Should I Watch Dr. Who?

Dr. Who has always been something of a terra incognita to me. I remember I had a Dr. Who comic book when I was a kid, back in the Tom Baker days. (I use the American term "comic book" because it was more like a hardback annual than a regular comic.) But all I can remember about the story is that Dr. Who liked jelly beans.

Much more recently, I bought a DVD of the Christopher Eccleston series, the first revival. I don't remember much of it except that mannequins featured in it.

Is everybody restricted to one science-fiction series they're really crazy about? I was born the year Star Wars came out and the merchandising was everywhere when I was a kid. I even had a Star Wars pillowcase, though not because I asked for it. And yet I've never particularly been a fan of the franchise. (Rogue One is the Star Wars film I enjoyed the most, to be honest.)

Star Trek has always been my sci-fi show. And not even Star Trek in general, since I've always found the original series quite ropey. No, it's specifically The Next Generation, Voyager, and (to some extent) Deep Space Nine. (Patrick Stewart, RIP.) Those shows have meant a lot to me over the years, even though I rarely rewatch them.

But I've barely dipped my toe into Dr. Who. Yet I've always had some interest in the phenomenon from the outside. I'm interested in it as a great British institution, like James Bond or Carry On films. 

I've encountered the stereotype of Dr. Who fans being smug liberals. But I've known at least one fairly conservative Catholic who is a big fan.

More recently, I've become interested in the TARDIS. There's something tremendously appealing in the idea of a vehicle that is entirely bonded to you and has indefinite capabilities. One of the images that has haunted me for my whole life is the idea of a secret room in your own home, especially one that is somehow uncanny or supernatural. What I've heard of the TARDIS suggests it might posses such illimitable inwardness. And, to my surprise, I'm not aware of any other fictional vehicles and/or homes of which you could say the same thing. (There's the Starship Enterprise, of course. But that's never portrayed as anything other than a machine without sentience or any kind of soul.)

So, are any of my readers Whovians? Should I give Dr. Who a go, and where should I start?