Doctor Who Has A Posse Dept.:American Premiere Friday @9PM on Sci-Fi!!!from The Sci-Fi Channel

As many of our longtime readers know, the Athenaeum has been chronicling the resurgence of "Doctor Who" right from the announcement of the new series in November 2003.

Now, at last, the Doctor is back on American TV, and in prime time for the very first time. The new series of "Doctor Who" will have its premiere here in the Colonies on the Sci-Fi Channel this Friday, March 17 at 9:00 PM! It is a 2- hour premiere, and they are showing the first two episodes, "Rose" and "The End of the World." Friday nights are Sci-Fi's big night, and the Doctor is filling in for "Battleship Galactica." Sure I am a bit biased, but I think that this season of "Doctor Who" is downright amazing. They managed to keep the old-school flava while keeping it hip enough for today's jaded audiences. How did they pull this off? A combination of the performances of Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose, amazing scripts, CGI, and the feeling that everyone involved in the making of the show worked as hard as they could to create something special.

Now the Doctor's fate (in America) is in the hands of the viewing public, and even more specifically the sci-fi heads who watch this block of programming on Friday nights. If this audience- who liked the remake of freaking "Battlestar Galactica" fer goodness sake- is willing to put their preconceived notion of cardboard aliens and the dude in the scarf away and soak in the pure awesomeness of the new series of "Doctor Who," it is going to be a big hit. I showed the new series to friends of mine who put up with my love for the original series and they thought it was amazing. Straight up people- the new "Doctor Who" is "The Sopranos" of science fiction TV.

What is even more glorious is that reviews of the series are popping up in American publications like the Arizona Republic (a positive review) and the Village Voice (a negative review, but hey, the Village Voice reviewed it!).

As always, the best place (besides here) to keep up with the latest news, reviews, and anything else "Doctor Who" related is Shaun Lyon's FANTASTIC site, Outpost Gallifrey.