Doctor Who returns

Christina and I sat down on a couple of nights this last week to watch the first two episodes of the resurrected Doctor Who. It was Christina's first real experience with the series, but I am not a Doctor Who virgin at all. (In fact, it is my sad duty to inform you that at the age of 12 I wore a six-foot long scarf and trench coat to school most days.) Happily, reports from both sides of the fence are positive. I was pleased that this modernization of the series preserves the spirit of the original, and she was happy to see that the show is easily accessible to first-timers and apparently free of the bargain basement special effects for which it is famous. (We'll see what happens beyond the first couple of episodes when the budgets start to shrink.)

Chris Eccleston is appropriately gleeful and arrogant as The Doctor. As companions go, Billie Piper's Rose is perhaps the easiest for audiences to identify with since Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) stepped into the TARDIS thirty years ago. (The Doctor always did have a thing for pretty young women.) Most gratifying, however, is that the cerebral nature of the series hasn't been gutted in favor of flashy laser beams and aliens. The writing is as rich with ideas as it ever was, and a darn sight cleverer than many of the previous episodes I can recall. This new generation of producers and writers aren't afraid to put their own stamp on the legend -- the use of a Britney Spears tune (to hilarious effect) is just one of the examples of the many original strokes by a creative team that obviously loves the series and is thrilled to have a chance to take it for a spin. It's hard to believe that a series with this much nostalgia appeal returned to the air with the production values and imagination evinced in the first two episodes won't be a hit.

The day after we watched the pilot episode, however, we were greeted with the bad news that Eccleston won't be returning for a second season as the title character. (Eccleston refuted most of the comments made by the BBC in the statement, and the BBC apologized.) For most series that almost certainly would spell the end, but Doctor Who has a built-in escape plan: a main character who can "regenerate" his appearance, allowing a multitude of actors to play the role. (Eccleston is the ninth to play The Doctor on TV.) With the energy currently behind it, the series will very likely survive for a few years to come. It would have been nice, however, to see a few seasons more of Eccleston's quixotic and earthy take on the character.