The wait ended for Dr. Who fans this Saturday as Season 8 premiered on BBC America. While ratings were the highest they've ever been for any season opener of Doctor Who since 2010, it looks like the only thing that impressed critics was Scottish actor, Peter Capaldi.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "The full-episode debut of Peter Capaldi in the lead role of the Time Lord peaked with 7.3 million viewers on the public broadcaster's flagship network BBC One. Its average audience amounted to a 32.5 percent share of the total U.K. TV audience at the time."

Furthermore, "The overnight ratings for Saturday's episode compared with the 6.4 million overnight average audience that had tuned into the first ' Doctor Who' episode of season 7 in Sept. 2012. The final figure was later reported as 8.3 million."

With the addition of those who watched the premiere on digital devices, there's no question there was definite excitement over the newest permutation of Doctor Who. But U.S. critics seemed rather unimpressed with the much of the premiere, save for the performance of Peter Capaldi.

Screenrant stated in their review that "Capaldi brilliantly shoots for the stars in his first full performance, while a disjointed story serves to almost completely undermine it." This feeling also appears in The Atlantic's review: "Mostly, though, Capaldi is as brilliant in the role as everyone expected," but in terms of story, "Other points are ham-handed, warmed-over, and/or plot-holey."

Based on these results, it looks like the overall feeling of excitement for Doctor Who Season 8 has a bit of tentativeness underneath it in regards to the direction of the story. No one questions the casting of Peter Capaldi, but if the plot continues to disappoint critics, the show might be in some trouble. Let's hope not. Doctor Who Season 8 airs on BBC America Saturdays at 8pm.