The American press went into overdrive late this week with coverage of today's long-awaited debut of Doctor Who on the Sci-Fi Channel. Here's a recap of the press items from Thursday and Friday. Note that many local newspapers feature articles from wire services such as Reuters, Scripps-Howard, etc. These local papers haven't been mentioned simply because they reprint articles sent by these wire services; the article content of original articles or feeds is as follows:

TV Guide Online features a banner advert (at right) on its front page. On today's Hot List: "Forget the slow pacing and the not-so-special effects of the previous versions -- this is not your father's Doctor Who! Christopher Eccleston breathes new life into the genre's favorite time lord in tonight's manic opener, which touches on the character's past and introduces Rose (Billie Piper), a human who's all too interested in the doctor's operations. A follow-up visit, er, second episode follows." And in Matt Roush's twice-weekly Roush Review: "Why to watch: To get that Friday-night cult fix. The lowdown: In earlier versions, I never clicked with this Brit import about the time-tripping, alien-fighting mystery doc (a chipper yet intense Christopher Eccleston). But this remake achieves an Avengers-like balance of cheeky wit amid the cheesiness. As Who's shopgirl sidekick, Billie Piper is a delight. A keeper? Who'd say no? My score: 7"

USA Today: "Doctor Who (Friday, 9 ET/PT) is back with new adventures and a new Doctor: Christopher Eccleston. The show makes its U.S. debut on Sci Fi with a two-hour special, immediately after which Who fans will begin debating Eccleston's merits and his place in the Time Lord pantheon."

The New York Times (second article this week): "The original 'Doctor Who,' a British sci-fi series, was on for so long, from 1963 to 1989, that it became an institution, like 'Coronation Street.' It even caught on for a while in this country, after being picked up by some PBS stations, and both here and in Britain it spawned a 'Star Trek'-like cult. Those fans obsessed over the wanderings of the title character, a human-looking extraterrestrial who travels the universe in a time machine disguised as a police telephone booth, and of his various enemies -- the Sontarians, Krynoids, Zygons and, most feared of all, the Daleks, who looked like giant salt shakers. The show eventually burned through eight actors in the title role, explaining each time that the Doctor had been 'regenerated,' and by the time the BBC finally canceled it, the plots had grown mossy and the special effects, always low-budget, had become antiquated and embarrassing. The resuscitated 'Doctor Who,' which has its premiere tonight at 9 on the Sci Fi Channel, with two episodes back to back, was written and produced by Russell T. Davies, best known as the creator of the original version of 'Queer as Folk.' Mr. Davies is himself a cultie, who has even written a novel based on 'Doctor Who,' and his remake is both affectionate and a little ironic, leaving intact some of the show's essential silliness. Like so much British science fiction, especially Douglas Adams's 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' series, this 'Doctor Who' has a goofy, homemade quality; it's less interested in gizmos than in characters. ... The familiar blue police box doesn't seem much revamped, either; it appears to run on pneumatic tubes, and there is no sign of a computer on board. The Doctor, on the other hand, almost quivers with energy. In previous regenerations, depending on the actor playing him, this character has variously been crotchety, spacey, avuncular and even a little glamorous. Christopher Eccleston brings a kind of manic blokishness to the part, giving the Doctor a sardonic grin and a working-class Manchester accent. (When another character says, 'If you're an alien, how come you sound like you're from the North?' he replies, 'Lots of planets have a North.') ... Sadly, it can't last. In Britain, where 'Doctor Who' is now in its second season, Mr. Eccleston has already been regenerated. He quit the show last year after announcing that he didn't want to become a celebrity. So what we're watching here is what the sci-fi types would call an avatar. This time-travel business is very complicated."

The Hollywood Reporter and Reuters News Service: "Redesigned, repeated and constantly regurgitated to viewers since its inception in the 1960s, this latest revamp of the by-now infamous 'Dr. Who' is silly, sophomoric stuff that is sure to please its television audience, and in fact has been for several seasons now. With a title character who's been around longer that those watching the tube he's on, this doctor is contemporary-talking (well, maybe a little bumbling as well), sort of sexy and just right for those who like sci-fi but don't want to have to think or work too hard to get it. A good formula all around. ... Executive producer (and lead writer) Russell T. Davies has a good thing going here, even if it does seem absurd at times for monsters and other such horrific creatures and events to spring out of nowhere, or at least to spring from a mood completely discordant with the weirdness that suddenly descends. But all the mismatched tones do give the series a kind of postmodern feel that contemporary audiences will have little trouble handling. All the writers, including Stephen Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Paul Cornell and Rob Shearman, are to be congratulated for infusing a lively sense of the absurd into the stories. To the series' good credit, stars Eccleston and Piper are energetic and good-natured enough to carry the proceedings to their always unpredictable ends. Feature players Noel Clarke (as Rose's boyfriend) and Camille Coduri (as Rose's mother) add energy as well."

