I realize I’ve kind of fallen off the face of the Earth lately. Sorry ’bout that. I blame the pre-Spring Break schoolwork rush for that. But I’m back now!

In other news, these past few days have been simply lovely for us sci-fi/fantasy geeks. We got seven whole minutes of new Doctor Who thanks to the Red Nose Day mini-episode that aired last Friday. Today, we found out that Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit has FINALLY begun filming in New Zealand. Now if someone would just confirm the rumors that David Tennant has been cast as the Elvenking Thranduil, I could die happy.

Any way, what I really wanted to talk about is the aforementioned mini-episode, “Space and Time.” (Part One and Part Two.) At only seven minutes long, it was a tantalizing teaser for the upcoming Series 6. It wasn’t my favorite Red Nose Day Who clip. That honor goes to the 2007 skit with David Tennant and Catherine Tate. (“Bite me, alien boy!”) However, I thought it was much funnier than “The Curse of the Fatal Death” from 2009. I simply adore the dynamic between Amy, Rory and the Eleventh Doctor.

Matt Smith is, hands down, my favorite Doctor, and Amy Pond is tied with Donna Noble for my favorite companion. But Rory… can I just say that I love what they’ve done with his character? At first, he was just the annoying, wimpy boyfriend, like Mickey Smith in Series 1 and 2. Then, in the two-parter “The Hungry Earth” and “Cold Blood,” he started showing some serious hero material and a bit of his own (less flagrant) brand of sass. I was genuinely sad to see him erased from history at the end of “Cold Blood” and equally as happy when he came back in the Series 5 finale. The story line with Rory guarding the Pandorica (and therefore Amy) for 2,000 years was quite touching, and it firmly cemented him in the “hero” category. I can’t wait to watch his character develop further in Series 6, now that Rory is officially joining Amy as the Doctor’s companion.