Return of the Rani

Matt Smith's new Doctor will apparently be facing an old frienemy in the form of Rani, which is to be played by none other than beloved sci-fi and British crossover sensation Gillian Anderson.


As much as I'm fond of Mr. Tennant, I can't wait for Smith's turn to begin, mostly because Russel T. Davies seems to have either stopped caring or lost his talent for writing as all his special extended Doctor Who episodes carry the stink of crappy children's television.

And the casting of Anderson makes more sense to the stature of the show than, say, the wooden and entirely forgettable Michelle Ryan or the gimmicky Christmas companion Kylie Minogue as an intergalactic waitress. Let's hope Steven Moffat helps write the last few Tennant scripts, so that his historical exit is less anticlimactic and disappointing than the massive Rose-Martha-Jack-DoctorDonna 4th season finale.

Take a page from Ronald Moore's book and ditch the densely elaborate plots. It's the character's stupid. That's why we watch. (To be clear, however, we have a little more hope for the characters' exit than a divine disappearance or a plan to go camping (separately) for the rest of their lives. )