Doctor Who: A Week of Beginnings and Endings

The bad news for Whovians is we have to wait until 2020 to get any new episodes of Doctor Who.

The good news is those episodes are really on the way as production on Series 12 began this past week. 

And no other news. We know Jodie, Bradley, Tosin and Mandip were on a location shoot, apparently back in South Africa (where the gang shot "Rosa" for Series 11) but as par for the course with Chris Chibnall’s Doctor Who, we have zero clues what the gang is up to.

Well, we have a whole year to agonize over what may or may not be happening.

In the neighborhood of the Fortress of Ineptitude, there was some news that negatively affects our Doctor Who watching habits. To watch Doctor Who, it has been our habit to abscond from the Fortress and go see Doctor Who at Geeksboro.  This past week, just as a new season of Doctor Who production was beginning, Geeksboro was coming to an end.

Geeksboro was a local business that catered to the geeks and nerds who obsess over Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Walking Dead, anime, video games and more.  For about 7 years, Geeksboro was this old hole in the wall storefront in a strip mall with a some battered couches and chairs in front of a pull down screen to watch TV shows and movies, some table space to play board games, pinball games and stations to play video games. There was a bar serving coffee, smoothies and wine along with pastries and other snacks. There was a decidedly lo-fi vibe about the place but it was warm and welcoming. 

About a year ago, Geeksboro owner Joe Scott announced it was time to move. 

Geeksboro was going to move a mile or so up the road into an empty restaurant space. Joe said it would be the Geeksboro we know and love but better with a kitchen serving up a full menu of food and with more space. 

I don’t want to piss on a man’s dreams, particularly when the man in question is down and his dreams have apparently died but I was never happy at the new Geeksboro. I know others who spoke well of the new location but it was the little things.

Like how the first time we went to the new Geeksboro to watch Doctor Who and we approached the bar to order the smoothies we liked to get, peach and strawberry for Andrea and Randie and just peach for me. At the old location, the gang knew us to the point they would start preparing our smoothies when they saw me walk up to the bar. In the new location, they did not have smoothies. I know I’m being petty but this irked me. And I never did find a satisfactory drink to replace my beloved smoothie. I acquiesced to ordering something called a “Ting” which is some kind of Sprite like beverage.

The room set up for TV watching was bigger and had a much nicer screen than the old location. But it seemed so vast and less cozy than the old location.   

And as for the much heralded kitchen with full menu, there was very little that wasn’t ladened with cheese and jalapeños and deep fried. 

Again, I’m pretty much pulling a Sheldon Cooper here and kvetching against change. Yes, the old location had terrible parking and it could be a bit crowded on a busy night but I’ll be damned, it still felt like our Doctor Who place. I felt like a guest. At the new location, I felt like a customer.

Well, my bitching aside, I’m still sorry to hear of Geeksboro’s closing. I’m sorry that Joe’s dreams came to a crashing and inglorious end. From reports I’ve heard, he sacrificed more than just money but lots and lots of time which also cost him his marriage.  I would rather his dreams succeeded, even if it meant my bitching about the lack of smoothies and the excess of deep fried cheese jalapeño things. 

We have a year until we can get new Doctor Who. Maybe in that year, a new spiritual successor to Geeksboro will rise up.