A new Doctor?

The BBC/Doctor Who have just announced that Matt Smith (the current doctor, for those not privy) will be hanging up his bow tie at the end of the year.

Part of me is wondering if this is somewhat of a ploy, but I'm not sure...they do like to be secretive, but I don't know what would warrant this sort of lie. So I'm *guessing* that it's real.

Which, to me - and, as I've heard, many other fans - is a bit of a disappointment. The Doctor/Clara storyline seems to me still in need of a fair bit of exploring. I'm sure there'll be a bit of that in the special later in the year, but it does seem like a bit of a premature end to me. He still seems like the new guy. They e only done a short season of him with Clara, and the new opening titles that specifically feature him. Just seems to be a lot of length to go to if he's leaving so soon.

Suppose that's also why I wondered if it was actually the case or not. I very much hope that if it is the case, the new Doctor we're looking at won't be this in-between not-Doctor. He seems to be more of an antagonist than a protagonist. I think they could do a spin-off series on him, but not as the main character in Doctor Who. It's just the completely wrong vibe.

At least, that's my opinion. I suppose we'll have to wait a while to see what happens. Bring on November!