‘Tis the season to be Jolly. Not because of the holidays (yuck, holidays) but because of David Tennant’s finale as Doctor Who and since everyone seems to be in the giving spirit, BBC America has bestowed upon us the gift of a three-minute sneak-peek at Doctor Who: The End of Time.

It was not a week ago that we learned the name of Tennant’s swan song, along with getting a 40-second teaser trailer. Now we’ve got three-minutes from the episode! With the way information keeps rolling out of the two “beebs” (BBC & BBC America), I’m guessing that by next week we’re going to have the entire episode available. Well, maybe not the entire episode, but hopefully the opening sequence .

While fans around the world are waiting to see the final moments of David Tennant as Doctor Who, the Doctor himself has already moved on and is set to star in the pilot for the comedic legal drama Rex Is Not Your Lawyer for NBC.

Created by Andrew Leeds and David Lampson (Stephen’s Life – never heard of it either), the show centers around Rex Alexander (Tennant) who is Chicago’s top litigator, but after suffering from panic attacks, he’s forced to step down from litigating and takes up teaching clients how to represent themselves in court.

While Americans were sitting at home on Sunday watching 60 Minutes, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Dexter, our friends across the pond in the UK were being treated to some of the best television known to man. In the UK, not only was Sunday night the start of the fourteenth season of the always wonderful motor program, Top Gear,  it was also the premiere of ”The Waters of Mars,” the second (of four) Doctor Who specials to air in 2009.

Unfortunately, for those in the US, you will have to wait until December 19th to see exactly what aquatic horrors lie on the distant red planet. So, for the sake of not being called names that make me cry (even though I’m extremely manly), I shall refrain from discussing any elements of “The Waters of March” until the special airs on BBC America.

Fans of the Gallifreyan traveler can add one more thing to the long list of changes we can expect on the new series of Doctor Who premiering in 2010, as one surreptitious fan caught a glimpse of the TARDIS on location in a churchyard. And while it doesn’t appear to actually be bigger on the inside, there’s something different about our favorite time-traveling police box. Luckily, the furtive fan also brought along a camera so I don’t have to describe it (because I’m horrible at descriptions).

“There are lights and stairs.”

See!

Want to be part of Doctor Who history and redesign the TARDIS for the new series? Well, now you’ve got the chance as the television show Blue Peter is running a contest where viewers can submit their TARDIS console designs with one lucky winner (chosen by new Doctor, Matt Smith) getting the once-in-a-lifetime chance for their TARDIS console to appear in the upcoming fifth series.

There’s only one problem; Blue Peter is a children’s television show and you have to be between the ages of 6-12 to enter. Oh yeah, and live in the UK. Yeah, I’m angry as well. I haven’t wanted to be a British child this bad since I watched Worst Witch at the age of 7. (I soon realized that Worst Witch was about an all-girls witches academy and felt awkward about wanting be to a adolescent British girl.)

You may be asking yourself, “Why are they doing this?” Lucky for you, the editor of BBC’s Blue Peter, Tim Levell, has the answer:

There’s a new logo for Doctor Who in 2010

At the end of this year, we will see Matt Smith replace David Tennant as The Doctor, Stephen Moffat replace Russell T. Davies as head writer and executive producer and now the BBC has unveiled what will be the new logo for Doctor Who starting in 2010.

With everything becoming anew, they have also decided to change up the logo that has been with the show since its return in 2005. The simple, but memorable, logo we’ve become accustomed to will now be replaced with a more modern looking design featuring the letters DW forming the shape of Tardis.

Most people expected this and according to Digital Spy, the Daleks are back facing off against Doctor Who.

Showing up in London in World War II, the good Doctor and his companion meet Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who is using the Daleks to fight the Nazis.  Churchill has them painted up in green battle colors with Union Jack painted helmets.  That alone should be interesting to say the least.

This week, we’re going to chat about a new website for Chuck, an award bestowed upon Doctor Who and a bit about Syfy dominating Tuesdays with Warehouse 13.  We also delve into some news about Burn Notice, Royal Pains & Dollhouse.

Some cast members have been added to Steven Spielberg’s unnamed alien pilot on TNT, we have an interesting tidbit on Disney and a quick, condensed look at last week’s Summer TV ratings.

