Doctor Who returns to US TV

The Sci-Fi Channel redeems itself by showing the new episodes of Doctor Whothat debuted last year on the BBC. I readily admit how much I dislike British Science-Fiction faves Red Dwarf and HHG but I will concede to enjoying what used to be the longest running show in the UK (until it was cancelled in 1989). 
 
The special effects were markedly improved over the past episodes’ cheesy ones. Still not quite on par with US network television but probably within expectations for low-budget cable channels: the bulk of the Sci-Fi Channel’s content and a major reason why I really dislike watching its other offerings. 
 
I do like the more spacious set they made for the TARDIS. Definitely illustrates its tesseract nature much better than the old cramped control room I recall so often from the Tom Baker run of the show. He also has a new companion named Rose who is the equivalent of a British redneck, that’s my guess based upon the background the show gave her. My wife likes her because she’s pretty yet in a realistic way: she doesn’t have Hollywood features, she’s a bit above average in her weight and she looks more like the average UK woman in her mid 20s. 
 
For the debut, the Sci-Fi Channel just ran two shows back-to-back. There was no two-hour pilot to re-establish who The Doctor is, where he’s from, what he does, etc. He just showed up in Rose’s life during a really weird outbreak of department-store mannequins coming to life, trying to kill her. Then the second hour jumped over to the Doctor taking Rose to the far future (five billion years) to see the Earth’s death when the sun expands into a super giant (that one was rather comical as it was grisly). The remaining 11 shows will be appearing every Friday night until further notice. According to imdb.com, the second season is in production and the BBC did order a third. 
 
Doctor Who still isn’t as appealing as it could be to the American market but I think this revival is a step in the right direction. However, I would like to see another round of the show done with Rowan Atkinson and Jonathan Pryce as the Doctor and the Master respectively.