Doctor Who's 10th Doctor Says Goodbye In December

Fans of Doctor Who, and David Tennant's incarnation of the good Doctor in particular who live in the US should be pleased to know there will be virtually no delay in seeing his final performances in the role. Rather than film a traditional season, the agreement was that David Tennant would instead star in a series of telefilms to wrap up the adventures of the tenth Doctor, before Matt Smith takes over the role in 2010.

In the past, with Doctor Who optioned by then Sci Fi Channel, there were sometimes extensive delays between the UK releases of new Who and when fans in the States might see them. Now, BBC America is bringing the Doctor's final adventures to us by the end of this year, approximately the same time British fans will see them.

Things kick off with The Waters of Mars, featuring Lindsay Duncan (Rome) as his latest companion, premiering on BBC America December 19, 9pm ET. In one of his final gestures, the man who brought the Doctor back, Russell T. Davies, will pen this tale.

The remaining David Tennant helmed films will air as a two-part special sometime during the holiday season, so after a long cold wait, with only the sub-par Planet of the Dead to keep us warm, it'll be an exciting month.

In 2010, not only is David Tennant stepping down as the Doctor, but Russell T. Davies is stepping aside as well, handing showrunning duties off to Steven Moffat. Moffatt has brought us some of the most exciting episodes yet in the revive series already, including "Blink," "The Girl in the Fireplace" and the two-part "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances."

With a new Doctor and a new man steering the ship, be sure and join me in bidding a farewell to one of the best runs any Doctor has had in the series 46-year history.

[via Press Release]