After Les's reminder, I watched the two premiere episodes of the new Doctor Who series (the first season thereof, broadcast in the UK and Canada over a year ago).

Random comments:

1. The music! The sound effects! Excellent. I'd watch it just for the main titles and the TARDIS noise.

2. A worthy successor of the previous series' legacy -- one part cheese plus one part SFX plus one part profundity plus one part camp plus one part drama. It's an oddball mixture, and it's great.

3. London just looks like London. Or, perhaps, England just looks like England.

4. The stories are no more sophisticated, but the FX are a hell of a lot better. There's a nice Douglas Adams-like sensability about the whole thing -- intelligent plastic and the various spectators at the End of the World.

5. A bit of tweaking to the backstory. Probably some purists are kvetching. Still good.

6. Christopher Eccleston does a great job in the title role, reminiscent of Tom Baker as he veers from pathos to lunacy and back. Sorry to hear he decided to sign off after only this first season. Billie Piper as the inevitable human sidekick plays her part admirably (even if her motivation for picking up and hallooing off is a bit dubious), and fits right into the position of all the other Doctor's Companions.

I am not the most die-hard of Who-fans. I started with the John Pertwee era, and segued into Tom Baker, then sort of lost track. But I care enough for the show to be going "ooh" and "aah" over the quick flashes of Daleks we got to see.

Gonna watch it again? Oh, yeah.

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This was my first full exposure to Doctor Who (I used to only catch the endings of the Tom Baker shows while waiting for Sunday morning broadcasts of Star Trek on CBC), and I have to say it was the highlight of my summer.

Oh, and fear not for the post-Eccleston Doctor. The new guy, who made his appearance in the Boxing Day special, does a fine job.

Enjoy the rest of the run!

Good to hear, Steve, thanks.

I had the opportunity to watch an evaluation copy of this season before it hit SciFi and I can just say, it gets even better - and I'm not a a Dr. Who fan. (I think I saw one episode in the 80s) Eccelston is, in a word, fantastic!