Geronimo! Hit British television show "Doctor Who" returns

The Doctor has returned with a new body, a new companion, new enemies, new catchphrases and a new head writer. And with two episodes to the series already out, "Doctor Who" promises not to disappoint.

"Doctor Who," a science fiction television show that began in the U.K. in the 1960s, has the unique ability of reinventing itself every few years as actors, writers and producers come and go. The plot device that makes it work revolves around the central character of the show, the Doctor, a Time Lord from planet Gallifrey who can travel across space and time in his TARDIS (Time and Relaive Dimensions in Space). As a Time Lord, the Doctor can regenerate whenever he is close to death.These regenerations change everything about him, from his physical appearance  to his personality and trademark phrases. This has allowed 11 different actors to step into the Doctor's shoes and save the universe from the likes of the Daleks and the Cybermen.

The most recent regeneration came about after actor David Tennant, the 10th Doctor, announced he was leaving the show in 2008. Tennant, a fan favorite, had been the Doctor for three series but was returning to the stage to play Hamlet as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.  So the search was on to find a new Doctor. In January 2009, it was announced that the relatively unknown Matt Smith would become the 11th Doctor, which left a lot of fans of the show scratching their heads. Smith, 11 years Tennant's junior, had few acting credits to his name and was about to become the youngest actor to ever play the Doctor. Most wondered if he would be able to continue the successful series and keep fans interested.

The answer is yes. While Tennant remains a favorite, Matt Smith has already made an excellent impression on critics and fans alike. His age, which had worried some fans, only makes the Doctor more vigorous and playful than ever. Smith brings a wonderful energy to the character, along with a healthy dose of recklessness that is fitting for this thrill-seeking Doctor. The 11th Doctor is fun from the moment he pops out of the TARDIS to ask for an apple from the young girl who has come to investigate the mysterious police box that has crash-landed in her garden. At the same time, Matt Smith makes the Doctor appear effortlessly brilliant, with a mind that works a million miles per minute and a certain amount of confidence in his abilities that says he does not simply believe he is a highly intelligent being, but that he knows it.

Travelling with the Doctor is his newest companion, Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), the young girl grown into a beautiful young woman who has never let go of the memory of the strange man who helped her with the crack in her bedroom wall. She is feisty and not afraid to tell the Doctor what she thinks, which will certainly make for more than a few squabbles between the two. Based on the first two episodes of the series, Gillan and Smith make an excellent team.

What is truly great about this latest incarnation of the show, however, is not simply the two lead actors but the writer behind it all. Steven Moffat has been a writer for the show ever since the ninth Doctor appeared on the silver screen in 2005 and is behind some of the best episodes in recent Who history, including "The Girl in the Fireplace," "Blink" and "Silence in the Library." Now that he has replaced Russell T. Davies as the head writer, however, this 11th regeneration promises to be one of the best written yet. From the highly amusing kitchen scene in "The Eleventh Hour," where the Doctor and Amy search for something edible for him to eat (fish sticks and custard, if you are interested) to the poignant scene in "The Beast Below" where Amy pegs the Doctor for exactly the "very old and very kind, and the very, very last" Time Lord that he is, it is clear that Moffat was the right choice to replace Davies.

With hints of the return of the villainous Daleks, Cybermen and Weeping Angels, as well as glimpses of Stonehenge, Winston Churchill and vampire-like creatures, this newest series of "Doctor Who" has this fan convinced that it is going to be a very entertaining series indeed.