More wild and unbased speculation about the next season of Doctor Who!

This is apparently the newest recurring character / companion on the show! And best of all, he's apparently a teacher at the same school Clara works at. 

The school Ian and Barbara came from in the very first episode of Doctor Who, 50 years ago last November, when One stole away his first companions.

I'm just all O_o about the whole thing because it looks an awful lot like The Moff is shaping the show into a big loop. We've diverged a lot from those first episodes so long ago, and what with the general trend of bringing in threads from Three and before over this past season, it seems we're getting something along the lines of a return to the show's roots--or a sort of in-show reboot, back to the beginning, without having to actually go back to the beginning.

So here's where my speculative brain is going on this: First, this dapper man's first official picture:

• He looks stern; can this mean the Doctor is going to be loopy and needs a firm hand to keep him in line? Or that they'll be butting heads because they're both stern and disapproving?
• He's a good-looking MALE companion! Not another pretty girl! And one that's not already attached to a pretty girl, specifically, the way Rory was. Unless he's Clara's stay-at-home boyfriend who follows her. But that would be a redo of Amy and Rory and each companion is supposed to be different, so...
• He looks no-nonsense, which might be wonderful, what with all the actual nonsense the Doctor tends to get into.
• He also looks like he's capable, probably smart, and not easily intimidated. It's been ages since the Doctor had a companion he could count on to do stuff for him like Ian or Harry or Jamie, and I would SO LOVE if that's how he was!
• A strong male presence on the Tardis is something we haven't seen in a long time, and it will make for a different dynamic--especially if he actually is unattached and not so easily bowled over as poor lovely Rory was.

And as to what he could imply about the show:

• More companions! I really want the show to max out on companions again, which it hasn't done in the new series. 
• If we're echoing the early episodes with two teachers from the same school, all we're missing is the granddaughter--and that's the perfect opportunity for Jenny to come back! Jenny who didn't die at the end of that episode she was in because Moff asked RTD not to kill her, and who we've been waiting for a return of since then!
• Also, if we're wandering around the Doctor's old stomping grounds, think about how old companions could have settled there, and how maybe we could meet one, or their child or grandchild! It was fantastic when Sarah Jane came back, and when Jo came back on the Sarah Jane Adventures, that was fantastic, too, and it would be SO NICE to have just a little bit more of that.
• Also, I have a head cannon that ex-companions eventually find each other and support each other through the rough transition back to everyday human life, and it would be beyond awesome if that turned out to be true--that they hang out and raise their kids together and keep track of the Doctor's appearances and actually know who he is and what he does.
• Also, if we're getting back to roots, maybe we'll also get back to historicals! Almost every other episode of the original seasons was literal time travel, if not most of them, and we haven't had almost any episodes that hinge on past human history at all in Eleven except maybe that one ghost episode which was deliciously 70s. And in Nine and Ten, we got, like, one a season--Dickens, Shakespeare, not a whole lot else. And there's SO MUCH HISTORY to explore! Plus, it'd be way cheaper than always jaunting off to some alien planet or spaceship.

I just get more and more of an impression that we're really going to bring back the Classic Series this season, and I really, really like the idea. Which also makes me scared that it's actually going to be something else entirely, and then I'll feel like they missed a big opportunity. And then I'll be sad.

But it's always like this before a season, isn't it? Lots of speculation, lots of awesome theories, and then lots of other stuff happening during the actual season.

What do you think this new dude brings to the show? Share in the comments!