I was eight years old when Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper first appeared on my TV screen as The Doctor and Rose Tyler in 2005’s Doctor Who revival. After a long time away, the historic science fiction show was back to usher in a new generation of viewers. As a lover of the genre, I was adamant this was going to be something special. Turns out, I was right!

Fast forward to 2025. I’m 28 years old and preparing for a summer of sci-fi with Doctor Who and Andor. Doctor Who received a new lease of life (and a whole lot of dough alongside it) in 2022 when Disney Plus became its new international home. For a show that’s called ‘One Piece for British people with its eye-watering number of episodes dating back to the series premiere in 1963, the fact that Doctor Who was suddenly available to much wider audience was exciting. (As an aside, I’d also called it the summer of Varada Sethu, who appears in both Andor and in Doctor Who, as the latest companion to Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor. I couldn’t wait to see how these shows would feature one of my favorite actors. Spoiler: This would not work out for me. Varada Sethu, I’m so sorry.)

After a truly topsy-turvy season, I decided the only thing left to do was rewatch the entire series to see what had ensnared eight-year-old me in the first place. But I refused to do so alone and, knowing that my friend from the States — an avid Star Wars fan from Texas — had expressed an interest in getting into Doctor Who, it seemed like the........

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