Oh dear. I just missed it...

I'm hooked too. And it almost certainly has nothing to do with Billie Piper.

Almost nothing to do with a certain '84-esque chic, you say?

Apparently Eccleston has already bowed out, something about not wanting to get typecast. Le sigh.

The BBC have officially apologized to Eccleson for allowing the news of his departure to leak out. It was not supposed to happen until much closer to his actual departure date (though I have no idea how they thought they would have kept it secret). This suggests to me that Eccleson's departure was actually planned at higher levels, which alters the tenor of the news somewhat.

Regeneration -- the ability to fundimentally change the appearance and the character of the Doctor midstream -- is a big part of the series. The dramatic blow of the death and rebirth of the main character is something no other show can duplicate, but it's a big element to just dump onto the audience. I'm not sure if you will recall the TV movie that appeared on the BBC and Fox back in 1996, but the whole regeneration angle ate the first half of the movie and didn't have the impact on the general audience than it had on the fans.

So... producer Russell T. Davies casts Eccleson for one year, gives the audience time to invest emotionally into the character, and then KILLS HIM OFF! That gives the concept of regeneration the dramatic kick it needs.

And eight foot scarves. I want an eight foot scarf again. I watched reruns that Doctor every Saturday suppertime on Maine PBS for most of the 80s.<p>It is true that there are no daleks in this series?<p>EXTERMINATE!<br>EXTERMINATE!<br>EXTERMINATE!<br>EXTERMINATE!<br>EXTERMINATE!<br>EXTERMINATE!<br>EXTERMINATE!<br>EXTERMINATE!<br>EXTERMINATE!<br>

I'm rusty in my Doctor-lore, but doesn't a Time Lord only get 12 regenerations, or is that 12 lives (so, 11 regenerations)? If so, it certaily doesn't help when your nth Doctor only sticks around for a year.

How many have there been? Is there a decent FAQ? I suppose all the nerds hang out at wikipedia.

Eccleston was the 9th Doctor.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4395849.stm

"Billie Piper, who plays Dr Who's assistant Rose, is expected to return for the second series."

Woo-hoo! er, I mean, how mildly relevant.

I think you need to take a wee moment to gather yourself there, Michael.

quite a good faq, really

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who

Alan,

The Daleks are very much in this series, with two episodes this season. There have been pictures of a classic Dalek, mildly redesigned, and rumours of a major redesign in the episode that follows.

A good picture of the classic Dalek in the new Who can be found here:

http://www.danielkukwa.com/2005/03/16-a_fabulous.shtml