It will be a bittersweet holiday season this year for sci-fi fans around the globe. On one hand we’re getting two new “Doctor Who” specials (I don’t count “The Waters of Mars” because it aired in Britain a while back. Any Who fan worth their salt downloaded that one on BitTorrent five minutes after if aired on the BBC!). On the other hand, we’ll be seeing the last of David Tennant as the 10th Doctor, when the Scottish actor hands over the keys to his T.A.R.D.I.S (that’s what his time machine is called, the one that looks like an old British pay phone booth. Long story…) to incoming Time Lord, Matt Smith.

Over at the LA Times Hero Complex blog, Robert Lloyd has an interview with Tennant that includes the surprise announcement of a U.S. TV pilot for NBC titled “Rex Is Not Your Lawyer,” which costars Jane Curtain and Jeffrey Tambor. There’s also an exclusive extended trailer for next Saturday’s special, “The End of Time.” (On reading the final scripts for his character, the actor said: “I was nervous they would somehow disappoint, but of course they didn’t. I read them in my trailer and had a wee cry. They are so beautifully written. I was just delighted to be going out with such a bang.”)

This week (see above), you can view my own interview with David Tennant and Doctor Who (and Torchwood) executive producer/writer Russell T. Davies (now a Los Angeles resident). I met up with Tennant and Davies in Pasadena in early August when I interviewed them for Boing Boing. The duo had just come from the San Diego Comic Con where both experienced what can only be compared to a geek version of Beatlemania. During the interview Tennant discusses what it’s like to walk away from the part he wanted to play his entire life and the responsibilities of taking on such an iconic role.