20 Problems Only Whovians Will Understand

14. Proprietarialism

More of a factor for long-time fans than it is for those who found the show after 2005, there's a definite urge to feel possessive about Doctor Who. This is perfectly natural when you take into consideration the fact that Doctor Who was, from sometime around 1985 to 2005, looked on by the not-we as something of an embarrassment. Fandom spent the better part of two decades not really talking much about the show except among those they knew to be in the circle. Then Christopher Eccleston came along and it seemed like the rest of the world finally realized what the fans had known all along - That Doctor Who was the coolest thing out there. So not unlike when your favorite little bar gets discovered and suddenly everybody is there, it's hard not to feel just a little bit of resentment for having been there first.

13. Explaining Why Cliffhangers Matter

It's difficult to explain to newer fans why the older fans got so excited by the end of Aliens of London. It must have seemed bewildering to them to see so much excitement over the fact that the story was going to be interrupted halfway through. To long term fans however, this was the final confirmation that Doctor Who was really back It's a sad truth that one of the few things about Doctor Who that didn't make it back from the dead in 2005 was the traditional cliffhanger. Fans of the new series, most of whom have been raised on a completely different style of television, can't possibly understand how important the cliffhangers were to the rhythm of the show. At their worst the cliffhangers devolved into just a closeup of Colin Baker's face saying, 'Oh no, Peri!', but at their best they turned everything you thought you knew about a story on its head. Before 2005 no one in Fandom could have imagined the show without them. Now we're left having to try to explain why.