Doctor Who Series 1 Episode 1 - Rose - Review

Starring: Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper, Camille Coduri & Noel Clarke

Written By: Russell T Davies

Directed By: Keith Boak

On a dark day in 2005, television history was made. Following the 1989 cancellation of long-running Sci-Fi show Doctor Who, and an unsuccessful attempt to revive the franchise with a TV movie in 1996, Doctor Who is back with a new series. This time, Christopher Eccleston portrays the ninth incarnation of the Doctor, and singer Billie Piper stars as the new companion, Rose, with the new showrunner being writer of Queer As Folk, Russell T Davies. As wonderful as this news is for fans, it mustn't be forgotten that Doctor Who has been off-air for a long time. Can it find a new audience in the 21st Century?

 

It's London, 2005, where we meet the titular character, Rose Tyler. Rose lives on a council estate with her mother Jackie and boyfriend Mickey, and works in Henrik's department store. One day at work, she is tasked to go down to the basement and deliver some lottery winnings to the chief electrician, when she gets attacked by a group of shop window dummies. At this point, she is saved by a mysterious man, introducing himself with just one word: “Run!”.

Right from the start, it's clear that Doctor Who has undergone a massive change from the classic series. The fast-paced music and fast-moving shots of urban London prove that the new Doctor Who is a show that audiences of the 21st Century can engage with. Rather than kicking off the series with an episode set at the other side of the universe, Russell T Davies has taken the smart decision to first relate with the audience. There are even links established to contemporary culture by having the main villain in the form of shop-window dummies, just like the ones we would see when we go out shopping. However, this is balanced with certain elements that fans of the original series will recognize.For example, items such as the iconic police box TARDIS and the Doctor's sonic screwdriver have made the transition. The first villain that we encounter isn't a new creation either, but instead is the return of the Autons and the Nestene Consciousness last seen in 1971's Terror Of The Autons. The new and the old blend together here seamlessly, and it's something that I hope to see in the rest of the series.

As Paul McGann isn't reprising his role from the 1996 TV Movie, we are also introduced to a new Doctor. This time played by Christopher Eccleston, how is he? Well, many have branded him as the best Doctor since Tom Baker, and I have to agree because Christopher is simply amazing in this role. From the offset, you can tell that this Doctor is still the same man, with plenty of heroic moments (such as pulling an Auton's arm off), but maintaining the humour as well. There is still an air of mystery surrounding the Doctor that has been brought across from Sylvester McCoy's time as the Doctor, and it's not until the closing scenes that we begin to even get hints about who his new incarnation really is, and why he is noticeably darker than the last time we saw him.

 

The majority of the episode is told from the perspective of the new companion, Rose, and thanks to this, Rose has already become a much deeper character than a number of other previous companions. However, as for Rose as a character, my feelings are mixed. While Rose is played superbly by Billie Piper, some of her character's actions don't make for a good first impression. Her treatment of Mickey is the stand-out argument, as while it's clear that Mickey really loves her, Rose just abandons him with a quick kiss, before running off into the TARDIS at the end of the episode. Despite these issues, I do still somehow like Rose, and Billie Piper shares some great scenes with Christopher Eccleston. I've also only seen Rose for a span of forty-five minutes, so these problems may lessen as the series continues.

 

Arguably the biggest departure from the original series is the new TARDIS interior. While I do really like the white and simplistic design that ran throughout the original series, it didn't exactly change as the show went on. However, the debut of the new TARDIS is the biggest change it has ever seen, as the colour scheme and aesthetic of the original is almost entirely gone. The control room is much bigger now, and has a much more natural feel about it. It has been stated in the past that TARDISes are grown, not built, so the effect of the huge columns surrounding the console really helps to sell this point. That being said, there are still some recognizable features from the original TARDIS have  made it into the new design, such as time rotor, which still goes up and down. Of course, the famous coat stand has also survived the change, and quite rightly. You could never get rid of the coat stand.

 

The large number of changes to the show somewhat overshadows the actual plot of the episode, but understandably so. While the actual story isn't really anything ground-breaking, it's still pretty decent, and has a small but strong supporting cast. The most notable supporting character is Clive, played by Mark Benton. As Rose researches the Doctor, she comes across Clive, a man who has also been tracking the Doctor's appearances throughout human history. In his shed, Clive has a number of documents and photographs detailing times where the Doctor has shown up, such as the assassination of President JFK, and warning a family away from their trip on the Titanic. This helps to build up further to-be-explained mystery around the Doctor, and continued to mystify the audience into watching the rest of the series. Clive is also a great character and enjoyable to watch. I also like how Clive wasn't just written as a conspiracy theorist, but had a wife and child, and talked about ordinary things such as taxes. While he might not have had the most amount of screen time, his ultimate fate is really tragic.

 

To further entice fans of the original series, Rose also features the return of the Autons, and their controller, the Nestene Conciousness. These new Autons have gained a huge benefit from the increased budget of the show, as they look much more believable than their 1970s counterparts. Whilst giving the impression that these creatures are really solid plastic, we even get to see them smash through shop window glass for the first time, making their entrances even more dramatic. Their attack scenes towards the end of the episode look really impressive and the brief moments that we get to enjoy of these attacks show that Doctor Who is back in style. Many things have gained benefits from the increased budget, particularly the effects. The limited effects in the original show was something of a mixed bag, even for its time, but here it looks about as big as television can get. This improvement goes hand in hand with some solid direction from Keith Boak, with the stand-out moment being the Doctor and Rose's walk through the council estate.

 

So, to go back to my question, has Doctor Who found a strong new audience in the 21st Century? It certainly has. The revived show has found equilibrium in balancing the old and the new, with the transition for fans of the original being aided by returning villains and icons, but also managing to find a new audience with improved production values. Christopher Eccleston's new Doctor is amazing, and as his tenure progresses, I am confident that he will keep getting better and better. There are some mixed feelings at the moment towards Rose, but before coming to a verdict on her character, we'll need to see more of her as the series progresses.

 

 

Rose



8/10