Disclaimer: "Doctor Who" is owned by the BBC, and "Heroes" is created by Tim Kring. Maen and this story's narrator are mine.
People often wonder what an alien world would be like. Personally, I've wondered what an extra-terrestrial would think of our planet. The Doctor himself has been fairly optimistic about us (albeit that I feel his optimism is misplaced). But then, apparently he knows us humans better than we know ourselves. So in a way, what he thinks could never count. But now that we have a companion from a galaxy far far away, all I needed to do is observe her reactions to what Earth is like, and I'll have my answer.
After some time, the Tardis finally landed, and the Doctor could say: "There. We're here."
"Already?" our new companion, Maen, was surprised, "But I thought you said the planet was too far away."
"With your technology, it would take centuries until you reached Earth, yes." the Doctor explained, "But with Time Lord technology, it's like going around the corner and back again."
"So where exactly are we, Doc?" I asked.
"Didn't you hear?" Maen asked.
"Yes..." I sighed, "Earth. But where on Earth?"
"We're in Tel Aviv." the Doctor answered, "The year's 1992."
Before I could say anything, Maen started: "What's that mean? The year's 1992?"
I looked at her: "I take it you either have a different method of measuring time, or you never heard of time-traveling."
"It's both, actually." the Doctor replied, "So, you want to see what's out there?"
"Sure!" Maen exclaimed as she ran to the door.
Personally, I was a bit reluctant. I'm not sure why, but for some reason the name Tel Aviv alone didn't give me much courage. But I supposed with the Doctor and Maen there, I should be alright.
Following Maen, I stepped outside the Tardis. There was this look of surprise on Maen's face. I suppose it was to be expected, since she just arrived on what she perceived to be an alien world. But soon enough I had that same look of surprise on my face as well. What I saw were sky-scrapers, modern cars (or what was modern for the early nineties), people of all ages and ethnicities,...
"Doc..." I said, "Are you sure this is Tel Aviv?"
"Of course it is?" the Doctor replied as he locked the Tardis behind him, "Why wouldn't it be?"
"And where exactly is this?" I asked.
"It's only the second largest city in Israel!" the Doctor seemed surprised I didn't know that.
"I thought so." I said, none the wiser.
"Why are you asking all this?" he finally wondered.
"It's just that..." I explained, "... when I think of Israel, I think of people in robes, sand, temples and the like. But not... this!"
"Oh!" the Doctor understood, "This city is not what you expected! For someone who lives on this planet, you know surprisingly little about it."
I shrugged, when Maen asked: "Wait, it isn't like this everywhere else?"
The Doctor smiled: "You know how in your galaxy, you have a planet like Coruscant, which has buildings like these? Or Tatooine that is covered in sand? Or Hoth that's covered in ice?"
Maen nodded, so the Doctor could continue: "Well this planet is like all those planets, rolled into one."
She then turned to me: "How do you people survive on a planet like this?"
"Barely." I answered, flatly.
"And why are these vehicles on the ground?" she wondered, "Shouldn't they be flying?"
"In the future, maybe." I replied.
"Well, there's no fun in just standing here." the Doctor said, "Why won't we explore the city?"