Doctor Who

Happy Birthday, Craigy Ferg! Our favorite geeky Scotsman turns 50 today. Craig is a nerd-lover's dream; his love of science fiction and geekery come through on every episode and his Twitter account. Plus, he's got a TARDIS on his desk.

As host of the Late Late Show, Craig Ferguson has been keeping us in stitches since taking over late-night hosting duties in 2005. Here are seven reasons why we love the Ferg:

1. Devoted Whovian — He dedicated an entire episode of his talk show to his love of Doctor Who. Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith even made his first American talk-show appearance for the episode.
2. Robot cohost — Craig is such a huge Mythbusters fan that show host Grant Imahara built him a robot sidekick name Geoff Peterson.
3. Geek Peacemaker — When discussing the time old debate of Star Trek vs. Star Wars with guest Adam Savage, Craig explains you don't have to pick a side, each have their own special star themes.
4. Shark Fan — As host of the Discovery Channel's 2010 Shark Week, Craig guided viewers through his "favorite holiday."
5. Loves puppets — Regular viewers of the show are familiar with the frequent use of puppets in the opening monologue and skits. For the 1,000th episode Wavy the crocodile hilariously hosted the whole show and interviewed Jason Schwartzman.
6. Good sport — Craig went along with the original captain William Shatner's request to show off his horsemanship skills by galloping around the stage with Shatner at the reigns.
7. Keeps it real — When Britney Spears was going through tough times a few years ago, Craig refused to joke about her on the show. Proudly sober for nearly 20 years, he understands that such trying issues don't need to be prodded further.

If you need any more proof as to why you should be loving Craig Ferguson, watch the song and dance performed on the Doctor Who episode of the Late Late Show. It wasn't aired on the show due to rights problems with the theme song, but it was later, thankfully, leaked on the web.

Neil Gaiman last took control of the Doctor Who writing reins in "The Doctor's Wife," the season-six episode where the TARDIS came to life, which, he said in conference call this week, was to "remind people that the TARDIS was a living entity, if they had forgotten." Fresh off his Neverwhere BBC radio drama success, Neil returns to the Time Lord's world in this Saturday's new episode, "Nightmare in Silver."

What's so frightening about metal? Cybermen. As a child watching the Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, battle the classic nemesis, Neil recalled finding them so much more thrilling than Daleks: "I loved the clanky clanky steampunk Cybermen." Neil's involvement with the episode began with an email from executive producer Steven Moffat, who begged the sci-fi writer to "make the Cybermen scary again," which is what he did with a tactic the tech world would appreciate — an upgrade.

We've previously seen the cyborgs lumber toward the Doctor and his companions, but in their newest adventure, they're lighter and faster on their feet, just like your brand-new smartphone as compared to its previous generation. Neil explained why the metallic villains of 2013 had a need for speed:

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, and the Internet can barely contain its excitement (two Doctors in one!). Where do Web citizens turn during these momentous events? Reddit, of course. The Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Gift Exchange pairs Whovians around the world with their Time Lord brethren to celebrate all things timey wimey by sending themed care packages.

Sign-ups are now open and run through May 13, when the Reddit system will select your pen pal match. You then have until May 24 to find and post a Who gift based on the recipient's provided information. Specify your favorite Doctor, favorite enemy, favorite companion, and preference for Classic Who vs. New Who to give your match inspiration for your ideal Doctor memorabilia.

When Doctor Who, starring the dashing Matt Smith and "saucy" new companion Jenna-Louise Coleman, returned to the small screen last Saturday, there was one common outcry: how do I watch and trust the doctor without BBC? Fear not, TV-less Whovians. You can catch up with seasons past and present without Britain's premier public broadcasting channel.

Doctor Who runs Saturdays on BBC America at 8 p.m., but for those without cable subscriptions, new episodes are typically updated online Sunday morning or later. Read on to find out how to catch up with Eleven's latest adventures on the web.

Doctor Who: EyeStalk ($2) is an iOS app that will exterminate photo boredom and transform your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch into the Doctor's oldest archenemy, an evil breed of cyborg known as Dalek. To celebrate the return of season seven, the official BBC-licensed app got an update that includes even more authentic Dalek effects.

EyeStalk comes with seven different Dalek filters based on the long-running British science-fiction series, including a blue monochromatic "Doomsday" lens and the most recently added "Asylum" gray monochromatic style. Take a photo from the app or choose from the Camera Roll and change Dalek effects by swiping left and right. Then share your "doctored" image to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Evernote, email, or SMS.

There's also video mode, which will transpose Dalek vision over your mini motion picture — just like the show! Give EyeStalk a download and don't worry about Daleks taking over your phone (it's the WiFi you have to worry about).

Huzzah . . . the 10th Time Lord is back! BBC announced that Ten, played by David Tennant, is returning for the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special, which began filming this week.

The official Doctor Who Twitter handle shared this victorious shot of David and present Doctor Matt Smith, after finishing the read through for the special episode.

And what's a doctor without his companion? Billie Piper, who played the ninth and 10th Time Lord's companion, Rose Tyler, will also be appearing in the 50th anniversary special. Legendary British actor John Hurt, of Harry Potter and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, is joining the star-studded Doctor Who cast as well, although it's unclear what his role will be.

We don't know when the special will air, but we do know that we'll be tuning into BBC America every Saturday to watch the second half of season seven!

See the teaser images of Billie, David, and John after the break.

Allons-y, Doctor Who season seven, part two! Fish fingers and custard are set on the table and Whovian cupcakes are getting their finishing touches, but there's just one thing missing: a cocktail to celebrate the return of the Time Lord. Our friends at Nerd Friday concocted the tasty Sonic Screwdriver, a Doctor-inspired take on the classic Screwdriver.

So get to mixing (don't forget the light-up ice cubes), and join us to watch "The Bells of St. John" at 8 p.m. tonight.