I was a bit underwhelmed by the new TARDIS; it doesn't have that whimsical junkyard aesthetic any more:

Alas...

But wait, there's more! Carla really reanimated the Doctor; Matt Smith is in full Willie Wonka mode at the end:

Yep, we're gonna like the Doctor's new companion. If things continue this way, I'd expect to see romance on the epic scale of Rose and the Doctor.

While Tom's right that "romantic tension"--romance--is new to Dr. Who, I thought that the story of Rose and the Doctor broke new ground for science fiction in general. The genre just isn't known for romance, and that story and the performances were as good as anything in the mainstream.

The Ponds were a somewhat odd take on the idea of a companion, a married couple with vague hints, for a while, of a menage-a-trois. But they settled down and got boring, and in their last episode, the emotional high point was Rory planting a kiss on the Doctor. Russel T. Davies might no longer be with the show, but his spirit lingers on.