In “The First Time,” Paul Booth studies Doctor Who fandom and specifically “what makes Doctor Who special for fans” in order to understand how a show gets a following.

He claims that their experiences are notable because “they are both unique and similar at the same time,” and that there is a common thread among them all of a single fan joining many other fans to form a “unique fandom.” His reasoning is that each fan not only remembers when they got into the show to begin with, but also how special it was to them. He cites actual fan descriptions of their first time watching the show as evidence to this fact.

Alternative arguments do not appear to exist…?

Booth’s warrant is that every fan has a unique-to-them, yet common-to-the-whole story about their fandom, like fingerprints to people.