(BBC IMAGE)
Doctor Who isn’t on tonight — it’s the Fourth of July, and Sci Fi is airing a Twilight Zone marathon. (Because, really, what says patriotism like gremlins on a plane, evil children and To Serve Man?)
But the Who season is winding down, and when it returns next week there will only be three episodes left (or four, depending on how Sci Fi decides to handle the 65-minute finale, the ominously-titled “Journey’s End” which airs in the U.K. tomorrow night).
If you’re new to the phenomenon, you might want to check out Wired online’s Cliffs Notes treatment for Doctor Who virgins.
Either way, have a great Fourth, and follow the jump to enjoy some spoiler-rific images from the end of the current season of Doctor Who (if you dare):
Reunion!
Companions and allies from the last four years of adventure return, as has long been rumored, to help the Doctor confront the greatest threat yet. From left: Sarah Jane Smith (Elizabeth Sladen), Mickey Smith (no relation; Noel Clarke); Jackie Tyler (Camille Coduri), Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), the Doctor (David Tennant), Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman), Capt. Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate). Sladen was the Doctor’s traveling companion in the early-to-mid-’70s, and now has her own spinoff, The Sarah Jane Adventures. Barrowman began as a companion in the first season of the 2005 revival, then went on to his own spinoff, Torchwood (an anagram of Doctor Who). The others have traveled with the Doctor at various times since the revival, beginning with Piper’s much-loved Rose character.
Here’s a clip that underscores just how hopeless the season finale situation will be:
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Rose! (She of Secret Diary of a Call Girl)
Yes, that’s right: Rose is back, despite having been “forever” stranded in an alternate universe with no hope of returning. And she’s brought some heavy firepower. Maybe she’ll need it to fight the …
Daleks!
… A new Red Dalek menaces Donna and the Doctor. Who said the Time War was over?
Arch-villain!
But if only that were the extent of their problems! Davros (Julian Bleach), the evil creator of the Daleks, is back as well:
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(ALL IMAGES OWNED BY THE BBC)