^ I don't think that there is anyone here who does not accept/understand the fact that the original run of Doctor Who was cancelled after 26 seasons/years. It is a fact. And it is indeed a gap in production.
It does seem that there are a few individuals who are convinced that a change in the nomenclature used to number episodes (also 'season' vs. 'series') has a significance to the story line,
I for one never said any such thing. As I've said time and again, the issue of whether or not DW TOS and nuWho are the same series is a
technical issue; it has nothing to do with story content or quality.
To me, any debate about this matter seems to be an argument over definitions of production terminology and not anything to do with the story line.
That's exactly what I've been saying. The issue of whether or not DW is one series or two -- or three -- is a technical issue of production terminology at the end of the day. It's a legal issue, it's lawyer-ese.
Some also seem to be proposing that the gap in production over the years may imply (as far as I can tell) that we have perhaps jumped universes or realities such that there is no direct connection between McCoy's (and perhaps McGann's Doctor) and Eccleston's Doctor.
I haven't seen anyone say that. I for one have argued no such thing; I've argued that nuWho has no obligation to remain consistent with DW TOS, but that doesn't mean that it
isn't. And even if nuWho introduces inconsistencies with DW TOS, that doesn't mean they're separate universes.
It is -for me- all one continuous story of the same guy who occasionally changes faces and personalities.....
Whether or not it's all one continuous
story is separate from whether it's all the same series. For a comparison,
Doctor Who and
Torchwood can both be seen as telling a continuous story about Captain Jack coming to terms with what the Doctor did to him in "The Parting of the Ways," but they're clearly separate series.
This isn't a matter of disagreement or agreement. It's a matter of fact. Television programs are given legal production numbers that differentiate them from prior productions by law. Doctor Who (1963-1989) is not the same program as Doctor Who (2005-present). The title and characters are irrelevant (especially since characters and titles can change in the course of a program).
Most people don't know or care about lawyerese.
So? The question is a legal, lawyer-ese question, not a question of public opinion.
I assume you never use the name Brontosaurus either.
Nope.
Do you mean "continuation" as in, "the same legal program," or "continuation" in the sense of, "it's set in the same continuity as the original?" Star Trek: The Next Generation is a continuation of ST TOS by the second definition but not the first.
Neither. Unlike TNG, Doctor Who uses the same primary character and continues the same basic storyline. It would be more akin to Star Trek: Phase II.
Fair enough. But had it been produced, it's pretty clear that
Star Trek: Phase II would have been a separate series from
Star Trek, even if it was a continuation of the story of James T. Kirk and the starship
Enterprise.
That actually doesn't necessarily decide it either. Comic books sometimes do this. Consider: The Flash is a comic series that's had two number ones and three different "incarnations," (it was renamed from Flash Comics at issue #104 but kept the numbering) with 350, 247, and 5 (so far) issues. Despite this, The Flash is considered one comic book series
Likewise Green Lantern, which has had 4 number ones and incarnations of 38, 224, 181, and 55 (so far) issues.
Those are all considered separate
volumes of those series, however. The principles at work in the comics world are not applicable.
Ok then, there's two (three now I guess)
volumes of Doctor Who.

Seems reasonable to me. Moreso even than one unbroken one-volume series, and gives the second volume a nice bit of bookend-ish-ness. I think that's how I'll refer to Doctor Who now.
What principles are you referring to?
Well, for one, an ongoing comic book publication is usually referred to as a "monthly" rather than a series per se. For another, I've never heard anyone use the term "volume" to refer to a television series before (except in
Heroes, because they were trying desperately to be different from everybody else -- and there, they used "volume" where most series would use the term "season"). Television series have just never used the same classification schemes used by print publications -- in part, as I understand it, because tax laws tend to be different for a production that employs hundreds of people versus a print publication that employs a small handful, if that.