Over the past decades, science fiction has been a killer hit. There have been numerous films and shows and sitcoms based on science-fiction, from E.T. to Star Trek, and of course the always famous Star Wars series. Niles West even has a Master Jedi Sci-Fi Club to honor Star Wars.

Basically, science-fiction has played a significant part in the American media culture. However, there is one other that a lot of people forget about, and it’s been around forever. Well, almost forever. For nearly half a century, Doctor Who has been entertaining crazy fans of science-fiction, drama, comedy, and romance since 1963.

Doctor Who is an hour long television show originally televised by BBC. It is about an ancient Time Lord (The Doctor) who travels around space and time with his big blue box, the T.A.R.D.I.S (Time and Relative Dimension in Space). Along the way, he picks up close companions and dear friends to join in on his journey around the cosmos to battle his rivals and enemies, save civilizations, and just have an overall  good time.

The show began in 1963 and stopped in 1996. It was renewed in 2005, but with the same plot and similar ideas. Many people wonder how it was possible for the show to continue from 1963 for so long. What about the main charatcer? Well, I would say that is one of the big secrets behind the success of Doctor Who. The Time Lord is capable of regenerating when he is dying. He can get a new body with complete new set of biological data. This allows new actors to begin playing the part, allowing Doctor Who to never get old and always stay fresh. So far, 11 people have played the part. The first actor to play was William Hartnell, and the 11th is Matt Smith, who is the most recent Doctor.

“[What]I love [the most is] that it [Doctor Who] ties so many themes together and really makes me think. There’s the romantic storyline of Rose and the Doctor, but they also know that saving the world is more important than staying together. There’s history, often introducing viewers to people like Charles Dickens and the Queen, giving us another light to view them in. The show also makes me speculate about the future and if it will end up the way it’s protrayed in the show,” remarks sophomore Rachel Traisman, who just recently began watching the show.

Many Americans don’t know too much about Doctor Who, especially not the teens. However, there are quite a lot of us who are head over heels in love with this show. Niles West has its own share of “Whovians”, and this group of people have begun the Doctor Who Club, sponsored by English teacher Paul Wack.

“Students in one of my classes came up with idea, and they are very creative and fun, and I knew they came up with something interesting. I think it [Doctor Who Club] will be successful with a small group of people who enjoy being different,” Wack mentions when he is asked why he became the sponsor.

Doctor Who Club kicks off every Thursday at 3:45 in the Literacy Center classroom. Nearly every Thursday begins with a similar routine. The tired members settle down to relax and watch an episode of one of their favorite T.V. shows. As the students bustle around, plopping their bags and coats down on the desks and chairs, Wack walks in and expresses joy at seeing us all and claims that the club is the “best club ever.”

Finally, someone chooses an episode to watch, and Maku uses his handy-dandy Netflix to start the show. Since Doctor Who has so many episodes, the club members have decided to watch them from the first season in 2005, and onwards. However, to be able to get to the sixth season finale, which is the most recent of the Doctor Who episodes, the club decided to skip many episodes and only watch those with the important plotlines and those which everyone votes on. As of right now, the first season has been watched, and so has the second. The first season consisted of the ninth Doctor (played by Christopher Eccleston), and the second season began with the tenth Doctor (David Tennant).

A collective outburst of laughter vibrates across the room as a hilarious part appears on the screen. Some shout out at random to really brighten the laughter even more. Occasionally there is awe at a particularly interesting scene, and then there is the silence following a violent explosion or dramatic scene that just left everyone speechless.

The idea to come up with a club for the Whovians [name given to Doctor Who fans] was brought up by close friends, juniors Marina Letica and Galina Velgach. Letica and Velgach are co-presidents along with junior John Maku.

“Galina and I wanted to make a club because we were both totally obsessed with the show and noticed that a bunch of other people were too, some of our friends wanted to watch but didn’t have a chance to at home, so we thought, well, why not make a club? If there’s Tolkien society, we should have a club too.'” said Letica.

According to Letica, Doctor Who allows people to experience a whole new world of science fiction, and coming to the club meetings would allow students and teachers to not only get a chance to watch the show, but to also make new friends. And if they do love the show already, then the club is just another opportunity to connect with people who share mutual interests.

“I think in order for this club to really have a future we need to start getting more underclassmen to come because a lot of our members are juniors, including the other presidents and myself,” added Letica when asked what she thinks the future of the club will be.

Wack agrees with Letica, specifying the fact that Doctor Who provides an universe that is parallel to ours, and yet very much alike. He also finds it amazing that the show brings forth many different questions and controversies concerning humanity, morals, ethics, and the question of whether or not God exists.

The club is still in its early stages, and yet many people attend weekly meetings. It was able to be created because so many people are interested in the show, and are insanely crazy fans of it. However, the club still wants to appeal to the other Whovians out there who haven’t heard of the show, or those who would like to give this unique show a chance.

“It seems like not too many people watch the show, so this is a great way for those of us who do to interact. Also, hopefully it can introduce new people to an amazing show. I think that everyone should watch it!” said Traisman, adding to her belief that the show is remarkable and ought to be experienced by every human being alive.

As the episode draws to an end, the end credits begin to play, while a preview of the next episode is shown. The dedicated members begin to come out of their comfortable shell and get into their coats to end the meeting of the week. Some chit-chatter is heard, and the shutting of the doors as the kids leave the classroom, getting on to the next thing on their agenda for the day.

“Everybody has their own specific choice in the kind of television show they watch. I like science-fiction because it isn’t the typical drama and romance. It is unexpected, fun, and interesting,” remarked junior Jawairia Nagani, a long-time fan of Doctor Who, as she was gathering her belongings.

At the end of the day, Doctor Who is just a show, but to the Whovians, it is a show full of whatever they could imagine. A great love story, a tale of friendship, a thrilling account of adventure, and the horror film, all packed into one beautiful show.