Science fiction is my guilty pleasure. It’s neither illegal nor salacious, but I suppose I harbor residual guilt, because my mother demanded I give up reading comic books when I was twelve years old and, to my regret, I did. I don’t know why this was important to her. Perhaps she thought it would dull my literary bent, but I was a fan of DC Comics, especially Superman, and while I gave them up at my mother’s insistence, my fondness merely expanded. I lucked into Madeline L’Engle’s, A Wrinkle in Time, in my elementary school library. Of all the books I read in childhood, that is one of only a handful that has stayed with me through the decades. From there my love morphed into Star Trek, Star Wars, Isaac Asimov, Ursula LeGuin, Octavia Butler, Ray Bradbury, etc., etc., ad infinitum.
So, of course, I must note that his week marks the 6oth anniversary of Dr. Who. You who are reading this may never have seen Dr. Who or even heard of it. This is my obsession after all. But the show first ran on the BBC, and PBS began broadcasting it in the U.S. in the 1980’s. Dr. Who, the character, is a “Time Lord” with the ability to regenerate. This has made it possible for many different actors to play the role; though the most recent iteration of the Doctor, played by Jody Whittaker, marks the first time the Doctor appeared as a woman. The show has gone on hiatus several times, but I have been a faithful watcher since it began. And this week, after another several year break, the first of two Dr. Who specials is airing on Disney+ (Plus what? I am often inclined to ask.) In the specials, David Tennant, who has appeared in everything stage, screen and television, reprises his role as the Doctor. I am excited.
In this week of Thanksgiving, I am grateful that I can find small pleasures in a television show aimed at children of all ages. Everything about it interests me– the, at best, cheesy set, the story line, the make-up, the costumes, the actors, the lighting. I am grateful for imagination, my own and everyone else’s. I am grateful for the opportunity to escape into another reality for a few hours. It’s delightful. Joy is hard to come by these days. Go out and grab some.
It would give us at ALTE great pleasure to see you at our Chanukah Zoom get together. Light a candle. Make a wish. For the link email altetogether@gmail.com.
Comic books were forbidden in our house! Ridiculous in hindsight! So many otherwise reasonable parents were sucked into psychologist Frederic Wertham’s claim that comics warp minds. I’m looking forward to the newest Dr. Who!
One mark of my age is that I recall when the Fantastic Four and Spiderman first appeared in my life. They were the "deep," psychological comics; I would periodically flee back to DC (Superman, Aquaman, the Martian Manhunter, etc.) for simpleminded relief.
Yet the Marvel movies do not interest me in the least.
I loved comic books. Also loved the paperback reprints of MAD comics. One of the best gifts I've ever received was a case of four hardcover volumes of MAD comic reprints in full color. Gosharooties!