunday afternoon and watch it. To this day I can always find something to marvel at. Like how Dudley Simpson incorporates bits of the ditty "Daisy" into the incidental music. How can you not love a story that has a ventriloquist's dummy that's actually a robot with a pig's cerebral cortex. Or has a reference to Reykjavik! My God, the story quotes Pilgrim's Progress (Litefoot: 'He that is down, need fear no fall').

There is snow on the ground as I type, and I've enjoyed this treasure too many times to tell. Did I miss something all those years ago on that snowy New Year's Day? Only a fan and a true geek can answer that.

I feel a little sad as season 14 closes. There are still many stories I'm looking forward to, but I can't help feeling that I've once again left a special place and I feel a little sad. Honestly, nothing has disappointed me. I'm beginning t wonder if I'll ever be able to look at Doctor Who objectively. I hope not.

Original viewing date: January 1, 1984.

Wine: The appropriate thing to drink would have been port, but I just don't care for the stuff, so I picked a really good French Pinot Noir, Le Bourgogne, that I'm sure Professor Litefoot would have approved of.

Music: "Doctor, Doctor" by the Thompson Twins.