Overview
Executive producer Russell T Davies revived Doctor Who after a 16-year absence with the successful premiere of "Rose" in 2005. Following the BBC's announcement of a second series being commissioned, the story broke that Christopher Eccleston, who played the titular Ninth Doctor, would not be returning for the second series. On 16 April 2005, the BBC announced that David Tennant had been selected for the role of the Tenth Doctor. His first appearance in the series was for 20 seconds following the Ninth Doctor's regeneration at the end of "The Parting of the Ways". His first full episode as the Doctor, barring an appearance in a "mini-episode" during the 2005 Children in Need show, was the 2005 Christmas Special, "The Christmas Invasion". He then appeared in the 2006 series, the second Christmas Special, the 2007 series, the third Christmas Special, and the 2008 series. Rather than a traditional series run, 2009 features a series of five specials and a series of animated shorts, all starring Tennant as the Tenth Doctor; he also guest-starred in a two-episode serial of The Sarah Jane Adventures spin-off in that year. Tennant also appears in two animated serials; The Infinite Quest is counted with the third series, and Dreamland is counted amongst the 2008-10 specials. The 'Tenth Doctor era', in this article, refers to the period of Doctor Who in which David Tennant held the role of the Doctor. It is largely the same as the "Russell T Davies era" of Doctor Who, but excludes the Christopher Eccleston stories and places more emphasis on events within the show as opposed to those behind the scenes.
Read more about this topic: 10th Doctor