The following column contains MODERATE SPOILERS for the third season of "Doctor Who," as well as speculation on what will happen at the end of Season 3.

Its hard to believe that is has already been three years since the return of "Doctor Who" was announced. It was a project that the media often referred to as BBC Ones last-ditch attempt to save a dwindling Saturday night audience, but in reality the decision to revive the series and place Russell T. Davies in the driver's seat has saved the channels primetime viewership.

Making waves in the opening year, "Doctor Who" drew in an average of 7.95 million viewers per week, a figure which has remained steady until this very day. Even the next-day repeats are beating the still-struggling "Lost" on Sky One.

The seriessuccess has been pegged on several factors: The casting of Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant, keeping the campiness to a bare minimum, and even the return of the Daleks to terrify a whole new generation. However, one of the most popular aspects of the new series when it first launched was the very subtle arc-thread that was skillfully worked into several episodes, leading up to the fantastic reveal at the season's end. This thread was, of course, the Bad Wolf, and if you re-watch the episodes you will no doubt notice the abundance of references, hints, jabs and winks throughout all 13 episodes.

Whether it was graffiti on the Tardis, the name of an interplanetary corporation or simply a passing comment, Bad Wolf was never far away. This approach was then duplicated for the second year, starting with "Tooth and Claw." Shocked with the existence of alien life, Queen Victoria issued a royal directive that an institute be created with the mandate of tracking down alien life on Earth and arming the human race for the future.

This institute was, of course, Torchwood (an anagram of "Doctor Who" and the name printed on early production materials of the series to keep the show away from the prying eyes of the media), and the second season was filled with oodles of references.

Torchwood was responsible for the destruction of the Sycorax vessel on Christmas Day, the damned explorers of the Satan Pit were sent into deep space by the Torchwood Archives, Mickey hit a few Torchwood firewalls in "School Reunion" and the list just keeps on going.

The big reveal at the end of the year turned out to be a clash with the Institute during a Dalek/Cyberman invasion of Earth, an event that had a few bookies in the United Kingdom taking bets on who would win. But in the end, the majority of that story was tied up in the second Christmas special, with all the dangling threads used to create the adult-natured spinoff series starring John Barrowman.

So the question remains, where is "Doctor Who" going in year three? This may surprise a few people, but the clues have already begun to air. In fact, they started back in Season 2s Love and Monsters. Watch carefully, listen intently, and you will spot a reference to the mysterious Mr. Saxon, a character who it seems may be up for election in London. The mentions increased in the opening installment of the third season, Smith and Jones, as some "Vote Saxon" posters were predominantly placed in the background of London and he was directly quoted on the radio at the very end of the episode.

Who is this unknown and faceless character, and what dangerous schemes does he have that will eventually cross paths with the Tenth Doctor?

There is a huge collection of guesses floating around the Internet on who the character could be and what his plans are. Could it be a survivor from Torchwood, or maybe a corrupted politician doing the bidding of some sinister alien creature?Perhaps, but my theory pulls on a few old-school stories.

At the end of the third episode this year (Gridlock), the Face of Boe uttered his final secret. You remember him, hes the giant rubber head in a jar who first appeared in The End of the World, (and who has actually turned out to be one of the most interesting recurring characters on the series) and put in a small appearance in the Season 2 official premiere New Earth.

Back in Season 2, it was revealed that Boe had a secret that he would only tell to the wanderer without a home. It doesnt take someone with Time Lord intelligence to realize that person is The Doctor, and it has been something of much speculation throughout the fan base.

I am the last of my kind, as you are the last of yours Doctor : but know this Time Lord: you are not alone.

Those are the last words Boe spoke before finally fading away, holding onto those words until his dying breaths. The question everyone has been asking is if the Time Lords are gone, who else is there?

The answer: The Master!

Rumor has it that The Doctors long time nemesis from Gallifrey will make a return to the series, but aside from that there isnt a whole lot to go on.

On-screen legend Sir Derek Jacobi is set to make an appearance in this season's Doctor Who, playing a character that has thus far only been referred to as "The Professor." The name itself implies he is a Time Lord, most likely one of the Gallifrey officials that caused The Doctor so much grief in the original series. But the key thing to note is that Jacobi himself has previously voiced the Master in a six-part Webcast Scream of the Shalka."

Thanks to the British tabloids however, a few pieces of information relating to Jacobis role in the series have already leaked out. According to The Sun newspaper, The Professor is a good guy who helps save the human race, pretty much ruling him out as the Master.

A few other stories circulating the media have Life on Mars star John Simm pegged to play the diabolical villain who was last seen in the 1996 tele-movie starring Paul McGann and Eric Roberts. In radio and television interviews, the actor has been quizzed on the possibility that he will be taking on the role, but each time his responses result in what can only be considered a no comment.

