Doctor Who (2005), BBC America, Saturdays 9pm
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Caution: spoilers.

This is a renewal of the original Doctor Who TV series. You could refer to the seasons of the new show as starting with 1, or 27 if you prefer to think of it as just a continuation of the old series after a long absence. In any event, this series is a bit more modern in various ways. And in some ways, such as production values, I suppose I would say it's usually a bit better, though it can still be a bit cheesy at times. On the whole, however, I don't think I like it quite as much as the old series... but still quite good, and I think it gets better as it progresses.

Anyway, the Doctor gets a new Companion, Rose Tyler (who we like), who comes from 2005 England, conveniently enough. Occasionally they'd stop back into Rose's time and place, where they'd have some kind of adventure, naturally enough, and also get to see Rose's mother, Jackie, and also Rose's friend/ex-boyfriend, Mickey Smith. I should also say there have been some dramatic changes in the Doctor's life, which perhaps people who read all the novels and so forth would know more about than I. The main thing is that there was at some point a huge Time War between the Time Lords and the Daleks, and both races were pretty much completely annihilated. The Doctor is the last of his kind, though we will see the Daleks (who were supposedly extinct) pop up a couple times in season 1 (or 27). Of course, Rose and the Doctor will also have various adventures in time and space. And at one point (in the very distant future) we're introduced to this ancient, giant head who is called "the Face of Boe." We'll see him again in both the second and third seasons. I suppose I should also mention that there were alot of references throughout the season to something called "Bad Wolf," the meaning of which will be made clear at the end of the season.

Also, the Doctor and Rose travelled for a time with a former Time Agent (now a con man) from Earth's 51st century, called Captain Jack Harkness. He's left behind at the end of the first season, but we'll see him again in the spin-off series Torchwood. Also at the end of the season, the Doctor regenerates, so the 2nd/28th season will feature the tenth Doctor. Between the first and second seasons, there was a TV movie, "The Christmas Invasion," which I quite liked, and shall have to write up a review of, one of these days. This is where we first get to see the 10th Doctor in action.

Well, in the second season, of course there are more adventures for Rose and the Doctor, as well as more old friends and enemies popping up. Mickey briefly travelled with Rose and the Doctor in the second season. There was also an episode guest-starring a former Companion of the Doctor's from the original series, Sarah Jane Smith, which led to a spin-off called The Sarah Jane Adventures. And Rose parts company with the Doctor at the end of the second season.

Between the second and third seasons, there was another Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride," which I'll also have to write a review of someday.

In the third season, the Doctor is joined by a new Companion, a medical student named Martha Jones (who we like). And... of course they have a number of adventures in time and space, and of course they occasionally return to Martha's own time, where we get to see her family a bit. And Jack Harkness joins them for a three-episode story arc at the end of the season (in between the first and second seasons of "Torchwood"), which involves the return of the Master. Quite a surprise for the Doctor, who thought himself the last Time Lord. Anyway, they'll have to thwart his plans of conquest for 21st century Earth. After that, Jack returns to Torchwood, though an offhand anecdote he relates about his past suggests a shocking possibility to Martha and the Doctor, though Jack is unaware of this. It should also be noted that over the course of the season, Martha has fallen in love with the Doctor, though it's unrequited. (It was strongly implied in season two that the Doctor and Rose had feelings for each other.) So Martha stays behind in her own time, to complete her training as a doctor, but they will keep in touch. (She later appeared in a few episodes of "Torchwood," now a doctor herself, and working for UNIT.)

At the end of the season finale, after the Doctor has left on his own, the Titanic unexpectedly crashes into the tardis, which leads into the third Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned. (There was also a roughly 8-minute mini-episode, which aired on charity special, I guess, called Time Crash- which you could probably find on YouTube- in which the 10th Doctor meets the 5th Doctor. Now that was pretty interesting, and amusing. It may be canonical, though I don't really see how, since it is sort of interjected into the timeframe of the season finale, between the tardis taking off and the Titanic crash, which also ends the "Time Crash" special, though the regular episode didn't give any indication that I could see that something like this episode could have happened.)