The Knight Ridder Newspaper Service: "As his devoted fans know, Doctor Who always has been capable of a pretty good disappearing act. But the last one he pulled -- back on Dec. 6, 1989 -- went on a bit longer than expected. On Friday, when the good Doctor starts reappearing in new episodes on the Sci Fi channel (at 9 p.m.), it will have been 16 years since the last episode of the original Doctor Who, perhaps the most curious cult classic in the history of television, was produced. Over its first 26 years, the series about an enigmatic time-and-space traveler featured eight very different actors in the lead role, along with wonderfully loopy, 1960s-hip dialogue and some of the worst special effects ever, including aliens made of inflated condoms. A huge hit in Great Britain, Doctor Who didn't surface in this country until the late 1970s, when it became a staple of Saturday-night programming on many PBS stations. But despite the pleas of the faithful, there were no new episodes anywhere until last year, when Russell T. Davies, the powerhouse British writer-producer of such shows as the original Queer as Folk, finally persuaded the BBC to let him take a shot at reviving the franchise with some modern twists. Much to the surprise of the BBC, Davies' take on Doctor Who became one of the most-watched series on British TV. (More than 10 million viewers -- 40 percent of the audience in Britain -- watched the debut, and a second season already has started there.) And now the show comes to America with the 13 episodes that made up Davies' first season on the BBC. The good news for longtime fans is that he hasn't mucked around with the quirky essence of Doctor Who that much, while giving it a more polished look. The Doctor, as he always is referred to in the series, still is the last surviving member of a race wiped out in a time war (don't even ask) and still is going through various dimensions with a goofy grin and a passion for trying to right wrongs. He doesn't always get it right -- in earlier episodes, he was partially responsible for Nero's burning of Rome, the Great Fire of London and the appearance of the Loch Ness monster -- but he tries. ... Best of all, the new episodes (or at least the two that Sci Fi sent out for review) retain the fun of the original Doctor Who. If you're looking for allegorical, intriguing science fiction, this isn't it. If you're OK with rapid-fire, lighthearted dialogue with an occasional dig at politics and culture, this Doctor Who is your cup of tea. Don't get too used to Eccleston as the Doctor, though. The actor bowed out after one year and already has been replaced by David Tennant (Viva Blackpoo and Barty Crouch Jr. in the most recent Harry Potter film). But even that is in keeping with the show's tradition. Good to see that things are back to what stands for normal in the world of TARDIS, Daleks and Doctor Who."

Sci Fi Wire (Sci-Fi Channel, another feature article): "Russell T. Davies, executive producer and lead writer of the new Doctor Who, attributed much of the show's initial success to the winning chemistry between Christopher Eccleston, who plays the eccentric Time Lord, and Billie Piper, who plays his companion, Rose Tyler. As Davies recalled, Eccleston was an early candidate for the role, but it was assumed that he wouldn't be interested. 'Mal Young, one of the other executive producers who had been campaigning at the BBC for a long time to bring Doctor Who back, had mentioned him, and having worked with Chris and having known him for years, I just gave a little wry smile to myself and thought, 'We should be so lucky!'' Davies said. Davies added: 'Out of the blue, Chris e-mailed me, and even as a huge top-line actor in Britain, he was still modest enough to say, 'Would you consider me for the part?' Anybody else would have said, 'I want that part! Give it to me!' From that point on, we did see other people as well, but it was a very simple decision, because the program's memory had become a bit of a joke, in the way that I watch American programs, and they refer to Gilligan's Island. It was a bit like that over here, because Gilligan's Island was a bit daft and funny and fondly remembered, but not a serious program at all. And casting Chris seemed to have single-handedly changed that overnight, particularly within the industry. Suddenly, a lot of people sat upright and said, 'Oh, my God, they're taking this seriously!' It was the biggest change we could effect upon the memory of the program.' Equally important was the casting of Piper, who was much more of an equal than many of the show's original companions, who were usually relegated to the role of damsel in distress. 'Much as I love the old show, there wasn't much work involved in that decision, because you could not write a female lead in this day and age that was subservient and in the Doctor's shadow, who didn't have a background and a history and a personality,' Davies said. 'I think with any drama, you'd just get laughed off the screen if you tried to get away from that, so it wasn't as much a great idea of mine as just the only way to write something in 2006.' Davies said that he brought his reputation as a drama writer to Doctor Who. 'So that's the sort of thing they wanted from me,' he said. 'I've always written strong women, so there was just no choice in it, although if you studied the history of the program, it's quite a bit of a reinvention. I can't help thinking if Doctor Who had run continuously; it would be like this now anyway. If it had gone from 1989 to 2006 in a straight line, the companion would now be like this, because that's what television is like today.' As it turned out, Eccleston would only stay on long enough to launch the first season, with actor David Tennant taking over the role for season two, which is currently in production in the United Kingdom. 'We would never have replaced Chris with a lesser actor,' Davies insisted. 'And we're very lucky to have got David.'"

The Los Angeles Daily News: "Christopher Eccleston (who bears a resemblance to 'Everybody Loves Raymond' creator Phil Rosenthal) plays the ninth incarnation of the classic British sci-fi character whose series initially ran from 1963 to 1989 (when a star departed, each subsequent actor took the character in totally different directions; this series now boasts a greater longevity than 'Star Trek'). Tonight, The Doctor, a Time Lord with a tragic past, rescues working-class girl Rose Tyler (former British pop singer Billie Piper) from, initially, murderous mannequins sprung to life and, later, her tedious existence. He traverses time and the universe in a blue police phone box. His presence, one bit player warns Rose, means 'One thing's for certain - we're all in danger.' The Doctor, with a gleam in his eye, reframes the debate: 'Now we're in trouble,' he deadpans, surrounded by conflagration. Pros: Eccleston and Piper enjoy a witty, flirty chemistry: 'The entire world revolves around you,' she accusatorily scolds him; he replies, 'Sort of, yeah.' There's a visual inventiveness not always supported by the series' budget: In tonight's second episode, The Doctor and Rose visit the world 5 billion years in the future to witness the sun's apocalyptic expansion, only to encounter someone who wants to slip a few murders in before Earth's destruction. They attend along with all manner of aliens, including some named The Appearance of the Repeated Meme. The Last Human is merely skin with something of a face stretched across a metal frame; Rose dismisses her as 'a bitchy trampoline.' Cons: Rose is a little dim, failing to notice a disturbing change in her boyfriend. Fortunately, she's a quick learner, and helps save the Earth in no time. And, as was notoriously true with previous series, the special effects can be dodgy, though the series' outsize ambitions obviously called for a budget no TV network could've sprung for, let alone the BBC and an American cable outfit. In a nutshell: Blowing up the planet in episode two? How do you top that? But here's betting you'll be dying to find out: You needn't know anything of past series to become quickly addicted to this series' seemingly endless quirky charms."

