I said N to the O to the B-L-E. Parks’ new employee is the best temp in all Pawnee, Indiana.

Mickey’s journey is one that I absolutely adore. He goes from cowering in complete fear near a police box, and clinging desperately to his girlfriend - to confidently standing up to the Daleks and parting with his new bff Big Scary Gun while defending all of reality. The young man who couldn’t imagine navigating London without Rose’s companionship decides to play a few rounds of universal musical chairs, living in a whole other world by himself.

And his relationship with the Doctor changes radically. At first, he yells at Rose that the Doctor’s “an alien! He’s..he’s a thing!” And the Doctor explicitly states that Mickey the Idiot isn’t invited into the TARDIS. But by series 4, he and the alien (who once thought Rose’s silly little boyfriend’s name was ‘Ricky’ - a stupid ape of a tin dog) gladly fist-bump like beloved frat brothers. I like to think that when Ten was dying, a glimpse at Mickey wasn’t just an added bonus to his Martha visit; Mr. Smith held immense importance all his own.

Happy 48th Birthday, Christopher Eccleston!

“One day, there was this windy sound - all vacuum-cleaner-like. And would you believe, a blue box of wood flew right out of the sky! My legs carried me right up to it, but I didn’t know what to think. My birthday was coming up, but surely mama couldn’t afford such a nice gift! Well soon enough, a person stepped out. Now, he was a real funny man. Legs longer than a giraffe’s and the floppiest hair I’ve ever laid my eyes upon. He waved a special silver pencil all around my face, then asked if I liked running.

Now, I’ve been running with the Doctor ever since. He’s a real strange man - likes to wear a bow around his neck and hats of all sorts - but he couldn’t be nicer to me. We’ve had lots of fun adventures, he and I. And I’ve learned lots of lessons from him, like there ain’t no such as an un-special person and that it’s OK for adult me to still act like a child sometimes. Since I started traveling with the Doctor, I’ve gotten so much more brave; smarter, too. Mama says she’s real proud.”