Question: when did doctor who became popular in america

title: Doctor Who in Canada and the United States
text: In 1978 , Tom Baker 's first four seasons as the Doctor were sold to PBS stations across the United States . This time , though , Time - Life was ready to have the Doctor poised for American consumption , by having stage and screen actor Howard Da Silva read voiceover recaps of the previous episode and teasers for the next one which would inform the viewer as to what was going on . To accommodate the teasers up to three minutes of original material was cut from each episode . PBS program planners took the show at face value , but it soon achieved cult status . A few commercial stations including WOR in New York and KVOS in Bellingham also aired the show for a few years . 

Answer: answer: In 1978, Tom Baker's first four seasons as the Doctor were sold to PBS stations across the United States. PBS program planners took the show at face value, but it soon achieved cult status.