Well, I finally saw the first ep, and I thought it wasn't bad, and quite in keeping with Whovian traditions. It could become rather good... or not. I'll keep watching. The one thing that really threw me was the Dr.'s apparent racism. At one point he refered to Rose's black boy friend as a "domestic," and later made it painfully clear that he wasn't wanted. What is up with that? I know they were showing the Dr. as a bit arrogant, and certainly eccentric, but why the racism?
Well, the UK isn't exactly one big happy family at the moment, and although I'm probably deluding myself I'd still like to believe these things play a little differently over here. I think many British viewers, myself included, probably didn't consciously register that the character was black, so didn't automatically view the incredibly negative portrayal as being racist.. It probably didn't occur to the producers either.. However, now that you've pointed it out, I think you're right, and I have yet another reason for loathing the first episode, and a lot more understanding of why the US Sci Fi channel turned it down..
btw, it looks like the character may be back in Episode 4, so maybe we'll get another chance to judge..