These specials not only were there to give Tennant the send-off he so rightly deserved, but also to help the series runners manage the transition to a new head-writer, as well as casting a new Doctor.
The second season of Orange is the New Black is significantly darker than the first season, but not so much as to change the total feeling of the show.
And with Buffy's new found enthusiasm for being a Slayer comes new found motivation for Giles, who spent all of last season as something of a hanger-on.
