The new Doctor Who!

[_____V_____]

Just a few weeks away from the U.S. premiere of the new Doctor Who, featuring the debut of the 11th actor to play the Time Lord, Matt Smith. And horror fans have every reason to hope that this Who will deliver more thrills than his recent predecessors.

Why, you ask?

Most longtime Doctor Who fans would agree that a lot of what made the original series great was its frights. All manner of monster, robot, and alien maniac menaced the Doctor through the '60s, '70s and '80s. And the series' peak seasons in the mid to late '70s -- featuring Tom Baker in the lead role -- were also its scariest, inspired by everything from Gothic literature to Jack the Ripper to the Universal monsters to creepy invasion novels like The Day of the Triffids. The series famously sent children scurrying behind sofas and provoked the British censors with its stark nastiness.

Thus far, the new Who series, which began several years ago with star Christopher Eccleston and his wildly popular successor David Tennant, has alternated between space opera and monsters, but often with a layer of camp reflecting the sensibilities of producer Russell T. Davies. The new Who's best episodes, however, have again been horror, and more often than not, they've been written by one man -- Steven Moffat. The writer of the BBC's acclaimed Jekyll, Moffat's given fans such chilling Who moments as the gas-mask-faced childen in "The Empty Child" and the Weeping Angels of stone in "Blink".

Now, on April 17th, we'll get our first glimpse of what Moffat hath wrought. It appears he's cast a more than capable actor in Matt Smith (and, quite frankly, a delectable little crumpet of a companion in Amy Pond). But how much horror will his reign bring? It's already been announced that the Weeping Angels will return, as will the always creepy Daleks, and several other new monsters will be introduced. And no less a horror writer than Neil Gaiman has already agreed to script one of next season's episodes.

Full press release from BBC America -

"With his time machine, the TARDIS, wrecked and the sonic screwdriver, his most crucial device destroyed, the new Doctor has just 20 minutes to save the whole world - and only Amy Pond to help him. Doctor Who premieres Saturday, April 17, 9:00p.m. ET/PT. The Doctor Who premiere episode is an extended version with limited commercial interruption.

This new era of the BAFTA-winning series, which delivered record ratings for BBC AMERICA earlier this year, continues the tradition of rebooting with new lead actors and creative team. Steven Moffat, creator of some of the most frightening and award-winning Doctor Who episodes to date - including the BAFTA-winning episode "Blink," which starred Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan - takes over as lead writer and executive producer.

For new audiences, Steven Moffat says: 'Doctor Who is the adventures of an entirely mysterious stranger from outer space. With a time and space machine that can go absolutely anywhere. It's literally a television show set in everyplace in the universe, every point in history and in every style and every genre. It's all the other shows in one. You don't have to watch the rest of television - this is it.'

The reboot series has the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his new travelling companion, the enigmatic Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), together exploring sixteenth century Venice, France during the 1890s and the United Kingdom in the far future, now an entire nation floating in space. But, the Doctor's enemies are never far behind him including old nemeses the Daleks and Weeping Angels, plus new foes such as alien vampires, humanoid reptiles and a silent menace that follows the Doctor and Amy wherever they go."

[fuglystick]

My interest in Dr. Who had been waning a bit the last few seasons to be honest.










But I could be enticed to start watching again.

[Doc Faustus]

I miss Christopher Eccleston.