BBC's 'Doctor Who' Ends Season on High Note, 7/17

The new era of the BAFTA-winning series Doctor Who has broken BBC AMERICA ratings records and taken audiences on adventures to meet Vincent Van Gogh in Provence, vampire aliens in 17th century Venice and face-to-face with the Doctor's horrifying foe and fan favorite the Weeping Angels. In the two-part season finale, it is now a silent menace that will finally catch up with the Doctor. Doctor Who two-part finale premieres Saturday, July 17, 9:00p.m. ET/PT and Saturday, July 24, 9:00p.m. ET/PT.

While the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his new companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) have managed to side-step danger while exploring time and space, they continue to be threatened by a crack in the universe that first appeared on Amy's wall in the season premiere. In the two-part season finale, they discover a message etched on the oldest cliff-face in the universe, a puzzle box opening from the inside and a love that lasts thousands of years. Their fates are drawing close around the time machine, the TARDIS, will this be the day the Doctor falls?

"The Pandorica Opens" is part one of the finale, marking the return of several famous villains of the series along with Professor River Song (Alex Kingston, ER, Flash Forward). According to legend, the Pandorica contains the most feared being in all the cosmos, a monster soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The Doctor's friends unite to send him a terrible warning - the Pandorica is opening. But what's inside, and can the Doctor stop it?

In part two of the dramatic season finale, "The Big Bang," the universe is collapsing and the only hope for survival is a little girl who still believes in stars...

The two-part finale is written by lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat (Steven Spielberg's upcoming Tintin, Sherlock, Coupling).

BBC AMERICA will present a Doctor Who fan screening of the two-part finale at Comic-Con in San Diego on Thursday, July 22 at 6pm. For more on the BBC AMERICA booth (#3629) and Doctor Who exclusive figurines and t-shirts visit http://bbcamerica.com/comiccon.

Doctor Who episodes are available, 24 hours after broadcast, to purchase and download from the iTunes Store, Xbox LIVE Marketplace and Amazon.com.