The Doctor

“He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe. And... he's wonderful.” - Tim Latimer, Human Nature (Season 3, Episode 8 of Doctor Who)

The Doctor is a position exclusive to Saratoga Springs that was initiated in 2013.2 by Cathy Nie, who built the first TARDIS as a way to celebrate Uber-Expressive Nerd/Fandom Day and spread inspirational messages campuswide. It became an official position at SAR in 2014, between the summers of 2014 and 2015. The title is based on the popular Doctor Who sci-fi series. Each year, a new, regenerated Doctor [and his/her companion] will build a TARDIS for Nerd/Fandom Day on the second Monday of Session 2. Traditionally, the Doctor writes an inspirational message inside the TARDIS and places the TARDIS in a corner outside the cafeteria (Murray Dining Hall) so that fellow CTYers can write their own inspirational messages inside the TARDIS and take pictures with it. The current Doctor ceremoniously passes on the title, along with the Doctor’s relics (read below), to a dedicated Onemore during Passionfruit.

Originally, the main role of the Doctor was to build a TARDIS for Nerd/Fandom Day, but the role has since extended to recording that session’s quotes written inside the TARDIS and making members of the community feel welcome. In 2014, Emilia Nobrega and Cathy Nie (the Second and First Doctor, respectively) decided to pass on four relics to future Doctors: a sonic screwdriver, a bowtie, a paint roller, and the Doctor’s Diary.

Each TARDIS-building process is documented here.

Relics

In 2014, after the Doctor became an official position at Saratoga Springs, Cathy Nie and Emilia Nobrega (the First and Second Doctor, respectively) decided to pass on four relics to their successors: a sonic screwdriver (courtesy of Cathy Nie), a bowtie (Cathy Nie), a paint roller (Emilia Nobrega), and the Doctor’s Diary (Emilia Nobrega), arguably the most important relic.

The Sonic Screwdriver

In Doctor Who, the sonic screwdriver plays a pivotal role in all of the Doctor’s escapades. It can unlock, analyze, scan, lock, repair, and break almost anything and has helped the Doctor escape from his enemies multiple times throughout the series. In real life, the sonic screwdriver replica that is passed down is a fun light that emits a sonic screwdriver sound when the button is pressed and is generally a very cool item to have. The sonic screwdriver was originally owned by Cathy Nie, the First Doctor, and was passed down to Emilia Nobrega (the Second Doctor), who passed it on to Daniel Mitrano (the Third Doctor), and so on.

The Bowtie

~

The Paint Roller

~

The Doctor’s Diary

In 2013.2 and 2014.2, both Cathy’s and Emilia’s TARDISes disappeared before the end of the session. It is likely that the staff at SAR threw both beautiful TARDISes out without asking either of the dedicated Doctors for permission, and so, the Doctor’s Diary became a relic passed down to combat the TARDIS tossing as well as to pass on important messages from one Doctor to the next. Originally the property of Emilia Nobrega (the Second Doctor), the Doctor’s Diary contains [almost] every inspirational/RASK-y quote that CTYers have written in the TARDIS each year. This way, even if the TARDIS isn’t saved before the staff throws it out, the quotes will be memorialized forever for future CTYers to read.
Cathy and Emilia are currently attempting to recover the quotes from their respective Nevermore years from memory and from pictures taken by their helpful CTY friends. Unfortunately, there is still a chance that not every quote will be recovered due to the limits of photos and memory, but hopefully, in the future, Doctors will either save their TARDIS or diligently record the quotes written inside their TARDIS before the staff can throw it out.