Things required to get the new DW into canon?

[Scooter]

Wow, I've been off the site long enough, mired in my own little world, that not only did two staff members leave but there's actually a DW discussion thread in the forums. What are the chances of that? (Nyssa: "Several billion to one against." Me: "Shhh, I was speaking rhetorically.")

Anyway -- I'm not sure I see the problem, in the sense that "canonicity" has certainly always been an elastic concept at Doctor Who. And I am very much opposed to the idea of saying that individual stories are crap, much less entire incarnations, because they constitute a departure.

The abiding principle of being a Doctor Who fan is accepting each incarnation of the Doctor on its own terms. I went through that with the Sixth Doctor, and despite "Twin Dilemma" and "Timelash" tried to meet him on his own ground and not deny him solely because there was a departure from the past. Likewise the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth. I have concerns about the Tenth, too, but I owe it to Who to meet him on his own ground and see where the TARDIS takes me.

Personally I could make a case that Eric Saward was much more detrimental to Doctor Who than Russell Davies (because he kept the Doctor on the periphery of the action), or JNT for that matter. But what's the point?