The lore of the Time Lords says that as soon as a new Doctor appears (and acquires a hot new assistant), so too does a box-fresh (Tardisfresh?) digital version of said time traveller.

For a string of actors over the past four decades, being reincarnated as the new Doctor Who has proved to be a precarious moment, with public opinion over their portrayal of the Time Lord almost certain to be divided. Find the right balance and adoration awaits – but play the Doctor wrong and obscurity or ridicule beckons.

Doctor Who is due back at Easter, with a new Doctor, Matt Smith, but, frankly, so what? It's all getting very self-congratulatory now – and if you want grown-up sci-fi, head to Sky1's Caprica, says Gerard Gilbert

David Tennant said today that viewers would be left heartbroken by the final "brilliant" plot twists as he bows out of Doctor Who tomorrow.

Braving the elements like some communal version of King Lear, the utterly idiosyncratic Footsbarn collective have mounted the first yuletide show at Shakespeare's Globe. Performed in cold, rainy but elatingly festive conditions on the night that I attended, Christmas Cracker ends in the same joyously eccentric, wondrously witty and indissolubly Shakespearean manner that has marked its progress over two unequal portions. Streamers suddenly fall through wintry air, spring suddenly puts in an inordinately early and floral appearance and the company joins in a bonkers but beautiful rendition of "Summer Is Icumen In".

Among the millions of Doctor Who fans watching the farewell appearance of the time traveller's 10th incarnation on New Year's Day, possibly none will be sadder than the actor who plays him, David Tennant.

David Tennant's reign as the Doctor saved the BBC – and it comes to a dramatic end on New Year's Day. But fear not! The next Time Lord, Matt Smith, will have plenty on his plate: the Second World War, Van Gogh...

Shallow Grave is a British thriller of great assurance and fair accomplishment. The setting is a mixture of Edinburgh and Glasgow, the film thereby qualifying for a grant from the Scottish Film Production Fund, but the narrative values are bracingly American.

Practical homes built for simple folks during the Great Depression have inspired a new wave of cool holiday architecture in resorts across the Sunshine State. Adrian Mourby reports

The actor turning Alan Bennett's 'disaster' into a West End triumph

From Minder and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em to Beverley Hills, 90210, a whole host of former TV favourites are being remade – with a twist or two. Gerard Gilbert reports

"I just watched the whole of this on BBCi. Thank God I no longer pay for a TV licence. This is leftist propaganda. The original Seventies series was much better, written by good writers like Terry Nation and Jack Ronder and Ian McCulloch. This show has gone the same way as 'Doctor Who'. If you're under 30, you won't know what the hell I'm on about." - airscrew1, youtube.com

David Morrissey has fuelled speculation that he could be the next Doctor Who, saying he would jump at the chance to be in the show again.

David Tennant has said will quit as Doctor Who at the end of next year. By the time his last shows are screened he will have played the Doctor, to popular and critical acclaim, in the BBC series for four years.