Talk about making a splash on this side of the pond! Doctor Who’s sixth season premiere of “The Impossible Astronaut” this past weekend made waves as BBC America’s highest rated telecast in the network’s history. In its Live + Same Day ratings, Doctor Who captured nearly 1.3 million viewers, which is 71,000 more captivated people than the fifth season premiere when Matt Smith emerged as the eleventh Doctor.

However, in the UK, the premiere “was watched by an average audience of 6.5 million viewers” which was down about 1.5 million from how many people tuned in at the fifth season opener at the changing of the Doctor and quite possibly the “least watched series opener since Doctor Who was re-launched in 2005.”

Looks like the Doctor’s visit to America really captivated American audiences, but what is the reason for the dip in ratings in the UK? Care to speculate?

The second half of the two-part opener airs this weekend. Check out the trailer and sneak peek for “Day of the Moon.”

Doctor Who: Trailer and Sneak Peeks at “Day of the Moon”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZElCcyypY4[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67WQiCfz920[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCXEsJz20LY[/youtube]

Doctor Who stars Matt Smith as the eleventh Doctor, Karen Gillan as companion Amy Pond, Arthur Darvill as Rory, Amy’s husband, Alex Kingston as River Song, and Mark Sheppard as Canton.

Watch Doctor Who on BBC America, Saturdays at 9/8C and on BBC One, Saturdays at 6pm.

[Source] BBCWorldwide, BBC