Wed 30 March 2005 - Behind the sofa
It’s said that kids used to watch Doctor Who from behind the sofa. Well in our house, it’s not possible to get behind the sofa, so we have to make do.
Jeremy watching the first of the new Doctor Who episodes.
We watched the first episode of the new series. The special effects were pretty good, the plot wasn’t deep but was worthy of what is essentially a pilot episode re-introducing people to the series, and there were some great quotes and humour. Good entertainment.
Some fans of the old series may claim not to like it, but it was a hit in our house. For such a show to succeed now, it was important not to dwell too much on the old show, to update it for 2005 (heh. Rose using a search engine to look for the Doctor), and to make it have mainstream family appeal. And I think they’ve succeeded.
Indeed, the premier on BBC1 pulled in more than 10 million viewers, which in the age of multitudes of pay TV channels is a huge number. And news of its early success made the Australian press, which just goes to show what idiots the ABC are for not sorting out broadcast rights quickly so they can jump on the publicity bandwagon.
PS. Thursday 7am: BBC announces second new series
PPS. Thursday 10pm: Aye carumba! Eccleston says he won’t do another series!