Doctor Who returns to the UK's screens this Saturday but fans are warned not to settle in for a 13-week series of adventures featuring the Time Lord and his pals.
The BBC plans to show seven episodes from this week and the remaining six in the autumn.
Said a spokesman for the broadcaster: "This'll show those Yanks! Every time you get into a US TV series these days, they stop it half-way through and have what they call a 'mid-season break' - as if it's the most natural thing in the world.
"It's infuriating and makes us in the UK do bizarre things with our schedules. So right back at you, USA TV jerks!"
But the news has been criticised by self-appointed vigilante of the airwaves, TV Repair Man.
In a communiqué issued today, he said: "This is further evidence of the terrible standards infecting UK television - the Americanisation of the schedules. It is not to be tolerated.
"Further investigation is required, but if we ascertain that the production staff have anything to do with the decision to split the series in this way, they will have become a legitimate target for TV Repair Man.
"Except for that Karen Gillen. She's as fit as a butcher's dog, that one. Those legs go all the way, don't they?"
