It’s time to celebrate 50 years of Doctor Who, and as the beginning of Hypable’s Doctor Who giveaway features, Hypable writer Tariq Kyle explains why it’s such a good time to be a Whovian.

Well, guys, we’ve made it! Not literally “we” as in “you and I,” because more likely than not you weren’t alive when Doctor Who began (or at least, most of our demographic wasn’t!). Rather, the Doctor Who fandom has made it to an incredible milestone: Fifty years of awesome! And it’s seriously the best time to be a Whovian right now.

Years ago when the show first aired in 1963, the first episode actually had to be re-aired because Kennedy’s assassination overshadowed this tiny show’s premiere, and rightly so. Who would have wanted a weird new sci-fi show when one of the world’s most powerful leaders had just been assassinated? Lucky for us, when it did air again it found its niche audience, and without our grandparents and/or parents tuning in to watch the Doctor’s adventures, it wouldn’t still be here for us today.

We’re luckier than our parents and grandparents are, though, because Doctor Who has come alive in more ways than one. All of today’s Whovians should really take time to thank the BBC, thank Russell T. Davies, and thank Steven Moffat for what they’ve done for us. No matter what critics have to say about any of these parties, without these three entities and individuals we would not be here today celebrating 50 years of Doctor Who, and it would certainly not be as thriving as it is now. Yes they break our hearts several times a year (*cough*Moffat*cough*) but they continue to bring the Doctor back to our screens, and we at Hypable are so thankful for it.

Doctor Who has taken over the world lately, from Twitter, to Tumblr, to Facebook, to Barnes and Noble, to TeeFury and entertainment sites like Hypable. BBC and BBC America have hired an amazing group of staff to connect with its fans and its viewers through these mediums to make sure that those who enjoy Doctor Who keep enjoying it, even when it’s not on the air. This isn’t something that actively happened in the 60s/70s.

The actors send messages to their fans and keep us on our toes. They keep our voices screaming their names because they know how important Doctor Who has become, and it’s astounding. There are always new contests on the Internet and meet ups in person, and this show interacts with its fans so much. We’re lucky to be a part of something so special for such a unique occasion: Fifty years of amazing sci-fi content! We’re lucky that the 50th anniversary is happening at a time where we can be so vocal and interactive with the people who make the show, because without all of this interaction I’m not sure the fandom would be quite as big as it is now!

When we think of fandom, a lot of us might initially think of Harry Potter or Twilight or something similar, with a fan base that’s large and diverse and loud and amazingly awesome, but neither are (in this writer’s opinion) as truly diverse or as outstanding in history as Doctor Who. That’s a huge statement to make, yes, but it’s true!

In fifty years Doctor Who has managed to suck in your grandparents and your grandparents’ friends, your parents and your parents’ friends, and now you and your friends. It’s a show that a family can watch together, and we bond over the fact that you’re watching *new* episodes of something that came out when your grandpa was a kid. How rare is that?! That’s something that Harry Potter or Twilight fans won’t be able to say when they reach 50 years old, and we should be proud.

Doctor Who has thrived for much longer than a lot of fandoms, and we hope it keeps this tradition of keeping us surprised and sad because we don’t want to imagine a day without the Doctor. So congratulations, Doctor Who fandom! We’ve made it this far! Let’s make it fifty more, shall we?

‘Doctor Who’ Giveaway #1

It’s time to giveaway our first two prizes of the month! Just use the widget below to enter the giveaway, and a winner will be selected in one week on November 19!