As someone who studied abroad in the United Kingdom, I am frequently asked, “Is Great Britain similar to the many ‘quintessentially’ British things I’ve seen in Guy Ritchie movies, Harry Potter and Doctor Who?”
The answer is, of course, “Absolutely.”
For instance, one might presume that everyone in England not only watches, but personally knows, Doctor Who—or at least someone who appears Doctor Who-ish. While watching “Doctor Who” last weekend, I came to the realization that my friend Harry (Who’s real name is—in fact—James, but the nickname Harry cropped up due to his passing similarity to the English prince of the same name.) would look a bit like David Tennant, aka The Doctor, if clad in the proper attire. I took this realization to Twitter and tweeted my good, and thoroughly British, friend Chris.
EnemyOfPeanuts (Me): @justcalledchris Harry does look a bit like David Tennant, yeah? I’m not crazy, right?! He is a bit Doctor Who-ish!
The next morning, I awoke to find this tweet from Chris directed at me…
justcalledchris (Chris): @EnemyOfPeanuts HAHA. I’ve just made Harry dress up as Dr Who. I’ve taken photos and results will be on Facebook very soon! Check it out.
…followed quickly by this tweet…
justcalledchris: @EnemyOfPeanuts I’ve now uploaded a comparison picture to Facebook. Check it out!!! Good call Gibbons. Uncanny.
I immediately made my way over to Facebook and found the following hilarious and amazing photograph…
Caption accompanying the photo on Facebook: “Jim Gibbons mentioned that Harry Davies looks a bit like David Tennant (aka Doctor Who)… SO I MADE HARRY DRESS UP. I don’t think he was very happy about it; hence the annoyed look in the picture!“
Now, first of all, Harry looks shockingly similar to David Tennant/Doctor Who when in costume, does he not?! Secondly, the fact that a Doctor Who-ish coat, shirt and tie, not to mention a sonic screwdriver (which I presume is standard issue in all British homes) was lying around to make this photo happen is truly magical. All in all, I have never had a single tweet lead to such a satisfying and hilarious result. Thanks, Chris! And thanks for your patience, Harry!
Now, here’s the shocker: this photograph of Harry may not be the best example that all peoples of the British Isles are somehow intricately intertwined into the world of English fiction that I witnessed last week.
Poppy Corbett, another of my close and delightful British friends I met while studying abroad, is involved in London’s Theatre scene—in ways I wish I better understood so I could brag about that more. Anywho, to illustrate this next story, here is a picture of Poppy (whom I sometimes refer to as R2-D2 due to her tiny height and ability to launch lightsabers out of her head) and me in which I am wearing 30 t-shirts at once.
Long ago, again while watching Doctor Who, I became convinced that Poppy would be a great and hilarious companion for The Doctor. You’re undoubtedly noticing a trend about my thought process while watching Doctor Who, and yes, I do often think about how my few close British friends could be written into the Who mythos. So, imagine my surprise and delight at this series of tweets from Ms. Corbett from earlier this week…
Poppy_Corbett: of course I am at the Legally Blonde gala party, of course I sneaked in. OF FUCKING COURSE!
Poppy_Corbett: am I drinking the free champagne, am I eating the free canapes? yes I FUCKING AM!
Poppy_Corbett: at the Legally Blonde party with @Dan_Baker83, Tennant, Stacey Solomons and Graham Norton also here…
Poppy_Corbett: Tennant loving the canapes…
Poppy_Corbett: Eaten four mini hamburgers in the presence of The (former) Doctor. I’m not sure how he feels about this…
Freakin’ awesome, right?!
So, in conclusion, if you think every single British person has a personal connection to British fiction, particularly Doctor Who, you are entirely correct!!!
Case closed.
Similar Posts:
He has some features – such as hair and sideburns – that are similar, and when dressed up with props like glasses and the suit, it helps the look. But, honestly, physically, he doesn’t look like him at all. I could list two dozen things that are absolutely different about them, facially.
You have come to a great conclusion here Jim! This put such a smile on my face! And…don’t forget Tom’s resemblance to Ron Weasley….
Rob, I am certainly not insinuating that Harry is—in any way—a clone of David Tennant. However, I am fairly certain there are only nine things that are facially different between them, though, thank you for being so thorough as to count 20.
Kate, you are certainly right about Tom and Ron… though I suspect there are at least 13 things Rob could find different between. I, however, think there are likely only 5.3 features that would be disparate.
You know, playful sarcasm aside, Rob may be the first person I do not personally know to leave such an impassioned comment on this blog. Though I had to poke a little fun, thanks for stopping by Rob, and for joining in on the conversation as well!
Fantastic blog post Jim!
Using that “Six Degrees of Separation” thing I can get to David Tennant pretty quickly: My good friend Daigo is a personal trainer. A few of his clients are actors on The Catherine Tate Show. Catherine Tate was one of the Doctors assistants for a season. Therefore ME > DAIGO > THOSE ACTORS > CATHERINE TATE > DAVID TENNANT. Not bad eh?
A second way would be this: a very good friend of mine used to be best friends (at school) with the girl who played Miss Evangelista in Silence In The Library and Forest of the Dead episodes.
So, yeah, I guess the assumption that every single British person has a connection to British fiction, particularly Doctor Who, is correct.
Chris.
Chris,
Firstly, I of course know who Catherine Tate is! No need for explanation there, amigo. I may not be British, but I am a massive nerd!
Secondly, aside from my obvious connections to Doctor Who outlined in this post and your comment (as your two and five degrees of separation from Tennant could still have a third and sixth tacked on the end to connect me), I too have another connection to Doctor Who…
Back when I was working at Wizard, I interviewed Paul Cornell (because he now writes comics for Marvel) who’s the writer of three Who episodes: The Family of Blood, Human Nature and the first introduction of Rose’s Dad Pete Tyler in the Eccleston ep Father’s Day. Sure, it was just an interview and a few emails, but essentially, yet another connection to Doctor Who…
…that said, perhaps it isn’t just Brits who are connected to Doctor Who… perhaps all humanity can trace a connection back to him. Curious!
But do any of these people look as ravishing as I in a scarf? I thought not!
All kidding aside, when a show runs for 117 years and originates from an island no bigger than a modestly sized state, it seems nearly impossible for ANYONE not to be connected to it.
Also, never let Kristin see the manboy in the picture on the right. Her love of Tennant would almost certainly cause her to stalk him, and that wouldn’t be good for anybody.
“All kidding aside, when a show runs for 117 years and originates from an island no bigger than a modestly sized state, it seems nearly impossible for ANYONE not to be connected to it.”
Good point.
Also, Harry (or HARRRRRRRRRRRR, as he is sometimes affectionately called by friends… though I am not one of those friends who has ever called him that) is spoken for. Sorry, ladies.