On Saturday, September 1, Doctor Who returns! And yes, I’ll be there. Despite some strong attempts to do so, I haven’t been driven away from the show yet.

I really take no pleasure in feeling this way about a show I otherwise have so much affection for. And I can’t believe that it’s Steven Moffat who I can thank for it. He did such great work during Russell Davies’ run on the show, but his own seasons have been weak at best and godawful at worst. How could the man who wrote “The Girl in the Fireplace” and “The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances” be the same person who wrote the absolute lowest point of the new series, “Let’s Kill Hitler”?

I’ve said before, I like Matt Smith’s Doctor (mostly). I find Amy Pond to be quite easy on the eyes, but offering little to nothing as far as a character goes. Rory does a bit better for himself, but it’s hard since he’s constantly being shut down by the other characters. And don’t even get me started on River Goddamn Song. The stories have been utter messes, with very few standouts. “The Doctor’s Wife”, which was better than most, still had half of it devoted to Amy and Rory pointlessly wandering around in a maze because even Neil Gaiman couldn’t figure out what to do with these two. I haven’t bought serieses five and six on DVD yet because I really can’t imagine wanting to re-watch them.

But hey, new season! New opportunities! Since everything is now more or less wrapped up (except for a few minor niggling questions, like why did the TARDIS blow up and destroy the entire universe) we can turn the page and move on and start afresh! Here’s a taste of what starts on Saturday:

That’s some interesting stuff, there! On the one hand, River Song’s appearance is mercifully brief in the trailer, but on the other hand, River Song makes an appearance. Hard to believe there’s still more of her they think we need to see.

Here’s the thing, though. That scene with the dinosaurs on a spaceship? Where the Doctor exclaims, “Dinosaurs! On a spaceship!” That’s pretty cool, until you realize that the episode is entitled, “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship”. (Get it? Get the reference??) I’m sorry, but that’s only a step or two away from releasing it directly to Tumblr as a series of animated GIFs.

Speaking as a Doctor Who fan, I can say that the fandom has become completely over-the-top obnoxious. I realize that part of this is that finally one can really feel out and proud about being a fan; previously there were a lot of caveats and disclaimers and justifications involved. But this is just way too much. And one can say that I should just avoid the fandom — which, trust me, I do as much as I can — but when the fandom is written into the show itself, that’s pretty tough.

Don’t mind me, though, I’m just a miserable self-loathing pseudo-fan who hates fun. I’ll be watching on Saturday (probably more like Sunday morning) and we’ll see how it goes. If I didn’t quit watching after “Let’s Kill Hitler” and “The Wedding of River Song” I can’t imagine what more this show will give me that I can’t take.