‘Where were you when …? A classic question for those historic moments in time’

Where were you when …? This is a classic question.

Where were you when you heard about the assassination of John F Kennedy? I cannot remember. But as youngsters, we became aware of the impact on the United States and the Western world.

Where were you when the first man landed on the moon? I was in high school, surrounded by hundreds of teens, looking at fuzzy images on one black and white television. That was a momentous time in human history.

Where were you when you heard about the passing of Elvis? That day, I was driving home from my first teaching job, listening to popular music on a local radio station. The song was interrupted. “Elvis Presley died today. The king is dead. Rock ‘n’ roll will never die”, rr did the commentator say, “Long live rock ‘n’ roll”? It was long ago and far away, a faded memory. This mattered to us in our generation.

Where were you when you first viewed Dr Who? Now, that is a good question. I think it must have been sometime in the late- or mid-1960s, sitting in the lounge room, somewhere in middle Melbourne. My father was asleep in his armchair, as normal. Gazing at our ABC, the rest of the family were fascinated.

The music of Dr Who was like nothing I’d ever heard before, synthesised, eerie, a symbol. Soon we were taken travelling in four dimensions, in the new genre of science fiction. I loved that show! A lot of the material in early episodes would now be banned for their politically incorrect attitudes.

The Daleks appeared, scary aliens we soon imitated, like later generations of children. My classroom of schoolchildren used to say, in strange voices, “Stop giving us so much work, or you will be exterminated!”

This old Dalek replied, “Do your homework, or you will be exterminated. You will be in Grade Six forever!” It was hard not to laugh.

Yes, the terms Dalek and Tardis have become officially part of the Oxford English language over the intervening years. Dr Who himself, has regenerated many times, the scripts are still great, the sets have improved. Dr Who time travels on, to tempt our good imaginations.

Currently, around the world, there are a plethora of Dr Who fan clubs, meeting personally or online, depending on social restrictions. Two of my old acquaintances have been members in Australia for years. Living in this climate, in middle Melbourne, we are supposed to raise our hoodies for Dr Who, in any circumstance.

It’s a classic question — where were you when …?