Doctor Who: Ta-Ta, Tennant?

Anyone who watched Saturday 28th’s episode of Doctor Who “The Stolen Earth”, second to last episode of series four, shown in the UK on BBC One, at precisely 7:10, would not be surprised when I reveal that my best friend phoned me nearly seconds after in hysterics.
It could easily be claimed that “The Lost Earth” was indeed one of the best episodes of Doctor Who in a long time. The constant danger, return of old enemies, and allies, keeping viewers permanently on the edge of their seats. Appearances from all the spin off show’s favourite characters, including Captain Jack Harkness, Sarah Jane, Martha Jones, and the former Prime Minister Harriet J-Oh, all right, you know her name, all brought a sense of glee to the proceedings. Not to mention the return of Rose Tyler, to the intense delight of all dedicated Rose/Doctor followers.

In my opinion, though, the much-awaited reunion of Rose and the Doctor was more frustrating than being caught in the rain wearing a priceless suede jacket. Before Donna was even halfway through the line ‘Why don’t you ask her yourself?’ overexcited teenage girls everywhere were screaming in glee. This is surely the big moment we have all been waiting for?

When the doctor turns around and begins to run so fast that it took a cameraman on a quad bike to keep up with him, you can’t help but be relived that the scene wasn’t put it into slow motion. Of course this kind of moment couldn’t last, it’s Doctor Who for goodness sakes, he has all time and space to save in the next 45 minutes. If viewers were screaming in glee before, their melodramatic tones would have turned to horror as the doctor was struck down by a marauding dalek, yes, trying to take over the world again- didn’t they ever hear of recreational sport, centerparks, maybe? As this sinks in we all deduce the almost incomprehensible truth; the doctor is going to regenerate.

We can all hope to God that Rose remembers to give him a cup of tea this time, but there’s still the minor setback of twenty seven dalek ridden planets, trapped in a niche of time; medusa’s cascade, a second ahead of the rest of the universe, unreachable by even the shadow proclamation. Tough one.

Is David Tennant leaving Doctor Who? The question remains with an uncertain answer. There are rumours of the Doctor regenerating back into himself, there are rumours Jonathon Ross is the new Doctor (not to be taken seriously). Tennant is said to be contracted on the show until 2010, and many people are disbelieving that the BBC would be able to keep the identity of a new doctor quiet from the press. All in all we just don’t know what is going to happen next. So my last advice is this: Doctor Who, BBC one, Saturday, watch.