Ron Grainer/Delia Derbyshire, “Doctor Who”

It was forty-eight years ago today when the madman in a blue box first dropped from the sky onto Earth. Hidden away in a junkyard, and hidden from viewers due to a country-wide power failure, the old man known as The Doctor would soon become an incalculable force in the pop-culture world. Doctor Who is adventure and excitement, but it’s also hope and wonder. To this day, there’s not a show on television which presents the same cavalier optimism that makes it such a joy to watch.

Thank you to William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, and the future regenerations. Now…onwards! Allons-y! And Geronimo!

Murray Gold, “I Am The Doctor”

Hello Stonehenge! Who takes the Pandorica takes the Universe. But bad news everyone! ‘Cause guess Who!

Listen, you lot: you’re all whizzing about. It’s really very distracting. Could you all just stay still a minute? Because I. am. TALKING! Now, the question of the hour: who’s got the Pandorica.

Answer: I do.

Next question: Who’s coming to take it from me?

…Come on. Look at me! No plan, no backup, no weapons worth a damn! Oh, and something else: I don’t have anything to lose. So if you’re sitting up there in your silly little spaceship with all your silly little guns and you’ve got any plans on taking the Pandorica tonight, just remember who’s standing in your way! Remember every black day I ever stopped you! And then! And then! Do the smart thing.

…Let somebody else try first.

The Timelords, “Gary in the TARDIS”

“He’s the leader! (HEY!) Of the gang! He’s the leader! (HEY!) The TARDIS! He’s the leader! (HEY!) Of the gang! Rock and roll…”

This tune played through my head as I watched Nine and Rose dash down that hallway, as Doctor Who rocketed back into TV and into my heart again. The erstwhile KLF put a beat to the adventure I always wanted to have with The Doctor, the kind which had never materialized during the Sylvester McCoy years and which failed to manifest in the one-off Fox reboot. Say what you will about Eccleston’s series, but he and Russel T. Davies worked hard to get the show back onto TV with a bang.

Now I want, no, need the Ponds and The Doctor to swing heroically into action to this tune. I’ve been waiting since ‘89! Don’t let me down now, show!