So at this point, it looks pretty likely that the Master is set for a comeback to the series (remember, the series has introduced an original series villain each year) and it is entirely possible that he is the mysterious Mr. Saxon that has been obliquely referenced.

There also is one curious event from Gridlock that has other fans curious - why The Doctor spent so much time describing to Martha the landscape of his home on Gallifrey. The right sunsets, the domed cities and the devastating war that destroyed it all were laid out in more detail than they have in the past two years.

Add to this the coy announcement that the final episode of the season (which also features Capt. Jack Harkness) includes several scenes filmed in a quarry. Met by a little bit of laughter thanks to the amount of time the original series spent filming in quarries to double as alien landscapes. What possible reason would Russell T. Davies need for a quarry? Or better yet, for which planet? Skaro? Gallifrey perhaps?

If so, a season finale on either world with the Master looks like it could be one to rival all others. Given the latest road the Daleks have been through, let's just hope Uncle Russell is able to do a little better with this classic villain. Then again, I dont suppose it can get any worse than the Eric Roberts Master, can it?

SyBits

Its been a quiet news week, but that hasnt stopped some e-mails from coming in ...

Eric Johnson and the show's producers are going to have quite a challenge on their hands trying to live up to the spirit of the original "Flash Gordon." I enjoyed the old "Flash Gordon" serials with Buster Crabbe, the campy over the top villainy of Ming the merciless (played by Charles Middleton), the ever-inventive Dr. Zarkov (Frank Shannon) and of Dale Arden (Carolyn Hughes) the eternal damsel in distress, and the ever-scheming and beautiful Princess Aura (Shirley Deane).

There was also Prince Barron and Vultan and I Thunn. Ive long since forgotten those actorsnames. These serials are by modern standards quite dated, the sets look like cardboard, the acting melodramatic and hammy, the dialog at times stiff and silly. But these serials gave you a sense of fun and adventure and strangely enough, wonder. That is what the series has to capture in order to be a success and I suspect that the people behind the show will succeed, I think that Eric Johnson is perfect fit for the role of Flash.

I think that with the departure of "Stargate SG-1," and "The Dresden Files" ending their first seasons (when is Season 2 of "Dresden" going to happen?) and "Battlestar Galactica" pretty much out of the picture (I am still miffed about the fact that I have got to wait till '08 for the new season) we could all use another good show.
-- Steven Poisson

Re-imagining Flash Gordon is going to be quite a challenge, particularly since Eric Johnson has been cast in the leading role. Back in the day when he was in Smallville, he was always something of a clone of Nick Wechslers character on Roswell with the exception that Johnson was the most annoying part of the series and is part of the reason the first season sucked so much.

Having said that, its not completely fair to slate him so much as he owes a lot of that to the badly conceived character of Whitney on the series and it was a blessing when Whitney left the small Kansas town.

But Im sure hes got something to offer as Flash, otherwise he wouldnt have landed the role in the first place. The original series sported a lot of wobbly sets, questionable talents and now laughable ideas : just as Doctor Who did, and look how that turned out. The SciFi Channel has got some time on its hands while BSG, Stargate: Atlantis and Dresden return, so it looks like Flash Gordon will give us something to keep us going.

In other news, it looks like Doctor Who is getting the heave-ho for the Eurovision Song Contest next week. Is it just me, or does that contest get worse every year? I know, I should be a little nicer to Mr. Wogan as its just about the only gig he has left. At least well only have to wait an additional seven days for the episode, and as the BBC themselves have said, what are seven days to a Time Lord?

Meanwhile on NBC, Heroes is back and just as good as ever. The dark twisted future episodes of shows are always brilliant fun as long as they arent over done, and Heroes was able to play that card to perfection. Sylar is quickly becoming one of my favorite TV baddies, and Peter is getting cooler by the minute. This is how superhero shows should be done!

One last piece of business. We want to announce the winners for our "Highlander" DVD contest. Thanks to everyone who entered! The winners are: David Van Horn of Brooklyn Center, Minn.; Trip Carter of Charlotte, N.C.; Anthony Law of Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Kenneth Chazanow of Dallas. Each will be receiving a DVD box set of the best of the "Highlander" series from Airlock Alpha, Davis-Danzer Productions and Filmline International Inc.

And if youre in Michael Hinman withdrawal, not to worry as hell be back in this spot next week with another SciFriday column!

Alan Stanley Blair is a staff writer and columnist for Airlock Alpha, contributing from his home country of Scotland. He can be reached at ablair@airlockalpha.com.