I am surprised that Rory isn't mentioned, just to further clarify things for the noobs. And I'd say this is a really interesting time to push for new American viewers. "The Impossible Astronaut"/"Day of the Moon" had more plot twists than the entire 1st 5 seasons combined! I'm a die-hard fan and I'm totally lost. I can only imagine how the new fans might feel. Season 5 had a much more laid back, traditional Who feel and would be a much more natural jumping-in point.
As for painting the show as "The Amy Pond Show," I kinda like that. At the very least, I like that the show has the balls to put another companion besides Rose so front & center. But then, Amy has very much become one of my all-time favorite companions and I think is one of the few who could genuinely carry the show on her own without the Doctor. I could never have said that about Rose, Martha, or Donna. (Catherine Tate could--and did--carry her own show but I don't think Donna had quite enough range to pull it off.)
Overall, I like the Amy Pond prologue. I suppose it is a bit American. But then, I think that the American opening title sequence is very much becoming a lost art. (Shame on you, Law & Order: Los Angeles!) It makes me wonder what it would look like if Doctor Who went whole hog in terms of giving us a traditional American title sequence. I've been wondering that ever since someone did Doctor Who, Buffy-style!
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqeKC3FmMoE[/yt]
I think it's called the stinger or something(it just ruins those...whatever you call that sound effect that leads into the credits...moments).
In a similar vein, I've thought that Season 5 episodes overall haven't made good use of the stinger, particularly at the end of cliffhanger episodes. It's too quiet during those episodes. And this is true of the DVDs as well as the BBC America edits.