Seattle Times: "Christopher Eccleston is the new Doctor in the BBC's latest incarnation of 'Doctor Who.' But don't get too attached to him. He won't be back next year. The superb 'Doctor Who' achieves something difficult for American shows: It makes TV look easy by demonstrating that intelligence and escapism are not mortal enemies. But then, 'Doctor Who' has experience. The world's longest ongoing sci-fi series has kicked around the time-space continuum since 1963. Over 40 Earth years, the time travels of the mysterious Doctor and his sidekicks have grown from a British children's show to a legend. The latest incarnation hits U.S. airwaves at 9 tonight via Sci Fi Channel. Co-starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, it's Season 1 of a revival launched in 2005 by BBC Wales and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Those not already privy to past splendors needn't fear. While most space sagas drag a comet-tail's worth of back story behind them, 'Doctor Who' is instantly accessible. Maybe that's because the series at heart is an old-fashioned romance in the dashing, 19th-century sense. The mechanics of being transported 5 billion years in a moment or using Anti-Plastic to melt an enemy are tossed off with deadpan insouciance; what counts is the distance closed or opened among people and other forms of life. The focus for this epic jaunt is the relationship between the Doctor and his traveling companion, who in the new version is a pretty blonde named Rose Tyler. Rose resembles the Bridget Jones type of Englishwoman, albeit a few pegs down the socioeconomic scale. She labors in a bland department store, dates a bland boyfriend named Mickey (Noel Clarke) and tolerates her antic, overbearing mum (Camille Coduri). ... On paper, this formula puts 'Doctor Who' in the same territory as 'Star Trek.' Both reflect the optimism of the 1960s, along with the Western World's first self-conscious steps toward global thinking. But the approaches were dissimilar. The one-hour 'Star Trek' was indisputably American in its sober and open moralizing. 'Doctor Who' took a lighter, ironic point of view and each half-hour installment concluded with a cliffhanger. Even the treatment of technology was different. The Trekkian transporter room looked cheesy and behaved flawlessly; the Doctor's machine TARDIS (Time And Relative Distance In Space) was, and is, quirkily flawed. ... Mainly, though, the series resonates with its message to examine as well as relish life. Today's audience has moved beyond flip cynicism, and if the replacement isn't quite sincerity, 'Doctor Who' allows room for both."

The Village Voice: "In the U.K., this series about a time-traveling sleuth is as much of a stone-cold classic as The Twilight Zone is here. It's also equally period-bound, bringing to mind the black-and-white series of the late '60s and early '70s, with those fakey sets and sinister electronic background music. The famous futuristic theme tune—an invitation to a generation of children to prepare themselves for a weekly dose of palpitating terror—has survived, but it's been gussied up with unnecessary orchestration, setting the tone for this attempt to update Doctor Who in the age of CGI. ... There are plenty of other good gags to prove this entertaining series doesn't take itself too seriously. When Rose goes into culture shock, she ruefully notes, "They're just so alien . . . the aliens." The Doctor has generally been played as a relentlessly cheery type, with a Peter Pan quality of prepubescent sexlessness—a geek whose brain beats brawn in every corner of the universe. Although this remake attempts to add tragic depth to the Doctor, it lacks true darkness. The early series overcame skimpy budgets to conjure the uncanny; this was cosmic horror as H.P. Lovecraft would have understood it. The real disappointment of the new Who isn't its use of (slightly) slick special effects, though. It's a structural problem: Instead of stretching a storyline across a whole season, each adventure is resolved within a single episode, making this closer to your average detective series. The thrill-filled cliffhangers of yore are gone, taking with them with the child's urge to watch TV from behind the sofa, breath bated."

Detroit Free Press: "The British cult favorite is about a mysterious time traveler who bops across the spectrum of time, battling aliens and monsters while piloting a spaceship shaped like a London phone booth. It is reborn in a spiffy new version that first aired in North America on CBC in 2005. This time Christopher Eccleston ('28 Days') is the intrepid scientific adventurer. The Doctor is joined by his companion and instant soul mate Rose (Billie Piper), brought together by cockeyed fate as their 13-episode odyssey blasts off with witty good spirits. "

