I find it very hard to gauge what the General Public makes of this new Doctor Who (even after looking at several ratings analyses - because its hard to compare because of the change of day). I think its fair to say in "real life" conversations I've had the people I've been talking too have been more enthusiastic about this than about the Capaldi stories - but I suspect there is some selection bias, random associates will be happier to talk Doctor Who with a known Who-fan if they feel they have something good to say.

I think Great Man stories are superficially easier to translate into engaging stories, though in the Doctor Who contact I think there is always a risk it will create a tension over who is the main character in the tale.