Fast forward to something like 2008. I picked up Torchwood Season 1 without having any idea that it was a Doctor Who spinoff. After a few episodes, it became pretty obvious that I was missing something. That's when I watched Season 1 of Doctor Who's reboot. And I really started to understand not only what other people were talking about but what I had missed out on. It started me down a path that culminated to finishing up the David Tennant run as Doctor Who.
I never anticipated to be deeply moved by Doctor Who or Torchwood. Both have floored me many times with the way they use a short hour to make characters relatable...even people I cared about enough to be sad they were gone. I'd say that the number of episodes I didn't like are so dramatically outweighed by those I thought were amazing. The finales of Seasons 2 and 4 were incredible (admittedly, I thought Season 3's ending was super rushed).
I thought the 4 specials closing out David Tennant's time were amazing. I couldn't imagine them doing it any other way.
There's still a lot to go. I'm three Doctors behind and I've only scratched the surface of Torchwood Season 2.Then I need to go back and watch some of the older Doctor Who seasons (which are available on BritBox). I can say this: even though I haven't finished or caught up, I can say straight up that I get it now. I understand the appeal and passion of fans of the universe they've created here.
It's been an incredible journey and I look forward to pressing on...even if those final words killed me: 'I don't want to go'.