Chicago Tribune: "Despite a few missteps, there's much to recommend this fast-paced edition of 'Doctor Who,' the first brand-new TV season of Britain's long-running 'Who' franchise in many years. As the Doctor, a space traveler who pops all over the universe having adventures and fighting bad guys, Christopher Eccleston has a cheeky, spiky charm and more than a dash of sex appeal. As the Doctor's companion, Rose Tyler, English pop star-turned-actress Billie Piper brings a winning combination of dogged sincerity and working-class irreverence to her role. Having said that, it's a good thing that Sci Fi is running two episodes of this updated 'Doctor Who' on Friday: The first episode starts out with promising chills, but the resolution of the paper-thin plot is far too predictable. And though the story in the second episode isn't terribly complex, the dialogue and pop-culture satire throughout is entertaining (who would have thought Britney Spears' 'Toxic' would ever appear on a 'Doctor Who' soundtrack?). All in all, new head 'Who' writer Russell T. Davies has done the Doctor a service by making him a multilayered, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes troubled hero who's comfortable in modern-day, multicultural London -- and in the rest of the galaxy too, where evil never sleeps

Gannett News Service (via Cincinnati Enquirer): "Look out, America: The Doctor is ready to make house calls again. No, this isn't some new wrinkle in your HMO coverage. This is THE Doctor, legendary Time Lord hero of the British science-fiction television series 'Doctor Who.' The program, which ran from 1963 to 1989, was revived last year by the British Broadcasting Corp. and became a huge ratings success in Great Britain. Now Americans can see why, as the Sci Fi Channel begins broadcasting the first 13-episode season today. You may think you know the original 'Doctor Who' - an eccentric curly-haired alien in a floppy hat and overlong scarf, an undertone of campiness, and production values on a par with the original 'Star Trek.' Well, you can forget all that. The new 'Doctor Who' brings the series into the new millennium, which means top-notch special effects and mature writing. The core of the story remains the same: The Doctor is a cosmic wanderer who travels through time and space in the TARDIS, a bigger-on-the-inside spaceship disguised as a blue British police box. Along the way, he becomes embroiled in alien invasions and other nefarious goings-on. He relies on his wits, not muscle or guns. The strength of 'Doctor Who' has always been its limitless formula: Stories can be set in the past, present or future, on any planet. One of the show's genius ideas is 'regeneration': When near death, a Time Lord can renew his entire body. The concept has allowed several actors to play the role (including Tom Baker, wild-eyed wearer of the 14-foot scarf, who held the role the longest). The new 'Doctor Who' stars British actor Christopher Eccleston - best known to American audiences for films such as '28 Days Later' and 'The Others.' Gone are the pseudo-Edwardian attitudes and dress. This Doctor can be dark and brooding, a working-class bloke in a leather jacket bearing the psychological scars of a great Time War."

Scripps-Howard News Service: "His time-travel ship _ it only looks like a police call box _ remains bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. He's still very funny and wise and has a kid-like fascination with the universe. He's an immortal who knows everything about everything but fumbles in his relationships. Just in time, the Doctor is back. And 'Doctor Who' fans will discover much hasn't changed about the long-running BBC series. The latest version makes its U.S. broadcast premiere at 9 p.m. Friday on the Sci-Fi network. (The 13-episode season premiered in 2005 in the United Kingdom, and a new season is now in production there.) Some things have been updated for the 21st-century version. A nice touch is when Rose (Billie Piper), the newest companion for the Doctor (Chris Eccleston), asks about that police call box. This fancy phone booth with a door is no longer a common sight in this age of cell phones. But it's the things that haven't changed that makes this version work. Eccleston approaches his incarnation of the Doctor with the maverick approach of Tom Baker, the spirit of Sylvester McCoy and the wide-eyed enthusiasm of Peter Davison. Those are some of the stars who played the Doctor way back in the 20th century. ... The Daleks have been around since the 1960s on 'Doctor Who.' The difference is the latest episode makes you feel compassion for a Dalek. Even a tin man has a heart. That's not too surprising. Everything's always bigger on the inside than it is on the outside on 'Doctor Who.'"

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette: "Who? Doctor Who, that's who. There are a couple of generations who have enjoyed the adventures of Doctor Who. The BBC science fiction show that began in 1963 has been updated with 13 new episodes. They kick off on Sci-Fi Channel with a twohour premiere at 8 p. m. Friday. Who, played this round by Christopher Eccleston, is a mysterious time-traveler known only as 'the Doctor.' His comely traveling companion is Rose Tyler, played by the comely Billie Piper. The Doctor and Rose travel about risking life and limb, battling aliens and monsters and generally saving mankind and life as we know it. Eccleston plays the Doctor as 'wise, funny and brave -- an adventurer in time and space.' He's the man to call on when there's danger about, but he's a klutz at human relationships. That's where Rose comes in. Rose is a shop girl from the present day who is trapped in a drab, boring existence. Naturally, the Doctor's life of adventures across the universe is appealing to her and the pair hit it off. How do they pull off all this zipping about ? With a TARDIS, of course. It's sort of like a phone booth, but it stands for a Time and Relative Dimensions In Space machine. And it's the last one in the universe. Let the new adventures begin."

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "If 'Doctor Who' sparks a bit of recognition, you're probably recalling a cheesy British sci-fi series that ran on PBS stations in the 1960s. Travel through time to present day, and 'Doctor Who' is back -- and not just because this alien Time Lord, the last of his race, has the power to regenerate. BBC execs thought they could update the series, take a giant leap in production values and regenerate ratings, and they were right. Now in the second season of its latest incarnation -- and already with a change in lead actors, from Christopher Eccleston in Season 1 to David Tennant in Season 2 -- it's a smashing success in England. Starting Friday, Eccleston & Co. arrive on Sci-Fi Channel Fridays at 9 p.m. while the two 'Stargate' series and 'Battlestar Galactica' are in reruns. ... This Doctor laughs at danger a little too readily for a guy who has experienced the end of his world, although the fact that he started life as a grandfatherly fellow in 1963 and he's fit and still flitting about in 2006 could be the reason. Some of the pop-culture humor and creatures owe a nod to 'Farscape,' but the camp level is high and can be mighty funny (take, for example, a huge dis of Michael Jackson, referenced as a creature that's just skin, eyes and mouth)."

