Doctor Who link love: season premiere

Mere hours now until the new season of Doctor Who (the 1st, 5th, or 31st, depending on how canonical one wants to be) debuts at the same time on Space and BBC America. (This is actually two weeks since it premiered in the UK, but I will leave any rants regarding worldwide simultaneity of broadcast for another time.) With what is basically a clean slate (Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, and Steven Moffat as head writer and executive producer), the production team went on a promotional junket to this side of the Atlantic. As a result, there has been a bit of press regarding the new season. Here are some that I think are worth a skim-through:

• “New Doctor Who is sensational” (Edmonton Journal) – Alex Strachan has given consistent coverage of the new series from the very beginning. Props for his name-drop here of 1st Doctor actor William Hartnell.
• “He looks awfully young for a Doctor” (Globe and Mail) – An interview with Matt Smith in which, among other things, he laments growing up in the Who-less hinterland of the 1990s.
• “Karen Gillan travels the universe with Doctor Who” (Montreal Gazette) – Karen talks about the role of Amy and working with Matt Smith.
• “Never fear, ‘Doctor Who’ is here (again)” (Los Angeles Times) – A preview of the first episode, “The Eleventh Hour”.
• “Eleventh Time’s the Charm: Meet Your New ‘Doctor Who’” (New York Times ArtsBeat blog) – interviews with Smith, Gillan, and Moffat, bits of which are included in audio form!

And for those who need something visual, here are a couple of preview trailers. The first aired on BBC One immediately after End of Time 2; the second one is one that Smith premiered on his appearance on a UK talk show in late March. Enjoy the premiere!

(photo courtesy BBC)