So, okay, last night, Doctor Who, The Shakespeare Code. How cool was that?

I admit, I am predisposed to liking my Doctor Who stories with historical settings. Maybe it’s because one of the first episodes I ever saw was the last part of Talons of Weng Chiang. Maybe it’s because the BBC just was more comfortable making period costume dramas than science fiction, and so were able to handle those stories better. Maybe because it’s something that more naturally suits Doctor Who than, say Stargate or Star Trek. Regardless, the idea of the Doctor and Shakespeare versus witches pretty much sums up what I love about Doctor Who.

I thought Dean Lennox Kelly’s Shakespeare-as-rock-star performance was a clever twist on the usual portrayal, although it’s not like the precedent hadn’t been set by productions like Shakespeare in Love. So often, though, it seems like the thinking is, “He’s a writer, and we don’t know much about him, so he must be quiet and shy and bookish.” Whatever. This version works just as nicely, I think.

And how great was Christina Cole as Lilith? The snooty edge that kept me from warming up to her as the heroine of Hex served her just fine as this week’s monster. And it was nice to see fairly traditional witches, and magic being dealt with in a fairly straightforward, Doctor Who kind of way (just a different type of science, really).

And I’m still really liking Martha.

So, next week, a return to New Earth, with the Cat Nurses (and other cat people, it looks like, so Penelope should get a kick out of it) and the foretold final appearance—presumably—of the Face of Boe. And lots and lots of traffic.