Alibi.com: "The Sci-Fi Channel scores some street cred (on, you know, nerdy streets) by importing the latest season of the BBC's looooong-running series."

Daily Free Press, Boston University: "It seems there's always some new British invasion to follow on the heels of the last new British invasion: The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, punk-rock, '80s electronica pop, the Spice Girls and platform shoes, emo European mullet-wearing bands, etc. But the real new new British invasion has nothing to do with music, and everything to do with the boob tube the Brits call telly. The BBC has had a remarkable last couple of years, and now the programming is finally hitting stateside. On March 17th, Little Britain and Doctor Who, two hot British properties, will vie for your attention with their season premieres, and no matter which one you choose, you'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll wonder how you ever lived without them. ... More than other sci-fi shows of its kind, the new Doctor Who provides a cutting social commentary on everything from plastic surgery to sexuality, politics to media sensationalism. Airing on the Sci-Fi network may box the dramedy series in and keep away a more broad audience, but with NBC Universal behind the franchise stateside, the series is certain to enjoy ample promotion and popularity when it comes out on DVD this summer."

IF Magazine: "Fans of the various other incarnations of DOCTOR WHO will not be disappointed by the latest version of the hit series coming to the States courtesy of the BBC and the Sci Fi Channel. This time around Christopher Eccleston (28 DAYS LATER) fills the shoes of that wacky time and space traveling Dr., and Billie Piper joins him as his female sidekick Rose. The first U.S. aired episode of this series premieres tomorrow at 9pm PST on the Sci Fi Channel. The series has already completed it's first season run in the UK to tremendous reviews, so we have to play a bit of catch up with it here in the US. This version of WHO maintains several classic elements of the series that fans have known and loved for decades. The Tardis is still the good Doctor's form of transportation, though the inside has seen a bit of an overhaul from the last version. The Doctor himself is still a unique quirky individual who is not quite a ‘normal' human and doesn't quite blend in with the population around him. The perspective with which this series is shown is from the point of view of Rose, who through a series of misadventures joins the Doctor in this first episode. Rose is attractive, plucky, intelligent, and has a great sense of humor in the face of extraordinary circumstances. ... Once again Sci Fi Channel, as with their other series BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, has brought a worthwhile character driven science fiction series to television. The characters make the series worth watching, and seeing how they react to everything and everyone around them only makes it more entertaining. If all episodes of the upcoming season are as well done as the first, we have a great ride ahead for Americans that haven't yet found a way to see this series. There are few science fiction series worth watching on TV, but the Sci Fi Channel seems to have a corner on the market of the best ones out there."

Time Out New York: "A classic Hollywood joke tells of the aspiring actress so dumb that she slept with the writer. It's not a joke often heard in the world of British television, where networks pursue top creative talents with the same fervor as NBA teams courting free agents. Case in point: Russell T. Davies, the man behind the original Queer as Folk and other groundbreaking gay-themed programs, who the BBC has long sought to poach from his home at rival network ITV. 'They used to come to me and say, ‘Do you want to adapt Dickens? Write a detective show?'' Davies says, speaking from his home in Manchester. 'I said, ‘No, I want to bring back Doctor Who--that's the only program I want to write for the BBC.'' ... After years of haggling, Davies fulfilled his dream with a reinterpretation of the series that premiered in the U.K. a year ago and makes its American debut Friday 17 on Sci Fi. Despite Doctor Who's iconic status in British pop culture, Davies was worried that people would have trouble taking a revival seriously. 'In the 16 years it had been offscreen, [Doctor Who's] reputation had become a bit of a joke,' Davies explains. 'I told them, in this day and age, given how beautiful Battlestar Galactica and Farscape are, you can't bring it back on a cheap budget--this has got to look as good as all the best American stuff. Thank God [the BBC was] behind that right from the start.' ... Above all, Davies says he wanted to treat the Doctor as a figure who has entered the realm of British folklore--like Robin Hood or Sherlock Holmes--and not as part of a mere franchise. 'Whatever shape television takes in the future, I just hope there will be someone saying. ‘Oh, I loved this 40 years ago, I want to bring it back,'' he says. 'That would be the best reward of the lot, I think.'"

Tampa Tribune: "Doctor Who hits the ground running tonight. ... 'Doctor Who,' the long-running BBC series, is back and updated for modern consumption. Thirteen episodes made last year in Britain will air on the Sci-Fi Channel on Fridays beginning at 9 tonight. The new incarnation of this classic character captures the charm of the original. The series has decent special effects while maintaining the campy, slightly cheesy appeal that made the original a hit in the 1960s and '70s. ... He is the ninth incarnation of the TV Doctor. Those familiar with the series may find Eccleston an unsettling choice at first. He's a tall, lanky fellow with big ears and a thin, sort of geeky face. But viewers will soon warm to this cheeky, cheerful blue-collar bloke dressed in leather jacket and jeans. Actress Billie Piper, who plays his new traveling companion, Rose, is a scene stealer and tougher than previous helpers who had to be rescued by the Doctor. This time around, she has to rescue him."

