Happy Who-mas!  It is three days and counting until the beginning of the end of David "Dr. Phowar" Tennant's run in the TARDIS.  

"End of Time, Part One" is slated to air over here in the States on 26 January, and on Christmas Day in the UK.  And, fresh on the airing of "The Waters of Mars" this past Saturday, it's fair to say that I've been giving the final two David Tennant episodes and the impending transition to Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor a goodly amount of thought.

I would wager a guess that most hardcore DW fans are going to miss David Tennant and Russell T. Davies. After all, it is RTD who brought the iconic sci-fi series back from the grave in 2005, introducing a whole new generation and new demographics to the Doctor. 

Through two Doctors and three companions (five, if you count Lady Christina de Souza and Astrid Peth) Russell T. Davies has delighted his older, geekier audience by revisiting DW classic friends and foes. Plus, he's introduced us to new ones like the Face of Boh, Torchwood, Oodkind, etc.

Stephen Moffat and Matt Smith are going to have some big-ass shoes to fill come 2 January.

Discussion of Doctor Who present and past, and speculation about the future of the series has been a hot topic this year.  Since Matt Smith was announced to be the 11th Doctor on Whovians over the age of 30 have been wondering loudly: How does a 27-year-old actor have the experience and gravitas to play a Time Lord who is 904?  And, what is being done to ensure that the series doesn't turn into an insipid the BBC does teen-romance-meets-sci-fi?

Says BitchBuzz Ed. in Chief, Cate Sevilla, "I'm afraid that the new series is going to turn into like One Tree Hill or Hollyoaks with time travel because of their age."

I prefer True Blood to Twilight, and the concern that the youth of the new Doctor and his companion will a "Gossip Girl" the series up is a valid one to me.

One of the interesting things which has come up in my personal conversations about the series is that some women are happy to see Russell T. and David take their leave from the TARDIS.  Apparently there is a feeling amongst some that Russell T. has over sexualized the series.  Specifically, since David Tennant came aboard the series in 2006.

OK.  Now, everyone reading this article knows I love love LOVE DT.  I would tune in to watch him read the phone book.  However, DT happens to epitomize my "own personal type" - tall, skinny, bespectacled and extremely geeky.  I would be lying if I said that I hadn't imagined myself in Rose Tyler's place living happily in the parallel world with the Doctor Lite.  Or, as Madame de Pompadour shoving the Doctor up against a wall... *drool*... wait, what was I talking about?

The revelation that some view RTD as having been a detriment to the DW series came while talking to a fellow femme writer.  She was slagging on Donna Noble (my favorite companion,) and I was defending her as being "the only companion in the new series who doesn't want to get into the Doctor's pants, she was in it for the adventure." 

The conversation shifted to discussing this particular writer's opinion that RTD and DT's departure from the series was a good thing, as now there would be an opportunity to "repair the damage" the pair had done to the series by making the Doctor a romantic icon.

It was interesting to me that adding sexual tension and romance to a sci-fi series could be considered a bad thing.  The truth of the matter is that sex sells.  And, I personally think that RTD's decision to add in the very human emotions of longing and love and desire to Doctor Who has made the series more accessible to people who would have shied away from the series in the past because of it's hardcore geeky ethic.

In defense of RTD and DT, I pointed out the following to said writer: 

1) The first "romantic" moment in the new series of Doctor Who came while Chris Eccelston was the Doctor, when he kissed Rose to draw the heart of the TARDIS out of her in "The Parting of the Ways". 

 2) Many other companions have had a thing for the Doctor.  The most obvious example would be Sarah Jane.  This means that other producers/directors/writers have considered sex and romance as part of the series.

3) It would be really silly to assume that a 904 humanoid Time Lord would go through all of time and space without getting laid and/or having a romantic relationship or two.

Snap.

Personally, I do not think that the series has been over sexualized.  Sex and romantic relationships are part of normal life.  

I think that RTD has done a good job of balancing human emotion with the comedy and serious sci-fi geekiness that Doctor Who is known for.  It's added another layer to the series, which has not only made it more accessible to the non-geek, but richer and deeper for the hardcore fans.

You can read Kate's reactions to "The Waters of Mars" over on her blog katekotler.com.