On Tuesday, democrat Stacey Abrams delivered the response to Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech and when it came to how she prepared for the historic task, Abrams had a surprisingly relatable strategy: watching Doctor Who.
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Abrams, who is the first African-American woman to deliver the State of the Union response, told BuzzFeed News’ AM to DM that she opted to watch a few episodes of the popular BBC series to get calm ahead of delivering her televised speech.
“I watched about three episodes of Doctor Who and just kind of chilled out,’ Abrams said.
Abrams’ chill-out technique surprised the hosts, leading Abrams to elaborate that she is getting caught up, having only started watching the contemporary iteration of the show about a year ago.
So, I’m catching up,” she said. “I started watching the new iteration of Doctor Who probably about a year ago, so I’ve watched the last season of Peter Capaldi and all of the new. But I had to go all the way back, because over New Year’s they did a Doctor Who marathon on BBC, so now I’m up to Season 8, so I just watched the end of Matt Smith and the oncoming of Peter Capaldi.”
It turns out that Abrams isn’t just catching up on the newer seasons, however. After news of her pre-speech watching habits got out, Doctor Who fans — Whovians — took to Twitter to find out who Abrams considers to be her favorite Doctor. Her response proved that the former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives is a fan of old school Doctor Who as well.
I’ve liked all of the newest regenerations since its return (some more than others), but Tom Baker remains the one Doctor to rule them all,” Abrams wrote on Twitter, referring to the so-called Fourth Doctor Baker played from 1974 to 1981 and reprised in a cameo appearance for the show’s 50th anniversary special in 2013.
As for Abrams getting caught up on the contemporary incarnation of the show, she’s got plenty of time to do so. Other than the New Year’s Day special, there won’t be a new Doctor Who episode airing until early 2020. The show’s twelfth season officially kicked off production late last month.
“We’re off again!” showrunner Chris Chibnall said in the new season announcement. Well we never actually stopped – as Jodie Whittaker‘s Doctor and friends have been winning the hearts of families across the nation this autumn, we’ve been busy with a whole new set of action packed adventures for the Thirteenth Doctor. We adore making this show and have been blown away by the response from audiences, so we can’t wait to bring more scares, more monsters and more Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole to BBC One. Brilliant!”
“We’re delighted that the Doctor and her friends will be returning to thrill audiences in 2020,” Charlotte Moore, BBC director of content. “I know Chris and the whole team are already working on a whole new set of exciting adventures. In the meantime we’ve got a very special episode on New Year’s Day for everyone to enjoy.”
What do you think about Abrams’ status as a Whovian? Let us know in the comments below.