The St Louis Post Dispatch: "The mysterious time traveler known only as the Doctor turns up in his latest incarnation (played by Christopher Eccleston) in a 13-part British series making its U.S. debut. With companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), this Doctor, as did his predecessors, travels space and time, risking death and dangers, battling aliens and monsters."

Deseret News, Utah: "Doctor Who is the newest old show on TV. Or the oldest new show. This British import is the latest incarnation of the good doctor, who has appeared in various forms played by various actors since 1963. This time 'round Christopher Eccleston steps into the role of the mysterious time-and-space traveler who's both mysterious and humorous, in a quirky kind of way. This 13-episode series is not so much a continuation as a new beginning. (Even if you've never seen a single episode of any of the previous incarnations, you won't feel like you've missed anything.) In the first of two episodes airing tonight on Sci Fi (7 and 8 p.m., repeated at 9 and 10 p.m.), the Doctor meets Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), who has an unfortunate encounter with mannequins that's part of a plot to invade and conquer Earth. In the second hour, they go 5 billion years in the future, and there's trouble there, too. This isn't 'Star Trek' or 'Battlestar Galactica.' It's a decidedly British sensibility that mixes some state-of-the-art effects with stuff that looks, well, decidedly cheesy. And it's an odd combination of action, adventure and wackiness -- an odd combination that somehow works. 'Doctor Who' fans will want to see this new version. And it will make fans out of people who are new to the franchise."

Film Fodder: "While 'Battlestar Galactica,' 'Stargate SG-1' and 'Stargate Atlantis' are on break, the SciFi Channel is betting on 'Doctor Who' to keep viewers watching. Tonight the cable channel will air the two-hour premiere of the BBC series. It's been throwing little bits of info about the show and its stars at us all week to peek our interest. ... According to the SciFi Channel, Russell T. Davies, executive producer and lead writer of the new 'Doctor Who,' attributed much of the show's initial success to the winning chemistry between Christopher Eccleston ('28 Days Later'), who plays the eccentric Time Lord, and Billie Piper ('Spirit Trap'), who plays his companion, Rose Tyler. Eccleston didn't stick around for the second season, though. David Tennant has taken up the task as the tenth incarnation of the good Doctor. Production of the second season is underway in the UK with a rumored air date of April 15th on the BBC. I've never been a huge 'Who' fan. I didn't find Tom Baker (the fourth Doctor) and that horrid scarf of his very appealing. Since it was all that seemed to air when I was a kid (very young - I was very young at the time! and they were reruns!), I just didn't get in to the show. When the fifth Doctor came around, the whole thing didn't make a lot of sense to me so I just stuck to reruns of the original 'Battlestar Galactica' (when Richard Hatch was Apollo) and 'Buck Rogers.' Perhaps now - six Doctors later - I might give 'Who' another try. With my beloved 'Battlestar' on break until October (ack!) and 'SG-1' and 'Atlantis' gone until July, I'll set my TiVo for 'Who' to fill the void. I doubt I'll watch it live, though. Heck, it's Saint Patty's Day! I'm not supposed to be sitting home anyway - or something. 'Doctor Who' airs tonight on SciFi at 9pm ET/10pm CT after a re-run of 'SG-1.' If you're recording it, note that the 'two-hour premiere' is listed as two episodes ('Rose' and 'The End of the World') so be sure to get them both."

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg)

This evening's summation, coverage of the new series' debut in the US:

The Sci-Fi Channel's Schedulebot (the broadcast schedule printed online) has changed slightly, now calling the March 17 9pm premiere "Rose & The End Of The World (2-hr Prem)". The repeats from 11:30PM to 1:30AM on the 19th, 10AM to Noon on the 20th, and Midnight to 2AM late Thursday the 23rd show them as 2 separate episodes, but the debut is listed as a two-hour broadcast.

The channel's Sci Fi Wire has featured two articles today about the new series. The first: "Russell T. Davies, producer of the new Doctor Who, told SCI FI Wire that one of his priorities was to create a series that would be taken seriously as a mainstream drama. The original incarnation, which was canceled by the BBC in the late '80s after 26 seasons, was regarded by some executives as a bit of a joke in later years. 'That's very true,' Davies said in an interview. 'But all of those people are now gone, so I have to say the opposite is now true. Frankly, I have to say, the terrifying thing about this time last year was that we had just spent all that money on it. Doctor Who has a good budget; it's not the biggest budget in the world, but for the BBC to make 13 episodes of something with this sized budget is very rare. I literally can't think of another example, so an awful lot of faith and trust had been put into it. We were also put in the prime-time slot, so expectations were actually massive, and this time last year was truly scary.' Doctor Who premiered in the United Kingdom last year and became a huge hit. 'The interesting thing about when the BBC approached me, I was amazed that they wanted the same thing that I did, which was that they also wanted the series to be on in prime time. You could have done a 9 o'clock, post-watershed version of Doctor Who on BBC2, which is one of our smaller channels, a more niche or elite channel, and that would have created a much more adult Doctor Who, much more like the new Battlestar Galactica, or they could have commissioned something with a much smaller budget for, say, BBC3, which is a wild youth-based channel, in which case, Doctor Who would have been possibly a [bit] Monty Python: very wild and extreme and even a bit radical and much more comedy-based. But I was delighted that they put it on for the primary channel, which is BBC1, on Saturday night.' As it turned out, the vision that Davies had for the series—about an eccentric Time Lord (played by Christopher Eccleston) traveling through time and space, accompanied by companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) in a ship disguised as a police call box—struck an immediate chord when it debuted in its Saturday-night timeslot. 'I know it isn't the same in the States, but in Britain, Saturday night is the ratings war night, in which we play Pop Idol [similar to the U.S. American Idol] and all the big entertainment shows, the Dance Fever shows. It's the biggest battleground of all, so the fact the BBC was investing in it so much by putting it in that prime-time slot very much determined what it should be, which is very much the sort of Doctor Who that I wanted to make anyway, which was a very inclusive version, which would include all sorts of viewers, not just niche science-fiction viewers, but was a great big, bold, wild family drama. So I was lucky that the constellations were in the right shape.' Doctor Who begins its first-season U.S. run on SCI FI Channel starting at 9 p.m. ET/PT on March 17."

