‘Doctor Who’ thing of the day: the Doctor is now immortal, so there

Or not. From yesterday’s Guardian:

[A] passing comment in a children's television programme later this month is set to rewrite history and cast the Doctor, iconic hero of the world's most successful and longest-running science fiction series, as immortal.

The moment comes in the CBBC spin-off show, The Sarah Jane Adventures, which stars former companion Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith. Matt Smith, who plays the current Doctor Who, guest stars in a two-part episode called The Death of the Doctor, to be screened on October 25 and 26. While the Doctor and Clyde Langer, played by Daniel Anthony, are in the process of outwitting spooky vulture undertakers the Shansheeth, Clyde asks how many times he can regenerate. The Doctor indicates that there is no limit. The action continues.

Fans of the show have been expecting an official moving of the goalposts for some time, but it was anticipated as part of the Christmas special, rather than in an after-school slot on the CBBC channel.

Now, we must remember what River Song reminded us of: The Doctor lies. I hope that’s what’s happening here. Because I can think of far more dramatically interesting ways that the Doctor could have regenerated beyond his 13th life. And just erasing that regeneration limit was not one of them.

(Thanks to readers Lorenzo, Caroline, and Ryan for the heads-up. If you stumble across a cool Doctor Who thing, feel free to email me with a link.)