Early word is that he'll be playing "a nasty headmaster" in the episode School Reunion. Can't wait.

Oh, and from the looks of the new Doctor... he's a browncoat.

Look Here.

IMForeman | July 25, 19:25 CET

OMG... Tony Head on the new series of Who? /freakout!!! Thanks for the heads up (er bad pun not intended), Simon!

zeitgeist | July 25, 19:34 CET

Yay for ASH on Doctor Who, that is very shiny news.

Paul_Rocks | July 25, 19:34 CET

Well... yay!

Craig Oxbrow | July 25, 19:43 CET

Wow, that is cool. I wasn't a big Doctor Who fan, but I think it was entertaining, and I'm sure ASH will do a great job. I don't agree that it has the most angst and passion since season two of Buffy, though. I find the characters fairly one-dimensional, but I think it suits the type of show it is.

Razor | July 25, 19:48 CET

ASH has a long past with Who, appearing in a number of different Who audio plays alongside the fifth, sixth, and seventh Doctors.

TheJoyofZeppo | July 25, 19:48 CET

Can this be seen in America? If it's like Buffy season 2 I really want to see it.

charisma | July 25, 19:50 CET

OK - as happy as I am to see that ASH is going to appear in the series, I am ecstatic over the fact that Stephen Fry is going to write an episode - weeeee....

It's interesting to note that Billie Piper is now apparently going to stay the entire season, as I was under the impression from earlier articles that she was going to leave partway through. And what about Captain Jack?

I haven't seen any information about it airing in the states. Another reason why I love living in Seattle - CBC on cable!

Znachki | July 25, 19:56 CET

I think it's going be released on DVD in America. Sci-Fi didn't pick it up because it was "too British". They were showing in Canada from what I can remember. I do know a lot of British and foreign Buffy fans who have really taken the show to heart. Russell T. Davies, the show's head honcho, has been very influenced by Joss and BtVS. There were some scenes that really reminded me of Primeval and Chosen.

Simon | July 25, 19:56 CET

Sorry, charisma. Story goes that Sci-Fi turned it down because there wouldn't be an American interest, and BBC America hasn't made a peep about picking it up. Basically, if you're American, you have to be sneaky and download it off the 'net. Not that I would ever, ever, ever encourage or even suggest such a thing. *ahem*

TheJoyofZeppo | July 25, 19:57 CET

Sci-Fi didn't pick it up because it was "too British".

Yet another reason why I don't subscribe to cable. Dumb move by SciFi--I firmly believe there is a vast, untapped Who fanbase here in the States (most of us raised on Tom Baker's imperious, snarky incarnation), and ASH going up against the new Doctor would be a ratings hit on a level with SciFi's Friday night titans (SG-1, Galactica).

Aw, and Sarah Jane Smith is coming back too? Well, I'll have to wait for the DVDs.

cjl | July 25, 20:09 CET

I think it's going be released on DVD in America.

Actually there's no plans for a North America DVD release until the show has aired in the US. Hopefully if no US network picks up the series that eventually the BBC will change their mind on this issue.

They were showing in Canada from what I can remember.

Yup, Canada's CBC has actually been co-producing the show and have been airing the episodes a week and a bit after they air in on the BBC. CBC is now running repeats of the first season of the new series on Sunday nights at 7 pm.

It's quite frustrating for Canadian fans who have already seen the series but can't pick up the series on DVD because they share the same DVD region as the US. (Of course it's probably even more frustrating to Americans, some who haven't even seen the series once.)

Matt_Fabb | July 25, 20:49 CET

Shiny! Stephen Fry and ASH together at last! Man I hope ASH is in the Fry episode... I think I may just suffer from geek overload.

Mort | July 25, 21:04 CET

Wow. Season 2 (or 20 something.. 28?)is going to be amazing. This show deserves more than 13 episodes.

Christopher | July 25, 21:09 CET

Rumors throughout season 27 (or 1 if you want) suggested that Billie Piper would be leaving partway through season 28 (or 2 if you want), but at the Premiere Screening of the finale it was announced she would be in all 14 episodes (as the Christmas Special is being produced as part of the next season). Captain Jack is coming back, but he's not in the first block of episodes to be filmed, which I believe to be the Christmas Special and episodes 1 & 3. No Daleks, but apparantly the 10th Doctor will face them at some point.

I suppose an old companion returning could be a nice link to previous seasons, if K9 comes with her I hope it's just for one episode rather than a recurring role.

And about time Anthony Head got a part, next thing we need is for Joss Whedon to write an episode, that really would be bloody fantastic.

And yes, this show really does deserve longer seasons than 13 episodes, but any more would just be too expensive for the BBC.

I loved this year's episodes, must have watched them all a fair few times now, can't wait for it to come back.

Ghost Spike | July 25, 22:26 CET

There was a scene in "Dr. Who" that was an absolute steal from Spike's immolation-by-way of amulet - right down to the clenched cry of pain and the lit-up earlobes! (Although it must be said that Christopher Ecclestone's ears do feature largely in any scene.....)

Wonderful news that Tony Head will be in the next series; he'll be terrific. (And as for Captain Jack...wowza! Isn't he a dead ringer for the gorgeous astronaut in "Moonlighting"?? He's worth the price of admission alone. This series of "Dr.Who" is, in my opinion, the best of them all by a long way.

SweetMarilyn | July 25, 23:47 CET

Oh yes, the Buffy influences abounded in the new series of Doctor Who -- which is unsurprising since Whedon was frequently name checked in interviews with all the writers in Doctor Who Magazine (and The West Wing too). Having seen Primeval and Chosen was about the only thing which spoilt the last episode. Whether is was a conscious reference I'm not sure.

If you want to see how far all this can go, see if you can track down the novel Vampire Science, which I've written about here. Sorry about the self link, but I do mention some of the similarities with Buffy and Angel about five paragraphs in. Oddly it was published months before Buffy went into production ...

feelinglistless | July 26, 00:07 CET