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The following story contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the third season finale and parts of the fourth season of "Doctor Who."

Now before I get an angry e-mail from one of Britain's most cherished comediennes, I just want to say for the record that I really like Catherine Tate's work. I think she is absolutely hilarious, and generally, I enjoyed her in last year's "Doctor Who" Christmas special (which those in America will get to see premiere tonight on SciFi Channel).

Saying that, however, I have to say that I am not very enthusiastic about Tate returning her runaway bride character of Donna to the series in a full-time capacity.

Donna was a fun, but sad character in "The Runaway Bride," and to me, she was a perfect rebound companion between Billie Piper's Rose Tyler and Freema Agyeman's Martha Jones. But I am still confused on why the producers of "Doctor Who" didn't feel Agyeman's work wasn't up to snuff?

Many will say that a lot of it had to do with the fact that Tate was a tough act to follow. And maybe there is some truth to that. But at the same time, it's like visiting Maine. It may be a nice place to visit, but who would want to live there?

The name of the show is "Doctor Who," which means that it's focused on David Tennant's character of The Doctor. While the producers have given us reason to get to know and love the various companions that have traveled with The Doctor, I have to say that I am a bit concerned that Tate will bring such a strong presence to the show, it could easily overpower The Doctor.

And I'm sorry, I am not ready to see The Doctor become second fiddle to a shouting redhead, even if it does mean that we never have to hear the phrase, "It can't be!" ever again.

This just makes me think back to when Hugh Grant revealed he was being considered for the role of The Doctor at one time, and the only thing I could think of is, "Thank God that didn't happen" not because I don't think Grant is a good actor, but that it would be hard to see The Doctor as The Doctor and not as Hugh Grant.

Chris Carter once said that he worked hard to bring in no-name actors into "The X-Files" because when audiences didn't recognize the actors, they tended to have that much more suspension of disbelief, as it seemed so much more real. The same has to be true of The Doctor, as we should see the actor as The Doctor and not as whoever they are.

At the same time, no matter who his companion is, The Doctor is the star of the show. And I fear that if we get the same Donna we got last Christmas, they might as well name the show "Catherine Who?" which is probably what many Americans are saying anyway.

I was not the biggest Martha Jones fan, but she was beautiful, and she did the best with the lines and stories that were given to her. I really wish producers would've given her more of a chance, but at least she'll still be sticking around for a handful of "Doctor Who" epsiodes, as well as at least three episodes in the spinoff "Torchwood."

Ugh, the more I think about it, the more I feel that Catherine Tate is just wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong wrong for "Doctor Who" on a full-time basis. Bring her back for an episode, maybe two. But bringing in a companion has to involve more than just what fans think would be cool. It has to be something that carefully integrates into the show, and not detract from the overall beauty that is "Doctor Who."

So please, Russell T. Davies, tread very lightly on these waters.

SyBits

So, over and over again I've been asked the same two questions: 1. When is Rabid Doll going to launch; and 2. When will the SyFy Genre Awards start?

Well, I hope I have some answers for you right now.

In terms of Rabid Doll, our two programming and graphic arts geniuses Nicholas Chase and Bryant Griffin are working out the final details of the site design and such, and news editor Sherri Lonon is already putting some initial stories together. Our goal is to launch the site next week, even if it's a soft launch, so be sure to be looking for it.

As for the Genre Awards, our Web producer, Miguel Pagan, has been working non-stop in getting together the video we will release (hopefully as early as this weekend) that will announce the nominees. And no worries, several hours after we release the video, we'll have a story announcing the nominees right here, so you don't have to start transcribing or anything like that.

We wanted to have this done a couple weeks ago, but I got real sick with a sinus infection, and then Miguel got even sicker with a bug, and it was just a pain, especially when I had to leave town last week to go to Vancouver, B.C.

It's almost done, and we expect voting to begin July 25!

Let's open up the mailbag.

Love the site, but too many damn 'Doctor Who' articles. There is plenty of other stuff genre-wise without every second article seemingly being about a fairly cheese and indifferent exercise in camp nostalgia.-- Tony Dale

Tony, I definitely hear your concern. But Airlock Alpha has always been a site that reports the news as it's happening, and we don't pay attention to if we are getting the right mixture of "Doctor Who" with "Battlestar Galactica" with "Star Trek XI" with "Lost." Sometimes, we will get a lot of stories on one show, and sometimes we'll get a mixture.

In this case, with the third season just ending in the United Kingdom, there has been a lot of talk on "Doctor Who." A month or so ago, it would seem that every other story we did was on "Jericho." And before that, on "Battlestar Galactica."

News can be very cyclical, and sometimes too much on one topic.

I'm a huge Transformers fan, and I have two things to mention about you 'Transformers' review:

1. The target audience. The target audience is not 30-somethings. The simple fac that ther are movie tie-in toys for kids lets you know that it is meant for a younger crowd. Thirty-something Transformers fans should be happy that there was any relation to the 80s Transformers. 'Transformers needed to be a kids movie that adults could watch, too, not the other way around.

2. The Star Trek connection. The fact the writers of 'Transformers' will also be writing the next Star Trek film has absolutely no bearing on anything Transformers-lreated, and if you watch the movie with that in mind, you're not paying full attention to the movie itself, and your opinion is colored before you even watch it.-- Anonymous

Well, I have a little secret to share. My mind is not single track, so I can sit and watch a movie, and weigh a number of variables against it to develop my overall opinion of the film, and I don't have to worry about Roberto Orci's and Alex Kurtzman's test spin leading up to the next Star Trek movie they are writing to "distract" me.

I would be amazed of any fan of Star Trek not thinking about the fact that the guys who wrote "Transformers" also would be in charge of their product. It's a legitimate thought process, and I have no further need to defend it.

In terms of who the movie should've been catering to. In my observation, it wasn't a bunch of 10-year-olds clamoring for a Transformers movie, it was the people who grew up on the 1980s cartoon that called for it, and were interested in seeing it.

DC Comics had no problem making "Justice League" for those who grew up on "Superfriends," so why not have "Transformers" made for those who grew up on the cartoon?

There are toys for Alien v. Predator, by the way -- an R-rated film. Just because there is a toyline doesn't mean squat about the intended audience for the film.

If you want to send me a letter, just drop me an e-mail at mhinman@airlockalpha.com and you might find your words right in this very spot

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Have a great week, and don't be a stranger!

Michael Hinman, named Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2006, is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha, writing out of Tampa, Fla. He can be reached at mhinman@airlockalpha.com

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