New Doctor Who Time and How to Deal with It (aka why show fans get so upset )
First they didn’t like Tennant but they learned to love him, then they didn’t like Smith but learned to love him, then they didn’t like Capaldi…
They won’t like the next Doctor either, whoever it is. This is why:
You have neurons in your brain that are specifically attuned to faces and voices. When you begin watching a Doctor Who episode, you hear the music and see the TARDIS. These are conditioned stimuli. It cues your brain to charge up those neurons that are responsible for seeing that familiar Doctor.
When the doors to the TARDIS open and it’s not YOUR Doctor, you get upset. This because that neuron is poised to fire, but it can’t because it isn’t getting the stimulus it needs to fire. These neurons are screaming to your brain that their stimulus is supposed to be available, nearby and to search for it. Then other neurons of your brain, the ones that know it’s not true, have to suppress those impulses.
This all happens without narration. A silent argument in your own mind that you aren’t even aware of. This causes stress, more specifically disappointment.
It’s the same kind of stress as when you use the vending machine and you’re bag of chips gets stuck. Another example is when we have broken up with a significant other, walk into a familiar room, only to see they aren’t there.
Image from “Unsatisfying” via Mashable
The more familiar we are with the subject, the more neurons get dedicated to recognizing it. It’s not just the neurons that recognize the face and voice that don’t get to fire. All of the neurons that are associated to the character: memories, stories, movements, outfits, mannerisms, are waiting for those face and voice neurons to fire so they can kick in and do their thing. When they don’t, on a psychological level, it is painful.
But it doesn’t stop there. The healing process is also psychologically painful. The Neurons that you dedicated to your Doctor were “chosen” because they are the best suited for taking neurological input from the Doctor, and thus will be the best suited to recognize the new Doctor as well. Now your brain will begin to go through physical changes.
Image from “Doctor Who” / BBC via insidenu.com
The neurons that recognize the things about the doctor that stay the same will continue to exist. But those that are misfires or no longer needed, will be severed from the neurological branch or die off. The new neurons that select themselves to recognize the new Doctor will have to bend and twist themselves and negotiate a connection with that pre-existing neurological branch of Doctor Who.
Yes. I did just say changing Doctor Who actors kills brain cells. But this isn’t a bad thing.
This is a natural thing. It happens all the time: a show ends, we move to a new town or a new school, make new friends, our favorite restaurant closes, we find a new one. The process is the same, it hurts, we heal, and it is healthy.
You can’t improve your mind without killing off some neurons. When you’re born, you have the most Neurons you’ll ever have and as you grow up, they grab at each other and kill each other off in a sort of mental civil war. It’s how we grow and some research is suggesting experiencing this can even help prevent degenerative brain diseases such a dementia and Alzheimer’s.
So be a friend give your Fanboy/Fangirl a break when they start throwing a temper tantrum over the new Doctor Who, James Bond, Ghostbusters, Batman, or whatever. Their pain is real. Rub their back and tell them the new Doctor is going to be just as great as all the others, no matter who she is.
Image by Captainsanchez via Imgur
“Tilda Swinton’s role as the Ancient One in Doctor Strange was not without controversy, and now the actress may be the frontrunner to play another doctor: Doctor Who.”
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