13 Things Non-Fans Always Get Wrong About Doctor Who

13. Doctor Who Fans Have Always Been Called 'Whovians'

The term 'Whovian' is bandied about these days in reference to all Doctor Who fans everywhere, but it hasn't always been that way. Unlike 'Trekkie', a collective noun referring to Star Treks fans that was apparently first coined in 1967, 'Whovian' came about in the 1970s when fan clubs started springing up and as recently as twenty years ago it was only ever used when referring to American Doctor Who fans. Back in the 1980s and 90s, British Doctor Who fans weren't Whovians. Australian Doctor Who fans weren't Whovians either and neither were New Zealand Doctor Who fans. South African Doctor Who fans weren't Whovians. It was only American Doctor Who fans who were ever referred to as Whovians. And maybe Canadian Doctor Who fans, kinda by default. It's only been adopted as a collective noun for Doctor Who fans the world over since the series was revived in 2005 and on a really large scale only in the last three or so years. In this globalised 21st century world of ever-decreasing regional differences, no doubt some lazy journalist, engaged in yet another spot of lazy journalism, came across the term 'Whovian' and applied it to whatever Doctor Who-related topic they were reporting on. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, that reference was probably seen by millions of people all over the world within a matter of days - et voila! 'Whovian' = all Doctor Who fans everywhere. And now, apparently, it does.