The Dursley's Doctor Who Night
Summary: They strived to be normal and would never accept such nonsense that was depicted in fantasy and science fiction, yet the normal thing to do was to watch the widely popular 'Doctor Who' – and by now the entire family was truly hooked.
Vernon muttered as he read the paper. He really should give up on The Evening Standard, what with the rubbish articles they had produced as of late. But he carefully read every sentence, even in his annoyance. It would not do for him to not be fully updated on the news – whatever would he talk with his co-workers about? – and it did in fact make him secretly happy when he found something to nitpick on. A fault in grammar perhaps, or some foolish way to write a sentence. Vernon Dursley liked things proper, and as such he found many things to growl at every day. He liked to think of himself as the father, Mr Banks, in the famous musical, Mary Poppins. He never cared much for the rest of the story, of course, since it was filled with stupid imaginative adventures, but for a few shining moments in the beginning of the show, Mr Banks set the world straight. Vernon, despite working at a company most people would describe as boring, believed himself to do the same thing.
"Dad, it's almost starting!" Vernon's beloved son, Dudley, came into the living room in a whirlwind of enthusiasm. He quickly turned on the television, and called for his mother to hurry up. Vernon watched his son, somewhat amused. Dudley was a big, strong boy, looking a lot like his father. He was seven years old, and plunked himself down on the couch.
"Is it on?" asked Petunia, Vernon's wife and Dudley's mother. She came into the living room carrying a tray with tea cups from which steam rose. Dudley shook his head, but his eyes kept glued to the screen.
Petunia served them all tea, and Vernon put down his newspaper. He could continue with that later – now he, too, was focused on the television.
The Dursleys' had the great misfortune of living in a world that was not as normal and proper as they would have liked it to be. Their friends and colleagues knew nothing of the magical world that existed all around them, and the Dursleys' envied them for that. None of them were magic of course – they would never hold with such nonsense. However, Petunia's nephew might be. His parents had been, which was embarrassing enough. Petunia and Vernon had very reluctantly agreed to take in young Harry (in truth they didn't get much say in the matter), but they were trying their hardest to make sure the boy would not be 'magical'. As a result Harry mostly stayed in the cupboard under the stairs – out of mind, out of sight. And hopefully the magic wouldn't find him there. The Dursleys' were not fond of imaginative things and stories, so it was rather ironical that they all had come to love the television show they now awaited. Science fiction was a ridiculous concept, Vernon thought, but everyone at the firm where he worked were infatuated with this particular show. Thus, as to not seem suspicious, he had started watching it some ten years prior. Petunia had supported him, and found she quite liked it as well. Dudley had grown up with it, and loved the action and the adventure. He was a young boy, after all.
The familiar theme started, and Dudley squealed in his excitement. A new story would begin today, and he could hardly wait to see what would happen. Petunia took a drink of her tea, and the family watched in silence for a little while.
"I still don't like him. They should have left the last one on longer," Vernon said. He squinted at the man manning the TARDIS. Vernon was not a fan. The Seventh Doctor seemed to simply win over his enemies by mistake, and he always carried an umbrella, which Vernon could not understand. Surly it wouldn't rain on every planet the time lord went to? "The last one was a terrible dresser of course, but at least he was no pushover," he continued. Petunia furrowed her eyebrows.
"Oh, I don't know. I found him to be rather arrogant. You know, I still believe the Fifth one to be my favourite. He was dashing, but polite and well behaved," she said, having always been rather fond of Peter Davison.
Dudley shushed his parent. They kept having arguments about which Doctor was the best, which annoyed him. Didn't they understand that it was only one Doctor? He just looked different from time to time. Besides, it was getting very interesting, and he wanted to focus on what was happening.
In the hall next to the living room, the nephew, Harry, was indeed spending time in his cupboard. He was a small boy, and so there was quite a lot of room for him. He didn't dare join in when the Dursleys' were watching Doctor Who, but he listened eagerly from where he laid. Harry liked the show. He was only able to see it a couple of times, but he loved listening to it. He recognised the voices of the actors, and it was fairly easy to follow the story, even in scenes when there was mostly music or explosions. Harry appreciated how un-Dursley the show was – modern, scientific, imaginative. It made him smile as he pushed aside a spider that walked over his knee.
"Wonder what will happen to Mel…" Dudley said out loud, as the Doctor's assistant was kidnapped. Vernon sighed.
"I'm growing a bit tired of her too, to be honest. She's always so happy," he complained.
"Indeed, and too trusting," Petunia analysed. Dudley only shrugged. He thought the redhead was kind of cute. She reminded him of a girl at his school, who always wore pigtails. They were funny to pull at.
The programme ended, and the family chatted for a while about their thoughts and theories. Vernon hold on to his opinion of wanting the Sixth Doctor back, Dudley was looking forward to the next episode, and Petunia criticised Mel for talking too much about staying healthy – she feared it would give Dudley the wrong impression. He was a growing boy, who needed a lot to eat. Turning vegetarian because a TV character said so wouldn't be very wise. After a while she went to the kitchen to clean the tea cups, Dudley went up to his room, and Vernon once again settled into the chair, unfolding his paper. It was a rather nice family tradition, after all. In the cupboard Harry fantasised about running away with the Doctor on one of his adventures.
Note: This takes place in October, 1987, the episode is supposed to be Paradise Tower, part one.