Yeah, they've had at least two Magnus and Will only episodes so far this season, which really reeks of budget concerns.

Kate is less awful than she was at the start, but I'd rather not have her than have her. I don't think the team needs another female body enough to justify her existence.

IO9 had a couple Dr Who bingo cards--they called Midshipman Frame--that seemed eerily prescient. I suppose it's okay that Jack has sex after Ianto, and why not with the werewolf from Being Human, but I think there's dealing to be done, not to mention with what Jack's done since he last talked to the Doctor, and the montage kinda skipped over that.

Martha and Micky? Really? Really? He's a lot cooler than he used to be, but really?

I know! Martha and Mickey was really WTF?

Yeah, that came out of nowhere. But again, the beard was working for Mickey.

that seemed eerily prescient

I wonder if they were spoiled somehow.

I am not a fan of Mickey/Martha. At all.

I am thinking that Mickey's gone through some major changes to have attracted someone as awesome as Martha.

I haven't kept up with the show since S2, but was there any reason for Mickey/Martha other than "Wait, we have TWO black characters???"

I don't think that it's a racial thing, that's not really an issue in british tv. There's a lot of race blind casting in England, even in historical stuff. If it was American, I'd say hells yeah.

The weird thing is the Whoverse has always seemed very comfortable with mixed-race couples. Just off the top of my head, I can think of both of Donna's husbands, Martha/Tom, and Rose/Mickey. So, yeah, it was weird. I had read a little tidbit somewhere that officially, Martha ended up with Mickey and I suppose now that was just someone having been spoiled for EoT.

I had said somewhere up thread that the Doctor's goodbye to Jack seemed to mean that the Doctor was okay with CoE or at least was letting Jack off the hook. But that seems so out of character, given his reaction to Harriet Jones. I guess it was just too much to deal with in a 60 second goodbye in which they didn't even speak.

I haven't kept up with the show since S2, but was there any reason for Mickey/Martha other than "Wait, we have TWO black characters???"

That's what I thought.

I don't think that it's a racial thing, that's not really an issue in british tv. There's a lot of race blind casting in England, even in historical stuff. If it was American, I'd say hells yeah.

There is, but there is also a lot of underlying (and often unaddressed) racism in British society. Whereas UK TV is pretty good at colour-blind casting, we also don't often see mixed-race relationships. While we *have* seen a lot of those on Doctor Who, this for some reason felt a bit "Two black characters! Quick! Pair them up before we have to go back to marrying off white girls to black men!"

was there any reason for Mickey/Martha other than "Wait, we have TWO black characters???"

Well, Rose dated Mickey first, and Donna was engaged to two black guys, so I think not.

Mickey went through a lot of changes in the alternate universe and they never treated him like a goof after that. And he did look good and cool. Still, backstory always welcome, and we'll never get it.

I read complaining that a black woman bought it and that black people were evil in the first End of Time episode, but I really am not feeling the racist casting with the show. RTD et al have been pretty damned even handed with the casting of black folk--Asian slack mostly picked up with Torchwood.

It's gotten to the point where I know if I see a black person do something bad onscreen that I'm going to read complaints about it on the web. But we can't be too good, otherwise we're magical negroes. And for some viewers, we can't even use magic (cf Pirates of the Caribbean 2) without being magical negroes.

It is actually a bit complicated.

I had said somewhere up thread that the Doctor's goodbye to Jack seemed to mean that the Doctor was okay with CoE or at least was letting Jack off the hook.

I think it was RTD saying goodbye to all his peeps, more than anything else. CoE should have a huge impact on the Doctor and Jack, but I can't imagine them bothering with it as much post-regeneration. But I do hope.