The second Sci Fi Wire article, called "Star Was Who Virgin," published this evening: "Christopher Eccleston admitted that he wasn't a big fan of Doctor Who before signing on for the role. 'As a child, I felt that the Doctor was a bit too authoritarian for my taste,' said the actor, whose episodes begin airing on SCI FI Channel at 9 p.m. ET/PT on March 17. 'Because I didn't have a camp sensibility, the wobbly-sets thing made me think, 'Oh, I just don't believe in that!' And [I] ended up watching Star Trek instead. But now I look at the old DVDs, and I've become a massive fan. I think it's a fantastic series, and I'm proud to be part of it.' Eccleston spoke at a news conference last year, before the first season of Doctor Who aired in the United Kingdom. Eccleston is the ninth actor to officially play the Doctor, following in the tradition of William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann. After hearing that producer Russell T. Davies was reviving Doctor Who for the BBC, Eccleston quickly got in touch and asked to be considered for the role. 'I'm a fan of Russell's writing and worked with him on The Second Coming, so I e-mailed him and said, 'When you draw up your audition list, put my name on it.' In a way, it was a crazy thing to do, but I really wanted to work with Russell again.' Eccleston soon discovered that playing the Doctor was a demanding job. 'I think I got away pretty injury-free, but it is a very physical role, and I enjoyed that,' he said. 'Billie Piper [who plays the Doctor's companion, Rose Tyler,] has a lot of the more complicated performance stuff to do in terms of reacting to this extraordinary creature that is the Doctor, but I'm kind of the mental and physical energy. If we rehearsed a scene, often we'd have to find out where he was going to go, which wall he was going to bounce off, and then everybody else would feed off that energy, either undercutting it or topping it. That's why it's such a tiring role, because of that constant balls-of-your-feet acting.' The first 13-episode season of Doctor Who was a ratings success when it first aired in the United Kingdom last year. American viewers will be able to decide for themselves when it begins its SCI FI Channel run. The second season of Doctor Who is currently wrapping up production in the U.K. and will begin airing there in April on BBC1, with David Tennant replacing Eccleston, who left the series at the end of season one."

The San Jose Mercury News has a feature on the new series (which has also been reprinted widely across the country in other newspapers): "As his devoted fans know, Doctor Who always has been capable of a pretty good disappearing act. But the last one he pulled - back on Dec. 6, 1989 - went on a bit longer than expected. On Friday, when the good Doctor starts reappearing in new episodes on the Sci Fi channel (at 10 p.m. EST), it will have been 16 years since the last episode of the original 'Doctor Who,' perhaps the most curious cult classic in the history of television, was produced. Over its first 26 years, the series about an enigmatic time-and-space traveler featured eight very different actors in the lead role, along with wonderfully loopy, 1960s-hip dialogue and some of the worst special effects ever, including aliens made of inflated condoms. A huge hit in Great Britain, 'Doctor Who' didn't surface in this country until the late 1970s, when it became a staple of Saturday night programming on many PBS stations. But despite the pleas of the faithful, there were no new episodes anywhere until last year, when Russell T. Davies, the powerhouse British writer-producer of such shows as the original 'Queer as Folk,' finally persuaded the BBC to let him take a shot at reviving the franchise with some modern twists. Much to the surprise of the BBC, Davies' take on 'Doctor Who' became one of the most-watched series on British TV. (More than 10 million viewers - 40 percent of the audience in Britain - watched the debut, and a second season already has started there.) And now the show returns to America with the 13 episodes that made up Davies' first season on the BBC. The good news for longtime fans is that he hasn't mucked around with the quirky essence of 'Doctor Who' that much, while giving it a more polished look. The Doctor, as he always is referred to in the series, still is the last surviving member of a race wiped out in a time war (don't even ask) and still is going through various dimensions with a goofy grin and a passion for trying to right wrongs. He doesn't always get it right - in earlier episodes, he was partially responsible for Nero's burning of Rome, the Great Fire of London and the appearance of the Loch Ness monster - but he tries. He also still travels with a comely assistant in the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space), a space-time craft that's large and comfy inside even if it looks like a 1950s British phone booth on the outside. And his opponents - including Daleks, his longest-running foes - are still the funniest, least-threatening group of bad guys in science fiction history. What has changed is that this Doctor, as played in the first season by Christopher Eccleston from 'Elizabeth' and '28 Days Later,' is more robust and active than his predecessors. His latest assistant, a London shopgirl named Rose Tyler (pop singer Billie Piper), is as much the hero as the Doctor, coming off as Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a British accent. The special effects are computer-generated and state-of-the-art - although part of that art is paying homage to the cheese-ball originals by not making the effects look too good. In Friday's episode, for example, the Doctor battles amusingly robotic department store mannequins and a big blob of pulsating plastic. Best of all, the new episodes (or at least the two that Sci Fi sent out for review) retain the fun of the original 'Doctor Who.' If you're looking for allegorical, intriguing science fiction, this isn't it. If you're OK with rapid-fire, light-hearted dialogue with an occasional dig at politics and culture, this 'Doctor Who' is your cup of tea. Don't get too used to Eccleston as the Doctor, though. The actor bowed out after one year and already has been replaced by David Tennant ('Viva Blackpool' and Barty Crouch Jr. in the most recent 'Harry Potter' film). But even that is in keeping with the show's tradition. Good to see that things are back to what stands for normal in the world of TARDIS, Daleks and Doctor Who."

