If you dived into the middle of the Tennant era, you probably stumbled into an episode with loads of references to previous stories. So no, not a character flaw. Mere lack of knowledge.

Also, it is entirely understandable to happen across a Tom Baker episode and get freaked out as a child. Heck, my wife got freaked out as an adult when I first showed her The Talons of Weng Chiang (the bit with the ventriloquist dummy coming to life).

So my advice - as per my comment to you on Paul's post - is to start with Christopher Eccleston episode 1 (Rose) and move forward sequentially.

If that doesn't get you into Doctor Who, I'm sorry to say that my appointments schedule for corrective brain surgery extends well into next year, so you'll be waiting a while. ;)