Babel On, Babel Off: The Mystery Finally Solved ...

could be the most dangerous race in the universe without being able to climb stairs!

In the new series with Christopher Eccleston, now playing on the Sci Fi Channel, all is revealed. Search for "as it followed Rose and the waster up the stairs" here.

And if you don't, it's

<a href="http://www.dwwa.net/dr2/Power/chant.wav">appropriate audio</a> for you!

I can't quite decide what to make of the new series. I mean, I'm glad it's back on the air, though now that they're already up to a 10th doctor (and they never even used poor Paul

See this actor's record at the Internet Movie Database

for more than one episode!), I don't know what they're going to do: this Gallifreyan is out of regenerations! But seriously. The original show (which is one of my absolute earliest memories of television: the earliest was something called "Bill and Ben the Flower Pot Men" which I watched in my attic bedroom of our thatched 300-year-old cottage in Bladon) had its wonderful charm, its special effects and production values that felt like the sort of thing a couple of teenagers could whip up out of stuff in their dads' garages. It didn't take itself too seriously, and it certainly hadn't the slightest hint of sex on screen (yes of course the sidekicks provided some sexual interest for the adolescent heterosexual male viewer but it was all kept to their imaginations); nor did it have much in the way of serious violence. I wasn't surprised to hear that there is going to be some sex (at least a kiss?) in the new series, and of course it's obvious that the new series would have better CGI effects (though they're still pretty lame; Babylon 5 had better CGI ten years ago), but what I can't figure out is whether the new series is just totally going for "kiddy series" or what. The End of the World episode had some delicious adult humour with Zoë Wanamaker but the pilot episode was up their with the cheesiest of the original series, and what was with all the farting jokes in World War Three?

Oh, well. They know they have me anyway, farts or not.

(Observant readers will remember when I mentioned my predilection for wanting to be waited upon hand and foot. It wasn't until Lisa saw her first Doctor Who episode and heard something a little bit like this:

<a href="http://www.dwwa.net/dr4/Destiny/obey1.wav">more audio</a> that she realized that I didn't make up that particular delivery. "So that's where you get it from!" Then she hit me.)

[ Update, April 15:

I forgot to mention two more cool things I liked (both of which are spoilers):

This was to my knowledge the closest look we have ever had of the Dalek life-form itself. I thought it was pretty cool. All tentacled and slimey, pulsating, and dripping with goo. I also enjoyed seeing that it was a cyclops, which I suppose makes sense, considering that it has only one mechanical eye.
I also enjoyed the self-destruct mechanism. Finally an explanation for those giant ball-bearings all over the Dalek's "battle armour"!