Peter Capaldi's "Doctor Who" U.K. Debut Scores 6.79M Viewers / 2.6M in N.A.

[JamesG]

Peter Capaldi’s "Doctor Who" Debut Draws 6.79M UK Viewers; Best Premiere Score Since 2010
by Nancy Tartaglione
August 24, 2014


A little more than a year after he was cast as the new "Doctor Who", Peter Capaldi debuted as the Time Lord on Saturday night in the series’ Season 8 premiere.

(While he was glimpsed in the closing seconds of last November’s 50th anniversary special, this was his first full-episode effort).



The 80-minute premiere, entitled 'Deep Breath', aired on BBC One from 7:50 PM UK time. The highly-anticpated launch was seen by 6.79M viewers according to the overnights. That was worth a 32.5 share.

Capaldi’s start lands as the series’ most-watched opener since 2010. The record opener of the modern "Doctor Who" series was 2005’s debut that starred Christopher Eccleston as the 9th Doctor and drew 9.9M viewers.

On the low end of the scale is 2012 with 6.4M.







Capaldi’s turn as the 12th incarnation of the character has been well-received by critics in Britain who’ve called his performance “wise and thoughtful” and an “impeccable debut.”

'Deep Breath' sees the Doctor arrive in Victorian London where he finds a dinosaur rampant in the Thames and a spate of deadly spontaneous combustions. He’s joined by companion Clara on a terrifying mission into the heart of an alien conspiracy. Surprises abound.

I’ll be back later with ratings for the BBC America premiere which aired at 8 PM ET last night.

http://deadline.com/2014/08/doctor-w...apaldi-823853/

[JamesG]

"Who" Hits High
by Vlada Gelman
August 26, 2014


"Doctor Who" on Saturday night gave BBC America its most watched season premiere ever, amassing 2.6 million viewers (including two replays).

http://tvline.com/2014/08/26/the-ori...iler-video-cw/

[robyrob]

I thought the premiere was great - until I found out that Clara is leaving at the end of the season