Doctor Who returns to BBC America: Sadness, mortality, and wisdom in science fiction.

The most nakedly emotional show on TV just might be the nerdy British series with time-traveling and aliens.

As the New Yorker’s Emily Nussbaum noted in a recent article, in the last two seasons, the Doctor has found his soul mate, River Song (Alex Kingston). Although they run into each other at hot spots across the universe, their timing is awful, because they’re heading in opposite directions. “Every time we meet I know him more, he knows me less,” she says. “I live for the days when I see him. But I know that every time I do, he'll be one step further away.” It’s a sad fate not unlike the perspective of a woman losing a spouse to Alzheimer’s. Her next line makes the tragedy more explicit: “The day's coming when I'll look into that man's eyes—my Doctor—and he won't have the faintest idea who I am. And I think it's going to kill me.” Still, she won’t let the Doctor see her diary, because she wants to protect him from “spoilers.” Even if love is doomed, we should enjoy it.

The Doctor also comforts us as our own memories fade. Sometimes, to maintain the structural integrity of the universe, he must wipe his companions’ memories clean. When Donna Noble—played with chippy gusto by Catherine Tate—realizes that after many wonderful adventures together, he’s going to send her back to her unglamorous life as “a temp from Chiswick,” she begs for a reprieve. But like a real doctor, he must sometimes be the bearer of bad news. “I am so sorry,” he tells her, “But we had the best of times.” It’s a comfort.

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Doctor Who returns to BBC America: Sadness, mortality, and wisdom in science fiction. - Slate Magazine