The romance of the unobtainable man…

I’ve been watching the latest series of Dr Who. I used to watch this show as a kid and it’s only just now that I’ve gone back – long story to do with TV reception. Anyway, it occurred to me, now years later, marginally wiser, slightly taller yet still with the same crooked lips, that the charm of Dr Who is he’s unobtainable and you have to take in all of him that you can before he leaves. If you don’t know the history of Dr Who he’s a time lord who regenerates and evolves into other Dr Who’s and fights time, aliens and himself. The current Dr is number 11.

Dr Who, Matt Smith, fascinates me. He’s a quirky crack up but he has that romantic edge of the unobtainable man about him. I believe there’s something about that which appeals to women. Unobtainable men. They’re the ones you always want the heroine to fall in love with but there’s something so deep and dark inside the man that you also know it probably will never happen and the heroine will get on with her life, heartbroken yet stronger for it. It’s a great, angst filled, edgy romantic concept and we don’t write enough of it. Why? Because traditionally we’ve been brought up to believe in the happily ever after and I think that’s a shame because life is so rarely happily ever after and we as a society set people up to be less than perfect if they didn’t get the man or they lost the man – ‘what’s wrong with her? He left her behind.’ Yet, I believe there’s something deeper, more intense when great loves or can-never-have-lovers part.

Dr Who? Give me the unobtainable man any day…