Yes, but we had a planet Vulcan first...

TV  The US Sci-Fi Channel's website has a news section, Sci Fi Wire, which generally includes fluff pieces publicising their own shows and sometimes other things. Often this isn't actually news -- they've probably interviewed someone and then they'll trot out sections of what was said in blocks. Recently, nearly twice a day there's been chat from Russell T Davies about something or other, mostly things he's also said to SFX or DWM. Today however there's something totally new and interesting. Hey look everyone, Russell's approach to New Who was influenced by Gene Roddenberry:

"That was very much a lesson that I took from Star Trek: The Next Generation, where in the first [season], apart from seeing Dr. McCoy in the first episode, they were quite uptight about continuity and didn't refer too much and kept it a new show," Davies said in an interview. "Once they were successful, they sort of relaxed in the second season, introducing the Romulans at the end of the first season, so they started accepting that all those great icons of the show are public icons. It takes you a while to realize that, because when you're a fan, as I am, you sometimes think your point of view is too fannish, and it takes a while to realize that sometimes a fan's point of view does coincide with the general public's memory of a show. It's not just the fans that say, 'Sarah Jane, K-9, the Cybermen, the Daleks!' It's also the general public."

He was absolutely right of course. Good old Russell. But you know what I really love about this quote -- how clued up he actually is about Star Trek -- I mean who but a Trekker would know that McCoy was in the first episode and the Romulans turned up in the season finale? Bet he even knows the stardates too...