Rose

Well. That was quite good, wasn't it?

Watched it first with my parents and my sixteen-year-old brother, then again alone in the dark. Enjoyed it far more the second time, and thus this short review draws from my second experience of Rose ...

The opening sting and title sequence were perfect, and I loved the mad rush down to Earth and through London. Music seems very Eighties, very Keff... but I think that's perfect. Billie is adorable, and even her opening shots with Mickey were very sweet. How cute did Billie look when she was in the lift trying to keep her eyes open! The first Autons sequence works beautifully when you're on your own in the dark, and I'm sure it'd scare the hell out of many a young 'un. (Did I hear some Graham Norton??? Someone, please check again... I'm sure of it!)

Then someone grabs Rose's hand, tells her to run, and BAM! We've got a new Doctor. And from the word go, he's our Doctor. Surprisingly, I loved his arrogance and his accent. Why? It's different. Refreshing. And all that. When the department store blew up, I immediately relaxed about the effects in this series.

Okay. Next morning. Billie is looking adorable again, even first thing in the sodding morning. (My girlfriend somehow manages to do this too... ah, women.) Sadly, Jackie is a little over-the-top... didn't have to be. The news report... the building blew up, so all Central London was closed off? Isn't that over-reacting a little? I loved it, actually... to me, it's a nice subtle little "kiss" to the Seventies Pertwee era, when they went to such extremes on the show.

Ooh! Scratching at the door... scary music... is it the monsters? Nope. Our Doctor. We have a nice little tete-a-tete at the catflap, reminiscent of the TV movie (I prefer the latter sequence), and the Doctor bursts in. And, of course, we have the (now) oft-quoted Jackie/Doctor meeting moment. Huh. Jackie even seems quite attractive when trying to seduce him! (Pretend I didn't say that.) I enjoyed Billie's ignoring of the Doctor's antics in the living room, though Eccleston seems to be rushing through these antics a little. Things pick up when the Auton hand smothers him, though. Yay, the sonic screwdriver!!!

So now we're outside. Great lighting and photography. (Do I sound savvy yet? Didn't think so.) And here comes some wonderful chemistry between our two leads. I could get very used to seeing these two together. But (as my father pointed out in the first viewing) why do we have fast music here? It's not needed. The Doctor's "world turning" speech... I nearly wept, it was so good. And there was the original TARDIS noise! (In the first viewing, my brother cheered!)

Rose comes to see Mickey... a great line nobody's mentioned: "Don't read my emails!" I let out a huge guffaw. Wow... Mickey, an almost unanimously reviled character (at least in this ep), made me laugh! This is good. So she goes to see Clive... and Mickey tries to look hard while sitting in the car. (Don't make that dirty, guys.) Another big guffaw from me. Clive surprised me too - loved his characterisation. Those photos of Doctor-sightings, especially the JFK ones... they could've tried a bit harder! Yes, the wheelie-bin looked vaguely cartoonish, but I still enjoyed it. Cute. But then Rose comes back to Mickey, who's all plastic and... well, to me, hilarious. "Pizzaaaa!!! Pph! Pph!" Like some demented Ninja Turtle.

In the restaurant, I laughed out loud again at the clone-Mickey's terms-of-endearment malfunction. And "doesn't anyone want my champagne?" You know, I had no idea that'd turn out to be the Doctor in that reveal. That was my "hero moment". I got scared when the disembodied head opened its eyes. And I'm 22!! Loved the mallets aswell. (For the record, I'm still vehemently anti-CGI. But hey, this worked.)

So we're running away from the Mickey-Auton, and the Doctor casually strolls into the TARDIS. Oh, to be young and unknowledgeable! When Rose steps in, steps out, then runs in again... it's a breathtaking moment, even for someone who knows what she's going to find. I loved the Doctor's "No no no no no!!!" as the TARDIS did silly things - very Doctorish. Now we're on the Embankment for a bit of necessary exposition for those who aren't familiar with the whole "aliens-from-dying-world-need-our-well-everything" plot from old sci-fi. ("The Invaders", anyone?) Loved the triple-take London Eye gag. And the one about the breast implants.

But then... suddenly... we're in the Nestene lair. Er... that was a little... quick. Oh well. Wasn't so concerned the second time round, to be honest. But still jarred a bit with me. Anyway, the Doctor talks to the Consciousness... a bit of Doctorishness, a bit of exposition, a bit of reference to the oncoming story arc... and the TARDIS is revealed. Again, I didn't know this was going to happen (and I'm a spoiler FREAK!). Meanwhile, in Central London, the dummies are coming alive again. Which, to me, doesn't get frightening until they're out in the street. And then it is QUITE freaky. Love the brides. And the atmospheric FX stuff with the London Eye - very TV movie, and very effective.

Billie saves the day in very Buffy-ish style, but I'm not complaining. All is well, and Rose declines the Doctor's offer to come with him. The TARDIS fades away, then of course reappears. The Doctor forgot to mention something... and as someone who's been enamoured of the whole concept of time-travel since I was quite, quite young, I shared Rose's excitement - and her huge grin - as she ran towards her future in slow-mo, accompanied by our favourite sting. And how about that voice-over at the end! I love my ABC.

So, Rose has dumped her plastic life and joined the Doctor on his "anti-plastic" adventures. (Nice allegory - was I the only one to notice?) A very good introduction to the characters and - to a lesser extent - the set up of the series, Rose achieves in forty-five minutes what the TV movie tried very hard and ultimately failed to achieve in over twice that length of time. I love this Doctor, this companion, this team, this TARDIS... I know the next few months are going to be the trip of a...

See? Didn't say it.