When Northampton-born Matt Smith was announced as the new Doctor Who, the reactions from Screen Rant readers ranged from approval to disdain.  The age of the then 26-year-old actor dismayed some old-school fans while others, having faith in the casting call, are looking to take a wait-and-see approach.

Shooting has started for the new Doctor Who and as you can see, there in Cardiff, that’s how Matt Smith is going to look as the good Doctor.  Focus folks…  yes, that’s the Doctor’s new companion, Karen Gillian.

Wow, Comic-Con 2009 is already less than three weeks away. Seems like only a couple of months ago since we were there. Last year was a ton of work but also a blast (click here for our wrap up of the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con), and this year we’ll be providing even more extensive coverage for you with additional staff to cover the event.

UpDated 7-2-09

Last year at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con, the event was ruled by several big named movies that ranged from youthful vampires to illegal vigilantes.  TV was more a side-note than anything else.

This year at the 2009 Comic-Con, things will be a bit different as television programming seems to have a bigger presence than last year.

For instance, the Warner Brothers Television Group will have 11 different panels for their shows.  That’s a studio best for them.  ABC Studios will have 7 panels.  20th Century Fox will have 9 panels.

Do you think your favorite television show will be represented?

BBC1 will be holding a very special Doctor Who episode for their Children in Need appeal efforts.

In this special one-off episode of Doctor Who, it will be the first time fans get to see Matt Smith debut in his new role as the 11th Time Lord.

It’s only a 15-minute episode that will air in November but in this special episode, we will see all 11 renditions of the good Doctor brought together.

With several Doctor Who specials starring David Tennant coming to BBC America starting in the latter half of June, the excitement amongst fans is building.

The first of the bunch is oddly a Christmas special titled “The Next Doctor,” with David Morrissey and Dervla Kirwan. It’s airing on June 27th.  The next special to air after that one is titled “Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead” followed by “Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars” later on in 2009. Following these, the final two 2 specials will air.

In support of these last episodes with David Tennant, some cool things are going to happen for fans who will be attending the 2009 edition of Comic-Con in San Diego.

If you believe British tabloids like the the Daily Star, in order to introduce the newest actor in the long line of actors who have portrayed Doctor Who, producers are bringing in an old familiar bad-guy – the Daleks.

Because we have a new face playing the role of Doctor Who, Matt Smith, there’s an underlying thought that to help fans adjust to the new actor, they might as well pitch him right in the middle of it with the Daleks, the arch-nemesis of the Time Lord.

It is Thursday again and the weekend looms in front of us.

Today I’m going to chat about Summer Glau maybe being on Dollhouse, a tiny bit about Law & Order: SVU, a bit of Doctor Who news and some info about Ronald D. Moore’s Virtuality including the air date and scenes from the show.

And as usual, we’ll take a peak at ratings from last week.

Oh!  I’ve jammed in a subtle note about Burn Notice.

While you’re here, if there’s anything TV related on your mind, slap it in the comments and let us know what you’re curious about or have an opinion on.

Shall we get on with it?

As the next Doctor Who season fast approaches, casting has been taking place and that casting has been met with some trepidation as far as the 26-year-old Matt Smith playing the good Doctor goes.

But I digress.

Rather than chat about the good Doctor Who, let’s talk about the newest actress to be cast in the upcoming fifth season as the good Doctor’s assistant, or companion, the 21-year-old Karen Gillan.

Quick! Name the longest running TV show with original episodes! If you said anything other than Doctor Who or COPS, you were wrong. Starting with season one and counting this current season, Doctor Who has aired 759 episodes and been on TV since 1963 – and, with a 2010 season already slated, Doctor Who shows no signs of slowing down.

In a recent interview, BBC Film entertainment spokeswoman Lizo Mzimba confirmed that “a script is in development” for a Doctor Who movie, but if the project moved into full production, we likely wouldn’t see a release for several years.

Welcome to my corner of Thursdays where we get to chat about some of the other goings on from the world of  (soon to be totally digital) TV.

This week, we take a look at some noise about Chuck, news about some Dexter casting, the premiere date for Eureka on Sci-Fi (SyFy) and why Eleventh Hour got dumped.

While we’re at it, I also chat about TNT ordering it’s own version of V, Doctor Who guest starring in The Sarah Jane Adventures, and if there are any Gigantor fans out there, I’ve got a bit of news for you.

