"Doctor Who" has returned and this season for the first time The Doctor is in America. The eleventh Doctor played by Matt Smith, has been a genius successor to the Doctor Who title,especially following the popular run of David Tennant who played the Tenth Doctor. Right out of the gate,  he cemented his place in the mythos of the character with his brilliant turn in  "The Eleventh Hour". The companions have always been an important part of the series and Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) has broken the mold with her characterization as a companion to the 900 year old alien Time Lord, who with her quick-witted quips, manages to keep his ego in check. As his companions go she is a beautiful,brassy and quite outspoken redheaded firebrand who is in no way conceivable a damsel in distress. If you haven't seen this series at all I highly recommend you check out the 2005 relaunch of the series on DVD, or new and rerun episodes on BBC America.

   

 On a sad note, "Doctor Who" star Elisabeth Sladen, who played Sarah Jane Smith, perhaps the most famous and beloved of the Doctor Who companions, has died from cancer. She was 63.  In 2005 after the relaunch of the series, she returned to the character she originated in 1973. After starring in several episodes with David Tennant, the tenth Doctor, this led to the spin-off series "The Sarah Jane Adventures". The first episode of the new season of Doctor Who "The Impossible Astronaut" was dedicated to the late actress. 

     During last Friday's episode of "Smallville", we were teased with a trailer of the series finale revealing that Michael Rosenbaum would be returning as Lex Luthor. Though previously rumored, until Friday there was no indication that his appearance was anything but a rumor.

     Anime versions of two Marvel Comics characters will premiere on the G4 channel in July. Both series will have title characters voiced by former stars of the television series "Heroes". Adrian Pasdar will voice Tony Stark in "Iron Man", an anime series in which Stark travels to Japan and battles the evil Zodiac organization and Milo Ventimiglia will voice Wolverine who wages war against Japan's criminal underworld. I can only hope that this will lead to more anime versions of popular characters like, dare I say it, The X-Men.

     The recently revealed voice cast of the animated  movie "Batman:Year One" includes Benjamin McKenzie as Bruce Wayne/Bruce Wayne, Bryan Cranston as Lieutenant James Gordon, Katee Sackoff as Detective Sarah Essen, and Eliza Dushku as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. The animated movie which is  based on the comic book mini-series of the same name which was written by Frank Miller and illustrated by David Mazzuchelli promises to be an extremely faithful adaptation of the collected series which is currently available in trade paperback. The series is high on my list of favorite graphic novels or collected series and I highly recommend that you read it, if you haven't already.