Overall, Gaiman dives into the core of the mythos - referencing the "origin story" and expanding it in a few clean, simple lines of dialog. He plays with the only permanent feature of the story - the "madman with a box". He does all this with ample time for Amy and Rory to do some classic Doctor Who corridor running. And his touch is light, deft, and respectful. No ham-handed romance nonsense (*cough* RTD *cough*) despite the title, and nothing the hardline fans won't love. It was a gamble by Gaiman (who is clearly a huge fan of the show) - and it paid off. The dialog is both fresh and somehow old - the TARDIS calls the Doctor "thief" and the Doctor calls the TARDIS "sexy" - these are terms that have been used for almost 50 years to describe their relationship.

The episode is fast paced, packed with amazing shots, the chilling voice of House (voiced by Michael Sheen), a new TARDIS console built by the Doctor and Idris, but designed by Susanna Leah, a 12 y/o fan who entered the design in a Blue Peter competition. (see the video of her winning) And it's a testament to the show that a fan-designed console fits so well into the show you don't even realize it's a young girl's drawing made real. Even the younger fans know what the TARDIS is all about - it's not just us older nerds.

Today, Doctor Who is in an unusual place - everyone working on the show grew up with it, watched it as kids, and is a fan (hell, we've even had the daughter of a former Doctor playing a character called "The Doctor's Daughter") The entire show is fan-fiction. But with fans like Gaiman, that's a very very good thing.

Charles is a long-time Who fan, and spent his early childhood hiding behind the couch in England watching the Daleks. He now runs an IT consulting firm in Pittsburgh and spends his free time acting like the geek he is.