I’m curious. Has Christopher Eccleston’s Dr Who series been shown in the US yet? If so, what did American fans think of his portrayal?
It was a massive hit here in England, where it’s credited with re-inventing the concept of family viewing. We thought Billy Piper was surprisingly good too.
Nope, still not shown in the U.S. and no deal in place to ever show it, as far as I know. Some of us have managed to catch the episodes anyway, though, one way or another. My wife and I think it’s great, if a bit different, and anxiously await new episodes. Americans probably don’t think of Billie Piper as “surprisingly good,” though, since we had no idea who she was in the first place. 
It hasn’t shown in the US yet- I heard that they hadn’t decided which station would get it, Public Broadcasting or BBC America. I’ve downloaded bootlegs of it and really like it- it keeps so much of what I liked about Dr Who, but also has actual special effects and interesting character development. I can hardly wait to see the next season. I don’t know Billie Piper (I gather she was some sort of minor annoying celebrity in England?), but I liked her as a companion. I thought Captain Jack was a little cheesy and fake- I will forgive him for it if it turns out that he is just acting a part to Hide a Dreadful Secret.
Disclaimer: I am only bootlegging this because it is unavailable to me. When I can get it on DVD, I will buy the discs and delete my copies. Really.
And by “a bit different,” I mean from the original Dr. Who.
Admittedly, being English, I’m probably not who you were looking for but i still think it was great. I think Eccleston is good in most things, have you seen him in revengers tragedy? its fantastic, Eddy Issard’s good in that to. I all so liked the second coming.
Everyone (o.k., my mum, who is a fan and the reason i know about the above work) is disappointed hes not doing the next series. I, however am looking forward to it; David Tennant was great in Casanova and I’m expecting to see some of the same cheekyness which suits the Dr character. Probably going to be less sex in Dr who though.
I look forward to seeing. Hopefully someday soon.
I grew up watching the Tom Baker Doctor.
Jim
The show probably won’t be aired in the US. Too expensive. The complete first season is, however, being released on DVD in North America on February 14th. Costs a hundred bucks, but I’d imagine you’ll be able to find it for less than that.
They’ve released the Christmas special with David Tennant as the new Doctor and I’m thinking he’s at least as good as Eccelson.
She was one of those teen-slut pop nymphettes a few years back, who then went on to marry a DJ about 3 times her age when the hits dried up: I think most people had her figured for rehab by now.
My favourite Billy Piper joke explains that she, like Dr Who itself, “was designed for children but often enjoyed by adults”.
Heh.
This Yank agrees. In fact, I think I like him more, he’s so charmingly deranged.
I wasn’t really exposed to the older Who (and what I saw was so old fashioned, slow paced, and hokey looking that it failed to grab me) but this version is really interesting to me.
To the best of my knowledge, the CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corp.) is the only network airing Doctor Who in North America at this time. It’s thus accessible to Americans who live far enough north that their cable company carries CBC - that’s how i’ve been watching it.
Another yank who watched the series (and XMas special) via less than savory methods.
Loved Eccleston, Piper, and Captain Jack. Very sorry to see Eccleston leave so soon, although Tennant was very good in his first appearance.
The show would benefit with ditching (or at least showing up less frequently) Piper’s mum and beau, and having the TARDIS get the hell out of Cardiff a little more frequently.
Dr. Who is a series where I would in a HEARTBEAT buy season by season if it was available as I used to watch all of the old Hartnell/Baker episodes on PBS when I was a lad. I know I can buy story arcs, but I’d prefer the completeness (as much as possible with so many missing episodes) of a season-to-season release.
New Dr. Who originally slated for Feb 14 is delayed:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=4870
Brian
They didn’t show it in the U.S., but I get a Canadian station out of Windsor and they carried it.
Dammit … I’m looking forward to that set!
Expensive? To who? I take it you mean that the BBC wants way more than any US broadcaster is willing to pay. But surely this wouldn’t apply to the BBC America cable channel, would it?
'Fraid so – BBC America isn’t actually part of the BBC at all, they just licence the name. They have to pay to show BBC programmes just the same as any other foreign broadcaster.
Of course, the idea that the BBC is asking too much seems to be more internet rumour than anything else. I’ve yet to see any reliable source for it.
For the pleasure of you yanks, and us misplaced Brits: