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After a long wait - let's face it, just four episodes in 2009 was insufficient - the Doctor is back. A new theme/intro, a new logo, a new producer, a new face, a new companion, a new TARDIS, even a new sonic screwdriver, and yet, so many references to the past. This blend of old and new looks very, very promising. For a first episode, this is up there with the best. Better than Eccleston's or Tennant's. Bring it on, I say.

We pick up where we left off, with the newly regenerated Doctor and his damaged TARDIS careering towards Earth. He crash lands the TARDIS on its side (a-la Davison) and meets Amelia Pond. She has a crack on her bedroom wall. The Doctor determines it's a crack in time and space and through it Prisoner Zero escapes from the Atraxi and hides in the Amelia's house. The Doctor departs, promising to return in five minutes. As is usual for him, he is late. This time it's twelve years. Amelia has grown up and now refers to herself as Amy. Prisoner Zero is still hiding.

The Atraxi arrive, having followed the Doctor, and announce they will capture Prisoner Zero or incinerate the planet. What follows is the usual mayhem as the Doctor saves the world by leading the Atraxi to their prisoner. They leave, but he calls them back and tells them never to return - demonstrating why with a review of his incarnations and the aliens he has seen off. All in all, a very good episode. Fast paced, as with Season IV, but without the space-opera.

During the episode the TARDIS is rebuilding itself. At the end of the episode, it too has regenerated, with a the St. John's Ambulance logo back on the outside (not seen since 1965). But it's the interior that catches the eye. The roundels are still there, of course. But the colour scheme and the console are renewed. There's even a new sonic screw-driver, to replace the one that failed during the episode. This is a recurring theme in this episode - as befits a new series and regeneration - so many new things, but so many references to what's gone before, honouring the past.

The Doctor has a new look, less suave, more geeky, but still dashing. He steals clothes from a hospital (a-la Pertwee and McGann). He goes for a bow-tie over a normal one. The new companion is pretty good. A young, female - which seems to be the prerequisite these days - but a strong, personality, not someone who just screams a lot. Should be good value.

The recurring theme - or story arc - is back too. The crack in the wall (and on the TARDIS scanner) is apparently something to watch out for. And then there's the Atraxi's cryptic warnings. It knows who caused the cracks and is amused the Doctor doesn't. Could it be something he's done (or will do)? Or the Time Lords? And its final message, "the Pandorica will open, silence will fall."

In terms of release dates, we're only a couple of weeks behind Britain which is excellent. Interestingly, the ABC released this episode on iView at midnight last Friday - two days before screening it on TV.