In today’s continuation of the A-Z Challenge, I give you:

E is for EXTERMINATE!!

While I may have been late to the Doctor Who party, my love of the series is no less than any other Whovian. While many have grown tired of the Daleks, they are a new enemy to me, and I enjoy their plunger-and-whisk selves!

I know the questions you have:

1. Who was my first Doctor?
2. Who is my favorite Doctor?

My first doctor was David Tennant. The first episode I saw was the episode where the Doctor has to wipe companion Donna Noble‘s memory. While I didn’t catch every reference, the episode was so heartbreaking that I had to watch more.

I went back and began at the beginning of the new series with Christopher Eccleston and Rose Tyler. I’m still making my way through the old school Who, but for now, I’ll say that my favorite doctor is David Tennant.

Doctor Who both inspires me to do great things with character development and reminds me that when a series runs too long with a writer, it can drag itself into an ugly death. That is not to say that Doctor Who is dying, but more that Moffat’s directions of late haven’t been stellar. A series can grow redundant to the point of painful. (NCIS, Bones, and House are great examples of this. They’re also great examples of what happens far too often with series arcs that rely too much upon the Will They or Won’t They trope.) Book series can also run into this. For example, I feel that way about parts of the Dresden Files series.

As a writer, I want my characters to have the depth and delicious backstory of the Doctor, while avoiding the series pitfalls of redundancy.

And if my series’ begin to lag, well I guess it’ll be time to EXTERMINATE!

This post is part of the A-Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays) in the month of May, I’ll be posting about people, places, books, games, and other things that influence me as a writer or add a certain magic to my life. Join me in April as we explore a Hodge-Podge of Influences & Wayward Treks through the Fantastical.

Read more A-Z Challenge Posts here.