The BBC announced a new major cast member for Doctor Who this season, rising British star Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink, a teacher at Coal Hill School. Yes, it seems that Series 8 will spend a bit of time thematically looping back around to the beginning, as Coal Hill is where the first two companions, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright had been teaching the Doctor's granddaughter, Susan, way back in "An Unearthly Child". Of course, in "The Day of the Doctor", the 50th Anniversary episode, we caught a brief glimpse of Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) teaching there, too.

For his part, Anderson (The History Boys, Gavin & Stacey) is as excited as anybody would be. "It's a quintessential part of British culture and I can't believe I'm part of it," he is quoted in the BBC press release.

But who will Danny Pink be and how will he get involved? Well, like with the Ponds, we've dropped in and out of Clara's life with huge gaps. We do know that the series is already shooting Episodes 4 and 5, so it's plausible that though the first episode will pick right up from the cliffhanger of "The Time of the Doctor", Clara will have ample time to return to her job at Coal Hill. Perhaps she will find a swain, or perhaps not.

Knowing Steven Moffatt, of more interest is why we come back to Coal Hill in the first place. We have a mystery set up both in the show and in interviews -- where do the Doctor's faces come from? How can he control it? Does a new round of incarnations need to touch base in his past in order to move forward?

We shall see in August. (Good lord, the tension at the Comic-Con panel...)

Derek McCaw