And I enjoy the sheer antipathy that is inevitably inspired by any criticism of this show (or, God forbid, actor David Tennant).

No, seriously — I actually really liked the horrorish episode, “Blink,” with the weeping angels.  I’m running this for my old friend David Bozic, who, it turns out, is another devoted “Whovian.”

Here’s the review I did on Facebook maybe two years ago:

*****

Doctor Who generally isn’t my thing.  But I have friends who are really diehard … “Whovians?”  Is that what they call themselves? And Alex Tirado-Snyder finally talked me into watching a particularly good episode – Season 3’s “Blink.”

I wasn’t disappointed.  This is actually a great little horror story, and you can enjoy it even if you’re unacquainted with the bizarre (and poorly delineated, in my opinion) rules for this unique sci-fi universe.  It honestly reminds me of something that Stephen King might have written, albeit for a general tv audience.  I was genuinely creeped out by the story’s adversaries, which I won’t describe because of spoilers.  The repeated line of “Don’t blink!” along with the episode’s closing shots, were nice and frightening.

It’s also a damned cool time-travel story – if you’re patient and pay attention, you’ll see that it works.  Carey Mulligan is a really good actress in a lead guest role, and parts of the story (featuring characters displaced in time) are pretty poignant.  I’m not sure this episode really merits its Hugo Award, but it was still a good watch.  I’d recommend it.  Thanks, Alex.

It’s easy to see why this widely venerated show has such a devoted fanbase.  It’s fun and quirky and smart.  Still, I can’t say that this franchise is quite my thing.  I feel the same why about this as I do about Joss Whedon’s work.  I know it’s well made, but it’s too high-camp for me.  Also … I can’t explain this, but David Tennant just gets on my nerves.  I remember being turned off by him in his role in 2011’s “Fright Night” remake.  I don’t know why … is he too chipper?  Too manic?  Is there an androgynous quality about him that I find unsettling?  There’s something about him that suggests an overeager British schoolboy that won’t shut up and just won’t leave you alone.  Whatever.  I’m sure the problem is me.  He’s a very good actor, and of course he’s well suited for this role.

Postscript: I had a lot of fun with this story because it brought back something from my childhood.  In the long ago pre-internet days when I was 11 years old, the kids on the street would huddle under Jason Huhn’s porch on summer nights and tell ghost stories.  I made up a monster a little like the one in this story, and it scared my best friend Shawn because I portrayed him as the victim.  He tried to make me stop telling the story, but the other kids insisted I continue.  He got pretty agitated.  So I was kind of a jerk when I was a kid, too, sort of.