And of course, at the end of the article, I entice you with a ratings chart showing how our favored shows did last week.

It’s Thursday. That means another round of news from the TV landscape. This week, I’ve got some conjecture and observations with the occasional possible SPOILER in place.

There are some new shows coming up this weekend, some Dollhouse noise, Law and Order cast updates, Dr. Who tidbits and observations or questions about Life On Mars, ER and other shows. And FYI, my ratings aren’t missing: I’ve moved the ratings section down towards the bottom of the post, right before my zany entries of the week!

As we all know, Matt Smith was tapped as the new (11th) Doctor Who, replacing David Tennant.

When it was announced, people weren’t sure the announcement was accurate. Doubts (and worse) started to fly. Avid Doctor Who fans seemed dubious but took the “wait and see” approach, giving the new guy a chance and having some faith in the creative forces behind the show.

With nothing but torment, the BBC1 teased people throughout the show with only the age of the new actor to play Doctor Who, as being 26. Tweeters and bloggers alike were going crazy. Some didn’t think it right that the new Doctor be younger than they are, but then, they just don’t get it then, do they?

What took me by surprise was that despite all the names that were thrown in the mix, a new one suddenly popped up as a favorite before the announcement: Matt Smith. I did my research and when it was announced, I was no longer surprised or saying what everyone else was saying: Who!?

Northampton-born actor Matt Smith has been officially announced as the new Doctor Who. Smith will appear in the iconic role starting in 2010, taking over the role from David Tennant. Smith is the 11th actor to take on the role and youngest actor ever to play the good Doctor.

Even though Russell T. Davies, the writer and executive producer of the present day Doctor Who series will not be involved in the next rendition of the new Doctor (he’s leaving next year), he’s not holding back with his opinion on who the next Doctor could be.

By his reckoning, he thinks Catherine Zeta Jones would make a great next rendition of The Doctor.  Meow!  I’d be all over that!  The show people, the show!

All joking aside, this is a nice twist of an idea for who might play the next rendition of the character.  As it is, the women associated with the 11th Doctor are:

The 10th and latest actor to portray Doctor Who, David Tennant, says he needs to “take a deep breath and move on now I never will, and you’ll be wheeling me out of the Tardis in my bath chair.”

He felt that three years is the exact right time to play the Doctor for him and feels it’s better to leave and be missed than overstay ones welcome.

He will fulfill his obligations to the upcoming Christmas special titled The Next Doctor and four more specials coming up in 2009 but says that he will no longer be the doctor in 2010.

As I’ve noted in a previous literary effort here on ScreenRant, Doctor Who is the longest running science fiction show in the world. Doctor Who has seen different versions of The Doctor through the various years of the shows’ incarnations. So too has the show enjoyed various incarnations in different media.

One of those mediums is in comic book form.

One site, A UK restricted site, lets you create your own comic version at BBC.co.uk. Other sites reference comic strips for the various different doctors.

How’d This Come About?

Earlier this year, IDW Publishing put out a Doctor Who miniseries in an American comic book, and it was successful enough (duh) that they’ll be bringing a second miniseries to the stands titled Doctor Who: The Forgotten, written by Tony Lee and Pia Guerra.

In The Forgotten, we have the tenth Doctor in a strange museum being hassled by waxworks, familiar giant spiders and a strangely familiar, bearded old man.

The series finale of Doctor Who was a smashing success for the BBC where an estimated 47% of the viewing TV audience settled into their couches to watch the show, or just over 9 million viewers.

The success of the finale could be partially due to the show’s star, David Tennant.

I’ve been following the rumors and noise about David Tennant and what the plans are for his version of The Doctor, but it seems the rumors are being put to rest. At least as best they can.

This has been sparking all kinds of speculation as to what David Tennant’s plans were in regards to the the Doctor Who franchise since he’s going to the stage to play Hamlet with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

TiVO / DVR / U.S. SPOILERS AFTER THE BREAK

Do you know what the longest running sci-fi show in television history is? I’m guessing the title of the post gave it away, but yes, it’s Doctor Who.

Doctor Who is an interesting phenomenon with curious staying power, no matter in what era it’s televised. Each rendition brings fans old and new along for the ride while the BBC sticks to what’s tried and true. Much like ‘In and Out Burger‘. Focus on what you do well.