Many thanks! It's a great comparison, and easily the best way of explaining multiple Doctors to people who aren't familiar with the show. In Doctor Who they actually have a narrative reason for why the Doctor changes (he's an alien…) while in James Bond we just accept that it's the same character played by a different actor.

Although, that said, I've heard a fan theory that "James Bond" is actually a title just like "007" (or "Dread Pirate Roberts") that can be passed on once the previous Bond retires. That would mean that every Bond is actually a different person who holds the same rank as his predecessor. That theory is a load of bullshit, in my opinion! But it's been repeated to me often enough. Are we supposed to believe that every Bond coincidentally happens to be a loyal, ingenious, good-looking lady-killer with a talent for one-liners?

What's more interesting is that both Bond and Who have a kind of built-in resilience that means they won't ever stop. There will always be more because people will always have new visions for what Bond/Who can be, and they have a ready-made way to implement their vision. Compare that with something like Marvel Comics, who've had to create parallel universes to explore new takes on their characters. Read about Marvel's Multiverse and boggle! Hilariously enough, Earth-215476 appears to be "Home reality of a superheroic version of Sesame Street". Bless 'em.