[X] My Assistant

[dvandorn]

I understand from what I've read that this last season-ender of Dr. Who set records over there in the UK, attracting enormous audiences.

To all of our British subjects, here -- was it as much of a big media thing there as the press has been saying? Was everyone talking about it the next day?

The season ending episode just aired tonight on the Sci Fi Channel here in the U.S., and I will say this -- I've never seen them have to swing out those supporting-cast names during the title sequence quite as fast before, to fit nearly all of the Doctor's companions from the Eccleston revival to the present. Really good to see Billie Piper back again, too -- if only for a few episodes.

Gotta say, as someone who used to watch Dr. Who back in the seventies and eighties, the writing and production values on this new series are truly outstanding. No wonder the good Doctor has made such a comeback in Britain.

-the other Doctor... er, Doug

[dvandorn]

Tennant was apparently planning on leaving the show after the four specials that will comprise this coming season. (The plan is for both Dr. Who and Torchwood to produce only four two-hour specials each for the coming season, with Dr. Who returning as a weekly series the following season. I imagine Torchwood's future will depend on the ratings of these upcoming specials.)

However, there has been a major change in production on Dr. Who -- the former producer decided to retire, and a new producer was lured out of a project with Steven Spielberg to become the new hand on the helm. This has apparently piqued Tennant's interest, and he's now backed off from his public stance that he will definitely quit the show.

To be honest, I've seen Tennant on a bunch of British shows as a guest star (everything from Top Gear to Weakest Link) on the basis of the Dr. Who role. I can't imagine it's a bad thing for his career, getting all this exposure.

And speaking of exposure, I heard that Catherine Tate's current job is in a London production of a nice little play -- in which she appears sans clothing.

-the other Doug