"If you've seen him, Rose, then one thing's for certain. We're all in danger. ... If he's singled you out, The Doctor's making house calls. God help you." -- a computer geek's take on the mysterious Doctor

Who is this Doctor and is he worth making an appointment for an hour on Friday nights?

Rose (Billie Piper) is ending a shift at the department store when she finds that the mannequins are coming to life ... and they don't look too friendly. A strange man grabs her and gives her a simple word of advice: "Run." (Perhaps Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate would have been better off with that advice.) Soon the department store blows up behind her. One problem, though. Rose still has the arm that came off one of those mannequins.

That opening scene looks more like Dawn of the Dead than any previous incarnations of Doctor Who. If the first episode, "Rose," is any indicator, the plots are still slightly absurd, but with a new, improved look that gives the absurd, including an attack by a plastic garbage bin, a grounding that makes it look much more realistic. Enough to compete with Stargate SG-1 and other Sci-Fi Channel entries.

Christopher Eccleston plays The Doctor in this big-budget (at least relatively) version of Doctor Who (although a new Doctor has already appeared on the BBC). In this first episode, he appears to be a tougher, more menacing character than his quirky predecessors. He snaps a lot at his new friend and calls humans "stupid apes." By the end of the episode, we know he's edgy, but this Doctor is still very much a mystery.

As Rose, Billie Piper's a bit bolder than some of the Doctor's earlier companions, actually saving the day herself here, even as her boyfriend cowers in fear and wants to bail. We also see a little bit of Rose's everyday life instead of just seeing her pop into the TARDIS.

The neatest touch here was presenting "Doctor Who" as a mysterious urban legend, with a computer geek dishing out theories on who this strange man is.

Heck, I might miss the cheesiness eventually, but I liked the first house call from this Doctor.

If you missed Friday's debut, watch for reruns Sunday at 11:30 p.m. and Monday morning at 10 a.m.