I will admit I’m not as big a fan of Doctor Who as I am of Torchwood. I guess I just like my TV shows with more snogging, shagging and swearing. Still, you can’t deny the enduring popularity of Doctor Who, even as it goes through many actors playing the title character. Audiences love it and it shows no signs of slowing down.

Good news then for fans in the U.S. then as the BBC has announced the new season, featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor and Karen Gillan as his sidekick Amy Pond, will make its U.S. television debut on Saturday, April 17 on BBC America. This will come soon after the show’s UK. debut, which won’t really be soon enough for the show’s U.S. fans I’m sure.

After seeing the trailers and all the other bits and pieces about this new series and the new Doctor, I may have to give this show another chance. It looks like they make be trying to take the show in a slightly more mature direction, which might help it reach an even broader audience — and convert on-the-fence Torchwood fans like myself. Hey, it could happen.

With the ending of last year also came the end of an era for fans of the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who. January 1st was the second half of the season 4 finale, in which David Tennant hung up his trenchcoat and sonic screwdriver to make way for the next actor to take on the titular role.

Though the end of the episode meant that Tennant and showrunner Russel T. Davies would be leaving, it also means that new writer Stephen Moffat and unknown actor Matt Smith will now be picking up the slack. The Tennant era started in 2006, while Davies was the brains behind the show’s relaunch back in 2005.

Now, with a new Doctor, comes all new adventures. Smith made his on-screen debut in the final moments of the finale, but this is the first time we’ll be seeing him in action (albeit in under 90 seconds). Check out the first preview of Doctor Who season 5 after the jump. The new season hits the BBC and BBC America this Spring.

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With a show that has it’s highest country-wide ratings on a broadcast during Christmas Day, which over shadow any ratings we have for any show here in the US, doesn’t it make sense that we finally get on board the Doctor Who craze? According the a BBC America press release, a recent special has broken records that nobody saw coming:

Television’s longest running hit science fiction series, Doctor Who, has never been bigger in the U.S. On Saturday, December 19, Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars delivered BBC AMERICA its highest ever primetime rating and delivery in total viewers and A25-54.

Over 1.1million viewers watched the program on Saturday, ranking BBC AMERICA #13 in coverage rating during the premiere among ad supported cable nets for A25-54.

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Those who are fans of the British Sci-Fi series Doctor Who know that heartbreak lies ahead. David Tennant, the beloved actor who has taken up the titular mantle as the Tenth Doctor since 2005, will be leaving the show and handing off his TARDIS to newcomer Matt Smith. We’re now receiving word that BBC America will be airing the upcoming episodes mere days after it’s initial broadcast in the UK.

According to BBC America’s press release, they are running the final Tennant episode even sooner that originally anticipated.

BBC AMERICA today announced the U.S. premiere of David Tennant’s final special as the Tenth Doctor. Doctor Who: The End of Time, Part Two, premieres January 2, one week after Part One, on BBC AMERICA. The finale to the era of David Tennant is one of the most eagerly anticipated adventures in the history of Doctor Who. Guest stars include John Simm (Life on Mars) as the Master, Timothy Dalton, Catherine Tate and Bernard Cribbins.

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Not many people in the US are aware at the power two simple words carry over in the United Kingdom. Just uttering the words “Doctor Who” can stir up a conversation with about 75% of Britain’s population, as that’s how many viewers watch each episode on average.

The show is so popular that one of it’s highest rated yearly specials takes place on Christmas night. That’s right. While we get together to see whether or not Sanjaya is going to make it to the next round, over half of the UK is watching David Tennant get his way out of another impossible (and impossibly brilliant) situation.

With that said, the Internets are all a twitter about a new clip that aired during the BBC’s Children in Need special (think Comic Relief with less Whoopi). The scene involved the good Doctor having a conversation with one of the Ood that has been summoning him. There are a few interesting tidbits in the dialogue, including mention of a marriage to “Queen Bess.”

Check out the clip after the jump, and be sure to catch Doctor Who and “The End of Time” on December 26th only on BBC America.

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Those of us who have been following the BBC series Doctor Who since it’s reboot back in 2005 know that the series has always been about change, going back to it’s roots in 1963. Once in a while, the show will change it’s lead actor, writing in a “regeneration” for the good Doctor. It’s happened 10 times in the past 50 years, and it’s about to happen again.

It was announced earlier this year that British actor Matt Smith would be taking over the role as the 11th Doctor when the series starts up again in 2010, after Davin Tennant resigns from his 4 year position in December. We now get word that not only will the main protagonist be “regenerating”, but we’ll be getting a brand new logo as well.

Steven Moffat, new head writer for the show, even had some new things to say about the branding change.

“A new logo. The eleventh logo for the eleventh Doctor – those grand old words, Doctor Who, suddenly looking newer than ever.  And look at that, something really new – an insignia!   DW in TARDIS form!  Simple and beautiful, and most important of all, a completely irresistible doodle.  I apologize to school notebooks everywhere, because in 2010 that’s what they’re going to be wearing.”

Check out the reveal video after the jump, and the new series of Doctor Who will premiere in spring 2010. The final three episodes featuring David Tennant will be broadcast later this year on BBC and BBC America.

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