We'll See The Doctor Now -- A Preview of "Doctor Who" Series Six

“Look: there’s a blue box, it’s bigger on the inside, it can go anywhere in space and time, sometimes even where it’s supposed to. There’s a bloke in the box, he’s called ‘The Doctor’ and when he gets where he’s going there’s going to be a problem and he’ll try to solve it and he’ll probably succeed because he’s awesome. Now shut up and go watch ‘Blink.’”
-- Neil Gaiman discussing “Doctor Who” at WonderCon 2011

Gaiman’s summation of The BBC’s “Doctor Who” is simple and effective. It’s a television show that can go anywhere at any time. You don’t need to watch it from the beginning in 1963, or watch Tom Baker in the role from 1974 (like me), or even start from David Tennant’s run in 2005. Most tv shows have a “been there, seen that” feel after a few years (see NBC’s “Chuck”), but because of its premise, the new series* of “Doctor Who” (which starts tonight) seems fresher than ever.

A large part of this crisp feel is the show’s ever-changing cast. Matt Smith, the 11th actor portraying the last of the Time Lords, plays The Doctor as an old soul with boyish charm. Add the amazingly sexy Karen Gillan as his capable companion Amy Pond and the not-so-impressive Arthur Darvill as Amy’s faithful husband Rory and you have a potent mix onscreen. This dynamic was summed up best by Gaiman when he talked about a scene he wrote for an upcoming episode:

"Amy tells Rory off for leaving the Doctor on his own, and Rory says, 'Well, he's a Time Lord, he'll be fine.’ And she looks at Rory with infinite compassion and says, 'Rory, it's just what they're called. It doesn't mean he actually knows what he's doing.’”

The series starts off as The Doctor, Amy and Rory team up with the enigmatic River Song (Alex Kingston) take on the underlying villain(s) of last year, The Silence, in the 1969 America of moonshots and Nixon. With the added budget for this year, “Doctor Who” actually got to film in America, with English viewers finally discovering that America actually IS bigger on the inside!

While I’m not crazy about the producers plan to split this year’s series in two (seven in spring, six in fall), I do like Steven Moffat’s (“Doctor Who’s” showrunner and head writer) track record on the show. And if this year’s slogan says “Trust Your Doctor”, then I guess I can this once!

* The English say tv series while Americans say tv season.  Yet another reason why Americans declared independence!