Both Teletext and The Sun and reporting today that Freema Agyeman will return to Doctor Who for one more appearance as Martha Jones before David Tennant leaves the role. Agyeman is, according to the reports, scheduled to appear in one of the four upcoming specials that Tennant will appear in before turning over the role to Matt Smith. Says the Sun, “Freema’s on board. It’s early days so it’s unclear what exactly Martha will be up to in the new show.”

Also, I’m sure this new Doctor is a fine actor, but it’s obvious they aren’t going for interesting or gravitas here, they’re going for fangirl love. I am so sick of Doctor fangirls. Next thing they’ll be announcing he has a 16 year old companion named Mary Sue. I honestly wouldn’t put it past them, because Stephen Moffat is the King of Mary Sue DW stories on my television.

I like him as a writer, but I do not trust him an ounce. The only really good thing about him being the head writer is that he can finally stop shoehorning in DW episodes that do not belong in the continuity he was stuck with. Now he can choose his own continuity. Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me if there was NO companion at all, so he could write endless stories about the Doctor meeting up with women, falling in love with them, and losing them in some tragic way.

Because that’s so very, very Doctor Who.

gah.

And, yes, it’s true that actors over here can and do star in more than one show at a time (see Julie Graham in BONEKICKERS and SURVIVORS, Zoe Tapper in SURVIVORS and DEMONS, Philip Glenister in DEMONS and ASHES TO ASHES, etc), but I’d heard the filming schedules for TORCHWOOD and L&O: LONDON do in fact clash. If so then no more Martha, which would be a shame. Still, being a companion has *made* Freema’s career and she’s been showing up on quite a few shows recently.

Also, Freema is going to be on L&O London, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be on Torchwood. If L&O follows the pattern most British TV does, there will be a chunk of episodes and then a break and nothing again until a new season. It’s possible for an actor to be on a couple of shows at once, if the timing is right.

There’s been a spate of last-minute betting on the relatively-unknown Matt Smith to be the new Doctor. Has someone in the know let the cat out of the bag, I wonder?

And here’s a fun Doctor Who v Star Trek mash-up:

http://www.oliverwillis.com/2009/01/01/star-trek-vs-doctor-who-mashup/

@ Bree: you don’t think the Doctor didn’t return her affections? He had some feelings for her. Rose was weird in her return visits, even in the series 4 shows. Just awkward.

@MM, good point, especially considering there are only two Black women in the Commons, and one (IIR) in the Lords. But the Guardian just had an interesting take on whether Obama would have succeeded in Europe, considering most western European countries say they’re more liberal than the US.

I wonder if we’ll see more of the woman he actually partnered with.

Now I just have to figure out how to see the unveiling of the new Doctor…

I am way too excited right now, and no one in my close circle even knows why. :,o(

Okay, back to being geeked!

I want the next companion to either be a man, an alien, someone from another time, or a woman like Donna, who wanted to travel and get away from her boring life with no intention of trying to get in the Doctor’s pants. This is a type of show where sappy romance subplots actually drag everything down. Give me action, alien worlds, technobabble, and conflict that doesn’t involve romance (although Martha was a lot more tolerable when she realized The Doctor wouldn’t return her affection. She moved on and found someone else, while Rose escaped her paralllel world and STILL couldn’t take no for an answer).

“Hmm, that’s interesting. Oh well, it was bound to happen eventually.” and, turning to presumably shocked companion: “Right, where were we?”

I imagine he’ll be pretty casual about it but, as is always the case with any regeneration, the companion will be freaked out. Best example of this was that of Rose in that eight minute ‘Children In Need Special’ when he regenerated into David Tennant. She was both freaked out and not at all happy about it.