Or not. They were ships that passed in the night, but the voyages gave an anonymous PBS publicist a thrill.

David Tennant, who is not only the latest Dr. Who in the BBC's forever-running sci-fi series, but also the new host of Masterpiece Contemporary, was having a drink in the bar of the Langham Huntington Hotel Saturday, anticipating his Sunday session with the critics, when he learned that Jon Hamm was in the building. Hamm, who plays central character Don Draper, was on hand with some cronies from AMC's Mad Men to accept the Television Critics Association award for best 2008-09 TV drama.

Tennant, apparently a big Mad Man fan, wondered rhetorically if he might meet the actor, reputed to be a Dr. Who aficionado. The publicist, as desperately desirous as any other normal woman of staring at the visage of Hamm, one of the world's most handsome men, offered to go find him.

And there was Hamm, in line for his own drink outside the ballroom where the awards were held. He acknowledged his love for the good doctor, but averred he was unfamiliar with Tennant. "Tom Baker is my Dr. Who," said Hamm. "He was in the show when I was growing up." Baker was Dr. Who No. 4 (1974-81). Tennant's No. 10.

"I'd love to go talk to him," Hamm said, "but I've got a little something else to do, first." And by the time the awards ceremony was over about 90 minutes later, the moment had passed.

Masterpiece Contemporary is one of the three skeins (the others are Masterpiece Mystery and Masterpiece Classic) that have developed out of the old Masterpiece Theatre.