Ordinary Lives

There are names from every era that are blazoned across the pages of history. But emperors and kings are not the people for whom the world was created, nor are they the forces which turn the world.

I recently watched the first season of Doctor Who (the subsequent seasons got put off by school, but they will be watched). One of my favorite things about it (and there were many) is that the characters it focuses on aren't world famous doctors, lawyers, investigators, or the president. They are normal everyday people living normal, unglamorous lives--working at a department store, going grocery shopping, fighting, and loving.

This is evident in the Doctor's fascination with humans, with earth. But no where is it clearer (at least in the one season I have seen) than in the episode Father's day. When, on a trip back in time, Rose saves the life of her father the fabric of the world ruptures and the earth comes close to ending. As the Doctor explains this is precisely because of the power of ordinary lives;

"Rose, there's a man alive in the world who wasn't alive before. An ordinary man. That's the most important thing in creation. The whole world's different because he's alive."

The Doctor emphasizes this at other points through out episode. He tells one couple who says they would appreciate it if he saved them even though they were not important, "Who said you’re not important? I’ve traveled to all sorts of places, done things you couldn’t even imagine, but... you two. Street corner, two in the morning, gettin’ a taxi home. I’ve never had a life like that." It is normal people, living everyday lives who he is trying to save, it is they that are important.