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg and Benjamin Elliott)

Warner Home Video has, at long last, officially announced the release ofDoctor Who: The Complete First Seriesfor American audiences. The DVD set was originally due out on February 14 but, due to the acquisition of the program by the Sci-Fi Channel, it was delayed in the US until July, though still receiving wide release in Canada; now, WHV, has announced the release confirmed for July 4, 2006 (although it's very likely that the DVD would not be on shelves until July 5, considering that July 4 is a US holiday) as catalog #E2501. The US release will be identical to the Canadian set with no difference whatsoever.

A second, 30-second trailer for the first season of the new Doctor Who series is now airing on the Sci-Fi Channel in advance of the show's debut on March 17. Noting that the Doctor is "over 900 years old" and is "a legendary adventurer through space and time," the trailer notes that the Doctor's "limitless power fuels an endless quest for ... the perfect vacation." "The British smash hit comes to Sci-Fi," says the advert, noting the premiere date. The trailer also uses a different logo altogether, reminiscent of the previous logo used throughout the late 1990's and early 2000's; a thumbnail is at right.

The nominations for this year's Broadcasting Press Guild Programme Awards 2006 were published this morning, and Doctor Who is nominated five times in four categories. The shortlist for Best drama series contains just two shows, Doctor Who and Bleak House, while Russell T Davies is shortlisted for the Writer's award for Doctor Who and Casanova, against the writing team for The Thick of It Andrew Davies for Bleak House. Billie Piper is one of five nominees for the Best actress award, alongside Anna Maxwell Martin, who guest-starred in 'The Long Game' and is listed for her lead role in Bleak House. The shortlist for Best actor includes both of 2005's Doctors, with Christopher Eccleston nominated for Doctor Who and David Tennant for Doctor Who, Casanova and Secret Smile. The Awards will be presented on Friday 31 March; more details will be available at the Guild's website. This morning's (Thursday 2 March) Media Guardian carries registration-only reports on the nominations in "Timelords tussle for TV award" (story) and "Broadcasting Press Guild Programme Awards 2006" (story), and the announcement has also been picked up by the UK comedy guide, Chortle (link). (Thanks to Steve Tribe, Cliff Chapman)

Now on the website of America's Sci-Fi Channel - on the front page, in fact - is the new trailer being shown on the network in anticipation of the March 17 launch date of the new series in the US. The video is available on the site via Flash animation (so you need to have the proper plug-in).

Doctor Who has been nominated in the Best Drama Series category at this year's Royal Television Society Awards, according to the MediaGuardian today. The Awards, the winners of which will be announced at the Grovesnor House Hotel on March 14th, are one of the most prestigious in the British television industry, probably second only to the BAFTAs in terms of importance within the industry itself, with winners selected by a jury of industry professionals. There are three nominations in each category at the RTS awards, and Doctor Who's rivals for the Drama Series title are Channel 4's Shameless and BBC Three's Bodies. A full list of nominees is available at the RTS website. (Thanks to Paul Hayes, Steve Tribe, Scott Wortley)

As Outpost Gallifrey previously had reported, we now have confirmation from the Sci-Fi Channel, via their published schedules online, that the first season of the new series will debut in the US on Friday, March 17 at 9:00pm. "Rose" will air that night twice, in fact, once at 9pm and then three hours later at midnight, as well as on Sunday, March 19 at 11:00pm and then the following Friday, March 24 at 8:00pm. "The End of the World" then airs right after, on Friday, March 24 at 9:00pm and again at midnight, and then Sunday night (Monday morning) at midnight. Details on later showings into April will be coming soon.

Amazon Canada today has listed a change in the release schedule for the DVD release of the Complete Series One Boxed Set. As of yesterday, the target release date was February 14; today, Amazon lists it as March 7. There is currently no word on the reason for the possible delay, or any confirmation other than on Amazon that it has indeed been rescheduled.

Outpost Gallifrey has learned that, while the planned DVD release of the first season of the new Doctor Who series has been delayed until July due to the acquisition of the series by the Sci-Fi Channel, fans in Canada can rest assured: the Complete First Series Boxed Set will be released there on February 14 as originally planned. (Obviously, eager fans in the US will still be able to import it.)

We've also now been told that there will be no change to the release plans in the US and Canada for the classic series titles -- which will continue to be released in March (which is the already-announced release of "The Beginning Boxed Set" containing the first three stories), June, September and November; the new series set has no effect on that whatsoever.

Also, below are thumbnails of the Complete First Season Boxed Set (the style that will be used in both the US and Canada): both the outer cover (which we've printed before) and the inside packaging; click on each for a larger version. (Thanks to Steve Manfred at the North American DVD/Video FAQ for the news)