In season 4, the Doctor is joined by Donna Noble (who we kinda like), as his latest Companion. She was first introduced in the second Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride." Um... well, she isn't always exactly the most pleasant person, but she's okay. Certainly she's bright enough, and helpful, though she doesn't always think that highly of herself... she also often acts like she doesn't think that highly of anyone I suppose. Anyway, of course they have a number of interesting adventures together, as always. And there's a pretty epic multi-episode arc at the end of the season (which had of course been hinted at throughout the season), which involved a shockingly massive plot by Davros and the Daleks. And many of the Doctor's former Companions, and other people he knew, UNIT, etc., all work together to stop them. In the end, the Doctor is forced by circumstances to leave Donna behind in her old life, and once again sets off alone. (Oh, I also need to mention that Donna's mother and grandfather are seen a number of times throughout the season. Companions' families always play some part in the show, of course, but I particularly wanted to mention Donna's grandfather, Wilfred Mott, who was first seen in "Voyage of the Damned." He's... a pretty likable old guy, definitely nicer than Donna's mother.)

After season 4, there's yet another Christmas special, The Next Doctor. And then in 2009-10, there are to be four specials, which are technically considered part of season 4, even though that's really already ended, but they're not season 5 (which starts later in 2010), so... yeah, just specials (and not like the Christmas specials, either).

The first is Planet of the Dead (BBC; BBC America; Wikipedia), which begins with a thief named Lady Christina de Souza (who we like) stealing some ancient thing from a museum, then making her getaway on a bus, where she meets the Doctor. Then the bus gets sucked through a wormhole to a planet buried in sand. There are a few other passengers on the bus, and the Doctor promises to get them all home. He and Christina meet some flylike aliens who had crashed on the planet, learn of a swarm of flying alien stingraylike creatures, and the Doctor makes a phone call to Earth, where UNIT is watching the wormhole (led by Capt. Erisa Magambo). The Doctor talks to her, as well as a scientist named Malcolm Taylor, who's rather starstruck to be talking with him. Anyway, eventually the bus passengers all get back to Earth. The story's entertaining enough. And in the end, one of the passengers, named Carmen, who is somewhat psychic, has an ominous message for the Doctor. Not sure what else to say, but I don't reckon the special merits its own page, since it's sort of just an irregular episode of season 4. But it's possible I'll change my mind for the other three specials to come, we'll see.

The second is The Waters of Mars (BBC; BBC America; Wikipedia), in which the Doctor unexpectedly finds himself on Mars, on November 21, 2059. He's captured by the crew of Earth's first base on Mars, led by Captain Adelaide Brooke (who we like). When he realizes what date it is, he wants to leave, because history has recorded the destruction of the base and the deaths of the whole crew. And this is not an event he can change, because it's too important to the future; it's a "fixed point in time," unlike most of the points in time he visits. Anyway, the crew gets infected by a virus that turns them, one by one, into water-spewing zombies. In the end, the Doctor tries to defy fate and change history, but his newfound arrogance won't last, in spite of a seeming victory over time. Anyway, the special ends rather abruptly, but I'm sure it will lead directly into the next special. Not sure what else to say, except that the story had its good points. It was interesting to see some changes in the Doctor....

Well, the third and fourth specials are The End of Time, parts 1 and 2 (BBC; BBC America; Wikipedia). And I was wrong to assume part 1 would pick up where "Waters of Mars" ended. When it starts, the Doctor has apparently spent some time roaming time and space, trying his best to enjoy himself and avoid the fate that he knows is coming. There's not much I can say, I'm afraid, about the plot of this story, since I would consider all of it too spoilery of the series in general. I'll just say that Wilfred Mott played an important role. Any other characters seen... the mere mention of them would constitute the spoilers I was talking about. So I'll just say it was a brilliant story, with plenty of action and humor and drama, a touching end... and finally, the Doctor regenerates.

So, season five starts out with the 11th Doctor. And he is joined by a new Companion, Amy Pond (who we quite like). Um... the new Doctor is kind of retro in his fashion sense, and interestingly, so is the new tardis. I don't think I've ever actually seen the tardis itself regenerate before, though the interior design does generally seem a bit different from Doctor to Doctor, but I don't think I ever really noticed that during the original run of the show, with the first seven Doctors. Anyway, I'm liking the new look. Also, the first episode does seem to set up a new underlying story arc, as the previous seasons each did. I look forward to seeing where that goes, as well as seeing standalone episodes, getting to know the new Doctor and Amy....

Anyway, one great thing about this series is the level of continuity. Like there are major things referenced throughout a season or seasons, which may be totally obviously leading up to something, but then there are also things established that you may not even notice or think about beyond their importance to what's going on in the episode, and later those things may come together in unexpected ways, leading up to something quite major. Bloody brilliant. ...And I don't know what else to say right now....